Stanley Thompson

Stanley Thompson (September 18, 1893 – January 4, 1953) was a Canadian golf course architect. He was a co-founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Born in Toronto, he graduated from Malvern Collegiate Institute and attended the Ontario Agricultural College (now the University of Guelph) for one year. He served with the Canadian military in Europe during World War I; after the war ended, he visited many of the top courses in the British Isles. When he returned to Canada after the war he became a full-time golf course architect, going into business himself by 1923. In the 1920s there was a rapid expansion of golf and new courses were needed to accommodate the millions of new players, so Thompson and his peers were kept very busy. He designed courses from 1912-1952, mostly in Canada, with a philosophy of preserving the natural lay and flow of the land. He got his start with George Cumming, longtime professional at the Toronto Golf Club, who had designed several Canadian...