The Good Doctor

MacKenzie’s portfolio of work in the United was phenomenal and included such impressive golf courses as Cypress Point, Crystal Downs, Pasatiempo - where he had a home overlooking the sixth fairway - and, of course, Augusta National. Outside of America he would design and redesign some of the best golf courses today, such as Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath and Lahinch.

The MacKenzie legend lives strong today thanks in part to his writing. His first book, Golf Architecture, was published in 1920 and is one of the first books detailing the art of design. His second title, The Spirit of St Andrews - an exceptional read and quite possibly the best book on the subject - was penned in 1933 but only published sixty years later after the original manuscript was misplaced and forgotten about altogether. Not short of an opinion, MacKenzie details rather eloquently - in both books - what are the hallmarks of a great golf course, citing in particular the Old Course at St Andrews.

Each year in April - at the Masters Tournament - we get to celebrate MacKenzie’s work. Whilst Augusta National hardly resembles the course he and golfer Bobby Jones originally designed, it still allows us an opportunity to talk about his accomplishments. With that in mind I can’t help but think how talented he was an architect and how much of a positive influence he has had on my work all these years later.

Paul Jansen is the principal architect for Jansen Golf Design. For more information visit his website at www.jansengolfdesign.com