John Jacob “Frank” Pennink was born in the city of Delft, which lies between The Hague and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

After moving to England, he was a pupil at Rose Hill School and Tonbridge School in Kent – playing cricket against Clifton College at Lord’s – before enrolling at Magdalene College, Oxford, where he played golf for the university from 1933 to 1935.

Once he’d completed his studies, his opted for employment within the insurance industry, which is what both Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus did in their early years.

Away from work, Frank was one of the top amateur players in Great Britain, winning the English Amateur Championship at Saunton in 1937 then repeating this feat at Moortown the following year, when he also played in the victorious Walker Cup team at St Andrews.

Unfortunately, World War II then intervened, curtaining his golfing activities, and he enlisted in the Royal Air Force, serving as a Squadron Leader. After the war ended, he became a sports journalist, writing golf articles for the 

comments about this period in Frank’s life by saying: “he became well known for his informed comment of golf, his intimate knowledge of the game and its exponents being a great advantage.”

Authors Geoff Cornish and Ron Whitten then take up the story in their book 

: “In 1954 Pennink joined the established course design practice of 

. He eventually headed the firm that came to be known as Cotton (C.K.), Pennink, Lawrie and Partners Ltd.

He was the most active designer in the firm, handling courses in Britain, the Continent, Africa and even the Far East. He was a founding member of BAGCA (the British Association of Golf Course Architects) and served for a time as its president.”

 and Cameron Sinclair joined the design company in the mid-1960s and Donald told us: “Because of his connections and availability, Frank undertook nearly all the overseas work, particularly in Holland and Portugal.

His father was Dutch and Frank was a Europhile who served the European Golf Association and should have been President but that is another story.”

Frank was also heavily involved in golf administration, becoming President of the English Golf Union in 1967. He was a Walker Cup Selector for many years and was part of the backroom team when the 1971 Great Britain team won the biennial event for the first time since he’d been a player in 1938.

In an architectural career lasting the best part of four decades, Frank Pennink designed literally dozens of courses in many far flung corners of the world; from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in Asia to Morocco and Zambia in Africa.

In Europe, he laid out or renovated courses from Denmark and Sweden in the north to Italy and Portugal in the south. He also built or added to quite a few courses in the Netherlands, including extensions to the courses at Kennemer and Rosendaelsche, both of which currently reside within the Continental Europe Top 50.

His Portuguese designs at Vilamoura (Old) and Palmares in the Algarve, though modified in more recent times, also occupy similar lofty positions within our European rankings.

Frank was also active elsewhere in Europe and, according to Donald Steel, “he did much pioneering work in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.”

Within England, Pennink created or remodelled golfing layouts all the way from Seaton Carew at Hartlepool in the northeast to the West course at Saunton in the southwest.

He added nine holes to the Silverburn course at Royal Aberdeen, did the same at Castlerock in Northern Ireland (creating the much-loved 9-hole Bann layout), and fashioned the 18-hole Old course at St Pierre in Wales with Ken Cotton.

A number of “Royals” were also modified by Frank down the years, including Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1952, Royal Liverpool in 1966 and Royal St George’s in 1975.

In later life, Frank lived in Forest Row, East Sussex, close to Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club, where he worked right up to within days of his passing away in 1984.

 by Keith Cutten, the author has this to say about Frank:

“His design philosophy was aligned to that of the Golden Age architects, such as Colt and Simpson. Frequently, though, Pennink was called upon to perform when constrained by a tight project budget; heightening his sensitivity to saving his client’s money.

This reality made him focus on three aspects of design: creating simple yet effective greens, limiting the use of fairway bunkers; and creating relatively simple green surrounds.”

“His design philosophy was aligned to that of the Golden Age architects, such as Colt and Simpson. Frequently, though, Pennink was called upon to perform when constrained by a tight project budget; heightening his sensitivity to saving his client’s money." Keith Cutten

Frank Pennink

In an architectural career lasting nearly four decades, Pennink designed dozens of courses in many far flung corners of the world; from Indonesia and Malaysia in Asia to Morocco and Zambia in Africa.

 with Ken Cotton, who subsequently became his senior partner. He was building two courses – St Pierre and Ross-on-Wye – in the early 1960s, so he went to both locations and wrote a piece about building new golf layouts, which he found absolutely fascinating.

They kept in touch. Then about two years later Ken contacted Donald as he wanted a bit of help and asked if he’d be interested. Donald stopped him before he’d even finished the question and said, “Thank you very much!” Before long, he joined forces with Ken Cotton, 

 and Charles Lawrie in their design practice.

Donald describes Cotton as “a pupil of 

, a fine player himself, [who] decided to embark on a third career as an architect to establish his own name and portfolio in spite of the fairly flat market. St Pierre and Ross-on-Wye couldn’t have been more different, St Pierre almost ready-made and Ross-on-Wye carved out of poorly drained woodland.”

Steel continues: “Brickendon Grange was another of Ken’s new courses around that time and there was also a pleasant journey with him to Brecon to look at a course called Penotre, now named Cradoc. He was also responsible for the extension from 27 holes to 36 at Frilford Heath.

His best course abroad was Olgiata in Rome, scene of great Britain and Ireland’s first victory in the 1964 World Amateur Team Championship, but perhaps Ken’s greatest act of kindness to me was his bestowal of Tom Simpson’s ‘Golf Architect’s Bible’ which is an amazing leather bound miscellany of architectural and greenkeeping ‘secrets’. The fact that there is only one copy is because it is predominantly hand-written.”

A graduate of Cambridge University, Cotton was a scratch amateur golfer who was both a school teacher and golf club secretary between the wars before moving into golf course design when he saw potential opportunities in reclaiming layouts that had been neglected or fallen into disrepair during World War II.


“It is a fitting tribute to Ken Cotton who died last Wednesday a few weeks before his 87th birthday that the week’s two major tournaments, the County Champions and the Dunlop Masters, were played on courses which he designed, Ross-on-Wye and St Pierre.

Their creation marked the beginning of the wave of new courses which have sprung into being in Britain in the last 10 or 12 years and their contrasting delights display the very best of Cotton’s undoubted talent as an architect.

His knowledge and appreciation of the art were based on his own considerable skill as a player whose handicap was once plus two; but one of the remarkable facts about an enviable life was that he graduated from Cambridge having played virtually no golf there, and did not take up golf course architecture seriously until the end of World War II when well over 50.

In between times he taught as a schoolmaster before drifting into golf in the role of secretary at Parkstone and Stoke Poges – and Oxhey where Ted Ray was professional and with whom he must have made the best professional secretary foursomes partnership in history.

His experiences as a secretary, together with those of a player, enabled him to get to know golf inside out and with the encouragement of his brother and some expert advice from his friend Tom Simpson he launched himself with immediate success on a third career. As in the other two, his kind and thoughtful manner won him nothing but friends and he will be widely missed.

In an effort to safe guard clients against golf course architects with little knowledge of their trade, he was co-founder of the British Association of Golf Course Architects and in June of this year succeeded 

It is sad to reflect that he and Mackenzie Ross represent almost the last of a generation which has seen so much change in the game this century, but it is unquestionable that their influence upon this change has been both lasting and good.”

“C.K. Cotton, a graduate of Cambridge University, took up the game of golf after college and quickly developed into a fine player. He was a scratch golfer for over thirty years. Cotton worked for nearly twenty years as a club secretary at a series of golf clubs. After WWII he decided to assist in reconstruction of the many war-torn layouts.” Geoff Cornish and Ron Whitten 

C. K. Cotton

Cotton didn't take up golf course architecture until the end of WWII when well over 50. In between times he taught as a schoolmaster before drifting into the role of secretary at Parkstone and Stoke Poges.

J. H. Turner

Oxfordshire

English Men's Amateur

England

The legendary J.H. Taylor designed the original course at Frilford Golf Club and this layout, the Red course, was subsequently modified by the club professional J.H. Turner. Not content with altering that course, Turner also established another 9-hole layout on an attractive tract of land nearby that was covered in gorse and heather. In the late 1960s, C. K. Cotton and associate Frank Pennink remodelled this nine and added another, forming the 18-hole Green course.

The modern day course extends to just over 6,000 yards, which is short by many standards. The only par five on the card is played at the right doglegged 495-yard 1st hole and there are four par threes, nicely spread out at holes 2, 6, 10 and 17, to give a par of 69. The loop from the 5th to the 13th occupies a separate part of the property, adding to the wonderful feeling of seclusion when playing those particular holes, in amongst the gorse and the birch trees.

Feature holes include a couple of short pars at the right dog legged 9th and the 291-yard closing hole, where a closing birdie might be possible. Indeed, such a boost at the end of the round might just be necessary as the preceding trio of par fours (stroke index 6, 8 and 2) measure in excess of 400 yards, providing something of a nasty “sting in the tail” for the unwary on the Green course.

Frilford Heath (Green)

Britain & Ireland

The Green is the shortest of the three courses at Frilford Heath Golf Club but for what the course lacks in length it makes up for with sheer charm.