Stanley Thompson (September 18, 1893 รข€" January 4, 1953) was a Canadian golf course architect and high-standard amateur golfer. He was a co-founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
Early life, education, and military service
Born in Toronto, he graduated from Malvern Collegiate Institute and attended the Ontario Agricultural College (now the University of Guelph) for one year. He served with the Canadian military in Europe during World War I; after the war ended, he visited many of the top courses in the British Isles.
Early design career
When he returned to Canada after the war he became a full-time golf course architect, going into business himself by 1923. In the 1920s there was a rapid expansion of golf and new courses were needed to accommodate the millions of new players, so Thompson and his peers were kept very busy.
Thompson designed courses from 1912-1952, mostly in Canada, with a philosophy of preserving the natural lay and flow of the land. He got his start with George Cumming, longtime professional at the Toronto Golf Club, who had designed several Canadian courses around the turn of the 20th century. Thompson hired Howard Watson and C.E. (Robbie) Robinson in 1929; after working with Thompson for many years, both Watson and Robinson launched their own independent careers, each contributing to more than 50 courses. Canadian Geoffrey Cornish worked with Thompson, and eventually began his own practice, working mainly in the United States. Thompson became design partners with Robert Trent Jones in 1932; the two worked together for most of the 1930s, as Thompson trained the younger Jones.
Courses in Canadian National Parks
Thompson's many world-famous courses include the Banff Springs Hotel Golf Course in Banff, Alberta, the Jasper Park Golf Course in Jasper, Alberta, the scenic Fundy National Park Course in New Brunswick and the Highlands Links in Ingonish, Nova Scotia; all four are publicly accessible and located in Canadian National Parks. Banff Springs and Jasper Park earned him a worldwide reputation.
Canadian private clubs
Eight outstanding private clubs designed by Thompson are the Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, British Columbia, the Edmonton Country Club and the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton, Alberta, Niakwa Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Oakdale Golf Club and the St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, the Westmount Golf and Country Club in Kitchener, and the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ontario.
Helps to found ASGCA in 1948
In 1948, Thompson was a co-founder, with Donald Ross, of the American Society of Golf Course Architects,.
Thompson family golf achievements
Thompson was an excellent player himself, competing with success many times in the Canadian Amateur Championship, and he had four brothers -- Nicol, Frank, Mathew, and Bill -- all of whom became outstanding Canadian players in the 1920s. Nicol was the professional at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, while the other four remained top-class amateurs. Frank won two Canadian Amateur titles, while Bill won one.
Summary of courses designed
The Stanley Thompson Society provides a list of 178 courses which Thompson laid out, had constructed, or remodeled through one of the companies that he worked for or managed in the years 1912-1953. Geographically, the courses are located in:
- Canada (144 courses)
- USA (26 courses)
- Brazil (4 courses)
- Colombia (2 courses)
- Jamaica (2 courses)
Death, legacy
Thompson died of an aneurysm in 1953, at age 59, during travel from Toronto to South America.
Thompson was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1980. In 2000, golf historian James A. Barclay wrote a biography of Thompson entitled The Toronto Terror.
References
External links
- The Stanley Thompson Society
- Profile at Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
- The Friends of Stanley Thompson
- stanleythompson.freeservers.com