Poppy Hills Architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. to Receive ASGCA Donald Ross Award
August 2, 2024 / by NCGA Staff
ASGCA Past President Robert Trent Jones, Jr., founder of Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects in Palo Alto, has been chosen as the 2024 recipient of the ASGCA Donald Ross Award. The award, given annually since 1976, is presented to a person who has made a significant contribution to the game of golf and the profession of golf course architecture. It will be presented to Jones, the architect of Poppy Hills Golf Course, at the American Society of Golf Course Architects Annual Meeting in San Francisco on Nov. 11.
Jones learned about golf at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York from the legendary Tommy Armour, who taught him the techniques of good golf form and captured his imagination with the game’s history. After studying geology and majoring in history and American studies at Yale University – where he played golf – and attending a year of law school at Stanford University, Jones joined the family business.
His earliest experience was working alongside his father, ASGCA Founding Member Robert Trent Jones, Sr., on Spyglass Hill Golf Course and other projects in the 1960s. At the time, the NCGA was headquartered at Spyglass Hill. After apprenticeship with his father and running west coast operations, Jones expanded into Asia with solo international efforts.
In 1972, he formed his own firm. Known as an early advocate of environmentally sensitive golf course design, Jones continues to respect and embrace nature. His mantra is to, “listen to the land.” Jones has designed more than 300 golf courses in more than 50 countries on six continents.
“Robert Trent Jones, Jr., is a living history of ASGCA and the profession of golf course architecture,” said ASGCA President Mike Benkusky. “The courses he continues to design around the world will be played for generations to come, and his commitment to the environment will have a lasting positive impact on the golf industry. He has come a long way from his first ASGCA Annual Meeting, when his father brought him along to serve as bartender.”
Jones becomes the third member of his family to be named Ross Award recipient. His father, ASGCA founding member Robert Trent Jones, Sr., was honored with the inaugural award in 1976 and his brother, ASGCA Past President Rees Jones, the original architect of Poppy Ridge Golf Course, received the 2013 award.