Seven facts about Alister MacKenzie

A brief history of the mastermind behind Augusta

1 Born in Yorkshire in 1870, to Scottish parents, Alister MacKenzie was christened Alexander but always referred to as ‘Alister’ (the Gaelic variant).

2 He graduated from Cambridge University and worked as a surgeon, including war-time service in the Boer War in South Africa. He also served during World War I, this time as both a surgeon and a camoufleur (someone who taught camouflage techniques).

3 A keen golfer, he was a founder member of Alwoodley Golf Club in Leeds where he first put his ideas on golf design to the committee in 1907 – who promptly asked for a second opinion from an expert, Harry Colt, who supported MacKenzie’s ideas.

4 His first golf course design was Cleckheaton & District Golf Club in Bradford in 1905, followed by a modification of Fulwell Golf Club.

5 After World War I, MacKenzie left medicine behind to set up a firm with Harry Colt and Charles Alison in 1919 before going it alone four years later.

6 He moved to America in the 1920s where he created arguably his greatest work, including Augusta National Golf Club (1933), Cypress Point Club (1928) and Royal Melbourne (Australia, 1931) – still three of the very best golf courses in the world.

7 In total he designed more than 50 courses, although it’s estimated he had an impact on more than 100 across the world. He died in 1934, aged 64.

The Masters

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