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George Clifford Thomas, Jr. (October 3, 1873, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - February 28, 1932, Beverly Hills, California) was an American golf course architect, botanist, and author. 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. ==Biography== He grew up in Philadelphia, 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania ) ''Note:'' This includes 〕 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.〔(Sunnybrook Golf Club History )〕 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.〔(William Flynn biographical sketch )〕 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 (now demolished). 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, 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.”〔''Golf Course Architecture in America'' (1926), p. 136.〕 He considered the course at Riviera Country Club to be his masterpiece. It is the only one of his courses that has never been altered. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George C. Thomas, Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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