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By Design
events. After a windy first round of
the US Open in 1970, it too was
subject to criticism from the pros,
with Jack Nicklaus bemoaning
blind shots and Dave Hill saying
all it was missing was “80 acres of
corn and a few cows”. Jones took
it in his stride—he would perhaps
have been more concerned if they
hadn’t complained—but he did go
on to make significant adjustments
to his design in following years,
notably including the straightening
of doglegs. Rees considers his own
subsequent work at Hazeltine to
be simply finishing what his father
had started, and would have done
himself if the budget was available at
the time.
Jones’ golf course portfolio has
many other highlights, like Spyglass
Hill in California, Mauna Kea
in Hawaii, plus Sotogrande and
Valderrama in southern Spain.
His grand finale was the RTJ Golf
Trail in Alabama, alongside Roger
Rulewich, ASGCA Past President.
The multi-course development was
an initiative of the state’s pension
fund, designed to boost the Alabama
economy. No golf development
of such scale had been attempted
before. “We built 25 courses on a
variety of sites and terrain around
the State,” says Rulewich. “It
was done in record time with no
constraints on ideas and costs.”
Jones and his wife Ione were fixtures
at ASGCA meetings, where Ione
became the leader of the ladies group.
All of the younger wives looked up to
her, sophisticated and well-educated,
yet very down-to-earth when it came
to dealing with people. The Society
presented Jones with a Distinguished
Service Award in 1976 for his
outstanding contributions to golf; the
following year, the Society renamed
this award for ASGCA founding father
Donald Ross, effectively making Jones
the first recipient of the prestigious
Donald Ross Award.
Driven by a love of the sport, Robert
Trent Jones, Sr. was instrumental in
bringing golf to a far greater audience
than could have been imagined
before his time. He helped define
the profession, and his influence will
continue to shape golf design long in
to the future. “Rees and I and Roger
are still working,” says Bobby, “and
if you look at the people who have
worked for us, it’s a pretty big oak
tree with a lot of acorns.”
•
FOUNDING MEMBER
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. at St Andrews,
Scotland in 1990, flanked by sons
Rees (left) and Bobby. Top image,
Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta, which
has changed very little since Jones’
original design of 1947
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Dave Sansom