Robert Trent Jones Sr.

Robert Trent Jones Sr., 93, who was tagged the "father of modern golf course architecture," and was responsible for the design of more than 300 golf courses, passed away in his sleep at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday, June 14, 2000. He passed away on the eve of the U.S. Open and 6 days before his 94th birthday.

Jones, who went by Trent to distinguish himself from golfer Bobby Jones, had a career that spanned 7 decades and included golf course designs in 45 states, 29 foreign countries, and on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. By some accounts, Jones designed or redesigned more than 300 golf courses. Others have attached his name to work on more than 500 courses. He redesigned about 150 other courses.

Some of his best-known courses include Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach, California; Valderrama in Sotogrande, Spain; Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota; and Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. He redesigned the courses at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York; Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Michigan; and Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey.

He was born on June 20, 1906 in Ince, England, the son of a Welsh Railroad Carpenter and a British mother. The family immigrated to Rochester 5 years later. At age 9, he began caddying at Rochester Country Club, soon became a scratch golfer, and was the low amateur in the 1927 Canadian Open. Although he turned pro at age 18, an ulcer kept Jones from continuing to play golf professionally.

Jones was intrigued by the work of Scottish golf architect Donald Ross and became the first person to study specifically to become a golf course designer. Sponsored by vinegar manufacturer Jim Bashford, he attended Cornell University and created his own program, which included courses in landscape architecture, surveying, economics, agronomy, horticulture, and hydraulics.

After graduating from Cornell in 1930, he created a partnership with Canadian designer Stanley Thompson. The two survived the Depression by creating public golf courses with the Work Progress Administration.

Jones came to prominence as a golf course designer following World War II, after ending his partnership with Thompson in 1938. His courses often came under criticism from professional golfers for their level of difficulty. His redesign of Oakland Hills Golf Course was so difficult it was dubbed "The Monster." But Jones was known to justify the difficulty levels of the courses by playing them himself.

He was among the first designers to use major, earth-moving equipment to create his courses. He also frequently used water to increase the difficulty of the courses, and included large numbers of hazards to encourage golfers to use better course management. Jones often worked on more than a dozen projects at a time.

Jones also was known as "The Open Doctor," the designer organizers turned to when courses needed to be redesigned for the U.S. Open, a title now held by son, Rees. His courses were the sites of 20 U.S. Opens, 79 national championships, 12 PGA Championships and six World Cup of Golf competitions in foreign countries. He also created a hole with three different tees at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland; installed a practice putting green on the White House lawn for President Eisenhower, and created golf facilities for the Rockefellers, the Aga Khan in Sardinia, and King Hassan II of Morocco.

His affinity for golf led Jones to help found the American Society of Golf Course Architects in 1947. He also won the society's first Donald Ross Award for outstanding contributions to the world of golf. Jones was a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and was inducted with son, Bobby, into the California Hall of Fame in 1981. He was the first architect inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

His sons, Bobby and Rees, followed in their father's footsteps and also became golf course architects. The three men have collaborated on or built nearly 600 courses.

Jones is predeceased by his wife, Ione Teftt Davis, who passed away in 1987. He is survived by his two sons, Robert Trent "Bobby" Jones II of Woodside, California, and Rees Jones of Montclair, New Jersey; and four grandchildren.