Albert Warren "Tilly" Tillinghast (May 7, 1876 – May 19, 1942) was an American

golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. Tillinghast was one of the most prolific architects in the history of golf; he worked on more than 265 different courses. He was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 2015. Tillinghast, along with William Flynn,

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 t ...

, 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.

Personal life

Tillinghast was born in 1874 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the son of Benjamin Collins Tillinghast, owner of a rubber goods company there. He lived with his wife Lillian in Beverly Hills, California, and died at his daughter's home in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, in 1942. He had two daughters, including Elsie May Tillinghast Brown (1898–1974).

Career

Tillinghast-designed courses have hosted multiple

professional golf For information about professional golf see: *Professional golfer, which describes the various branches of the profession. *Professional golf tours, which covers elite professional competitive golf and links to more detailed articles about each tou ...

major championships—the 1927, 1928, and 1949

PGA Championships The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships i ...

, contested at Cedar Crest Park, Baltimore Country Club, and Hermitage Country Club, respectively; the 2005 and 2016 PGA Championship, contested at

Baltusrol Golf Club The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-Golf course#Anatomy of a golf course, hole Golf club (institution), golf club in the eastern United States, located in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, Springfield, New Jersey, about west ...

, which has also been the host of seven U.S. Opens; the 2006 and 2020 U.S. Open, contested at

Winged Foot Golf Club Winged Foot Golf Club is a private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. The club was founded in 1921, by a group largely made up of members of The New York Athletic Cl ...

; and many others. He also designed the course at the

Ridgewood Country Club The Ridgewood Country Club (RCC) is a country club located in Paramus, New Jersey, a suburb northwest of New York City in Bergen County. It was founded in 1890 in neighboring Ho-Ho-Kus, but has been at its current location since 1926. Its facili ...

, used for the

1935 Ryder Cup The 5th Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, a suburb northwest of New York City in Bergen County. The United States team won the competition by a score of 9–3 points to regain the cup. The U.S. t ...

and Scarboro Golf and Country Club in Toronto, host of the Canadian Open for four occasions. In 1916, he created the Municipal Golf Course, now called

Brackenridge Park Golf Course Brackenridge Park Golf Course is a historic golf course in San Antonio, Texas and the oldest 18-hole public golf course in Texas. It opened for play in 1916 and was the first inductee into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. Brackenridge Park was the ...

in San Antonio, Texas which hosted the

Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...

from 1922 to 1959. He also designed Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, which hosted the Texas Open 24 times between 1960 and 1994. In

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

alone, Tillinghast designed the Fenway Golf Club, Scarsdale;

Wykagyl Country Club Wykagyl Country Club is a golf course in the Wykagyl section of New Rochelle, New York. Through the years, the club has hosted major professional and amateur tournaments and is considered to be one of the premier "classic courses" in the countr ...

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

; Old Oaks Country Club,

Purchase Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between ...

; Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Scarsdale;

Scarsdale Golf Club Scarsdale Golf Club is a private golf club located in Hartsdale, New York. History The club contains the Scarsdale Golf Course, founded in 1898, which was designed by famed golf course architect A. W. Tillinghast. Additionally, the club grounds ...

Hartsdale Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Green ...

, where he designed the back nine; Briar Hall Golf & Country Club and

Sleepy Hollow Country Club Sleepy Hollow Country Club is a historic country club in Scarborough-on-Hudson in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The club was founded in 1911, and its clubhouse was known as Woodlea, a 140-room Vanderbilt mansion owned by Colonel Elliott Fitch She ...

Briarcliff Manor Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

; and Winged Foot Golf Club (East & West),

Mamaroneck Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of M ...

. In

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

in 1920, Tillinghast created a course specifically for Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor, now known as

Paramount Country Club Paramount Country Club (founded 1948) is a private country club located near New City, New York, on the site of Mountain View Farm, the former home of Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor. It features an 18-hole golf course designed by golf c ...

. Tillinghast was also the uncredited co-designer of several green complexes at Century Country Club in

Results in major championships

Tillinghast also played in several major championships, including:Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur
USGA Championship Database
/ref> DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Yellow background for top-10

Legacy

The Wissahickon Course at the

Philadelphia Cricket Club The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania. History Founded on February 10, 1854, the Philadelphia Cricket ...

is dedicated to Tillinghast, who designed the course in 1920. He was inducted into the

in 2015, the "sixth architect to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in the Lifetime Achievement category".

References

External links