Featured architects
Devereux Emmet
The naturalist of the Long Island school
- Born
- 1861, Pelham, New York
- Years active
- 1897–1934
- Works
- 170+ courses
- Era
- Golden Age
Why the name endures
A sportsman, dog breeder and friend of C.B. Macdonald, Emmet designed his first course — the nine-hole Island Golf Links — in 1897 and went on to lay out more than 170. His method was frankly naturalist: fit the course to the land as found, and let odd ground produce odd and memorable holes.
Design principles
- Fit the course to the landscape, not the landscape to the course
- Let awkward natural ground stand as the hazard
- Short holes used as the highlights of a round
Surviving work
Courses to see
Garden City Golf Club
New York, USA
Emmet's redesign work on one of America's great early clubs.
Congressional (Blue)
Maryland, USA
His original layout beneath decades of later revision.
Leatherstocking
New York, USA
Lakeside resort golf with a famous island tee.