Have you ever played a golf course that was designed by Alister MacKenzie?
Alister MacKenzie is, without doubt, one of the world’s most famous golf course designers. As well as plenty of courses in the United Kingdom, MacKenzie designed layouts all over the world.
You can find his work in Argentina and Uruguay in South America, along with courses in Australia and New Zealand. The Englishman also designed a number of courses in the United States, including a couple of very special and famous tracks.
He is most famous for designing the great Augusta National, which plays host to the Masters Tournament every April.
However, his first golf course design was much closer to home. He was the man responsible for the Alwoodley, in Leeds, the city of his birth. It opened in 1907, and he was one of the club’s founding members.
Who is Alister MacKenzie?
MacKenzie was born in 1870 in Normanton, Yorkshire. He trained as a medical doctor, and practised medicine.
He was a surgeon with the British Army during the Second Boer War. Following the First World War, he began focussing more on golf course design.
By then, he had already had a hand in several golf courses, including the original design of Alwoodley, his first layout, and one which stands relatively untouched to this day.
In the 1920s, he went across to the United States, and that was where some of his best work came about, including the design and layout of the world-famous Augusta National.
MacKenzie died a couple of months prior to the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934, but his memory and his work live on.
Golf courses designed by Alister MacKenzie
We have arranged the courses that McKenzie designed into sections – first by country and then alphabetically.
England
Alwoodley, West Yorkshire
Not only was Alwoodley the first golf course that MacKenzie designed, but he also became a founder member of the club when it opened in 1907. More than 115 years on, and the layout remains relatively unchanged, with Alwoodley hosting Regional Qualifying for the Open Championship, along with the Brabazon Trophy and the Women’s Amateur Championship in its long and storied history.
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Bingley St Ives, West Yorkshire
Bolton Old Links, Lancashire
Bramall Park, Manchester
Burnham & Berrow, Somerset
Originally founded in 1890, MacKenzie visited this Somerset links three decades later. He was consulted over course alterations, with the 9th green being among those changes MacKenzie suggested making. The Championship Course at Burnham & Berrow has hosted several major amateur tournaments including the Brabazon Trophy.
- Check out Burnham & Berrow’s page on the NCG Top 100s site here
- Visit the Burnham & Berrow Golf Club website here
Bury, Manchester
Cavendish, Derbyshire
Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire
Cleeve Hill, Gloucestershire
Crosland Heath, West Yorkshire
Crowborough Beacon, Sussex
Darlington, Durham
Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Doncaster, West Yorkshire
Dore & Totley, South Yorkshire
Faversham, Kent
Felixstowe Ferry, Suffolk
Fulwell, Middlesex
Garforth, West Yorkshire
Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria
Hadley Wood, London
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Harrogate, West Yorkshire
Hazel Grove, Manchester
Headingley, West Yorkshire
Hornsea, East Yorkshire
Horsforth, West Yorkshire
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
Leeds, West Yorkshire
Lilley Brook, Gloucestershire
Lindrick, South Yorkshire
Littlestone, Kent
Low Laithes, West Yorkshire
Moortown, West Yorkshire
Following Alwoodley, Dr Alister McKenzie’s next design would be Moortown. The club opened in 1909, and became the first British venue to host the Ryder Cup two decades later. Moortown has also played host to the European Tour on four occasions, as well as both the English Amateur and Brabazon Trophy.
Morecambe, Lancashire
Nelson, Lancashire
Oakdale, West Yorkshire
Pannal, North Yorkshire
Pontefract, West Yorkshire
Ravensworth, Newcastle
Reddish Vale, Manchester
Sand Moor, West Yorkshire
Scarborough, East Yorkshire
Seaton Carew, Teesside
Shipley, West Yorkshire
Sitwell Park, South Yorkshire
Skipton, West Yorkshire
South Moor, Durham
South Shields, Newcastle
Stanley Park, Blackpool
Stanmore, Middlesex
Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
Teignmouth, Cornwall
Temple Newsam, West Yorkshire
Walsall, West Midlands
West Herts, Hertfordshire
Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset
Willingdon, Bournemouth
Worcester, Worcestershire
The Worcestershire, Worcestershire
- CHECK OUT: NCG Top 100s England
Ireland
Cork, Co. Cork
Douglas, Co. Cork
MacKenzie’s first work in Ireland came at Douglas Golf Club. The original layout (1909) from Harry Colt was modified and extended in 1924 by MacKenzie. He made changes around the greens, with the Irish Field saying his work “bears at every turn the impress of his golfing genius.“
- Visit the Douglas Golf Club website here
Galway, Co. Galway
Lahinch (Old Course), Co. Clare
Limerick, Co. Limerick
Muskerry, Co. Cork
Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
- CHECK OUT: NCG Top 100s Ireland
Scotland
Blairgowrie (Rosemount Course), Perthshire
Bonnyton, Glasgow
Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh
Duff House Royal, Moray
Erskine, Renfrewshire
Hazlehead (MacKenzie Course), Aberdeen
Pitreavie, Dunfermline
Pollok, Glasgow
Royal Troon (Portland Course), Troon
The Portland Course at Royal Troon was MacKenzie’s first design north of the border. The Portland is the second of the two courses at Royal Troon, with the Old Course hosting the Open Championship on several occasions. The course had originally been designed by Willie Fernie, with MacKenzie then making changes to it in the early 1920s.
- Check out the Portland Course’s page on the NCG Top 100s site here
- Visit the Royal Troon Golf Club website here
- CHECK OUT: NCG Top 100s Scotland
Wales
Rhayader (now Powys)
- CHECK OUT: NCG Top 100s Wales
Isle of Man
Castletown, Langness
Douglas, Pulrose
Argentina
Jockey Club, Argentina
Libertad, Argentina
Australia
Brisbane, Queensland
The Flinders, Victoria
New South Wales, NSW
Royal Adelaide, South Australia
Royal Melbourne (West Course), Victoria
After arriving in Melbourne in 1926, MacKenzie quickly set to work on designing the West Course at Royal Melbourne. It is, perhaps, his best known in the region, with parts of the layout (as a composite course with some holes from the East) playing host to the Presidents Cup on three occasions.
- Visit the Royal Melbourne Golf Club website here
Canada
St Charles, Winnipeg
New Zealand
Titirangi, Auckland
United States
Augusta National, Georgia
Without doubt, the most famous of all the Alister MacKenzie designs, Augusta National continues to delight golf fans and players alike every April! Unfortunately, MacKenzie would pass two months before the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934, but the tournament continues to this day, as the only major championship that remains at one venue year after year.
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- Learn more about Augusta National on the Masters website here
Burning Tree, Maryland
Canoe Brook (South Course), New Jersey
After making the move Stateside, MacKenzie’s first work in golf course design came at Canoe Brook in New Jersey. The South Course was the second design at Canoe Brook, opening 23 years after the North Course. It measures more than 6,750 yards from the tips.
- Visit the Canoe Brook Golf Club website here
Claremont, California
Crystal Downs, Michigan
Cypress Point, California
Green Hills, California
Haggin Oaks, California
Meadow, California
Melrose, Pennsylvania
Northwood, California
Ohio State University (Scarlet Course), Ohio
Pasatiempo, California
Redlands, California
Sharp Park, California
University of Michigan, Michigan
The Valley Club of Montecito
Uruguay
Club de Golf Uruguay
Fray Bentos
Now have your say
How many golf courses designed by Alister MacKenzie have you been lucky enough to play at? Which is your favourite MacKenzie-designed golf course is your favourite? Let us know with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
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