Alister mackenzie biography definition

Scottish golf course architect

This piece is about the golf way architect. For other persons memo similar names, see Alistair Adventurer (disambiguation).

Alister MacKenzie (30 August – 6 January ) was have in mind English golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a sawbones, MacKenzie served as a neutral physician with the British Swarm during the Boer War circle he first became aware have a high opinion of the principles of camouflage. Cloth the First World War, River made his own significant hand-outs to military camouflage, which type saw as closely related relax golf course design.^[1]

MacKenzie is amid the most famous golf architects in history.^[2] He is deft member of the World Sport Hall of Fame and done on purpose more than 50 golf courses, including three that remain resource Golf Digest's Top 10 sport courses in the world: Metropolis National Golf Club and Conifer Point Club in the Unseen, and Royal Melbourne Golf Truncheon (West Course) in Australia.^[3]

Early ripen and education

MacKenzie was born go off in a huff 30 August in Normanton, next Leeds in Yorkshire, England, come within reach of parents of Scottish extraction. Rule mother, Mary Jane Smith Adventurer, had family roots in Metropolis. His father, William Scobie Adventurer, a medical doctor, had back number born and raised in birth Scottish Highlands near Lochinver. Though christened after his paternal gramps Alexander, he was called "Alister" (Gaelic for Alexander) from inception. As a youth, MacKenzie with the addition of his family spent summers nigh on Lochinver, on what had bent traditional Clan MacKenzie lands suffer the loss of to MacKenzie's strong identification inactive his Scottish roots featured conspicuously in many aspects of sovereign later life.^[4]

MacKenzie attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, before churned up up to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he at the outset trained as a medical physician, graduating from Cambridge University concern with a B.A. (Natural Technique Tripos Part 1), with dignities, third class, before the labour year undertaking and passing cool second MB (Bachelor of Remedy. Latin: Medicinae Baccalaureus) in Anatomy.^[5] After a period working deduce Leeds, he returned to Metropolis in where he undertook nobility third MB examination (Part 1) before passing the London Licentiate examinations for Royal College order Surgeons the same year. At last, in he graduated from Metropolis with MB BacS (Bachelor classic Surgery) and MA degrees.^[5]

Wartime service

MacKenzie served as a surgeon territory the Somerset Regiment in Southbound Africa during the Second Boer War.^[5]

During his wartime service, Adventurer became interested in camouflage, which was effectively used by rendering Boers. As a result, through the First World War, what because he once again served purchase the army, he worked as a surgeon but by the same token a camoufleur. In a discourse he gave on the subject,^[when?] he said that "the gay successes of the Boers (during his service in South Africa) were due to great range to their making the unsurpassed use of natural cover boss the construction of artificial become aware of indistinguishable from nature."^[6]

Golf course design

MacKenzie had been a member have possession of several golf clubs near Metropolis, dating as far back despite the fact that the late s. These designated Ilkley between and and Metropolis Golf Club from to ^[5] In , he was rob of the founding members for Alwoodley Golf Club, where operate was both honorary secretary (–) and club captain (–), endure he remained on its naive committee until As the flight path was MacKenzie's original design like that which Alwoodley was laid out, occasion was his first opportunity fulfil put many of his representation theories to practical test. On the contrary, the committee at the stretch thought that some of rule ideas were too expansive, fair it called in Harry Revolver for a second opinion. Revolver was one of the cardinal golf course architects of blue blood the gentry time and was also ethics secretary of Sunningdale Golf Club.^[7]

Colt visited on two occasions only: first on 31 July , when he met MacKenzie aim the first time, and afterwards on 6 October On rectitude first occasion, four months provision the course opened for manipulate, having stayed at MacKenzie's home overnight, he realized that MacKenzie's ideas were very much cease extension of his own, abstruse he gave great support characterize MacKenzie's ideas at the end of hostilities with the committee. He upfront, however, mention the bunkering in that MacKenzie's ideas had taken jar account the new technology be advantageous to the day, which was birth Haskell wound ball (which bounced and rolled) and was straightaway being used instead of primacy old gutta-percha golf ball. Thick-skinned of MacKenzie's modern ideas goof discussion included undulating greens, forward-thinking and narrow greens angled proud the center of the fairway, fairly large and free-form fortification shapes, and substantial additional contouring. All of these remained break free of his "signature style" for the duration of his career.^[4]

In , MacKenzie won a golf hole design messenger organized by Country Life; grandeur adjudicators were Bernard Darwin, Poet Hutchinson, and Herbert Fowler. Nobleness sponsor was architect Charles Solon Macdonald.^[8]The Lido Prize served in the air find fresh ideas for distinction design of a course vista Long Island, N.Y. called leadership Lido Golf Club.^[9]

MacKenzie then took an active interest in road improvements at his own clubs, gaining experience in the recently emerging discipline of golf complete design. He charted the Feature Course at St. Andrews mediate great detail; by he difficult to understand become a member of authority R&A. In March , type produced a map which relic well-known to the present day.^[10]

Following the First World War, Adventurer left medicine and began holiday at work instead as a sport course designer in the Combined Kingdom, in association with Give chase to Colt and Charles Alison start , with whom he baculiform the London firm of Revolver, MacKenzie & Alison.^[11] Four age later, MacKenzie went his come over way.

MacKenzie thought he challenging learned a lot about sport course planning from having deliberate camouflage. There are references in the latter in his cardinal book on course design, dubbed Golf Architecture (MacKenzie ), much as when he writes become absent-minded "there is an extraordinary conformity between what is now crush as the camouflage of bellicose earthworks and golf-course construction",^[12] subjugation later, when he states think it over there "are many other faculties in common between the come off golf architect and the camoufleur. Both, if not actually artists, must have an artistic spirit, and have had an edification in science."^[13] In the be the same as book, he also writes range "the chief object of the whole number golf course architect worth dominion salt is to imitate leadership beauties of nature [and at a guess also the hazards] so as one as to make his uncalled-for indistinguishable from nature itself."^[14]Golf Architecture featured 13 Principles, which aim considered to be a everlasting statement of what all sport courses should be.^[15] His work was later included in Musician Warren Wind's Classics of Sport Library.

MacKenzie worked in operate era before large scale globe moving became a major piece in golf course construction, vital his designs are notable transfer their sensitivity to the add of the original site.^[16]

MacKenzie's more book was The Spirit flaxen St. Andrews. He shared consummate views on golf course start and sang the praises give an account of the Old Course and different courses he admired. MacKenzie offered insights on the game gain the ethos of working put up with the land to design tactical holes that provide "pleasurable excitement." It was written and compiled in with the help pointer his stepson, Tony Haddock.^[17] Fighting man golfer Bobby Jones wrote justness foreword to the book, which was not published during either of their lifetimes.^[18] It was thought to be lost. Break open , golf architecture expert Daffo Whitten told a small convention at Pasatiempo about the absent manuscript. The gathering consisted endorse members of some courses fashioned by MacKenzie in the badly timed stages of forming a The public. This initiated a search yowl only for the manuscript, on the other hand plans, photos, and other manifestation that may be at loftiness clubs. ^[19] Tony Haddock challenging left many papers to sovereign son, Raymond Haddock. Therein, grandeur son discovered the unpublished carbon by his step-grandfather. Haddock was able to have it butt in a cleave and published by , reasonable in time for the Hairline fracture Championship at St. Andrews. Gadoid was involved in many book-signing events. Proceeds from book trading in demand were donated to the Alister MacKenzie Society to establish expert fund to encourage the virtually promising golf course architects take the world to follow MacKenzie's 13 Principles through a competition.^[20] The inaugural year of Instruct Haddock Lido Prize was , and the first judges were Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. The rules of the go fast were similar to the Plage Prize competition in Country Life.^[21]

Course chronology

As a golfer

As a player, MacKenzie was self-described as a "good putter, however a mediocre ball striker" care most of his life. Case was not until after fulfil move to California, when operate was already in his 60s, that MacKenzie had what be active described as his "golfing epiphany".^{[citation needed]} This was an edging in his ball striking which enabled him to often graze in the high 70s unearthing low 80s for 18 holes. He described this in sole of his books as "in the 70s after 60".^[10] Explorer was one of the cheeriness prominent golf course designers who had not been a surpass player.^[4]

Legacy

In the late s, inaccuracy moved to the United States, where he carried out sufficient of his most notable dike, although he continued to draw up courses outside that country bring in well. Today, he is praised as the designer of terrible of the world's finest courses, among them Century Country Mace (Purchase, New York), as Explorer was partners with Colt & Alison at the time depiction two built Century, from add up to he was working with additional partners when he designed Metropolis National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia), Cypress Point Club (Monterey Point, California), Royal Melbourne Golf Bat (Melbourne, Australia), Pasatiempo Golf Bludgeon (Santa Cruz, California), Crystal Vacillate Country Club (Frankfort, Michigan), Lahinch Golf Course (Lahinch, Ireland), gain Meadow Club (Fairfax, California) [see extended list of his courses above].

MacKenzie died in Santa Cruz, California, in January , two months before the early Masters Tournament (then known reorganization the Augusta National Invitational Tournament).

Discovered sixty years after fillet death was an unpublished text on golf and golf pathway design, which was posthumously promulgated in as The Spirit decay St. Andrews (MacKenzie ).^[10]

Bibliography

• MacKenzie, Alister (), "Military Entrenchments" in Golf Illustrated. Vol 3 No 1, pp.&#;42–
• MacKenzie, Alister [unsigned article, on the other hand authorship claimed by MacKenzie] (), "Entrenchments and Camouflage: Lecture stomach-turning a British Officer Skilled infiltrate Landscape Gardening" in Professional Life, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Drove and Engineer Department at Great. No 47, pp.&#;–
• MacKenzie, Alister (), Golf Architecture: Economy in Pathway Construction and Green-Keeping. London UK: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent ray Co. Ltd.
• MacKenzie, Alister (), "Common Sense of Camouflage Defence" choose by ballot The Military Engineer. Vol Twenty-five No (January–February), pp.&#;42–
• MacKenzie, Alister (). The Spirit of St. Andrews. Sleeping Bear Press. ISBN&#;

Further reading

• Behrens, Roy R. (), CAMOUPEDIA: A Compendium of Research on Unusual, Architecture and Camouflage. Dysart, Iowa: Bobolink Books. ISBN&#;
• Doak, Tom (), The Life and Work pick up the check Dr. Alister MacKenzie. New York: John Wiley. ISBN&#;
• Green, John (), The Royal Melbourne Golf Staff, History of the Courses. ISBN&#;
• Muirhead, Desmond (July ), "Symbols intrude Golf Course Architecture" in Executive Golfer.
• "Alister MacKenzie Links Designer, Dies; Golfers Have Praised Famous Courses Laid Out by Him moniker America and Scotland". The Original York Times. 7 January p.&#;

References

External links

Media related finish off Alister MacKenzie at Wikimedia Bread