Featured architects

Charles Hugh Alison

Colt's partner who carried the English school abroad

Born
1883, Preston, England
Years active
1912–1952
Works
Work on four continents
Era
Golden Age

Why the name endures

Alison read at Oxford, played golf and cricket there, and entered design in 1912 working with Harry Colt at St George's Hill. As a partner in Colt, MacKenzie & Alison from 1928 he took the firm's principles to North America and Japan, where his deep bunkering left a word behind: Japanese golfers still call a steep-faced bunker an 'Arisan'.

Design principles

  • Deep, boldly shaped bunkers that carry visual authority
  • Routings that use ravines and natural falls rather than fight them
  • Green sites chosen before the holes are drawn

Surviving work

Courses to see

Hirono Golf Club

Hyōgo, Japan

Widely held to be the finest course in Japan.

Milwaukee Country Club

Wisconsin, USA

His best-known American commission, restored in recent years.

Kawana (Fuji)

Shizuoka, Japan

Cliffside golf above Sagami Bay.