February 26th, 2010
No doubting Thomas
Born on the 16th of August 1934 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Dave Thomas was to become one of Britain’s leading golfers of the 1950s and 1960s, winning a number of tournaments in Britain and Europe and twice finishing second in The Open Championship.
As a player he is probably best remembered for finishing joint leader of the 1958 Open at Royal Lytham, where he narrowly lost out in the play-off to Peter Thomson, who went on to win The Open a record six times. His second near miss was at Muirfield in 1966 when he finished runner-up to Jack Nicklaus, although Thomas was awarded the Braid Taylor Memorial medal for his worthy endeavour.
The Englishman represented Great Britain in the Ryder Cup in 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1967, accruing a 3-10-5 win-loss-half record, which only included one loss in five singles matches.
Thomas was famed for his long, straight driving and once hit a drive at Hoylake onto the green at the 420-yard second hole. Even by today’s standards this is one exceptional drive; it becomes even more impressive when one considers the golf club technology of that era.
His involvement in golf started in 1949 as an assistant, before graduating to a fully fledged tour professional and later a renowned golf course designer and architect.
Thomas represented Wales in the Canada Cup on nine different occasions during the late fifties and sixties, the World Cup in 1969 and 1970 and once more at the Double Diamond Internationals in 1972. Another significant achievement among many was winning the News of the World Match Play at Turnberry in 1963.
Thomas was nominated Captain of the Professional Golfers’ Association for their Centenary celebrations for the years 2001 and 2002 and was acknowledged for his contribution to golf by being made an Honorary Life Member of the PGA in 2006.
After retiring, Thomas continued his career in the game by becoming a golf course designer. His original designs include the Brabazon, Derby and PGA National courses at Ryder Cup venue The Belfry and his redesigns include Turnberry, the famed Open Championship venue. Thomas also designed two courses at Domaine de Terre Blanche.
Domaine de Terre Blanche
Domaine de Terre Blanche is situated just south of Fayence in the Provence region of France. Former James Bond star Sean Connery owned the property for more than 20 years before selling the Chateau and its surrounding 266 acres in 1999. Dietmar Hopp turned the property into an elite golf resort with luxury properties, two championship golf courses, the Four Seasons Resort Provence at Terre Blanche and a world class spa which was voted the “Best Spa in the World 2008 by Gallivanters Guide”.
The Domaine is just 30 minutes by car from Cannes, around 45 minutes from Nice Airport and one hour from Monaco and St Tropez. The two courses were both designed by Dave Thomas, the 6,616m west course, “Le Château”, is intended for all levels of play whilst the east course, “Le Riou” is a more demanding 6,005m. With 300 days of sunshine per year, Terre Blanche offers idyllic golfing conditions and both courses are open year-round.
Dave Thomas’s other notable course designs include Bowood Golf & Country club in Wiltshire, Kings Lynn, La Manga West and St Leon Rot, the host of many major PGA Tour events in Germany. For many years course designers such as James Braid, Harry Shapland Colt, Robert Trent Jones and, of course, the great Jack Nicklaus were the names that came to mind as the best golf course architects in history, but Thomas is beginning to establish himself in such illustrious company.
There have been an abundance of ex-touring professionals in history that have endeavoured to carve a career in course design but not many have actually made the grade. To be a great golfer is one thing, but to be a great course designer is another ball game altogether; it requires artistic flair, vision and a great understanding of the game of golf. Golf course designers are like great artists; they start with a blank canvass and then create a masterpiece. Domaine de Terre Blanche is renowned as having two of the most exquisite golf courses in Europe and if that’s the case, then Dave Thomas may well be the new Michelangelo of golf course design.
For further information on Dave Thomas course designs please visit: www.dtlgolf.com