Seth Raynor

When Seth Raynor was hired by Charles Blair Macdonald to survey the site that would become the National Golf Links of America, he “scarcely knew a golf ball from a tennis ball,” according to Macdonald. A native of Long Island, he had studied civil engineering at Princeton without receiving a degree, and set up a landscape engineering and survey firm in downtown Southampton.

Raynor began work with Macdonald at NGLA in 1908, and adapted well to the sport that was brand new to him. Macdonald developed a deep respect for Raynor’s adeptness in surveying, construction, and, eventually, architecture. Macdonald continued to employ Raynor’s services on his next projects, including but not limited to Piping Rock Club (1912), St. Louis Country Club (1914), and The Lido (1918). As time went on, Raynor was given an increasingly important role in Macdonald’s commissions; at the Yale project (1924), Macdonald’s role was just as an advisor.

Raynor also began working on original design projects in 1914. Having learned the principles of golf from Macdonald, he set about being an exponent of Macdonald’s philosophy of “ideal holes” in his solo work. Frequently enlisting the help of Ralph Barton and Charles “Steam Shovel” Banks, Raynor created an extensive portfolio of golf courses for elite clients, in a variety of locations and on a mixture of property types. Raynor designs that remain mostly intact today include Southampton Country Club (1926), Shoreacres (1919), and Yeamans Hall Club (1925). Raynor’s firm was prolific, designing almost 90 courses in just over a decade. This meant that he and his associates traveled extensively, primarily around the Eastern United States, but also further afield, to places like the Twin Cities and Bermuda (with Macdonald).

Eventually, Raynor’s travels caught up with him. After traveling to California (to lay out the original Dunes course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club), Hawaii (to plan Waialae Country Club and Mid-Pacific Country Club), and then back to Florida, Raynor fell sick with pneumonia, and succumbed to the illness in early 1926. He left behind many plans for unrealized projects, 10 of which were completed by Charles Banks, notably Fishers Island Club (1926) and Essex County Country Club (1926).

A reserved and humble man, Raynor is known more for his courses than as a person. In fact, much of what we know about him comes from his mentor, Macdonald.