Harry Shapland Colt · 1869 — 1951
Golf’sgreatest
inheritance.
Photo: Kevin MurrayA Voice of Advocacy for His Legacy
Harry Colt gave us golf at its finest. The Society exists to record what he built, bear witness to what survives, and help protect golf’s greatest inheritance. We are stewards of and a voice of advocacy for his legacy.
A fully independent body, open to clubs and individuals alike, we gather each year around the Colt Conference, for the Harry Colt Cup, and regularly at the courses he left behind with fellow Society members.
We are a learned institution which maintains the Colt Register – a record of Colt & Co’s work. This digital archive has been established for clubs, historians and collectors to contribute to. We work in partnership with the Golf Architecture & Conservation Guild.
“The time is near at hand when we should have well-illustrated books devoted to the work of a few of the more notable golf-course architects. I am sure that most golfers, as well as all those actually engaged in constructing courses, would find interesting and instructive pictures, designs, drawings, and surveys of the work of Colt.”
Three ways to join
Membership is open to all, as well as Colt & Co. golf clubs. You need only to share the conviction that what he built deserves to endure.
For ClubsGolf Club Membership
Enrol your golf club as an institution to unlock reduced rates for your members, receive a revenue share on every membership you refer, and host local Society events in addition to hosting HCS members at your course.
Affiliated clubs may also stand for the Harry Colt Cup, attend the Colt Conference, and nominate members to the Harry Colt Golfing Society.
Clubs also gain discounted access to Golf Architecture & Conservation Guild (GACG) services, including the formal heritage Self-Assessment and the Custodians Course.
Reduced RateAffiliated Club Member
Your club was shaped by Colt & Co. A private community accessible via a web app connects you with fellow HCS members and hundreds of affiliated clubs across GB&I and the rest of the world.
Apply at the reduced member rate, verified by your membership at a club with Harry Colt heritage & Society affiliation.
Members may be entitled to reduced green fees, access or other benefits entirely at the discretion of the golf clubs themselves.
Asking for member guest invitations is forbidden. Hosting fellow HCS members with your club’s support is encouraged.
Open to AllOpen Membership
You are not a member of a Colt course. You play golf, and you understand what he gave it. The Society welcomes you all the same.
A private community accessible via a web app connects you with fellow HCS members and hundreds of affiliated clubs across GB&I and the rest of the world.
Members may be entitled to reduced green fees, access or other benefits entirely at the discretion of the golf clubs themselves.
Asking for member guest invitations is forbidden. Hosting fellow HCS members with your club’s support is encouraged.
The Harry Colt Cup
Each year the Society marks his legacy with a single celebration: a 36-hole scratch foursomes competition held on a rota of Colt & Co courses chosen from the Colt, Alison & Morrison network.
It is the Society’s highest occasion — a day given over entirely to the architect, his courses, and the golfers who have chosen to protect them.
Invited clubs and respected societies play upon a course from his hand.
The Colt Conference
Open to all clubs touched by Colt & Co, as well as those interested in preserving the architectural heritage of their golf course.
Industry-leading clubs explain their approach to heritage-first course management and restoration so others can use it as a reference point and best-practice example.
Highlights and updates on ongoing heritage projects are highlighted, and lessons learnt are shared to the benefit of all attendees.
The event is co-hosted by the Golf Architecture & Conservation Guild.
Colt & Co
H.S. Colt, C.H. Alison, J.S.F. Morrison and, in the practice’s earliest years, Dr Alister MacKenzie made up the pre-eminent golf course architects and experts in landscape work of the golden age. These men designed, revised, and advised upon golf courses the world over, establishing principles of strategic design that still define the game. Dr MacKenzie’s own legacy is held by the Alister MacKenzie Society.
Harry S. Colt
C. H. Alison
J. S. F. Morrison
Golf Club Directory
Independent and published research has led the Harry Colt Society to the following conclusions on the oeuvre of Colt & Co. We are constantly on the lookout for more detailed information, documentary evidence and verified proof of Harry Colt or his partners’ involvement at any golf course in the world. We appreciate your generous support in helping us establish Colt & Co’s canon.
Three ways to join the society
For Clubs
Golf Club Membership
Enrol your golf club to unlock reduced rates for your members, receive a revenue share on every membership you refer, and host local Society events in addition to hosting HCS members at your course.
Join as a ClubReduced Rate
Affiliated Club Member
You belong to a club consulted upon or touched by Colt, MacKenzie, Alison, or Morrison. Membership connects you with fellow HCS members and hundreds of affiliated clubs across GB&I and the rest of the world.
Join NowOpen to All
Open Membership
You share the admiration but belong to no affiliated Colt & Co golf club. The Society is open to you all the same, at the standard rate. A private community connects you with fellow HCS members and hundreds of affiliated clubs.
Join Now