Featured architects

Robert Trent Jones Sr.

The architect who built the championship test

Born
1906, England
Years active
c. 1930s–1990s
Works
400+ across 40 countries
Era
Modern Era

Why the name endures

Jones invented the profession as a full-time discipline, studying agronomy and design at Cornell on a self-designed course of study. His remodels toughened US Open venues into what he called 'a hard par and an easy bogey', and his global work took American design abroad.

Design principles

  • A hard par and an easy bogey
  • Long tees to stretch a hole for every class of player
  • Heroic carries framed by water and sand

Surviving work

Courses to see

Valderrama

Sotogrande, Spain

Continental Europe's first Ryder Cup host and Jones's favourite of his own work.

Peachtree Golf Club

Georgia, USA

Built with Bobby Jones; vast greens and multiple tees on every hole.

Ballybunion (Cashen)

County Kerry, Ireland

Dunes-land routing he called the finest piece of ground he ever worked.