About
Red Lawrence earned the nickname 'Desert Fox' for designing Desert Forest Golf Club in Arizona, regarded as the first true desert golf course in the American Southwest.
Robert "Red" Lawrence was a prominent American golf course architect remembered as the 'Desert Fox' for his influential work in the American Southwest. Born in White Plains, New York in 1893, Lawrence began his career as a layout engineer at Westchester Country Club. He became closely associated with the 'Philadelphia School' of golf architecture and worked as a design assistant for William S. Flynn, most notably at Merion Golf Club from 1921 to 1932. During the lean years of the Great Depression, he served as Green Keeper at Boca Raton Hotel. In 1947, Lawrence became a founding member and the first president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Relocating to Arizona in 1958, he pioneered desert golf with courses like Desert Forest Golf Club, which remains his most celebrated design. Over his career, Lawrence designed numerous courses and left a legacy in both classic and modern golf architecture. He was inducted into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
