By Ron Whitten
Golf Digest — June 2000
The man who started it all is gone now. Robert Trent Jones died June 14th at his apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at age 93.
But the sun never sets on the Robert Trent Jones empire. In a career that stretched from the Coolidge presidency to the Clinton one, Trent Jones encircled the globe with tees, fairways and greens.
At the peak of his fame, a commercial jetliner was as much a tool of his trade as a drafting board or a bulldozer. The numbers are staggering. Trent had a hand in 420 golf designs spread over 42 American states and 28 other nations. His work has hosted 79 national championships, including 20 U.S. Opens and 12 PGA Championships. Add to that recent Ryder and Presidents Cups at Valderrama and Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
In the 35-year history of Golf Digest’s rankings of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, 44 different Trent Jones layouts have been listed, the most of any architect. The 1999 list contains 14 of his most recognizable names, like Spyglass Hill, Congressional, Mauna Kea, Bellerive and Point O’Woods.
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