Why MacKenzie Greens?
In the north of England any green on two levels is known as a MacKenzie green. Some were even originally built by a man named MacKenzie, but many weren't, he didn't particularly favour them and there was a lot more to his art than that.
I like the title, partly for this irony and also for the original meaning of 'green' - which referred to the entire course. So this blog is, among other things, about MacKenzie's courses.
If you're reading this you've probably heard of Dr Alister MacKenzie, the GP turned golf course architect responsible for Augusta National, the home of the Masters, Cypress Point, Royal Melbourne and over a hundred other courses great and small worldwide.
MacK is arguably the greatest architect ever but one of the many paradoxes about his place on golf's pantheon is the obscurity of so many of his courses, principally in northern England.
Some are well-known, such as Alwoodley and Moortown.
Others, like Sitwell Park are famous by name with golf course aficionados across the Atlantic but missed off the tourist trail and relatively unheralded at home in the UK.
Still others make so little of their heritage that even some members, who could tell you the architect of Augusta in a trice, are unaware their courses were designed by Mackenzie.
There's a recent biography, researched by a non-golfing Leeds doctor, James Scott, who became fascinated by his predecessor in the city. He teamed up with Tom Doak, an American writer and golf course architect and MacK's descendant Ray Haddock to produce the book. Doak talks about the process here
It's arguably the finest bio of a golf course architect but the best parts - Doak's analysis and the historic and contemporary pictures and plans - only deal with a few of MacK's English courses, the ones listed above and some pictures and analysis of Cavendish and Reddish Vale.
In the back of the book is a list of all the courses MacK designed or remodeled and I was amazed when I read it a year or two ago to see scores I had heard of, and in some cases played, which I had no idea were designed by the creator of Augusta and Cypress Point.
As a long-term, part-time project I decided to play, photograph and research the history of these English courses, conveniently (for me) found mostly in the north as MacK was based in Leeds. In the fullness of time I plan to publish MacKenzie Greens: The English Courses Of The Good Doctor - either in book form if I can find a publisher or, perhaps more likely, on the web.
In the meantime MacKenzie is likely to loom large in this blog. If you are a member of a MacK course I'd be delighted to hear from you with any information, pictures etc you care to share. Cheers.
I like the title, partly for this irony and also for the original meaning of 'green' - which referred to the entire course. So this blog is, among other things, about MacKenzie's courses.
If you're reading this you've probably heard of Dr Alister MacKenzie, the GP turned golf course architect responsible for Augusta National, the home of the Masters, Cypress Point, Royal Melbourne and over a hundred other courses great and small worldwide.
MacK is arguably the greatest architect ever but one of the many paradoxes about his place on golf's pantheon is the obscurity of so many of his courses, principally in northern England.
Some are well-known, such as Alwoodley and Moortown.
Others, like Sitwell Park are famous by name with golf course aficionados across the Atlantic but missed off the tourist trail and relatively unheralded at home in the UK.
Still others make so little of their heritage that even some members, who could tell you the architect of Augusta in a trice, are unaware their courses were designed by Mackenzie.
There's a recent biography, researched by a non-golfing Leeds doctor, James Scott, who became fascinated by his predecessor in the city. He teamed up with Tom Doak, an American writer and golf course architect and MacK's descendant Ray Haddock to produce the book. Doak talks about the process here
It's arguably the finest bio of a golf course architect but the best parts - Doak's analysis and the historic and contemporary pictures and plans - only deal with a few of MacK's English courses, the ones listed above and some pictures and analysis of Cavendish and Reddish Vale.
In the back of the book is a list of all the courses MacK designed or remodeled and I was amazed when I read it a year or two ago to see scores I had heard of, and in some cases played, which I had no idea were designed by the creator of Augusta and Cypress Point.
As a long-term, part-time project I decided to play, photograph and research the history of these English courses, conveniently (for me) found mostly in the north as MacK was based in Leeds. In the fullness of time I plan to publish MacKenzie Greens: The English Courses Of The Good Doctor - either in book form if I can find a publisher or, perhaps more likely, on the web.
In the meantime MacKenzie is likely to loom large in this blog. If you are a member of a MacK course I'd be delighted to hear from you with any information, pictures etc you care to share. Cheers.
posted by Andy Levett at 10:14 am
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