Harry Colt

Henry Shapland "Harry" Colt (4 August 1869 - 21 November 1951) was a golf course architect born in Highgate, England. Colt was educated at Monkton Combe School near Bath before taking a law degree at Clare College, Cambridge, where he captained the Cambridge University Golf Club in 1890.

In 1897 Colt became a Founding Member of the Royal & Ancient Rules of Golf Committee.

As a golf course architect, Harry worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison Ltd. He participated in the design of over 300 golf courses (115 on his own) in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.

Colt was a bold designer who built strategic rather than punitive courses that were adapted to the stronger playing character of the then modern rubber-core Haskell ball. His greens, as was standard for the day, were built to facilitate surface drainage and were designed for speeds that today would measure 4-6 on the Stimpmeter. He was also a pioneer in terms of master-planning golf courses as part of residential areas.

Colt was a modest and unobtrusive figure who, in a comparatively short time, probably made as great a contribution to the game as any other single individual.

Photo(s) courtesy of: The Travelling Golfer.com