George C. Thomas Jr

George C. Thomas Jr (October 3, 1873 - February 28, 1932) 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.

As a teenager, he began designing a golf course on his family's suburban estate, Bloomfield Farm. He sold the course in 1908 to a group of golfers who converted it into Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. In the 1910s, he was able to observe some of the pioneers of golf course design working near Philadelphia.

George C. Thomas Jr was a founding member of Sunnybrook Golf Club and witnessed Donald Ross's 1914-15 construction of its original course in Flourtown, Pennsylvania. He was friends with Hugh Wilson, George Crump, A. W. Tillinghast, and William Flynn who, along with Thomas, were masters of the "Philadelphia School" of golf course design, which encouraged high-risk/high-reward play.

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 Courses designed by George C. Thomas Jr

Los Angeles Country Club - North Course

Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County, CA, United States
Distance: 7010m Par: 70
Los Angeles Country Club - North Course is originally founded in 1897 it is moved to its present location, just one mile west of Beverly Hills in 1911, and has two 18-hole golf courses. The club occupies some of the most prestigious and expensive real estate in the world and the club's North Course offers...

Riviera Country Club Los Angeles

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Distance: 7040yd Par: 71
The Riviera Country Club, located in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles California, is a private golf and tennis club founded in 1926 by the members of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Their vision was to build the premier golf course and outdoor facility in Southern California away from the traffic and congestion of Los Angeles. The...

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