George C. Thomas
Name:
George Clifford Thomas Jr.Country:
USALived:
[1873-1932]. Born on Oct 3, 1873 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Died on Feb 28, 1932 in Beverly Hills, California (aged 58).Original/Home Club:
Occupation:
Golf course architect, botanist and author.Turned Pro:
Frequently designed in collaboration with fellow Pennsylvanian William Park "Billy" Bell, much of Thomas's work is to be found in Los Angeles and southern California. Thomas's best known designs, include but are not limited to:
Riviera CC (1926) / Bel-Air CC (1926) / Los Angeles CC (1927, redesign of North course) / Ojai Valley Inn (1923) / Palos Verdes GC, LA (1924) / Stanford University GC (1930) / Griffith Park, LA (1923, Harding course; 1927, Wilson course). All the above courses are in California.
Born in 1873, Thomas grew-up in Philadelphia, where he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before joining his father in the investment bank Drexel & Company. As a very competent golfer, he also developed a keen interest in course design and the prevailing "Philadelphia School" of golf course architecture.
After the First World War, in which he served and attained the rank of Captain, Thomas moved to California in 1919. It was here that his flair for course design really took hold. He struck-up a working relationship with William Park "Billy" Bell, with whom he co-designed many renowned southern California courses. Thomas considered the layout at Riviera Country Club to be his masterpiece ... the only one of his courses that has not been substantially altered.
In 1926 Thomas published his seminal book "Golf Course Architecture in America", in which he advocated the use of wide fairways and providing options for golfers to shape their shots. He also believed that hazards were important but should not “unduly penalize or make it hard to recover.” Above all, Thomas thought a golf course should blend into its natural surroundings and provide a layout based on diversity and memorability.
The Sentry: known for many years as the Tournament of Champions, the PGA Tour’s 2025 season-opener gets underway on Kapalua’s Plantation course (Jan 2-5). Chris Kirk defends.
Tournament of Champions: the LPGA Tour’s 2025 season is launched at Lake Nona with the their Tournament of Champions (Jan 30-Feb 2). The 2024 edition gave Lydia Ko her 20th LPGA Tour title.
Attahya Thitikul: also known as “Jeeno”, the Thai golfer won the LPGA Tour’s 2024 CME Group Tour Championship … and an eye-watering $4 million, the richest first-prize in women’s golf.
Rory McIlroy: scooped the 2024 European (DP World) Tour season-long Order of Merit title, joining Seve Ballesteros as a six-time winner of this prestigious award.
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.
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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