About
Pennink was famous for his design quirk of placing a solitary tree in the center of the fairway—a distinctive feature found in several of his courses.
Frank Pennink (1913–1983) was a renowned British golf course architect, celebrated for shaping the landscape of golf across Europe, Africa, and Asia over a four-decade career. A skilled amateur player, Pennink twice won the English Amateur Championship and played for the winning British team in the 1938 Walker Cup. After World War II service as a Royal Air Force squadron leader, he transitioned to golf journalism before joining C.K. Cotton to form the influential firm Cotton, Pennink and Partners Ltd. Pennink was the driving force behind many of the firm’s most prominent projects, including the acclaimed Old Course at Vilamoura and Palmares in Portugal, Noordwijk in the Netherlands, and Olgiata in Italy. He was known for his economical yet strategic design approach, favoring simple, effective greens and plateau layouts. Pennink also held key administrative roles, notably as president of the English Golf Union and Walker Cup selector, helping shape the future of British amateur golf.
