Residential Golf Course Architects, Part IX

In the rarified atmosphere of golf course architecture there is world-famous and then there is almost-famous. The famous are true globe-trotters while the almost-famous are regional specialists—those who know an area’s natural landscape and the local crews who can work it. In this, the ninth installment in our Golf Architect Series, we look at at the Southeast and architects are Willard Byrd, Tom Jackson, Joe Lee and Clyde Johnston.

FLORIDA: Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club 

Of these four, Joe Lee has the best claim to national recognition, though not because his work can be found far and wide. Born in Florida in 1922, Lee (with his partner, Dick Wilson), drew acclaim for Sunshine State courses like Pine Tree Golf Club, the Blue Course at Doral and the original 18 at Bay Hill, all of which have, through time, lost some of their Lee-Wilson imprint.

Lee was a stylish, dignified Southerner with a trim build who spoke softly and played a solid game of golf himself. The course he designed at Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Club in the charming town of Stuart shows Lee’s mix of a tournament-worthy difficulty amid landscape flourishes that go easy on the eyes of even a frustrated player.

FLORIDA: Quail Ridge Country Club

In a recent book by course-design expert Ron Whitten, the Joe Lee legacy is finally presented in a worthy manner. The hardcover book, with extensive photos by Theresa Airey, is titled “Gentleman Joe Lee: 50 Years of Golf Design.” Well deserving of space in the book are Lee’s two complementary 18s at Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach.

Each layout is a stout par-72, with the South layout deemed the brawnier and more imposing of the two. Its sister course, Quail Ridge South, is more a course you can cruise over, although bunkers and pretty water hazards come into play.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The Cliffs at Glassy

The steep slopes and deep hollows over which Tom Jackson laid out The Cliffs at Glassy golf course could not have been tamed by most course designers. The architect’s thoughtful routing, learned by feel as well as via the mentoring of both George Cobb and Robert Trent Jones, combines topographic drama with well-timed pauses for serenity.

From the very first few holes, a player sees his shots fly over distant brows and soar down ridgelines in take-your-breath trajectories. In 1995, Golf Digest rewarded Jackson’s work  here by ranking the course No. 4 on a national list of Most Aesthetic layouts.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Carolina Country Club

Just down the road from Glassy Mountain, in the cool highlands of Spartanburg, Jackson authored a course for true golf lovers at Carolina Country Club in 1984. With 20 years of course-building behind him, Jackson chose to contain the front nine in a compact, intimate space to the south of the clubhouse then unfurl the back nine on a grand loop through woodlands to the north.

Ideal for competition, Carolina C.C. hosts the annual Wofford Invitational Championship, a prestigious collegiate event, and each May hosts the BMW Pro-Am.

FLORIDA: Amelia Island Plantation

Lest you imagine that a Tom Jackson design can only work in a setting of high, rugged terrain, take a look at the low-lying Amelia River course at Amelia Island Plantation on the Atlantic coast near Jacksonville. On this level, oak- and palm-studded property, Jackson did his designing with ocean breezes well in mind.

The Amelia River course plays to a yardage of 6,823 from the back tees. Its fairways have adequate width and appealing ground contours. As in his mountain designs, Jackson throws in a blind shot or two on this links to test the nerves of a newcomer
and to keep the regulars on their toes.

GEORGIA: The Landings on Skidaway Island

Working in good company at The Landings (where courses by Arthur Hills, Tom Fazio and Arnold Palmer also compete for accolades), Byrd went for a British links type of playability for his Plantation Course. Its front nine goes out to the southwesterly tip of the island, and the back nine returns to the Plantation Clubhouse. Holes No. 8, 9 and 10 are especially scenic, overlooking Adams Creek and Ossabaw Sound.

Byrd lived to the age of 85 and designed or renovated 100-plus courses, but he surely had few finer sites to ply his craft upon than this one at The Landings. His company records are now archived at North Carolina State University, as a valuable documentation of important progress in the fields of land planning and landscape architecture. 

NORTH CAROLINA: Ocean Ridge Plantation

Golfers at this landmark community find themselves surrounded by resort comforts, but they recognize the Lion’s Paw course as one of the few un-pampering amenities at Ocean Ridge Plantation.

Byrd got everything right at this open, hilly layout, filling it up with bold contours and features. Its hazards—ribbony creeks, recurring wetlands and towering hardwoods—are also the elements that make the Lion’s Paw layout so handsome to behold.

The GolfCourseHome® Golf Architect Series

I. The No. 1 Real-Estate Enhancer: Jack Nicklaus - Find out why this golf course architect adds the most value to the real estate surrounding the golf courses he designs: Click here!

II. Tom Fazio: Elevating Course Design--and Home Values

III. Arnold Palmer: His Brilliant Second Career

IV. Arthur Hills: Value-Adding Visionary

V. Robert Trent Jones II: Continuing the Legacy

VI. Bob Cupp & Tom Jackson: Veterans with Prime Portfolios

VII. Pete Dye: Lifelong Innovator (Part-Time Intimidator)

VIII. Greg Norman: Still a Champ & Competing, But On a Larger Golf Landscape

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