Philip was the son of Alexander Mackenzie Ross, who was born in Edinburgh in 1850, on the doorstep of the historic Bruntsfield Links,. He was the owner of the Café Royal Hotel in the Scottish capital and was also the most successful exhibition caterer of his day.

On the golfing front, Alexander was a member of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society and a frequent medallist at Gullane, Luffness and North Berwick. Along with his friend Colonel Baird, he laid out the first holes at Mildenhall, before 

 was called in to extend the short course in 1890.

Ross Sr. was Captain at Luffness New in 1897 when a number of members broke away to form Kilspindie the following year, and he assisted Ben Sayers with the design of the new course. He was also on the committee that oversaw the introduction of the second course at Gullane between 1898 and 1900.

Considering his father’s involvement in golf course construction, it wasn’t such an unexpected step when Philip moved into golf course architecture after The Great War. Indeed, it’s said that as a boy he’d already laid out a miniature course on land next to the family home at Hill House on top of Gullane Hill.

He was invited to come under the wing of 

 during the early 1920s, working mainly on overseas projects such as the courses at Royal Antwerp and Royal Fagnes in Belgium, Deauville and Hardelot in France, as well as Malaga in Spain.

Ross was a founding member of the International Society of Golf Architects, along with architects such as 

. Formed in 1929, the society operated from secretary Tom Simpson’s office at his home in England.


Branching out on his own during the 1930s, Ross developed strong Iberian connections, travelling to Miramar and Vidago Palace near Porto and to Estoril, close to Lisbon. He also laid out the original 9-hole course at Furnas on the island of San Miguel in the Portuguese Azores.

After World War II, Ross helped restore many courses around the British Isles that had been damaged or neglected during the conflict, travelling to places like Royal Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Castletown on the Isle of Man and Pyle & Kenfig in Wales.

Of course, his most famous commission was the restoration of the Ailsa course at Turnberry, revitalising a layout that had suffered more than most during the war effort due to its use as a busy airfield.

Some of his assignments were completed in partnership with John Hamilton Stutt – son of John R. Stutt who built dozens of courses for 

 – but Stutt gave up the family construction business during the 1950s to concentrate solely on design.

During this time, Ross returned to Portugal to work at Oporto, one of the oldest clubs on the continent, and he also laid out a couple of new courses on Gran Canaria, at Maspalomas and Real Las Palmas. He also went back to France to renovate the 18-hole La Forêt layout at Golf du Touquet in France.

There wasn't a lot of work for him in the 1960s (when he was by that time in his seventies) apart from some advisory visits to clubs where he had previously worked.

"P. M. Ross learned golf at Royal Musselburgh and won several amateur medals as a youth. He served with the British Army during World War I and upon discharge looked for a golf-related job. By chance he met golf architect Tom Simpson, who hired him as a construction boss in 1920. By the mid-Twenties, Ross was a full partner in the firm of Simpson and Ross." 

“Mackenzie Ross was not as prolific an architect as many of his competitors, yet the courses he designed or remodelled illustrated his genius, each layout having a considerable impact on modern golf course design. His skill was his ability to see the potential in a site and then maximise it.


He wouldn’t make a decision until he had considered it hard and long. He would explore the alternatives, weigh up the benefits and constraints, and only then would he eventually commit himself to a layout for the course.

His work can be regarded as of equal merit to that of such legendary contemporary architects as Fowler, Colt, MacKenzie and Simpson.

They all understood the intricacies of the game itself, and they studied closely the designs of the older courses from which they found inspiration. They all seemed to possess a similar vision – to maintain the mystique of the game, and to keep this element alive.” Jonathan Gaunt in a 

 commented as follows in the foreword to the book 

“The scene from Philip Mackenzie Ross’s house, overlooking the links of North Berwick, was one of uninterrupted splendour. During the Open Championship at Muirfield in 1972, a kind invitation to visit a one-time pupil of Simpson, in my humble position as Honorary Secretary of the recently formed British Association of Golf Course Architects. Mackenzie Ross was its first President.

Apart from his considerable physical stature, the first thing that struck me was his affinity for collecting antique golf clubs and malt whiskies, both of which he dispensed in generous measures. Clubs where he performed major work were invariably presented with a random selection of Philip and McEwan long-nosed spoons or rut irons.

Having fallen in love with Turnberry in the wake of his dramatic post-war renovation of the Ailsa course, and my involvement as a writer, he was ready, willing and able to answer questions nobody else could. Taking a leaf out of his mentor’s book, he also made models of the greens to aid his machine operators.”

P. M. Ross learned golf at Royal Musselburgh and won several amateur medals as a  youth. He served with the British Army during World War I and upon discharge looked for a golf-related job. By chance he met golf architect Tom Simpson, who hired him as a construction boss in 1920. The Golf Course Geoff Cornish and Ron Whitten

Philip Mackenzie Ross

It’s said that as a boy Ross laid out a miniature course on land next to the family home at Hill House atop Gullane Hill, but, unlike his Golden Age peers, his design legacy as an adult remains unheralded.

Bob Cameron

Chris Powell

Azores

Portugal

You’ll need to fly into the middle of the Atlantic to the Azorean island of San Miguel to find Furnas but to play this course only once is worth the trip in its own right. The Azores has a delightful temperate climate but it can have all four seasons in one day, so take your waterproofs.

Furnas is set in a most gorgeous spot close to the lake and its thermal springs. It started out in life as a nine-hole course, designed by Philip Mackenzie Ross, a former partner of Tom Simpson. Don’t be fooled into thinking that these nines were a laid out in a rudimentary fashion. They were not. These nine Mackenzie Ross holes rank amongst the earliest holes created in Portugal but they also represent the best nine-hole collection in all Iberia.

Bob Cameron and Chris Powell had the responsibility of extending Furnas to 18 holes and in 1990 the new Furnas was ready for play. This is what Cameron and Powell had to say: “When we were planning and designing the new 9 holes we were extremely careful to try to avoid the mistake – made on so many extended courses – of imposing alien design characteristics onto a naturally beautiful and classical golf course.” Cameron and Powell were on a hiding to nothing to blend the old with the new; after all, the old nine was flanked with mature trees including stately Japanese cedars. But the design duo did a truly remarkable job and, when kindly Nature has taken its course and the new tree planting has matured, the two nines will zip together yet further.

With smallish plateaux greens, which are wickedly contoured, you’ll need a sharp short game to score well at Furnas. Only those in the know appreciate how good this course actually is, so mum’s the word.

Furnas

Batalha

Continental Europe

You’ll need to fly into the middle of the Atlantic to the Azorean island of San Miguel to find Furnas but to play this course only once is worth the trip alone.