Donald J. Ross - Pinehurst, NC
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 11.356 W 079° 28.030
17S E 639556 N 3895108
Donald J. Ross (1872 - 1948) is openly recognized as the leading golf architect of the 20th century, perhaps of all time.
Waymark Code: WMD7CF
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 11/30/2011
Views: 8
Born in Dornoch, Scotland, he became a citizen of the U.S. and spent most of his adult life here. He has designed or redesigned about 400 golf courses from 1900–1948, laying the foundation for America's golf industry.
In 1900 he became the golf pro at the Pinehurst Resort, where he began his course design career and eventually designed four courses here. He had a successful playing career as well, winning and placing in several major tournaments. In the 1930s he revolutionized greenskeeping practices in the Southern United States when he developed the transition of the putting surfaces at Pinehurst No. 2 from oiled sand to Bermuda grass.
Ross was a founding member and first president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, which was formed at Pinehurst in 1947. He was admitted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977, a high honor rarely awarded for anything other than playing success.
This bronze sculpture is an "over life size" sculpture located on Pinehurst's Walk of Fame, along with three other golf greats. Ross is shown dressed in a three-piece suit and tie, with knickerbocker trousers. He is wearing a traditional Tam o' Shanter cap. The Ross sculpture is standing next to one of Richard Tufts, a former owner and developer of the Pinehurst club. A plaque nearby reads:
DONALD J. ROSS
The father of American
Golf Course Architecture, he
was responsible for golf course
construction, maintenance, the
golf shop, and tournaments at
Pinehurst from 1901 until his
death in 1948This statue was dedicated
by his daughter, Lillian Ross
Pippitt, on the occasion of the
PGS TOUR Championship,
November 1, 1991.
The four sculptures on the Walk of Fame were created by renowned sculpture, Zenos Frudakis.