George C. Thomas Jr.

George Clifford Thomas Jr. (October 3, 1873 – February 23, 1932) was an American golf course architect, botanist, and writer. He designed the original course at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and more than twenty courses in California, including Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades and Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga.

George C. Thomas Jr.
Born(1873-10-03)October 3, 1873
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedFebruary 23, 1932(1932-02-23) (aged 58)
Beverly Hills, California
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Golf course architect, botanist, writer
Spouse
Edna H. Ridge
​
(m. 1901)​
Children2
Signature

Thomas, along with A.W. Tillinghast, William Flynn, Hugh Wilson, George Crump, and William Fownes together made up the "Philadelphia School" of golf course architecture. Together, the group designed over 300 courses, 27 of which are on in the top 100 golf courses in the world.[1]

Biography
16th hole, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, Erdenheim, Pennsylvania, 1913

Thomas was born in Philadelphia on October 3, 1873.[2] He attended Episcopal Academy, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894. His father was a partner in the investment bank Drexel & Company, where the son worked until 1907. As a teenager, he began designing a golf course on his family's suburban estate, Bloomfield Farm.[3] He sold the course in 1908 to a group of golfers who converted it into Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. He designed a 9-hole course in Marion, Massachusetts, and a course in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey.

In the 1910s, he was able to observe some of the pioneers of golf course design working near Philadelphia. He was a founding member of Sunnybrook Golf Club, and witnessed Donald Ross's 1914-15 construction of its original course in Flourtown, Pennsylvania.[4] He was friends with Hugh Wilson, who designed Merion Golf Club's original East Course in 1912, and its original West Course in 1914; with George Crump, who designed Pine Valley Golf Club's original course in 1915; and with A. W. Tillinghast, who later designed the Philadelphia Cricket Club's original course in Flourtown. Crump, Tillinghast, Wilson, William Flynn (who constructed Wilson's courses at Merion), and Thomas were masters of the "Philadelphia School" of golf course design, which encouraged high-risk/high-reward play.[5]

He served in the Army Air Service during World War I, attaining the rank of captain. "The Captain" remained his nickname for the rest of his life.

He moved to California in 1919, where he designed the course at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara. William P. Bell collaborated and supervised its construction. He and Bell later collaborated on courses for Los Angeles Country Club, Ojai Country Club, Bel-Air Country Club, Fox Hills Golf Course, Red Hill Country Club, and others.

In 1926, he published a seminal book, Golf Course Architecture in America, in which he stated the goal behind his work: "When you play a course and remember each hole, it has individuality and change. If your mind cannot recall the exact sequence of the holes, that course lacks the great assets of originality and diversity."[6]

He considered the course at Red Hill Country Club to be his masterpiece. It is the only one of his courses that has never been extensively altered.

Dogs and roses
"Bloomfield Abundance Rose", hybridized by Thomas in 1920

He raised English setters, and was one of the founders of the English Setter Club of America.[7]

In 1912, he began breeding roses on Bloomfield Farm, trying to create a variety that would thrive in Philadelphia's Mid-Atlantic climate. His botanical work continued in California, where he cultivated some 1,200 varieties, including his own "Bloomfield" hybrids.[8] He wrote two books on roses.

Family

He married Edna H. Ridge in Philadelphia on July 6, 1901. They had two children: George Clifford III, born April 13, 1905; and Josephine Moorehead, born April 14, 1907.[2] Thomas died of a heart attack at their home in Beverly Hills on February 23, 1932.[9]

Legacy

Geoff Shackelford, a golf course architect and author, wrote a 1995 history of Riviera Country Club and a 1996 biography of Thomas.[10]

In 2008, Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Southern California Golf Association's Hall of Fame.[11]

In 2010, Gil Hanse restored the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club to Thomas's 1921 design.[12] On Golf Digest's 2010 list of the 100 greatest golf courses in America, Riviera Country Club was ranked 31st, and the restored North Course at Los Angeles Country Club was ranked 47th.[13]

In June 2012, the first George C. Thomas Jr. Invitational Tournament was held on the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club.[14]

Golf courses
External video
video icon Hole 1, Riviera (U.S. Open) on YouTube
video icon George C. Thomas Jr. on YouTube
  • Wilson and Harding Golf Courses (center, far left), Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California
    Wilson and Harding Golf Courses (center, far left), Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California
  • 18th hole, Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California. Because of the half-bowl shape of the topography, this hole is nicknamed "The Amphitheater".
    18th hole, Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California. Because of the half-bowl shape of the topography, this hole is nicknamed "The Amphitheater".
  • 12th hole, Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, California
    12th hole, Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, California
  • 14th hole, Palos Verdes Golf Course - designed by George C. Thomas & William P. Bell (photo taken in 2003)
    14th hole, Palos Verdes Golf Course - designed by George C. Thomas & William P. Bell (photo taken in 2003)

References
  1. Philadelphia School
  2. Jordan, John W., ed. (1921). Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography, Illustrated. Vol. XIII. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 63. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Google Books.
  3. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on July 21, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2013. Note: This includes George E. Thomas (August 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Compton and Bloomfield" (PDF). Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  4. Sunnybrook Golf Club History
  5. William Flynn biographical sketch
  6. Golf Course Architecture in America (1926), p. 136.
  7. "English Setter Club of America history". Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  8. Dan McMasters, Two Centuries of the Rose in California (American Rose Society, 1977), p. 27.
  9. "Geo. C. Thomas, Jr., Dies in California". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 24, 1932. p. 3. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Geoff Shackelford blog
  11. SCGA Hall of Fame
  12. North Course, Los Angeles Country Club restoration
  13. "100 Greatest Golf Courses in America" (2010) from Golf Digest.
  14. George C. Thomas Jr. Invitational
  15. "Spring Lake Golf Club history". Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  16. Red Hill Country Club Our Story
  17. Saticoy Country Club history
  18. Harding Memorial Golf Course
  19. Ojai Country Club history
  20. Riviera Country Club -- A hole-by-hole tour
  21. Stanford Golf Course
  • Geoffrey S. Cornish, Ronald E. Whitten: The Architects of Golf. HarperCollins, New York 1993. ISBN 0062700820
  • Geoff Shackelford: The Riviera Country Club; A Definitive History. Riviera Country Club 1995.
  • Geoff Shackelford: The Captain: George C. Thomas Jr. and His Golf Architecture. Sleeping Bear Press, Chelsea 1996. ISBN 1886947287
  • George C. Thomas Jr.: The Practical Book of Outdoor Rose-growing for the Home Garden. J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1914.
  • George C. Thomas Jr.: Golf Course Architecture in America: Its Strategy and Construction. John Wiley & Sons, New York 1926. Reprint: Clocktower Press, Ann Arbor 1997. ISBN 1886947147
  • George C. Thomas Jr.: Breeding Roses at Home. American Rose Society, 1929.
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