The Most Famous Golf Course Designers

There are two types of golfers: those who know everything about golf course architecture and its most influential designers, and those who know nothing.

You hear names like Dye, Fazio, and Doak, but do they mean anything to you? For the average golfer, probably not.

The history of golf course design and the architects who shaped golf today is fascinating. These are the most famous golf course designers and their most famous courses and characteristics, who collectively designed 19 of GolfLink's top 25 Public Courses in America.

The grandfather of golf course architecture, Old Tom Morris is in a category of his own in golf course design. Morris designed and remodeled nearly 80 golf courses and worked until his death in 1908. Morris’ courses, collectively, have combined to host the most British Opens and are the blueprint for links golf designs.

Morris is credited for the concept of strategic bunkering, which you will come across on any course he’s designed. In addition, Old Tom Morris came up with the idea of top-dressing greens with a layer of sand, which is commonplace at any course. While Morris has an incredible resume of golf courses, he is best-known for St. Andrews, where he was also a greenskeeper and instructor. He spent most of his life there until his passing.

Beyond golf course design, Old Tom Morris also had quite the playing career. He won the British Open in 1860, ‘62, ‘64, and ‘67. He still holds the record as the oldest British Open champion at 46.

• Old Course at St. Andrews
• Muirfield
• Prestwick Golf Club
• Carnoustie
• Royal Portrush

Alister MacKenzie is synonymous with his most famous course, Augusta National Golf Club. The course we see every April at The Masters has evolved over the years, but the British-born designer still looms over much of the routing and intricacies of Augusta.

Alister MacKenzie’s architecture spans four continents, which isn’t bad for a man who was a trained surgeon prior to taking up golf course design upon his return from World War I. Perhaps one of the saddest stories in golf, MacKenzie died just two months before the first Masters (then called the Augusta National Invitational Tournament) was played.

All MacKenzie courses have undulation, from the fairways to the greens. MacKenzie courses are known to offer small flat spots that some golfers can find, but it's more likely you'll spend the day hitting fairway shots from above or below your feet. Large “free form” bunkers are also part of MacKenzie's signature, along with narrow, off-centered greens.

Donald Ross has a remarkable story. He was born in Scotland, and around 1899, Ross began his career in golf course design as an apprentice to none other than Old Tom Morris. He used his entire life savings to come to the U.S., entered the country with $2 in his pocket and built himself into one of the most prolific golf course designers in the U.S. by the time he died as a U.S. citizen in 1948. 

Donald Ross courses are known to be routed tightly, with little room between tees and greens. Speaking of greens, Ross is credited as the first architect to use turtleback greens, on which the center of the green is the highest point of the putting surface, forcing players to be precise with their putting speed. Pinehurst No. 2, Ross’ most famous accomplishment, is famous for its turtleback greens. In all, Ross' designs have hosted over 30 major championships. 

Ross had a solid playing career himself, including five wins, a top-10 in the 1903 U.S. Open, and a top-10 in the 1910 British Open.

• Pinehurst No. 2
• Inverness Club
• Oakland Hills Country Club (South and East)
• East Lake Golf Club
• Seminole Golf Club

Robert Trent Jones, Sr., is another designer who was born in England but made his mark in the United States. Jones came to the U.S. with his parents around 1911 and in his time, designed or redesigned over 500 golf courses across 45 states and 35 countries. He attended Cornell University where he designed nine holes of the university’s golf course, which he finished the other nine of in 1954.

RELATED: Robert Trent Jones and His Heroic School of Golf Course Design

Bobby Jones famously commissioned Robert Trent Jones, Sr. to redesign the 11th and 16th holes at Augusta National Golf Club. His work also catapulted him to become the first commissioned architect for the USGA, where he was tasked with making U.S. Open courses more difficult. His sons, Robert, Jr. and Rees, continue to carry on his legacy with their own course designs. 

A Robert Trent Jones, Sr. design follows his mantra “hard par, easy bogey” which is reflected in most of his courses. Almost every green you approach on a Jones Sr. course has penal bunkers and water, not just for decoration either.

Pete Dye was born in Urbana, Ohio in 1925 and had an accomplished amateur golf career, during which he qualified for the 1957 U.S. Open before shifting his focus to course design.

With innovative routing and designs that demand accuracy, Dye is at the forefront of golf architecture. He never shied away from an idea or challenge, which is proven in his island green at TPC Sawgrass, and his bold decision to route a golf course though Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Brickyard Crossing, one of the most unique golf courses you can play. Dye’s wife, Alice, was also a designer and they collaborated on many projects until Pete’s passing in 2020.

Dye courses are known for a few specific design elements. Pete loved setting up drama on the course, creating dramatic shots wherever possible. It doesn't get much more dramatic than the 17th at Sawgrass. He also enjoyed challenging a golfer's eye by creating holes that look much more difficult than they actually play. Tough green contours and incredibly difficult, short par 4s are also Pete Dye signature traits.

For Tom Fazio, golf course architecture is part of his lineage. His uncle, George Fazio, collaborated on courses with Tom in the 1960s and 70s and credits his nephew for kick starting his career. After starting his own design firm in 1972, Fazio built a reputation as a designer who collaborated with his staff and built courses as a team, not individually.

You’re in for a ton of natural beauty when you play a Fazio course, which he takes advantage of as much as possible. His courses are also very harmonious in how holes complement one another and the way the routing flows. Fazio made it a point to vary the difficulty of his courses with each set of tees, offering all levels the opportunity to enjoy a Fazio layout.

Tom Doak is known as one of the most versatile golf course designers. The proof lies in his designs, from Streamsong Blue to Pacific Dunes. Influenced by Pete Dye and Alister MacKenzie, Doak's resume boasts traditional layouts and incredible links-style courses.

RELATED: Tom Doak Golf Courses and Signature Design Features

Doak is a minimalist when it comes to course design. He prefers to move as little dirt as possible, opting to utilize the natural land as much as possible. Given that, it should come as no surprise that some of his most successful designs are built upon sand dunes. His design of Pacific Dunes, for many, catapulted Doak into the company of the greatest golf course designers ever to live.

Doak’s gives golfers a right side and a wrong side on fairways and greens. Playing a Doak course more than once can only help your cause to shoot a solid score.

• Pacific Dunes (Pictured)
• Old Macdonald
• Streamsong Blue

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are a powerhouse duo in golf course design. Both played collegiate golf, but Crenshaw is widely known for carrying his success to the professional level. Crenshaw won 19 times on the PGA Tour, including two Masters wins and runner-ups at both the PGA Championship and the British Open Championship. In 1985, he teamed with Bill Coore to begin building strategic golf courses that would reflect their individual styles and influences. Together, the two created masterpieces such as the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Sand Valley, and the Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa.

Coore and Crenshaw courses typically showcase natural beauty, allowing landscapes to present themselves. Expect difficult approach shots, more-so than off the tee, as Coore and Crenshaw have a way of letting your second and third shots dictate your score. Coore and Crenshaw courses often include elements that praise more classic designs, such as tree-lined holes and simple bunkering.

• Plantation Course at Kapalua 
• Sand Hills Golf Club
• Bandon Trails
• Streamsong Red (Pictured)

• Bandon Dunes (Pictured) 
• Gamble Sands
• Mammoth Dunes
• St. Andrews (Castle Course)