George Cobb (golf)


George W. Cobb, ASGCA
is a notable and prolific golf course designer who created the Par-3 course at Augusta National Golf Club among more than one hundred courses and renovated many, including his own early work. He strove to create attractive layouts that the average golfer would find enjoyable, not frustrating.

Biography

Early life

Cobb was born into a family of golfers in Savannah, Georgia, learned to play as a child and was a scratch golfer. He had an older brother, W.E. and a younger sister, Mary A.
Cobb attended the University of Georgia, where he played on the college golf team. He studied landscape architecture and graduated in 1937. He was hired by the National Park Service and worked as a landscape architect until 1941.

Military

During World War II, Cobb was a Marine Corps engineering officer at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Because he was an avid golfer and landscape architect, he was assigned the task of constructing a golf course for use in physical rehabilitation of injured GIs, but he had no experience in course design. Cobb was permitted to hire experienced course architect Fred Findlay to provide design assistance. Cobb handled the construction superintendent responsibilities on this and a subsequent course at Lejeune.
In 1946, Cobb designed and built the course at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on his own, then was discharged from the Marines during 1947.

Vocation

After the experience provided by the military, Cobb decided that he enjoyed building golf courses. He started his own golf design business and created six courses, but when the Korean War escalated, he was recalled to active duty in 1951. Released from service, Cobb initially moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina and was working on the Country Club of Sapphire Valley when he was hired to build the Green Valley Country Club. While working on Green Valley in the spring of 1956, he was offered and accepted a position as a director of Hollyridge Corporation, the developer. He and his family settled in Greenville, South Carolina, where they remained. In 1958 he was named general manager of the club, but resigned when his design business proliferated during 1960, when he had eight South Carolina courses under construction or being designed.

Augusta

Cobb's shortest course may actually be his most prominent creation.
Cobb was design consultant at Augusta National Golf Club from the mid-1950s and became good friends with Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, chairman of Augusta National. The club decided to add a par 3, nine-hole course in 1958, which Alister MacKenzie had suggested in the 1930s. Cobb was asked to design it with input from Roberts, and the 1,060 yard "little course" opened in 1959. The Par-3 Contest has been held on Wednesday of Masters week since 1960. In fifty years of Masters play, no one has ever won the Par-3 and the main tournament in the same week.
Cobb added a fresh touch to the "big course" in 1967 and 1977. The only other Par 3 course Cobb ever designed was at Vestavia Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.

Associate

John LaFoy grew up in Greenville, and was close friends with Cobb's son, George, Jr. LaFoy studied architecture and graduated from Clemson University in 1968. He apprenticed with George Cobb before the Vietnam War forced him into the service. Like Cobb, LaFoy chose the Marine Corps. After his discharge, LaFoy returned to work with Cobb, and in 1971, he became Cobb's partner. They collaborated on every subsequent course the firm built, and when Cobb's health began to fail in the early 1980s, he ran the company. After Cobb's death in 1986, LaFoy continued designing and remodeling courses, and in 1999, he served as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

Personal

While he was stationed at Camp LeJeune, Cobb married and had a son, George, Jr. and a daughter, Virginia.

Courses designed

The following table is a list of courses that George Cobb either designed alone or co-designed with John LaFoy.
Click arrow box in column heading to sort by that attribute.
Facility NameAccessCityStateBuilt
East Lake Golf ClubPrivateAtlantaGA1963
Coosa Country ClubPrivateRomeGA1961
Cane Creek Golf CoursePublicFort McClellanAL1942
Gold at Paradise Point Golf CourseMilitaryCamp LejeuneNC1945
Paradise Point Golf Club MilitaryCamp LejeuneNC1945
Cherry Point Golf ClubPrivateCherry PointNC1946
Green Valley Country ClubPrivateGreenvilleSC1955
Fort Mill Golf ClubSemi-PrivateFort MillSC1948
Fort Jackson Golf CourseMilitaryColumbiaSC1949
Wildcat at Fort Jackson Golf ClubMilitaryFort JacksonSC1949
Carmel Country Club PrivateCharlotteNC1950
Lake/Cedar at Greenwood Country ClubPrivateGreenwoodSC1950
University of North Carolina Finley Golf CourseSemi-PrivateChapel HillNC1951
Jacksonville Country ClubPrivateJacksonvilleNC1951
High Hampton Inn & Country ClubResortCashiersNC1956
University of Maryland Golf CourseSemi-PrivateCollege ParkMD1956
Fort Eustis Golf ClubMilitaryFort EustisVA1956
Parks at Courses at Fort MeadeMilitaryFort MeadeMD1956
Glenn Dale Country ClubSemi-PrivateGlenn DaleMD1956
Laurel Pines Country ClubPublicLaurelMD1956
Laurel Country ClubPublicLaurelMD1957
JC Long Estate Golf ClubSemi-PrivateMount PleasantSC1957
Vestavia Country ClubPrivateBirminghamAL1958
Willowhaven Country ClubSemi-PrivateDurhamNC1958
Raleigh Golf Association PublicRaleighNC1958
Country Club of Sapphire ValleyPrivateCashiersNC1956
Lakeside Golf ClubPublicAtlantaGA1960
The Nine Hole at Augusta National Golf ClubPrivateAugustaGA1960
Green Island Country ClubPrivateColumbusGA1960
Surf Golf & Beach ClubSemi-PrivateNorth Myrtle BeachSC1960
Vestavia Country Club-Par 3 CoursePrivateBirminghamAL1960
Quail Hollow ClubPrivateCharlotteNC1961
Spring Valley Country ClubPrivateColumbiaSC1961
Sea Pines Resort ResortHilton Head IslandSC1961
Deerwood ClubPrivateJacksonvilleFL1961
Berkeley Country ClubSemi-PrivateMoncks CornerSC1961
Mountain Valley Golf CourseSemi-PrivateWaynesvilleNC1961
Oak Island Golf ClubSemi-PrivateCaswell BeachNC1962
Wildcat Cliffs Country ClubPrivateHighlandsNC1962
Windsor Forest Country ClubPrivateSavannahGA1962
Hound Ears ClubResortBooneNC1963
Dublin Country ClubPrivateDublinGA1963
Gainesville Golf & Country ClubPrivateGainesvilleFL1963
Botany Woods Golf ClubPrivateGreenvilleSC1963
Timuquana Country ClubPrivateJacksonvilleFL1963
Milledgeville Country ClubPublicMilledgevilleGA1963
Mountain Glen Golf CourseSemi-PrivateNewlandNC1963
Waynesboro Country ClubPrivateWaynesboroGA1963
Doublegate Country ClubPrivateAlbanyGA1964
Ocean Point at Fripp Island ResortResortFripp IslandSC1964
Barony at Port Royal Golf ClubPrivateHilton Head IslandSC1964
Eighteen Hole at Indian Lake Estates Golf & Country ClubSemi-PrivateIndian Lake EstatesFL1964
Rolling Hills Country ClubPrivateMonroeNC1964
High Meadows Golf & Country ClubPrivateRoaring GapNC1964
Croasdaile Country ClubPrivateDurhamNC1965
Adventure Inn Golf ClubResortHilton Head IslandSC1965
Robber's Row at Port Royal Golf ClubPrivateHilton Head IslandSC1967
Sharon Golf ClubPrivateSharon CenterOH1965
Wrenwoods Golf Club at Charleston Air Force BaseMilitaryCharlestonSC1966
Clarksville Country ClubPrivateClarksvilleTN1966
Cabarrus Country ClubPrivateConcordNC1966
Burningtree Country ClubPrivateDecaturAL1966
Myrtlewood Golf Club PrivateMyrtle BeachSC1966
Forest Heights Country ClubPrivateStatesboroGA1966
Sea Pines Resort ResortHilton Head IslandSC1967
North Ridge Country Club PrivateRaleighNC1967
Sea Palms Golf & Tennis Resort ResortSaint Simons IslandGA1967
Sea Palms Golf & Tennis Resort ResortSaint Simons IslandGA1967
Hunter Golf ClubMilitarySavannahGA1967
Mary Calder Golf ClubPublicSavannahGA1967
Twin Falls Resort State ParkResortMullensWV1968
Santee Cooper Country ClubSemi-PrivateSanteeSC1968
Pine Tree Country ClubPrivateBirminghamAL1969
Country Club of CharlestonPrivateCharlestonWV1969
Star Fort National Golf CoursePrivateNinety SixSC1969
Edgewood Country ClubPrivateSissonvilleWV1969
Browns Mill Golf ClubMunicipalAtlantaGA1970
Pope AFB Golf CourseMilitaryFayettevilleNC1970
Clipper/Galleon at Shipyard Golf ClubResortHilton Head IslandSC1970
Brigantine/Clipper at Shipyard Golf ClubResortHilton Head IslandSC1970
Galleon/Brigantine at Shipyard Golf ClubResortHilton Head IslandSC1970
Spanish Wells ClubPrivateHilton Head IslandSC1970
Warrior's Path State Park Golf CoursePublicKingsportTN1970
Snee Farm Country ClubPrivateMount PleasantSC1970
Fort McClellan Golf ClubMilitaryFort McClellanAL1971
Goose Pond Colony Golf CoursePublicScottsboroAL1971
Red Wing Lake Golf CoursePublicVirginia BeachVA1971
Brookfield West Golf & Country ClubPrivateAtlantaGA1972
Semi-PrivateBrevardNC1972
The Resort at Glade SpringsResortDanielsWV1972
Stonebridge Golf CoursePublicLakelandTN1972
Cleghorn Plantation Golf & Country ClubPublicRutherfordtonNC1972
Eisenhower College Golf Course PrivateSenecaNY1972
Bald Head Island Country ClubSemi-PrivateSouthportNC1972
Glade Springs Country ClubPrivateBeckleyWV1973
Inverness Country ClubPrivateBirminghamAL1973
StillWaters Golf Club - The Legend CoursePrivateDadevilleAL1973
Holly Tree Country ClubPrivateGreenvilleSC1973
Bryan Park Players CoursePublicBrowns SummitNC1974
Frank G. Clemment Golf ClubSemi-PrivateDicksonTN1974
Nine Hole Par 3 at Indian Lake Estates Golf & Country ClubSemi-PrivateIndian Lake EstatesFL1974
Stonebridge Golf CoursePublicMemphisTN1974
Cobb's Glen Country ClubSemi-PrivateAndersonSC1975
Woodlands Golf & Country ClubPrivateColumbiaSC1975
Clemson University Golf CourseSemi-PrivateClemsonSC1976
The Tides Inn ResortIrvingtonVA1976
Mountwood Park Golf CourseSemi-PrivateWaverlyWV1977
Keowee Key Golf & Country ClubPrivateSenecaSC1977
New Quarter Park Golf ClubSemi-PrivateWilliamsburgVA1977
Pohick Bay Golf CoursePublicLortonVA1978
Mallard Head Country ClubSemi-PrivateMooresvilleNC1979
Heddle's Hideaway Country ClubSemi-PrivateSpartanburgSC1979
PrivateLinvilleNC1983
North/East at Athens Country ClubPrivateAthensGA1985
Sanctuary Golf ClubPrivateBeaufortSC1985
Cat Island Country ClubPrivateFripp IslandSC1985
Tartan Golf ClubResortWeemsVA1958