George Clifford Thomas Jr. (October 3, 1873 – February 23, 1932) was an American golf course architect, botanist, and writer. 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 and Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga.
Thomas, together with A.W. Tillinghast, William Flynn, Hugh Wilson, George Crump, and William Fownes, made up the "Philadelphia School" of golf course architecture. Collectively, the group designed over 300 courses, 27 of which are rated among the top 100 golf courses in the world.
Contents
Biography
Thomas was born in Philadelphia on October 3, 1873. He attended Episcopal Academy, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894. His father was a partner in the investment bank Drexel & Company, where the son worked until 1907. 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. He designed a 9-hole course in Marion, Massachusetts, and Spring Lake Golf Club in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey.