The golf course designer has thoughts about trees, Chambers Bay, distance and changing fashions.
Robert Trent Jones Jr., designer of more than 250 golf courses around the world, has plenty of strong views on architecture and the state of the game. The 82-year-old is the son of famed architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., and he’s seen many changes and trends in design over his six decades in the business – some he loves, others he would love to see discarded.
Jones Jr., a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, recently spent several days with Golfweek’s course raters at the Golfweek’s Best Architecture Summit at Ross Bridge near Birmingham, Alabama. Ross Bridge is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, an ambitious project largely designed by the senior Jones that now includes 26 courses at 11 sites. Jones Jr. attended the summit to speak about his father’s legacy on the Trail and beyond.
Jones Jr. graciously answered many questions after playing one round of golf at Ross Bridge and another at nearby Alpine Bay Golf Club – which is not part of the Trail but which was designed by Jones Sr. and reopened in 2016 after having been shuttered for nearly two years. Following are selections of his replies. Editor’s note: These responses are not shown in their entirety and have been edited for brevity.
The son of Pete and Alice Dye, Perry Dye built more than 80 courses spanning 15 countries.
Perry Dye, the eldest son of Pete and Alice Dye, died Thursday in Denver at age 68.
The American Society of Golf Course Architects reported the news on Perry Dye, who began working on courses for his father at age 12. No cause of death was listed.
Perry formed his own course architecture firm, Dye Designs, in 1984. He was known as an early “green” builder, plotting courses with smaller footprints that were mere environmentally sensitive. He built more than 80 courses in all, including more than 20 in Japan, and his course legacy stretches to 15 countries.
Among the courses he designed are Pound Ridge in New York, Auburn Hills in Kansas, Desert Pines in Las Vegas, West One’s Country Club in Japan and Lykia Links in Turkey. He also continued to work with his father on a number of courses.
He was a true, larger-than-life character, who could laugh and entertain with the best of them. Tough to prosper being in the shadow of Pete, his famous father, but he created his own memorable courses. R.I.P. https://t.co/uP2ao1BrIR
“This is a great loss for golf design, but right now we should all be sending our love and support to the Dye Family,” ASGCA President Forrest Richardson said. “Perry and I shared many good times, and I am so grateful to have spent time with him at the 2020 Golf Industry Show just before the COVID lockdowns began. As usual, he was full of life, smiling and telling stories. We will miss him.”
Perry became an ASGCA member in 1996 and served on the ASGCA board of governors. Also a member of the Golf Course Builders Association of America, in 2004 he received the inaugural award that bears his name – the Perry O. Dye Service Award – which honors “exceptional individuals who have unselfishly contributed their influence to foster positive changes for the association and have continually endeavored to make it better.”
Perry’s mother, Alice, died in 2019, and his father, Pete, died less than a year later in 2020. He is survived by his brother, P.B. Dye, wife Ann, children and their spouses Lucy (Erik) Bowman and Lilly (Ross) Harmon, and grandchildren Brooks and Margaret Harmon.
Arthur Hills built more than 200 new golf courses and renovated more than 150 others in his six decades of design work.
Arthur Hills, the architect of more than 200 new courses around the world and renovator of more than 150 others, died Tuesday at the age of 91.
Hills was a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (1992-93) and was a member of the Ohio and Michigan Golf Halls of Fame. He was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Michigan Golf Course Owners Association.
A cause of death was not listed by the ASGCA in its release announcing Hill’s passing.
Hills founded his architecture firm in the 1960s, and the company continues today as Hills • Forrest• Smith Golf Course Architects based in Toledo, Ohio. He joined the ASGCA in 1971.
Golf course architect Arthur Hills died May 18, 2021, at the age of 91. (Courtesy of the American Society of Golf Course Architects)
“He started the business by placing an ad in the Toledo, Ohio, Yellow Pages under ‘Golf Course Architect’ while operating a landscape contracting business,” Steve Forrest, Hills’ business partner and another past president of the ASGCA, said in a media release announcing Hills’ passing. “I had the great privilege of learning all aspects of golf course architecture from a distinguished professional practitioner and humble gentleman over 42 years. Arthur became a fatherlike figure to me who was a mentor, an instructor, exhorter and admonisher while always trying to improve his own skills and increase his personal knowledge every day.”
A graduate of Michigan State (Science) and the University of Michigan (Landscape Architecture), Hills was a prolific designer and was tagged by fellow architect Pete Dye as “The Mayor of Naples” for his many designs in southwest Florida.
Among Hills’ extensive renovation work, he made small changes to Oakland Hills before the 2004 Ryder Cup.
His original layouts are sprinkled throughout the Golfweek’s Best course rankings for public-access layouts and private tracks. Most notable are Old Stone, which ranks No. 2 among private courses in Kentucky; the Glacier Club’s Mountain Course, No. 8 among private courses in Colorado; Bay Harbor’s Links/Quarry course, No. 8 among Michigan’s public-access layouts; and Chicago Highlands, No. 11 among Illinois’ private courses.
He also was credited with renovation work at the Country Club of Florida in Village of Golf, which ranks No. 150 on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list for all layouts built before 1960 in the U.S.
Other samplings of his work include Bonita Bay in Naples, Florida; the Arthur Hills Signature Course at LPGA International (pictured atop this story) in Daytona Beach, Florida; The Golf Club of Georgia in Atlanta; Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, California; Keene Trace in Lexington, Kentucky; and Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas.
“As a kid drawing golf holes and dreaming about becoming a designer, I would read the magazines and marvel at the articles about new courses,” ASGCA President Forrest Richardson said in a media release in response to Hills’ death. “One was Tamarron in Colorado, a new course by Art Hills set in a rugged valley with steep cliffs. Eventually I got to see it firsthand, and it inspired me with its bold greens and creative routing.”
The ASGCA noted that Hills was an environmental pioneer, designing the first Audubon Signature Sanctuary courses in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.
“Mr. Hills was among a handful of golf architects who subscribed to a newsletter I published about golf design in the 1970s, and he also took time to comment and contribute,” Richardson said. “While he left an incredible legacy of work across the world, for me I will always recall the kindness he showed a young aspiring student — a gift we should all pay forward.”
Hills is survived by his wife, Mary, with whom he had eight children, 24 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A funeral is scheduled for May 24 in Sylvania, Ohio.
The newly renamed Richardson | Danner Golf Course Architects will continue emphasis on environmental awareness, access and inclusion.
Golf course architect Forrest Richardson, who has dozens of design credits including Baylands Golf Links in California and The Hideout in Utah, is taking on Jeffrey A. Danner as a design partner.
The former Forrest Richardson & Associates has been rebranded to Richardson | Danner Golf Course Architects, with offices in Phoenix and northern California.
Danner previously worked for Greg Norman Golf Design, Lohmann Golf Designs and Golfplan.
“Our personalities, skill sets and approach to things really complement each other, which provides a huge value to clients,” Danner said in a media release announcing the partnership. “We offer a combination of rich and diverse experience.
Golf course designer Forrest Richardson
“Certainly, Forrest has seen just about everything, but I’ve seen a lot, too, in my 16 years in the business, especially with different cultures, climates and site conditions around the world. It gives a client the best bang for the buck when you have two people on the design team who can bounce ideas off each other. It’s a win-win to have that type of collaborative environment.”
Richardson, the president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects through October and the author of five books on design, said he has no plans to step away from his firm after 32 years.
“It’s a goal we’ve had for several years, to bring the right person aboard,” Richardson said in the media release. “There’s strength in having two golf course architects coming together to build upon a shared passion that golf must be fun, inclusive and sustainable.
Golf course designer Jeffrey A. Danner
“It’s especially effective when one golf course architect is older and has ‘seen it all,’ and when the other is experienced, but younger, with a fresh perspective. Jeff fits the bill perfectly. He’s a young guy, but he has already done so much. We see great promise with Jeff and his abilities to create a bigger and better offering for our clients and the world of golf.”
Richardson said he hopes to continue the firm’s emphasis on building courses with an eye on environmental awareness, access and inclusion, the release said.
“I believe that golf needs to be more inclusive,” Danner said. “I’ve always been excited to be working on public-access courses, probably because I grew up around public golf. Sustainable golf is more than environmental stewardship. Without inclusivity and golfer participation, golf isn’t a viable business. It all goes hand in hand.”
