Alister MacKenzie

Alister MacKenzie (born Yorkshire, England, 1870; died Santa Cruz, California, 1934) was a British golf course designer.

Related Topics:
Yorkshire - England - 1870 - Santa Cruz, California - 1934 - British - Golf course

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MacKenzie trained as a doctor and served in the Boer War. He then left medicine and began to design golf courses in the United Kingdom in association with H.S. Colt. He was not a good golfer, and was one of the first men who had not been a leading player to become a prominent course designer. He published his book, Golf Architecture in 1920. In the 1920s he emigrated to the United States, and he carried out his most notable work there, while continuing to design courses outside the US.

Related Topics:
Boer War - United States

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MacKenzie worked in the era before large scale earth moving became a feature of golf course constrution and his designs are notable for their sensitivity to the nature of the site. He is celebrated for his ability to produce holes with an ideal balance of risk and reward, and for his knack of producing courses which both challenge and accommodate golfers with differing levels of skill.

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There is a biography by Tom Doak, The Life and Work of Dr. Alister MacKenzie.

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