Henry Shapland Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a

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". T ...

born in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, England, the sixth child and younger son of a barrister. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and

Alister MacKenzie Alister MacKenzie (30 August 1870 – 6 January 1934) was an English golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the ...

, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison Ltd. He participated in the design or redesign of over 300 golf courses (115 on his own) in all six inhabited continents, including those at

Wentworth Club Wentworth Club is a privately owned Golf course, golf club and country club in Virginia Water, Surrey, on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based Reignwood Group bought the c ...

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a village and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England and is adjoined by green buffers including Sunningdale Golf Club and Wentworth Golf ...

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for T ...

Royal Portrush Royal Portrush Golf Club is a private golf club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The 36-hole club has two links courses, the Dunluce Links (the championship course) and the Valley Links. The former is one of the courses on the rota of the O ...

, and Royal Liverpool. Colt teamed up with George Crump in 1918 to design Pine Valley Golf Club, which is ranked as the #1 golf course in the United States, by ''Golf'' magazine (2017–18 ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S.) and ''Golf Digest'' (2019–20 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses). The classic Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan, was designed by Colt and Alison in 1921. The course played host to the 1947 PGA Championship, the 1957 Western Open, and Ryder Cup Challenge Matches in 1943. Colt was educated at

Monkton Combe School Monkton Combe School is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school), in the village of Monkton Combe near Bath in Somerset, England. History Monkton Combe School was founded in 1868 by the Revd. Francis Pocock, a former curate ...

near Bath between 1881 and 1887, before taking a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he captained the Cambridge University Golf Club in 1890. In 1897 he became a founder member of the Royal & Ancient Rules of Golf Committee.

Career

Colt's courses of note in the UK include: Stoke Poges Golf Club, Tandridge Golf Club, which features Colt Corner, Oxford Golf Club, Ladbrook Park Golf Club, Denham Golf Club,

St George's Hill St George's Hill is a private gated community in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Comprising more than 450 properties, the land that is now the contemporary St George's Hill estate was purchased by builder W. G. Tarrant in 1911. Over the followin ...

(New course), Belfairs Golf Club, Rye, Blackmoor,

Swinley Forest Swinley Forest is a large expanse of Crown Estate woodland managed by Forestry England mainly within the civil parishes of Windlesham in Surrey and Winkfield and Crowthorne in Berkshire, England. Coverage Situated to the south-west of Wind ...

, Brancepeth Castle, Peebles Golf Club, Brokenhurst Manor, Camberley Heath, Calcot Park, Goring and Streatley Golf Club, Alnmouth Golf Club (Foxton), Grimsby Golf Club, Hendon Golf Club, Tyneside and the East & West Courses at

. He performed extensive revisions of

(Old course),

Woodhall Spa Woodhall Spa is a former spa town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south-west of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle, west of Skegness, east-south-east o ...

and

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of Prince Arth ...

. In Ireland Colt & Co. were responsible for new courses a
Royal PortrushRoyal BelfastCo. Sligo
an
Belvoir Park
in Belfast. Extensive revisions were also carried out a
Royal County Down
an
Dollymount
Colt & Company were also active in Continental Europe, throughout Northern France, The Netherlands and Germany. In Canada, his courses for the Hamilton Golf and Country Club and the Toronto Golf Club are highly respected. He also designed in 1914 the first Spanish course bigger than 4.300 yards, the Club de Golf Sant Cugat, promoted by the Barcelona Traction Light and Power Company Ltd.

Results in major championships

Note: Colt played in only

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

. DNP = Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Yellow background for top-10

Team appearances

England–Scotland Amateur Match The England–Scotland Amateur Match was an annual men's amateur golf competition organised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, contested by teams representing England and Scotland, with the winners being presented with the Walker Cup. It was pl ...

(representing England): 1908

References

External links

Colt Association Official Site
*

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

article by Mark Pottle, 'Colt, Henry Shapland

arry Arry is the name of the following communes in France: * Arry, Moselle, in the Moselle department * Arry, Somme, in the Somme department 'Arry is also a nickname, an example of H dropping in the name Harry. Those with such a nickname include: * Har ...

(1869–1951)
Colt, Henry Shapland [Harry
(1869–1951), golf course architect">arry">Colt, Henry Shapland [Harry
(1869–1951), golf course architectaccessed 2 March 2007
Bath Golf Club Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colt, Harry British golf course architects Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge People educated at Monkton Combe School People from Highgate 1869 births 1951 deaths