Featured architects
A.W. Tillinghast
The Philadelphian who built championship theatre
- Born
- 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Years active
- 1909–1937
- Works
- 265+ courses
- Era
- Golden Age
Why the name endures
'Tillie the Terror' came to design from the amateur game and the writing desk, and never lost either. His courses have a sense of occasion — bold green sites, heroic carries, the 'Great Hazard' — and his later tour on behalf of the PGA to remove unnecessary bunkers showed a rarer instinct for restraint.
“A round of golf should present eighteen inspirations.”
A.W. Tillinghast
Design principles
- Greens that reward only the correct half of the fairway
- A course must contain at least one truly heroic hole
- Bunkers removed where they serve no strategic purpose
Surviving work
Courses to see
Winged Foot (West)
New York, USA
Perhaps the most demanding set of green complexes in America.
Bethpage Black
New York, USA
Public golf built at championship scale.
San Francisco Golf Club
California, USA
Quiet, beautifully bunkered golf in the city.