The Interview Series

The Major Designer,

RScion of the eesfamous Snr.J and alsoon known as “!e Majores Designer”, Rees Jones has had his name stamped on many heartbreaking and celebratory major championship grounds. BY BENNY TEO

life spent in . Now wouldn’t and was hooked from the beginning. Later that be a dream. For Rees on, I worked in the summer on some of my Jones however, it has been father’s projects where I learnt "rst hand how one that has spanned seven a is built.” decadesA and counting. Born in New Jersey Being in a gol"ng family, it seems, had to a family that has been involved in golf everything to do with his decision. “I have for the greater part of the 20th century been immersed in golf my whole life because through the elder, and then his older of my father. It was an easy decision to make. brother, it seemed natural that the younger In the United States, it is not uncommon to Jones would do likewise, and, hundreds, follow in one’s father’s footsteps,” he says, if not thousands of hours of Major continuing, “Because of that, I think it was championship golf later on prime-time TV, easier to get started in the industry, but at the world is glad he did. the same time, my clients held me to a higher As a boy, Rees Jones would accompany standard because of my father’s reputation his father as he goes about surveying golf but my background and my family name courses. “As a young man, I took vacations certainly helped me "nd clients.” with my family to my father’s jobs,” he And it is here that we begin our look into recalls. “I became interested in golf course his extraordinary career than has spanned over

OPENING PICTURE: design because I visited many of the sites 100 golf courses, served as the president of the Cascata, situated at the under construction and became fascinated American Society of Golf Course Architects, entrance of Boulder City just 30 minutes away from with the work.” and recipient of the 2004 the Las Vegas strip. A!er graduating from Yale and Award from the Golf Course Superintendents INSET: Rees Jones. Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, he Association of America, which is its highest unsurprisingly joined the family business at honour. “I enjoy the con"rmation that Robert Trent Jones Incorporated where he these awards bring and especially looking assisted on numerous courses until coming forward to receiving the Donald Ross out on his own in 1974. “I decided to Award in April from the American Society become a golf designer while still a junior of Golf Course Architects, as this was voted at Yale, so I enrolled in art, math and design on by a group of my colleagues.” courses in order to apply to the Harvard “When I started out, the country was School of Design.” in a recession. In a way this was good, as “I had a great childhood, enjoyed school it gave me time to get myself organized and all kinds of outside activities. I played and let people know I was on my own. I golf from age six or so, o!en with my father had four courses on Hilton Head Island

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IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: Yunling & Rees Jones at the project site.

“After graduating from Yale and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, he unsurprisingly joined the family business at Robert Trent Jones Incorporated where he assisted on numerous courses until coming out on his own in 1974.”

(South Carolina) that gave me a good start. It was, however, his work at Brookline updating the course to match today’s experienced designer consults in. Most of that assumes our own design style and for them to be selected. Jobs were steady, but it was not until I that made the biggest impact. “I made playability and maintenance standards. #is depends on the quality and condition of the philosophy.” Interestingly, they are all, noticeably, completely redesigned #e Country Club changes on several courses prior to is easy with my Dad’s courses, since I am so existing course, as well as the owner’s goals With a keen eye for detail and creative American classics. “I love to work on in Brookline, Massachuse$s, in preparation 1988, but Brookline is my most signi"cant familiar with his design philosophy and style,” and objectives. Nowadays, because of bigger landscaping, his projects soon developed the great old courses, especially (A.W.) for the 1988 United States Open that complete redesign, done in 1985 in he says, further explaining, “Sometimes, the budgets and be$er technology, more can be reputation as strong championship Tillinghast, (Alister) McKenzie, (Seth) my business took o%. #at was a de"nite preparation for the 1988 U.S. Open. client wants to retain the original design achieved sometimes without sacri"cing the grounds. While some of the courses had Raynor and (Donald) Ross. I learn from milestone and the positive feedback from In order to restore Brookline, I used old style of their course, in which case, we will soul of the original plan. already been awarded a Major before them as I do the work.” the gol"ng world helped my business and photographs to bring the course back to its restore or reconstruct the course. While “I just like to work for good clients with he was selected to work on them like Re&ecting on his lifework, he observes, my reputation.” original design intent.” restoring a course, we are also up-dating it good vision on a good site. With a new Brookline, as mentioned above, Hazeltine “I have been fortunate to have worked As con"dent as he had been back then, As his reputation for bringing new life by repositioning bunkers and to bring design, there are o!en many possibilities. and Bethpage Black, others required on many classic golf courses. I take what the young designer never thought to consult to old championship tracts spreads, Jones it into the 21st century and keep up with We study the land to ‘"nd’ the best course, remodeling before they could be selected. I learned and apply those ideas to my his more experienced family or sought began to get more and more interesting modern equipment.” so to speak. Sometimes with remodeling, For example, at Congressional Country modern designs. All good architects today assistance in his &edging career but he did jobs that demands meticulous research into However there are instances where the depending on the existing conditions and Club’s Blue Course, #e South Course use good ideas from the past. I like courses take his father to Haig Point and Pinehurst each project’s unique characteristics and owner wants even more extensive changes to the client’s goals, we either restore and at Torrey Pines, the Highlands Course at that have a more traditional feel to them. No. 7 for a look like any proud son would. how best to bring it a new lease of life. the course, including re-routing some or all of update the existing course - I like to call Athletic Club, and Bellerive Country I think more traditional designs, with no “When he a$ended the 1997 U.S. Open “When I restore a course, I typically try the holes in order to achieve his needs. #at this process a “restoration-modernization” Club in St. Louis (this most recent, for the gimmicks, have stood the test of time and at Congressional, he praised the work I did to understand and maintain the original is a redesign. #e decision, while it usually - or we undertake a more comprehensive 2018 PGA Championship), a complete have proven to be be$er.” there,” Jones beams in recollection. designer’s philosophy and style, while lies with the owner, is also something that the remodeling approach where the course remodeling needed to be done in order Having said that, the ‘Major Designer’

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TOP LEFT PAGE: Bethpage State Park (Black Course); BOTTOM: Congressional Country Club (Blue Course).

does have certain philosophies of his own two truly spectacular golf courses from a To that end, he maintains certain criteria that golfers of every ilk will appreciate as playability and visual perspective,” says when selecting jobs. “I think the most being fair. Emphasizing strategy, variety and Jones of both courses which are among the important thing is to have a client that has playability, he abstains from blind hazards or "nest in their respective states. the same objectives that I do. We evaluate holes in order to show the golfer the shot Unlike his well-travelled brother Robert many projects throughout the world, but at hand. Trent Jones Jnr., Rees has, for many years, we are primarily interested in working with “Because skill levels vary greatly between worked mainly in North America and has great clients who have a great site and are golfers, I think it is important to design and only a sma$ering of projects overseas. #is commi$ed to building a quality product.” locate features and fairways in a manner is a departure from many others who have “Our design team has worked together that provides a genuine challenge for the moved to the ‘promised land’ of Asia and for years. I continue to work closely with best players, but also allows average players the Middle East to seek out new fortunes each designer. When a client works with to enjoy their round and want to play the and some mind-bogglingly huge projects. one of them, he is ge$ing my input also. course again,” he explains and adds, “I design He explains simply that, “in order to I feel Rees Jones, Inc. has the best sta% in so that a course has an ebb and &ow, variety, accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, the industry today. Our "rm has built more aesthetics and especially shot options. I want I took only a limited amount of jobs, and then 170 courses and our design team has each hole to be memorable and di%erent there were plenty of those closer to home.” over 110 years of combined experience, from the others.” Despite that fact, the draw of adventure so I think my clients feel they are in good But the biggest satisfaction he derives and new frontiers have proved too enticing hands.” is nevertheless in testing the best golfers even for the picky architect who is currently Many designers today play the in the world. “#e 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, a!er our renovation, was perhaps the most exciting because the championship was held on a public golf course for the "rst time in its history. It “The 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage introduced a new breed of enthusiastic fan.” While the classics may have given him Black, after our renovation, was satisfaction, it is his newer designs that tested him the most. Cascata, a private gol"ng enclave opened in 2000 and perhaps the most exciting because the owned by hotel and casino operator Caesars Entertainment is situated at the championship was held on a public golf entrance of Boulder City just 30 minutes away from the Las Vegas strip. Together GSYVWIJSVXLIŶVWXXMQIMRMXWLMWXSV]Ň with the North Course at Lake of Isles (opened in 2005) in Connecticut, they make up for his most testing challenge. enjoying opportunities in places like environment card when talking about their Aptly named ‘waterfall’ in Italian, Kunming, Beijing and Osaka. work and Jones is especially known to be Cascata is built upon a hilly backdrop with In reference to his current Yunling Golf very vocal on this issue. “I think we work a 418-foot waterfall that &ows from steep Club project in the gol"ng mecca that hard for each of our clients to create a golf mountainside, over mammoth boulders, surrounds the southern Chinese city of course which is environmentally sound as cascading into a river and roaring through Kunming, he says, “I "nd that there are great well. #e golf course industry has been its clubhouse while the North Course at design opportunities in Asia now. I enjoy environmentally conscious for years. In fact, Lake of Isles is built around the 90-acre working in Asia and especially in China. I working to make the golf course sustainable body of water that it is named a!er, rolling am especially intrigued by many aspects of has made the designs be$er for today and terrain and island greens and boxes. Chinese culture.” for the future. We have long embraced the “#ese were two of the toughest to work His visit has made such an impact as for notion that golf courses can, and should, on because of the severity of the topography him to declare, “We plan to be active in co-exist in harmony with the landscape and the rock outcroppings on the site. Only the Asia and China markets… continue to while bene"$ing the environment. a very experienced golf course architect evaluate and pursue those opportunities We believe a properly designed and could have managed these sites because that we feel are consistent with our "rm’s maintained golf course can protect wildlife changes had to be made constantly as the values and philosophy… providing excellent habitat, preserve native vegetation, site conditions dictated. However, the di'cult service for our clients and designing the conserve water resources and bu%er open nature of the sites of both courses made for world’s best regarded golf courses!” green spaces from development.”.

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