Alan duncan ross biography of donald

Born and raised in Dornoch, Scotland in 1872, Donald Ross immersed himself in golf from a very young age. Ross would be approached by the Tuft family and persuaded him to become the winter professional at the golf course they were building in Pinehurst, N.C., which is now known as Pinehurst Resort.

The planning and remodeling work at the Pinehurst golf complex brought Ross national fame and his services were being requested all throughout the United States.

He was soon offered a job as the winter professional at James Tufts’s Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. During this time, he designed the well-known likes of East Lake Golf Club (1913), Seminole Golf Club (1929), Oakland Hills Country Club (1918), Oak Hill Country Club (1926), and Aronimink Golf Club (1928).

During the depression and war years of the 1930s and 40s, Ross continued to design courses, just far less frequently.

He claimed victory at the North and South Open three times (1903, 1905, 1906), and the Massachusetts Open twice (1905, 1911). In 1947, he hosted the first ever annual meeting for the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASCGA), a still-powerful organization that he co-founded.

In total, Ross played a part in the design of over 400 courses in North America before his passing in 1948.

In those days, there was no rigid division of labor for golf professionals, so Ross became adept not only at maintaining the grounds but also as a player and club maker.

He was of common stock, making an adequate if unspectacular living. Eventually, his practice spread into the Midwest and down the Southeast coast.

Ross retired from professional golf in 1911. As a young man he took up "the keeping of the green." After a year of apprenticeship at St. Andrews under the tutelage of 4-time British Open champion "Old" Tom Morris, he returned to his native Dornoch.

The result was devilishly quick domed greens and a sense of impending doom for any wayward shots.

During his summers, Ross started designing and building courses throughout New England. At his death in 1948, he left behind a legacy of 413 courses, including such gems as Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, Seminole in Florida, and the site of the 1996 U.S.

Open, Oakland Hills outside Detroit. Though Ross was a voracious traveler, he did much of his design work from his home in a cottage behind the third green at Pinehurst. In 1889, Ross would take his talents to the United States, accepting a position as a pro-greenkeeper at Oakley Country Club near Boston. But all that changed when an American professor on golf pilgrimage to the sport's holy land invited him to come to the New World to help spread the game's gospel.

It was Ross’s work at Pinehurst that ultimately paved the way for the rest of his career. By 1925, Ross had over 3,000 employees working for him on the construction process of his golf courses.

Ross’ design philosophy incorporated much of what he saw when he grew up in Scotland. There on crumpled dunesland, he grew up playing one of the world's purest links, Royal Dornoch.

He would commonly route his short par-4s on uphill ground. Born and raised in Dornoch, Scotland, he learned several different golfing skills, including greenkeeper, club maker, pro, and architect.