New Jersey Golf Hall of Fame Spotlight: Rees Jones
KENILWORTH, N.J. - When Rees Jones reflects on his career in golf course architecture, his thoughts often return to where it all began... New Jersey.
“I’m a true New Jerseyite,” Jones said.
In April, Jones will be formally inducted into the New Jersey Golf Hall of Fame, joining a distinguished group of contributors to the game in the Garden State. Among those already honored is his father, legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., whose influence helped shape one of the most accomplished careers in modern golf course design.
For Jones, the recognition is both personal and deeply meaningful.
“To be included with all the people that have already been inducted, many of whom I’ve been associated with or been friends with is really special,” Jones said. “It’s an acknowledgement that I’m part of a significant golf history.”
That history traces back to a childhood immersed in the game. Growing up in the Jones household meant being surrounded by golf’s most influential figures.
“The world wasn’t quite like it is now,” Jones recalled. “People would come to the house all the time -- my father’s clients, golf writers, golf professionals.”
His father was widely regarded as one of the leading architects of the era, and the family home often became a gathering place for prominent voices in the game. Jones remembers meeting influential figures such as philanthropist Laurence Rockefeller, famed golf writer Herbert Warren Wind and golf professional Gene Sarazen.
At the time, he didn’t realize those encounters were quietly shaping his future.
“Little beknownst to me, I was to some degree being prepped to become a golf course architect,” he said.
After graduating from Yale and studying Landscape Architecture at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley, Jones joined his father’s firm and spent nearly a decade learning the craft before eventually establishing his own practice. Those early years provided an education that went well beyond design.
“You can have the greatest ideas in golf course design,” he explained. “But you have to learn how to get them on the ground through the construction process.”
Working alongside contractors and construction crews gave him a practical understanding of how architectural ideas translate from paper to the landscape - a skill that would become central to his success.
Once he launched his own firm, Rees Jones, Inc., in 1974, Jones quickly built a reputation that extended far beyond New Jersey. Over time, he became known throughout the golf world as “The Open Doctor,” a nickname earned through his work preparing multiple courses for major championships such as the U.S. Open, as well as the PGA Championship and more.
The title began to take hold after a restoration project at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts in preparation for the 1988 U.S. Open.
“At Brookline, we brought the design back to its past style while updating it at the same time,” Jones said. “The course had been changed in design and style indiscriminately, but we restored it to what it originally was.”
That project led to a long list of championship-related renovations. Over the next several decades, Jones worked on courses that would host U.S. Opens, PGA Championships, Ryder Cups, Presidents Cups, Walker Cups, the TOUR Championship, Canadian Open, Japan Open and many PGA TOUR events.
Yet no two projects were alike.
“Every course has its own unique design intent and style,” he said. “At Bethpage Black we had to resurrect the golf course. Trees had grown into bunkers and many bunkers had been eliminated, fairway lines changed and hole locations had been lost. It had to be expanded and adjusted for modern play.”
Other projects required entirely different approaches. At Bellerive Country Club, portions of the course had to be reimagined, while at Torrey Pines South the course had to be completely redesigned and rebuilt while maximizing the natural characteristics of the site. This was done to challenge the game's best players while at the same time recreating a course that the public can play and enjoy on a daily basis.
Despite his global reputation, Jones has always maintained a special connection to the state where he first learned the game.
“If any New Jersey club called, I would do the work for them, even if I was extremely busy,” he said. “Because it’s my home state, I felt a strong sense of responsibility.”
That connection dates back to his junior golf days at Montclair Golf Club, where a strong junior program helped introduce him to the competitive side of the game. Jones credits several influential figures from that era, including Hall of Famers Carolyn Cudone and Billy Dear, for helping shape his development.
“They started the junior golf program,” Jones said, “which helped get a lot of us into the game of golf.”
New Jersey also played an important role in shaping his architectural perspective. The region is home to some of the most influential designs from golf’s Golden Age, including courses created by architects such as A. W. Tillinghast and Donald Ross.
“The beauty of New Jersey golf course architecture is that so many accomplished architects built courses here,” Jones said. “They’re models for future architecture.”
Studying those courses helped inspire Jones’ approach to restoration, one that respects the vision of the original architect while carefully adapting the course for modern play.
“When I observe most golf courses, I see they have a defined style. However, often green sizes and bunker styles had been lost over time,” he said.
Rather than imposing his own design identity on existing courses, Jones focused on restoring those original characteristics when applicable. That philosophy guided his work at several New Jersey clubs, including Galloping Hill Golf Course, Canoe Brook Country Club, Baltusrol Golf Club, Montclair Golf Club, Essex Fells Country Club, Echo Lake Country Club, Montammy Golf Club and Deal Golf & Country Club. His work on numerous New Jersey courses influenced his original designs, reflected in the Forest Course at Fiddler’s Elbow.
“I tried to bring back the style of the original architects with my own flair,” he said.
That flexibility has also allowed his design philosophy to evolve as the modern game continues to change. One of the biggest challenges architects face today, Jones noted, is the increasing distance of modern golf equipment.
“The ball is going so much farther now,” he said. “Length is the paramount consideration regarding the elite players.”
Yet stretching courses isn’t always practical or necessary, which means architects must look for other ways to challenge the best players. Jones has increasingly focused on strategic design elements such as green contours, angles of approach and creative hole locations.
Jones initially focused his career largely within the United States so he could watch his daughters grow up. In the following years he felt able to travel long distances to take advantage of opportunities to design golf courses around the world. His firm has completed projects in Europe, Great Britain, Mexico, South America, the Caribbean and Asia, including multiple courses in Japan, where he has developed a particular appreciation for the country’s golf culture.
“They really love their golf,” Jones said. “They love their gardens, their trees, their water features. It’s a very special society.”
Through it all, Jones has remained guided by a simple design philosophy: a golf course should challenge accomplished players while remaining playable for everyone else. That means providing multiple options for how a hole can be played -- whether by attacking the green through the air or using the ground game to work the ball toward the target.
“It’s important to have multiple shot options, a lot of alternatives, and holes that make you think,” he said.
It is an approach that has allowed his work to stand the test of time. And now, as he prepares to take his place in the New Jersey Golf Hall of Fame, Jones sees the honor as a reflection of the state that helped shape his lifelong connection to the game.
“New Jersey has spawned a lot of great golfers and great architecture,” he said. “I’m very pleased to be part of that history.”
Jones will be inducted into the NJ Golf Hall of Fame on Wednesday, April 22 at Upper Montclair Country Club. To purchase tickets for the event, click here.
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