Jump to content

David McLay Kidd

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David McLay Kidd is a Scottish golf course architect. He has 1 course, Bandon Dunes, ranked among the top 100 in the world according to the "Top 100 Courses in the World"[1] November 2025 list compiled by Golf Magazine. Other notable designs include Gamble Sands, Mammoth Dunes, and Tetherow. He lives in Bend, Oregon.[2]

Early life and education

[edit]

McLay Kidd was born in 1967, in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in Scotland.[3] His father, Jimmy Kidd, was a greenkeeper.[3] At Writtle College he studied Horticulture and Landscape Design, the closest discipline he could find to golf design, and he interned with Southern Golf Construction.[4]

Career

[edit]

Kidd worked at Swan Golf Designs and as Director of Design at Gleneagles Golf Developments.[4]

In 1994 he was hired by Mike Keiser to design the first course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.[5] Kidd wrote that "My task was to create the first genuine Scottish-style links course in America, and I believe there are few places outside the sand dunes along the Oregon coast where this would be possible."[6] The course opened in May 1999.[7]

In the following years, in some of Kidd's designs, the "whole resistance to scoring, and defense of par, and all of this kind of stuff starts to play into the mix."[8] Among such designs were the St Andrews Links Castle Course,[9] and Tetherow in Oregon.

Following a 2009 visit back to Bandon, in his subsequent work Kidd shifted toward playability and fun for the average golfer. Courses such as Mammoth Dunes and Gamble Sands, with wide fairways, large greens, and fewer opportunities to lose golf balls, reflect this change. "Playability and challenge are not the scales of justice," Kidd says. "They are not connected. You can create an extremely playable golf course that is still very challenging."[10]

In 2025, Loralama represented Kidd's attempt to bring Links golf to Texas.[11]

Kidd's design firm is DMK Golf Design.[12]

Courses

[edit]
  • Bandon Dunes, Bandon, OR[13]
  • Beaverbrook, England[14]
  • Entrada at Snow Canyon, UT[15]
  • Fancourt - Montagu, South Africa[16]
  • Gamble Sands - Sands Course, WA[17]
  • Gamble Sands - Scarecrow, WA[18]
  • Gokarna Forest, Nepal[19]
  • Graybull, NE[20]
  • Guacalito De La Isla, Nicaragua[21]
  • Laucala Island, Fiji[22]
  • Machrihanish Dunes, Scotland[23]
  • Mammoth Dunes - Sand Valley Golf Resort, WI[24]
  • Nanea, HI[25]
  • Powerscourt - West Course, Ireland[26]
  • Queenwood, England[27]
  • Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, CA[28]
  • Rolling Hills Country Club, CA[29]
  • St. Andrews Links - The Castle Course, Scotland[30]
  • Sand Point Country Club, WA[31]
  • Tetherow, OR[32]
  • TPC Stonebrae, CA[33]
  • Tributary, ID[34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Top 100 Courses in the World 2025-26". Golf Magazine. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  2. ^ Hunt, Morgan. "David McLay Kidd". The Fried Egg. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "David McLay Kidd". Top100GolfCourses. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "David McLay Kidd". DMK Golf Design. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  5. ^ "Our Story". BandonDunesGolf. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  6. ^ "Bandon Dunes". DMKgolfDesign. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  7. ^ Sens, Josh. "Bandon Dunes at 25". Golf.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  8. ^ Desmith, David. "David McLay Kidd: A Continuing Education in Course Design". Links Magazine. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  9. ^ "The Castle Course". St. Andrews Links. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  10. ^ DeSmith, David. "David McLay Kidd: A Continuing Education in Course Design". Links. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  11. ^ Ritter, Jeff. "A '$5 Million Decision' Brings Scottish-Style Links Golf to Texas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  12. ^ "David McLay Kidd Golf Design". DMK Golf Design. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  13. ^ Sens, Josh. "Bandon Dunes put David McLay Kidd on the map — he's been flying high since". Golf Magazine. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  14. ^ "Beaverbrook Golf Club". Top 100 Golf Courses. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  15. ^ "David McLay Kidd guided the redesign of Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club". Golf Course Industry. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  16. ^ "Fancourt: Montagu". Golf Digest. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  17. ^ Deegan, Jason Scott. "Playing Gamble Sands: America's little golf resort that could". GolfPass. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  18. ^ Sens, Josh. "5 things to know about Scarecrow, the new 18-holer at Gamble Sands". Golf Magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  19. ^ Dear, Tony. "5 Destinations for the Truly Intrepid Golfer". Links: The Best of Golf. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  20. ^ Lusk, Jason. "Architect David McLay Kidd breaks ground on GrayBull, a new Dormie Network course in Nebraska's Sandhills". Golfweek. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  21. ^ Lawrence, Adam. "First Peek at Guacalito de la Isla, Nicaragua". Links: The Best of Golf. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  22. ^ "An Ultra-Private Escape to Laucala Island". Links: The Best of Golf. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  23. ^ "Macrihanish Dunes: The Architect". Machrihanish Dunes. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  24. ^ Lawrence, Adam. "Mammoth Dunes: By name and by nature". Golf Course Architecture. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  25. ^ Mackie, Karl. "Nanea". Golf Magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  26. ^ "Powerscourt Golf Club". Powerscourt. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  27. ^ "Queenwood Golf Club". Top 100 Golf Courses. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  28. ^ Billing, Karen. "RSF Golf Club's course renovation aims to begin in April". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  29. ^ "Championship Golf Course Designed by World-Renowned Golf Architect David McLay Kidd". Rolling Hills. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  30. ^ "St Andrews Links (Castle)". Top100GolfCourses. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  31. ^ "Sand Point: Amenities". Sand Point Country Club. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  32. ^ "Tetherow: David McLay Kidd designed golf course". Tetherow. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  33. ^ "Golf Life at Stonebrae Country Club". Stonebrae. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  34. ^ Wlodkowski, Pete. "David McLay Kidd's Tributary is one of the best golf courses in Idaho". Amateur Golf. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_McLay_Kidd&oldid=1359661421"