We all know him for designing Augusta National, but what other golf courses were from the great mind of Alister MacKenzie?
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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Check out Alwoodley’s page on the NCG Top 100s site here
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
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.
Check out Moortown’s page on the NCG Top 100s site here
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.“
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
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.
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.
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!
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
