Robert Trent Jones

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This article is about the elder. For information about the son, see Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
Born(1906-06-20)June 20, 1906
Ince-in-Makerfield, England
DiedJune 14, 2000(2000-06-14) (aged 93)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
NationalityEnglish-American
Alma materCornell University
OccupationArchitect
SpouseIone Jones
ChildrenRobert Trent Jones, Jr. and Rees Jones
AwardsOld Tom Morris Award
ProjectsSee below

Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a golf course architect who designed or re-designed approximately 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in saying, "The sun never sets on a Robert Trent Jones golf course."[1] Jones received the 1987 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. Also in 1987, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was often confused with the famous golfer and co-founder of the Masters Tournament, Bobby Jones, with whom he worked from time to time.

Biography

The golf course at Green Lakes State Park in upstate New York was designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1936.

Robert Trent Jones was born on June 20, 1906, in Ince-in-Makerfield, England, to Welsh parents.[2] At age five or six, Jones immigrated with his parents to the United States, where they arrived in East Rochester, New York. Jones worked as a caddy at The Country Club of Rochester and accepted a job as golf professional at Sodus Bay Heights Golf Club in nearby Sodus Point, New York. He met Donald Ross as a youth and, taking up the game, recorded the best score of all the amateur golfers at the 1927 Canadian Open and set a course record at Rochester.[1][3][2]

While working as a golf professional, Jones attended Cornell University, undergoing a customized course of study that would allow him to pursue his interest in golf course design, during which time he designed nine holes of the university's golf course, now known as the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University (he designed the other nine holes in 1954).[3]

Jones went into business with Canadian architect Stanley Thompson after concluding his studies at Cornell, and with him designed courses in Canada. Following his partnership with Thompson, Jones went into business on his own and began designing local courses in the United States in the 1930s.[3] Many of these, such as the 1936 course at Green Lakes State Park (see photo), were built using labor provided by the Works Progress Administration.[4]

Shortly after World War II, Jones got his first big assignment designing the Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta in collaboration with golf legend Bobby Jones. At Bobby Jones' request, Jones redesigned the 11th and 16th holes at Augusta National Golf Club. Despite the similarity of their names, the two men were not related. To make this distinction clear, Robert began using the middle name "Trent" shortly afterward to avoid confusion.[1][2]

In 1955, Gene Hamm helped Jones build the Duke University Golf Course in Durham, North Carolina. He moved from there to Delaware to continue work with Jones, and then in 1959 moved back to Raleigh where he began his own design career.[5][6] During the 1950s, Jones' annual income was reported as being $600,000—according to Golf Digest, no one other than Ben Hogan earned more money from golf.[7]

Jones' clients included U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for a putting green and a single hole at Camp David, the Rockefeller family, Aga Khan and Hassan II of Morocco, for private courses. He was commissioned in 1990 to design a set of 18 courses in Alabama, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, the largest single golf design contract in history.[1][2]

Jones was married to Ione Jones, who died in 1987 and with whom he had two sons: Robert Jr. and Rees, both of whom became golf course architects.[1] Jones continued to design golf courses in his later years until health problems prompted him to retire to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he died on June 14, 2000.[3]

Courses designed

Original

Africa

Asia

  • Luisita Golf and Country Club, Tarlac City, Philippines, 1967
  • Navatanee Golf Course (World Cup 1975), Bangkok, Thailand, 1973

Re-designs

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Anderson, Dave (16 June 2000). "Robert Trent Jones Sr., Golf Course Architect Who Made Mark on U.S. Open, Is Dead at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Robert Trent Jones Sr". The Telegraph. 19 June 2000. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "A Short Biography of Robert Trent Jones, Sr". Robert Trent Jones Society. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ^ Cornish, Geoffrey S.; Whitten, Ronald E. (1993). "Robert Trent Jones (1906 - 2000)". The Architects of Golf. Harper-Collins. ISBN 0-06-270082-0. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007.
  5. ^ "2001 - Gene Hamm". PGA Carolinas - Hall of Fame. Professional Golfers' Association. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Gene Hamm Course". Indiana Wells Golf Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  7. ^ Whitten, Ron. "Commemorative". Golf Digest. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Innovative Superintendents: Army Navy Country Club" (PDF). Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  9. ^ Capuzzo, Jill P. (14 April 1991). "A Poconos Surprise - Naturally At Tamiment, A Cabin In The Woods Affords All The Rustic Pleasures..." The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Timberlane Country Club Course Details - New Orleans Golf". Timberlane Country Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  11. ^ "North Hills Country Club". Long Island Golf News. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club". Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Hazeltine Golf Club". Hazeltine National Golf Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Overview". Marine Park Golf Course. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  15. ^ "The Course". Woodstock Inn & Resort. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  16. ^ "About Us". Bel Meadow Golf Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  17. ^ "About Us". Ferncroft Country Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  18. ^ "The Jones Course". Lyman Orchards. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  19. ^ "The Course". Greenville Country Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  20. ^ "Course". Port Royal Golf Course. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Chaska Par 30". City of Chaska. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Carolina Trace CC Golf". Carolina Trace Country Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  23. ^ "About Crumpin-Fox". Crumpin-Fox Golf Course. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Golf". Ipswich Country Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  25. ^ "General Information". Country Club Castelgandolfo. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  26. ^ "Playa Grande Golf Course". Playa Grande. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Carambola Golf Club". Carambola Golf Club. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  28. ^ "Palmetto Dunes - Robert Trent Jones Course". Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  29. ^ "Golf at Cacapon Resort State Park". Cacapon Resort State Park. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  30. ^ "History". El Bosque Club de Golf. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  31. ^ "Course". Rivershore Estates and Golf Links. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  32. ^ "Story". Golf Club Bodensee Weissensberg. Retrieved 7 July 2016.

External links

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