Ellis Maples

"Less is More"

Learning the practicalities of routine golf course maintenance and drawing upon his background as a construction superintendent led Ellis to a more frugal manner of course design than his mentor. The results were a simplified approach to the details of design that Ross so painstakingly drew into his plans and executed when he was on site. The Maples legacy may not have been as deliberate as Ross’s work, yet the coupling of the basic Ross routing philosophy and Ellis’s “less is more” philosophy led to a proliferation of simple yet timeless golf course routings that cemented Maples as an expert in his field.

This is especially true in his mountain work, where he wisely allowed the drama of the surroundings to take the lead and not dominate the site with sand or grass bunkers, just for the sake of design. The natural features of the land developed such strong strategic choices that few additional hazards were not necessary. His use of creeks and rock outcroppings at Grandfather is a clear example.

Kris Spence, a noted restorer of Ross and Maples courses, said that Ross and Maples had similar thoughts about ground options available to golfers, and they provided similar rewards to golfers who could get the ball up in the air and hit it a long way. Spence said that the two designers were masters of envisioning two or three ways to play a golf hole without moving lots of dirt.