Rees Jones
Profile
Some people are born golfers, developing a passion for the game early and dedicating their life to its pursuit. Others are simply born into golf, blessed with rich golfing lineage they choose to take advantage of the opportunities their famous name has afforded them.
Rees Jones is the son of Robert Trent Jones, one of the most prolific course architects in the game’s history. Rees, and his brother Robert Trent Jones Junior, both followed their father into the design business; the two managing to forge contrasting identities within the game. RTJ II is a pure ‘signature’ firm with hundreds of golf courses built across the world. Rees, by contrast, has kept things smaller and worked on fewer new course projects. At various times, however, he had established himself as the ‘Open Doctor’ and designer of choice for classic clubs looking to harden holes and renovate layouts for the sake of championship consideration.
It’s hard to know where to start with Jones, there are so many stories and misconceptions that the relevance of what is written depends on what you may have heard about his talents and work ethic. There was a period when it seemed the USGA were selling him every US Open as an original, trailblazing golf architect who had mastered the art of converting average courses into true tournament tests.
Another viewpoint, was that instead of being a pioneer he had simply mastered the art of making existing courses harder. Which in itself, is not really that difficult.
Bethpage Black is probably an exception, because his work there revolved more around restoration than extension, but at the likes of Medinah No. 3, Oakland Hills, East Lake, Atlanta Athletic Club and Torrey Pines Rees Jones left golfers with both tougher and narrower tests, and layouts that were infinitely less interesting and strategically arranged.
Taking a tee back 60 yards, squeezing a fairway to less than 30 yards and pushing sand and rough grass around a putting surface doesn’t take a great deal of thought or talent, yet this is largely what Jones seemed to have thrived doing. The greens at Torrey Pines show examples of design deficiencies; the targets are broken into sharply breaking, predictable, quadrants that were apparently only created to make the approach shot harder. The contouring is rather repetitive and neither fits within the surrounding shapes nor does any of it really appear to favour a strategic angle from the fairway. This is probably just as well, because fairways are typically pinched so tight that merely hitting the short grass, not playing for position, becomes the golfers principal concern on the tee.
The original designs of Rees Jones are a little mixed as well, with the likes of Ocean Forest, Atlantic and The Bridge being decent layouts but disappointing when considering budgets, land and opportunity.
Rees Jones is a big name golf designer and a man in demand because of his work on celebrated championship venues across America.
When considering an appropriate architect for your project it is important to seek expert and independent advice. For an independent assessment of Rees Jones and his suitability for your project, please contact Global Golf Group.
