Lahinch Golf Club, an Alister MacKenzie-designed course in Ireland
The storied home of The Masters, Augusta National Golf Club is one of the world-famous courses designed by the English-born, Scottish architect and physician, Alister MacKenzie, whose timeless style has influenced every course designer who followed. In 1932, with a definite nod to the Old Course at St. Andrews, MacKenzie laid out Augusta with assistance from the greatest player of his generation, Bobby Jones.
From the World Golf Hall of Fame: "MacKenzie's book, Golf Architecture, published in 1920, was the first to present and explain the fundamentals of golf course design. He practiced before the era of bulldozers, which left him little capacity to force golf holes where they didn't belong. His approach to providing fair and strategic golf without disrupting the site is a model for golf course design that lasts to this day."
21st century course architects and players consider MacKenzie's classic 1920s and 1930s-era courses in the United States and abroad to be the undisputed icons of the game, from Cypress Point in Monterey to Lahinch in Ireland and Royal Adelaide in Australia.
Although many MacKenzie-designed courses are private, these are some that are open to public play:- Haggin Oaks Golf Complex, Sacramento, California: two hugely popular public tracks, Arcade Creek and the 6,992-yard MacKenzie Golf Course, which got a $6.5 million renovation in 2001. The MacKenzie is graced by century-old oaks, small, super-fast greens and an absence of fairway bunkers (they're all stacked up around the greens).
- Northwood Golf Club, Monte Rio, California: In the Sonoma County wine country, a lovely, unassuming 9-holer beneath towering redwoods.
- Sharp Park Golf Course, Pacifica, California: A muni course owned by the city of San Francisco, MacKenzie's only public seaside links.
- Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz, California: Restored (not updated) by the legendary Tom Doak, a semi-private course that is available most days to the public; pricey greens fees. MacKenzie lived here on the 6th fairway during the last years of his life.
- Lahinch Golf Club, Lahinch, Ireland: a classic links laid out by Old Tom Morris 1892, often called the "St. Andrew's" of Ireland. MacKenzie redesigned and lengthened the track in 1927.
- Royal Troon Golf Club, Troon, Scotland: Limited guest play is allowed at the private MacKenzie-designed Portland Course (the Old Course here has hosted the British Open eight times.)
- Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia: The oldest club in the country. The "Composite", a combination of the 18 best holes from the East and the West courses, is generally regarded as the top course in the Southern Hemisphere; the West was designed by MacKenzie in 1926 and opened in 1931.
- University of Michigan Golf Course, Ann Arbor, Michigan: A hilly course where bunkers are ball-grabbers and greens are hard to figure out. updated in 1994 by Arthur Hills. Visiting golfers are usually able to wangle a tee time, even though ilt's officially available only to students, faculty and alumni.
- Palmetto Golf Club, Aiken, South Carolina (near Augusta): During the week of The Masters only, this private club opens its course to the public (good luck getting a tee time). Established in 1892, lengthened by MacKenzie in 1932, updated by Rees Jones and Tom Doak.
Founder/editor of BestGolfResortsofTheWorld, Karen Misuraca is a travel and golf writer from the California Wine Country. She follows the little white ball around the world and blogs about International Golf Travel. And, she also writes a blog on Sustainable Travel.
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