Harry Colt
Henry Shapland Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a British golf course architect born in Highgate, England, the sixth child and younger son of a barrister. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison Ltd. He participated in the design or redesign of over 300 golf courses (115 on his own) in all six inhabited continents, including those at Wentworth Club, Sunningdale, Muirfield, Royal Portrush, and Royal Liverpool.
Also recorded as Henry Shapland Colt · Harry S. Colt · H. S. Colt
Harry Colt

Golf Illustrated Outdoor America, The Stuyvesant Company, New York. August 1914, page 17 · Public domain
- Name
- Harry Colt
- Birth Name
- Henry Shapland Colt
- Born
- 4 August 1869
- Birthplace
- Highgate, London, United Kingdom
- Died
- 21 November 1951
- Place of death
- United Kingdom
- Education
- Clare College
- Occupation
- Golf course architect; golf course designer
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Henry Shapland Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a British golf course architect born in Highgate, England, the sixth child and younger son of a barrister. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison Ltd. He participated in the design or redesign of over 300 golf courses (115 on his own) in all six inhabited continents, including those at Wentworth Club, Sunningdale, Muirfield, Royal Portrush, and Royal Liverpool.
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Note VALÉORINE
Harry Colt (1869–1951) was a British and British architect. Born in Highgate, the architect died in Berkshire. Harry Colt studied at Clare College and Monkton Combe School. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q364629 · wikipedia · Harry Colt
In this article
Biography
Biography
Colt teamed up with George Crump in 1918 to design the course at Pine Valley Golf Club, which has been ranked almost continuously since 1985 as the #1 golf course in the United States, by Golf magazine (1985–2000, 2003–2008, 2013–2014, 2017-2025 ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S.) and Golf Digest (1985–2000, 2003–2008, 2013–2014, 2017-2025 ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses). The classic Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan, was designed by Colt and Alison in 1921. The course played host to the 1947 PGA Championship, the 1957 Western Open, and Ryder Cup Challenge Matches in 1943. Colt was educated at Monkton Combe School near Bath between 1881 and 1887, before taking a law degree at Clare College, Cambridge, where he captained the Cambridge University Golf Club in 1890. In 1897 he became a founder member of the Royal & Ancient Rules of Golf Committee.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Harry Colt • Birth Name — Henry Shapland Colt • Born — 4 August 1869 • Birthplace — Highgate, London, United Kingdom • Died — 21 November 1951 • Place of death — United Kingdom • Education — Clare College • Occupation — Golf course architect; golf course designer • Years Active — c. 1910s to 1951 • Employer — Colt, Alison & Morrison Ltd. • Illustration — Two Bunkers by H. S. Colt, representing the then-new natural style, 1914
Career
Career
Colt's courses of note in the UK include: Stoke Poges Golf Club, Tandridge Golf Club, which features Colt Corner, Oxford Golf Club, Ladbrook Park Golf Club, Denham Golf Club, St George's Hill, Sunningdale (New course), Belfairs Golf Club, Rye, Blackmoor, Swinley Forest, Brancepeth Castle, Peebles Golf Club, Brokenhurst Manor, Camberley Heath, Calcot Park, Goring and Streatley Golf Club, Alnmouth Golf Club (Foxton), Grimsby Golf Club, Hendon Golf Club, Tyneside and the East & West Courses at Wentworth Club. He performed extensive revisions of Sunningdale (Old course), Woodhall Spa, Muirfield and Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. In Ireland Colt & Co. were responsible for new courses at Royal Portrush, Royal Belfast, Co. Sligo and Belvoir Park in Belfast. Extensive revisions were also carried out at Royal County Down and Dollymount. Colt & Company were also active in Continental Europe, throughout Northern France, The Netherlands and Germany. In Canada, his courses for the Hamilton Golf and Country Club and the Toronto Golf Club are highly respected. He also designed in 1914 the first Spanish course bigger than 4.300 yards, the Club de Golf Sant Cugat, promoted by the Barcelona Traction Light and Power Company Ltd.
Results in major championships
Results in major championships
Note: Colt played in only The Open Championship and The Amateur Championship. • Tournament — 1891 — 1892 — 1893 — 1894 — 1895 — 1896 — 1897 — 1898 — 1899 • The Open Championship — T38 — DNP — DNP — DNP — DNP — DNP — DNP — DNP — DNP • The Amateur Championship — DNP — DNP — DNP — DNP — R64 — R32 — R32 — R64 — R32 • Tournament — 1900 — 1901 — 1902 — 1903 — 1904 — 1905 — 1906 — 1907 — 1908 — 1909 • The Amateur Championship — R32 — QF — R64 — DNP — R64 — DNP — SF — R128 — QF — R128 • Tournament — 1910 — 1911 — 1912 • The Amateur Championship — R32 — QF — R32 DNP = Did not play "T" indicates a tie for a place R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play Yellow background for top-10
Team appearances
Team appearances
• England–Scotland Amateur Match (representing England): 1908
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1869
Harry Colt born at Highgate.
1951
Harry Colt died at Berkshire.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Highgate.
Birth place
Berkshire.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Bath Golf Club. Harry Colt.
- 2.Colt, Henry Shapland.
- 3.Oxford Golf Club. www.oxfordgolfclub.co.uk.
- 4.About Us. Belfairs Golf Club.
- 5.Harry Colt Golf Courses The Greatest Golf Architect of All Time?. www.yourgolftravel.com.
- 6.27 Holes of Genius. Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
- 7.The Glasgow Herald 8 May 1895, p. 8. news.google.com.
- 8.The Glasgow Herald, 21 May 1896, p. 11. news.google.com.
- 9.The Glasgow Herald, 25 May 1898, p. 10. news.google.com.
- 10.The Glasgow Herald, 25 May 1899, p. 11. news.google.com.
- 11.The Glasgow Herald, 10 May 1900, p. 13. news.google.com.
- 12.Golf, June 1901, p. 413.
- 13.The Glasgow Herald, 30 April 1902, p. 10. news.google.com.
- 14.The Glasgow Herald, 1 June 1904, p. 11. news.google.com.
- 15.Golf, July 1906, p. 30.
- 16.The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1907, p. 12. news.google.com.
- 17.The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1908, p. 14. news.google.com.
- 18.The American Golfer, July 1909, p. 11.
- 19.The Glasgow Herald, 2 June 1910, p. 8. news.google.com.
- 20.The Glasgow Herald, 2 June 1911, p. 9. news.google.com.
- 21.The American Golfer, July 1912, p. 198. la84foundation.org.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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