Who's who: Charles B. Macdonald

  • Torrey Pines - South course, host of the Farmers Insurance Open
  • Prince's GC, England
  • Torrey Pines - South course, host of the Farmers Insurance Open
  • Terras da Comporta, Dunas
  • Monte Rei G&CC
  • Marco Simone GC (Italy); host of the Ryder Cup 2023
  • Pebble Beach host of the US Open; US Women's Open; Pebble Beach Pro-Am
  • Marco Simone GC

Who's who: Charles B. Macdonald

  • Name:

    Charles Blair "Charlie" Macdonald
  • Country:

    USA
  • Lived:

    [1855-1939]. Born on Nov 14, 1855 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Died on April 21, 1939, in Southampton, Long Island, NY (aged 83).
  • Original/Home Club:

  • Occupation:

    Golf course architect, founding Vice-President of the USGA, amateur golfer and author (notably of "Scotland's Gift: Golf").
  • Turned Pro:

    n/a

Roll of Honour

First winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship (1895). World Golf Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007).

Golf course design

Macdonald's best known work, usually completed with Seth Raynor as his construction engineer, includes, but is not limited to:
Chicago GC, IL (1892) / Greenbrier, WV (1914, Old White course) / Mid Ocean Club, Bermuda (1921) / Monterey Peninsula, CA (1925, Dunes course) / National Golf Links, NY (1908) / Piping Rock, NY (1911) / Shinnecock Hills, NY (1901, redesign) / St Louis CC, MO (1914) / Sleepy Hollow, NY (1911) / The Creek, NY (1923) / Yale University, CT (1926).

Did you know?

Macdonald, often called the "Father of American Golf Architecture," was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario to naturalized American parents. His father was originally from Scotland and his mother was Canadian (part Mohawk). Macdonald grew up in Chicago, and in 1872 at age 16, was sent to St Andrews University in Scotland, where he took up golf. He was tutored by Old Tom Morris and developed into a very proficient player. Upon his return to Chicago in 1874, he became a successful stockbroker, but rarely played golf for the next 17 years.

Golf arrived in the United States in the late 1880s, and by 1892 Macdonald had convinced several associates to start playing. He founded the Chicago GC that same year, and in 1894 was a key player in the establishment of the USGA. The first official mens' championship of the USGA was the 1895 U.S. Amateur Championship, which Macdonald won by the still record margin of 12 up with 11 to play.

In 1900, Macdonald moved from Chicago to New York while still a stockbroker, and set about finding a site to build "the most noteworthy golf course" outside the British Isles. He eventually settled on a site in Southampton, Long Island, in 1906. Three years later, and helped by $1,000 donations from 70 founder members, the National Golf Links of America opened for play. Many of its holes were Macdonald's version of famous holes from courses in Britain, a pattern he would repeat on later layouts. Macdonald believed there were only about 25 hole designs that could be employed, and that the best versions of each should guide the construction of any new golf course. On Macdonald-designed courses, there are invariably versions of the Road Hole, the Redan and the Eden, as well as a punchbowl green, among other features. Macdonald did not duplicate the originals, but adapted them to fit the specific sites on which he worked.

With the National Golf Links, Macdonald began collaborating with civil engineer, Seth Raynor, and their association endured from that time onward. Raynor learnt everything he knew about golf course design from his mentor Macdonald, and Macdonald eventually handed him the reins of his course design business in 1915. Macdonald outlived Raynor, who died of pneumonia, aged 51.

Top tournaments won by Charles B. Macdonald

1895
Amateur
12 & 11
amateur
USGA

Category

Amateur

Winner (holder)

Macdonald, Charles B.

Score

12 & 11

Prize money

amateur

Title sponsor

USGA

The inaugural US Amateur Championship (Oct 1-3; field of 32 players). Charles Blair Macdonald (USA) beat Charles Sands (USA) 12 and 11 in the 36-hole final. [Newport CC, Rhode Island].

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Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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