Ron Prichard
Encyclopedia
Ron Prichard is an American
golf course
designer and restorer. His original designs include the TPC at Southwind, Memphis
, Tennessee
, now home of the Stanford St. Jude Championship. However, he is perhaps better known for masterminding the restoration of courses originally created by the Scottish-American designer Donald Ross (1872 – 1948), among them Aronimink Golf Club
in Newtown Township
, Pennsylvania
.
golf course which opened in 1988 at Southwind, Memphis, with golfers Hubert Green
and Fuzzy Zoeller
as co-consultants. This course has been the home of the Stanford St. Jude Championship (formerly called the Memphis Open) since 1989.
– was appointed in the 1990s to restore Aronimink Golf Club
in Newtown Township
, Pennsylvania
. This was originally designed by Ross but underwent numerous modifications in the 1980s under Robert Trent Jones
, an influential architect but one whose approach to golf course design was later felt to be incompatible with Ross's. The restorations achieved a higher profile when the course was selected to host the Senior PGA Championship
for 2003. Prichard's changes, only commenced after a year of planning during which he inspected the course and old photographs, included restoring Ross's original bunkering
and expanding the fairways. Aronimink's rise on Golf Digest
s list of the 100 greatest American courses rose from 98th position in 2001 to 52nd the following year was credited to Prichard's restoration work.
A similar challenge – recovering a Ross design from beneath numerous later modifications – was posed by Jeffersonville Golf Club in Pennsylvania
, requiring Prichard to make use of historical sources including 1930s aerial photographs. The restoration project he headed at The Minikahda Club
in Minneapolis
, Minnesota
, another Ross original, was praised by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
in 2007 as "a huge success, as the course now moves into the 21st century". One restoration project outside the United States was at Elmhurst Golf & Country Club at Winnipeg
, Canada
, which the club hoped would help to make it a venue for the Canadian Open.
Ron Whitten, writing in GolfWorld in 2007, was critical of the attempts of many planners to return Donald Ross's courses to original designs, calling such restoration "the narrow-minded substitute for imagination". However, he listed Prichard as among "[t]he best architects who specialize in Ross recoveries", understanding the need for course design to change with the times.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
designer and restorer. His original designs include the TPC at Southwind, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, now home of the Stanford St. Jude Championship. However, he is perhaps better known for masterminding the restoration of courses originally created by the Scottish-American designer Donald Ross (1872 – 1948), among them Aronimink Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club is a private country club located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Its championship golf course is consistently rated among the top 100 golf courses in the United States. In 2010, Aronimink was ranked #4 among the toughest courses on the PGA Tour by Links Magazine. The club has...
in Newtown Township
Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States . Newtown Township is the oldest township in Delaware County. The population was 11,700 as of the 2000 census.-History:...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Career
Prichard decided on his career path while in college. "I'd ask myself back then what I wanted to be doing when I was 50," he recalled to one interviewer. "And the answer was a golf architect. I thought it would be nice to be known around the neighborhood." He started his business in the 1960s, and by May 2003 he had designed "nearly 20" courses and restored more than 30 others.Original designs
Among his original projects, he was the lead architect for the Tournament Players ClubTournament Players Club
Tournament Players Club is a chain of public and private golf courses operated by the PGA Tour. Most of the courses either are or have been hosts for PGA Tour events, with the remainder having frequently hosted events on the second-tier Nationwide Tour or the over-50s Champions Tour.The first...
golf course which opened in 1988 at Southwind, Memphis, with golfers Hubert Green
Hubert Green
Hubert Myatt Green is an American professional golfer who has won numerous professional golf tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level....
and Fuzzy Zoeller
Fuzzy Zoeller
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller, Jr. is an American professional golfer. He is one of three golfers to have won The Masters in his first appearance in the event. He also won the 1984 U.S. Open, which earned him the 1985 Bob Jones Award....
as co-consultants. This course has been the home of the Stanford St. Jude Championship (formerly called the Memphis Open) since 1989.
Restorations
Because of his reputation as a restorer of the works of classic golf course designers such as Donald Ross, Prichard – then a resident of MontgomeryvilleMontgomeryville, Pennsylvania
Montgomeryville is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,624 at the 2010 census....
– was appointed in the 1990s to restore Aronimink Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club is a private country club located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Its championship golf course is consistently rated among the top 100 golf courses in the United States. In 2010, Aronimink was ranked #4 among the toughest courses on the PGA Tour by Links Magazine. The club has...
in Newtown Township
Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States . Newtown Township is the oldest township in Delaware County. The population was 11,700 as of the 2000 census.-History:...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. This was originally designed by Ross but underwent numerous modifications in the 1980s under Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was a golf course architect who designed about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world...
, an influential architect but one whose approach to golf course design was later felt to be incompatible with Ross's. The restorations achieved a higher profile when the course was selected to host the Senior PGA Championship
Senior PGA Championship
The Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money...
for 2003. Prichard's changes, only commenced after a year of planning during which he inspected the course and old photographs, included restoring Ross's original bunkering
Bunker (golf)
A hazard is an area of a golf course in the sport of golf which provides a difficult obstacle. which may be of three types: water hazards such as lakes and rivers; man-made hazards such as bunkers; and natural hazards such as dense vegetation. Special rules apply to playing balls that fall in a...
and expanding the fairways. Aronimink's rise on Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
s list of the 100 greatest American courses rose from 98th position in 2001 to 52nd the following year was credited to Prichard's restoration work.
A similar challenge – recovering a Ross design from beneath numerous later modifications – was posed by Jeffersonville Golf Club in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, requiring Prichard to make use of historical sources including 1930s aerial photographs. The restoration project he headed at The Minikahda Club
The Minikahda Club
The Minikahda Club is a golf club and course located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located near Lake Calhoun. The club was established in 1898. The name Minikahda comes from the Sioux, a combination of two Indian words meaning "by the side of the water." The course was site of the 1916 U.S....
in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, another Ross original, was praised by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
in 2007 as "a huge success, as the course now moves into the 21st century". One restoration project outside the United States was at Elmhurst Golf & Country Club at Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, which the club hoped would help to make it a venue for the Canadian Open.
Ron Whitten, writing in GolfWorld in 2007, was critical of the attempts of many planners to return Donald Ross's courses to original designs, calling such restoration "the narrow-minded substitute for imagination". However, he listed Prichard as among "[t]he best architects who specialize in Ross recoveries", understanding the need for course design to change with the times.