Golf Course Design

Some of the best golf course architects and designers in the country have designed Fairfield’s golf courses:

 

-          A. W. Tillinghast (Brooklawn Club remodel, 1930; Country Club of Fairfield redesign c. 1939): One of the most prolific course architects in the history of golf, Tillinghast worked on 265 different courses, including several that have hosted major professional tournaments. In addition to his work as a course designer, he was one of the earliest golf reporters and a founder of the PGA. He will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in July 2015.

-          Robert Trent Jones (Patterson Club, 1946; Country Club of Fairfield course renovation 1957): During his long career, Robert Trent Jones designed over 500 golf courses in the U.S. and around the world; Jones' courses are noted for their artistic landscaping, innovative use of bunkers, liberal use of water hazards, and deft placement of greens and hazards that encourage a high level of strategy. He believed that golf should be a no risk; no reward sport and his designs encouraged daring play.

His son, golf course designer Rees Jones, designed renovations for the Patterson course from 2007-2010.

-          Seth Raynor (Country Club of Fairfield, 1914): Trained as a civil engineer, Raynor  learned his craft from his mentor, Charles Blair MacDonald, and designed courses up and down the eastern seaboard in the 1910s and 1920s. He worked on the design for the Country Club of Fairfield with MacDonald and became the course’s engineer, creating a links-style layout that featured versions of many of the best golf holes in the British Isles. His course designs feature multiple strategies and options for each hole, giving players more than one way to get from tee to green.

-          Robert White (Fairchild Wheeler, 1932): The first president of the PGA (in 1916), White was a Scottish immigrant who worked as pro and greenskeeper at a variety of early golf courses. He designed and built over 100 courses and was a charter member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.  He is considered the first to apply scientific principles to course maintenance in the U.S.