George Cobb (golf)
| George Cobb | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 2, 1914 Savannah, Georgia |
| Died |
January 15, 1986 (aged 71) Greenville, South Carolina |
| Residence | Greenville, South Carolina |
| Nationality |
American  |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia |
| Occupation | Golf course designer |
| Children | George Jr. and Virginia (Gin) Hodge |
| Parent(s) | Frances E. and William B. |
| Awards | 2014 South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame |
George W. Cobb, ASGCA (July 2, 1914 - January 15, 1986) is a notable and prolific golf course designer who created the Par-3 Course at Augusta National Golf Club among more than one hundred courses and renovated many, including his own early work. He strove to create attractive layouts that the average golfer would find enjoyable, not frustrating.[1][2][3]
Biography
Early life
George was born into a family of golfers in Savannah, Georgia,[1] learned to play as a child and was a scratch golfer.[2] He had an older brother, W.E. and a younger sister, Mary A.[4] Cobb attended the University of Georgia, where he played on the college golf team. He studied landscape architecture and graduated in 1937. He was hired by the National Park Service and worked as a landscape architect until 1941.[2]
Military
During World War II, Cobb was a Marine Corps engineering officer at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Because he was an avid golfer and landscape architect, he was assigned the task of constructing a golf course for use in physical rehabilitation of injured GIs, but he had no experience in course design. Cobb was permitted to hire experienced course architect Fred Findlay to provide design assistance. Cobb handled the construction superintendent responsibilities on this and a subsequent course at Lejeune. In 1946, Cobb designed and built the course at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on his own, then was discharged from the Marines during 1947.[2][3]
Vocation
After the experience provided by the military, Cobb decided that he enjoyed building golf courses. He started his own golf design business and created six courses, but when the Korean War escalated, he was recalled to active duty in 1951.[2] Released from service, Cobb initially moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina[3] and was working on the Country Club of Sapphire Valley when he was hired to build the Green Valley Country Club. While working on Green Valley in the spring of 1956, he was offered and accepted a position as a director of Hollyridge Corporation, the developer. He and his family settled in Greenville, South Carolina, where they remained. In 1958 he was named general manager of the club, but resigned when his design business proliferated during 1960, when he had eight South Carolina courses under construction or being designed.[3]
Augusta
Cobb's shortest course may actually be his most prominent creation. Cobb was design consultant at Augusta National Golf Club from the mid-1950s and became good friends with Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, chairman of Augusta National. The club decided to add a par 3, nine-hole course in 1958, which Alister MacKenzie had suggested in the 1930s.[1] Cobb was asked to design it with input from Roberts, and the 1,060 yard "little course" opened in 1959. The Par-3 Contest has been held on Wednesday of Masters week since 1960.[2][3] In fifty years of Masters play, no one has ever won the Par-3 and the main tournament in the same week.[5] Cobb added a fresh touch to the "big course" in 1967 and 1977.[1] The only other Par 3 course Cobb ever designed was the Par 3 course at Vestavia Country Club in Birmingham, AL.
Associate
John LaFoy grew up in Greenville, and was close friends with Cobb's son, George, Jr. LaFoy studied architecture and graduated from Clemson University in 1968. He apprenticed with George Cobb before the Vietnam War forced him into the service. Like Cobb, LaFoy chose the Marine Corps. After his discharge, LaFoy returned to work with Cobb, and in 1971, he became Cobb's partner. They collaborated on every subsequent course the firm built, and when Cobb's health began to fail in the early 1980s, he ran the company. After Cobb's death in 1986, LaFoy continued designing and remodeling courses, and in 1999, he served as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.[1][3]
Personal
While he was stationed at Camp LeJeune, Cobb married and had a son, George, Jr. and a daughter, Virgina. [3]
Courses designed
The following is a (partial) list of courses that George Cobb either designed alone (prior to 1971) or co-designed with John LaFoy:[2][6]
Click arrow box in column heading to sort by that attribute.
| Facility Name | Access | City | State | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Lake Golf Club | Private | Atlanta | GA | 1904 |
| Coosa Country Club | Private | Rome | GA | 1909 |
| Cane Creek Golf Course | Public | Fort McClellan | AL | 1942 |
| Gold at Paradise Point Golf Course | Military | Camp Lejeune | NC | 1945 |
| Paradise Point Golf Club (Gold course) | Military | Camp Lejeune | NC | 1945 |
| Cherry Point Golf Club | Private | Cherry Point | NC | 1946 |
| Green Valley Country Club | Private | Greenville | SC | 1955 |
| Fort Mill Golf Club | Semi-Private | Fort Mill | GA | 1948 |
| Fort Jackson Golf Course | Military | Columbia | SC | 1949 |
| Wildcat at Fort Jackson Golf Club | Military | Fort Jackson | SC | 1949 |
| Carmel Country Club (North course) | Private | Charlotte | NC | 1950 |
| Lake/Cedar at Greenwood Country Club | Private | Greenwood | SC | 1950 |
| University of North Carolina Finley Golf Course | Semi-Private | Chapel Hill | NC | 1951 |
| Jacksonville Country Club | Private | Jacksonville | NC | 1951 |
| Prospect Hill Country Club \ | Private | Bowie | MD | 1956 |
| High Hampton Inn & Country Club | Resort | Cashiers | NC | 1956 |
| University of Maryland Golf Course | Semi-Private | College Park | MD | 1956 |
| Fort Eustis Golf Club | Military | Fort Eustis | VA | 1956 |
| Parks at Courses at Fort Meade | Military | Fort Meade | MD | 1956 |
| Glenn Dale Country Club | Semi-Private | Glenn Dale | MD | 1956 |
| Laurel Pines Country Club | Public | Laurel | MD | 1956 |
| Laurel Country Club | Public | Laurel | MD | 1957 |
| JC Long Estate Golf Club | Semi-Private | Mount Pleasant | SC | 1957 |
| Vestavia Country Club | Private | Birmingham | AL | 1958 |
| Willowhaven Country Club | Semi-Private | Durham | NC | 1958 |
| Raleigh Golf Association (9) | Public | Raleigh | NC | 1958 |
| Country Club of Sapphire Valley | Private | Cashiers | NC | 1956 |
| Lakeside Golf Club | Public | Atlanta | GA | 1960 |
| The Nine Hole at Augusta National Golf Club | Private | Augusta | GA | 1960 |
| Green Island Country Club | Private | Columbus | GA | 1960 |
| Surf Golf & Beach Club | Semi-Private | North Myrtle Beach | SC | 1960 |
| Vestavia Country Club-Par 3 Course | Private | Birmingham | AL | 1960 |
| Quail Hollow Club | Private | Charlotte | NC | 1961 |
| Spring Valley Country Club | Private | Columbia | SC | 1961 |
| Sea Pines Resort (Sea Marsh course, renamed Heron Point) | Resort | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1961 |
| Deerwood Club | Private | Jacksonville | FL | 1961 |
| Berkeley Country Club | Semi-Private | Moncks Corner | SC | 1961 |
| Mountain Valley Golf Course | Semi-Private | Waynesville | NC | 1961 |
| Oak Island Golf Club | Semi-Private | Caswell Beach | NC | 1962 |
| Wildcat Cliffs Country Club | Private | Highlands | NC | 1962 |
| Windsor Forest Country Club | Private | Savannah | GA | 1962 |
| Hound Ears Club | Resort | Boone | NC | 1963 |
| Dublin Country Club | Private | Dublin | GA | 1963 |
| Gainesville Golf & Country Club | Private | Gainesville | FL | 1963 |
| Botany Woods Golf Club | Private | Greenville | SC | 1963 |
| Timuquana Country Club | Private | Jacksonville | FL | 1963 |
| Milledgeville Country Club | Public | Milledgeville | GA | 1963 |
| Mountain Glen Golf Course | Semi-Private | Newland | NC | 1963 |
| Waynesboro Country Club | Private | Waynesboro | GA | 1963 |
| Doublegate Country Club | Private | Albany | GA | 1964 |
| Ocean Point at Fripp Island Resort | Resort | Fripp Island | SC | 1964 |
| Barony at Port Royal Golf Club | Private | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1964 |
| Eighteen Hole at Indian Lake Estates Golf & Country Club | Semi-Private | Indian Lake Estates | FL | 1964 |
| Rolling Hills Country Club | Private | Monroe | NC | 1964 |
| High Meadows Golf & Country Club | Private | Roaring Gap | NC | 1964 |
| Croasdaile Country Club | Private | Durham | NC | 1965 |
| Adventure Inn Golf Club | Resort | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1965 |
| Robber's Row at Port Royal Golf Club | Private | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1967 |
| Sharon Golf Club | Private | Sharon Center | OH | 1965 |
| Wrenwoods Golf Club at Charleston Air Force Base | Military | Charleston | SC | 1966 |
| Clarksville Country Club | Private | Clarksville | TN | 1966 |
| Cabarrus Country Club | Private | Concord | NC | 1966 |
| Burningtree Country Club | Private | Decatur | AL | 1966 |
| Myrtlewood Golf Club (Pines Course) | Private | Myrtle Beach | SC | 1966 |
| Forest Heights Country Club | Private | Statesboro | GA | 1966 |
| Sea Pines Resort (Ocean course) | Resort | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1967 |
| North Ridge Country Club (Lakes course) | Private | Raleigh | NC | 1967 |
| Sea Palms Golf & Tennis Resort (Tall Pines course) | Resort | Saint Simons Island | GA | 1967 |
| Sea Palms Golf & Tennis Resort (Great Oaks course) \ | Resort | Saint Simons Island | GA | 1967 |
| Hunter Golf Club | Military | Savannah | GA | 1967 |
| Mary Calder Golf Club | Public | Savannah | GA | 1967 |
| Twin Falls Resort State Park | Resort | Mullens | WV | 1968 |
| Santee Cooper Country Club | Semi-Private | Santee | SC | 1968 |
| Pine Tree Country Club | Private | Birmingham | AL | 1969 |
| Country Club of Charleston | Private | Charleston | WV | 1969 |
| Star Fort National Golf Course | Private | Ninety Six | SC | 1969 |
| Edgewood Country Club | Private | Sissonville | WV | 1969 |
| Browns Mill Golf Club | Private | Atlanta | GA | 1970 |
| Pope AFB Golf Course | Military | Fayetteville | NC | 1970 |
| Clipper/Galleon at Shipyard Golf Club | Resort | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1970 |
| Brigantine/Clipper at Shipyard Golf Club | Private | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1970 |
| Galleon/Brigantine at Shipyard Golf Club | Resort | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1970 |
| Spanish Wells Club | Private | Hilton Head Island | SC | 1970 |
| Warrior's Path State Park Golf Course | Public | Kingsport | TN | 1970 |
| Snee Farm Country Club | Private | Mount Pleasant | SC | 1970 |
| Fort McClellan Golf Club | Military | Fort McClellan | AL | 1971 |
| Goose Pond Colony Golf Course | Public | Scottsboro | AL | 1971 |
| Red Wing Lake Golf Course | Public | Virginia Beach | VA | 1971 |
| Brookfield West Golf & Country Club | Private | Atlanta | GA | 1972 |
| Connestee Falls Golf Course | Semi-Private | Brevard | NC | 1972 |
| The Resort at Glade Springs | Resort | Daniels | WV | 1972 |
| Stonebridge Golf Course | Public | Lakeland | TN | 1972 |
| Cleghorn Plantation Golf & Country Club | Public | Rutherfordton | NC | 1972 |
| Eisenhower College Golf Course (9) | Private | Seneca | NY | 1972 |
| Bald Head Island Country Club | Semi-Private | Southport | NC | 1972 |
| Glade Springs Country Club | Private | Beckley | WV | 1973 |
| Inverness Country Club | Private | Birmingham | AL | 1973 |
| StillWaters Golf Club - The Legend Course | Private | Dadeville | AL | 1973 |
| Bryan Park Golf Course | Private | Greensboro | NC | 1973 |
| Holly Tree Country Club | Private | Greenville | SC | 1973 |
| Bryan Park Players Course | Private | Brown Summit | NC | 1974 |
| Frank G. Clemment Golf Club | Semi-Private | Dickson | TN | 1974 |
| Nine Hole Par 3 at Indian Lake Estates Golf & Country Club | Semi-Private | Indian Lake Estates | FL | 1974 |
| Stonebridge Golf Course | Public | Memphis | TN | 1974 |
| Cobb's Glen Country Club | Semi-Private | Anderson | SC | 1975 |
| Woodlands Golf & Country Club | Private | Columbia | SC | 1975 |
| Clemson University Golf Course | Semi-Private | Clemson | SC | 1976 |
| The Tides Inn (Golden Eagle course) | Resort | Irvington | VA | 1976 |
| Mountwood Park Golf Course | Semi-Private | Waverly | WV | 1977 |
| Keowee Key Golf & Country Club | Private | Seneca | SC | 1977 |
| New Quarter Park Golf Club | Semi-Private | Williamsburg | VA | 1977 |
| Pohick Bay Golf Course | Public | Lorton | VA | 1978 |
| Mallard Head Country Club | Semi-Private | Mooresville | NC | 1979 |
| Heddle's Hideaway Country Club | Semi-Private | Spartanburg | SC | 1979 |
| Linville Ridge Country Club | Private | Linville | NC | 1983 |
| North/East at Athens Country Club | Private | Athens | GA | 1985 |
| Sanctuary Golf Club | Private | Beaufort | SC | 1985 |
| Cat Island Country Club | Private | Fripp Island | SC | 1985 |
| Tartan Golf Club | Resort | Weems | VA | 1958 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Passov, Joe: "George Cobb Designed Golf Courses" Golf magazine, February 24, 2007
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "George Cobb story" Oak Island Golf Club
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Finley, Thomas:"The Evolution of Golf Course Design" Golf In The Upstate - Since 1895
- ↑ "1930 Federal census" Ancestry.com
- ↑ Walker, Mike: "At the Masters Par-3 Contest, everyone's a winner" Golf magazine, April 9, 2009
- ↑ "George Cobb - Courses Built" World Golf
Further reading
- Golf In The Upstate - Since 1895, The Biography of George Cobb with Mark William Shaw, ISBN 0-8092-2681-2 published by McGraw-Hill, March 1999