George Cobb built this par-three course at Augusta National Golf Club; pro golfers gather here every year before the Masters Tournament.
enjoyed camaraderie and a leisurely walk through nature while sharpen- ing their golf skills — a potent formula for healing body and mind. “My dad would look out over the
Gold Course and see Marines in hos- pital robes and some on crutches,” says George Cobb Jr., the architect’s son. “They played with a hodge- podge of old golf clubs stuffed in little canvas bags.”
Pioneers on the green George Cobb Sr. so enjoyed his work at Lejeune that he set his sights on carving out a profession in the nascent field of golf course architec- ture. In 1946, he complet- ed his first solo enterprise: the Sound of Freedom Golf Course at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Following his discharge in 1947, Cobb soon was on a fast track to becoming one of golf’s most successful and prolific architects. With an office established in Green- ville, S.C., he designed eight
more military links and more than 140 civilian layouts, including such treasures as Quail Hollow in Char- lotte, N.C., and Green Island in Co- lumbus, Ga. He remodeled dozens of existing layouts, and at the height of his career he built a par-three course at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club, crafting an enticing, velvety little gem behind the clubhouse, where every year pros compete in a lighthearted pre-Masters contest that has become a beloved tradition. In 1968, Cobb hired a recent grad-
uate of Clemson University, S.C., as a draftsman. John LaFoy had a degree in architecture and was a close friend of Cobb’s son. Having lost his father when he was 15, LaFoy always had looked up to George Sr., who in many ways filled the paternal void. He ea- gerly pitched in at Cobb’s firm, but he and his boss knew his job would be short-lived: In three months he was to report to Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Va., and prepare to become a Marine. The Vietnam War was going full blast. “There was no question where we were going when we left Quantico to
PHOTOS: THIS SPREAD, LEFT AND TOP LEFT, OFFICIAL MARINE CORPS PHOTOS; FAR LEFT, COURTESY GEORGE COBB JR.; ABOVE, PHOTOGOLFER/SHUTTERSTOCK. PREVIOUS SPREAD: CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/JESS SINER
join up with the Fleet Marine Force at Lejeune,” recalls LaFoy with a chuckle. “Trying to nail down my [military occupational specialty], my company commander at Quantico had asked what I’d been doing in civilian life. I replied, ‘Golf and landscape design.’ He said the only landscaping I was going to be doing was ‘landscaping the ground with bullets.’ ” In 1972, with Vietnam behind
him, LaFoy returned to Cobb’s firm, where the architect took him under his wing. The two former Marines developed a solid 10-year partner- ship that involved 50 renovations and the design of 12 original courses. On the road a lot traveling throughout the Southeast, they often swapped amusing recollections about life in the Marine Corps. “Mr. Cobb once told me that
during the opening ceremony of the Gold Course, the commanding general hit a drive that embarrass- ingly dribbled only a few yards,” says LaFoy. “One of the guests of honor was the great golf champion Patty Berg, who went over to the general, gave him a little pat on the fanny, and
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