Origins and early expansion (1892–1895). Thomas Hitchcock laid out a four-hole loop in 1892 on the current property. Herbert Leeds—best known for Myopia Hunt—subsequently planned the remainder of the course with James Mackrell, producing a full 18-hole layout by 1895. This early lineage set Palmetto’s “short-grass over sand” character and its intimate routing that threads modest elevation changes rather than chasing length.
Donald Ross’s involvement (1928). Club records note that Donald Ross “did some work” at Palmetto in 1928. The same page specifies that his firm is believed to have installed an early irrigation system by damming the creek below the 18th tee—crucial infrastructure on free-draining, drought-prone soils. No evidence on the club’s public record attributes a wholesale routing change, green reconstruction, or bunker campaign to Ross; rather, his contribution appears primarily infrastructure/maintenance-driven with any course tweaks undocumented in available secondary sources. Because the club’s page frames this as belief rather than a fully documented scope, confirmation from green-committee minutes, invoices, or Ross office correspondence would sharpen the picture.
MacKenzie modernization (1932–1933). After Augusta National’s build, Alister MacKenzie was engaged to convert Palmetto’s sand greens to grass, lengthen the course, and reshape bunkers. The club reports that Wendell Miller, fresh from constructing Augusta, led the work, even reusing some excess materials from that project—a neat logistical link across the Savannah River. Contemporary features and press accounts consistently credit this MacKenzie phase with the bold green surfaces and expressive hazards that define Palmetto’s modern identity.
Late-20th-century to present. The club notes iterative tree and bunker work through the 1940s–70s. Rees Jones advised bunker renovations, completed with a 1995 re-grassing; in 2003, Tom Doak provided recommendations to restore MacKenzie characteristics, with work concluding in 2005 (notably greens expansion toward perimeter mounds and slopes and re-worked bunkering). Gil Hanse later became resident architect, continuing advisory stewardship. This sequence situates Ross’s limited 1928 role within a longer continuum that privileges MacKenzie’s greens/strategy while modernizing infrastructure and presentation.
Documentation gaps. The public record (club site + reputable histories) is strong for what happened and when at a high level; it is thinner on as-builts for Ross’s 1928 works.
Unique Design Characteristics (course-specific; Ross context noted)
Water-harvesting/irrigation legacy (Ross, 1928). The club’s history indicates Ross’s firm created an early irrigation supply by damming the creek below 18 tee. On an Aiken sand ridge, reliable water transformed turf performance and green firmness—a design-adjacent decision that affects how Palmetto still plays (fast, tight, testy around short-grass surrounds). While not a visible “Ross green,” that intervention underwrote the maintenance of speed and firmness that make Palmetto’s contours bite. (Feature-level documentation beyond the dam claim remains to be validated.)
Greens and bunkers (largely MacKenzie; Ross not primary author). Palmetto’s small, elevated, undulating greens and clever/“diabolical” bunkers—the surfaces that govern day-to-day shot-making—trace to MacKenzie’s 1932–33 conversion/lengthening and are the focus of later restorations (Doak 2003–05, Hanse ongoing). For example, the greens-edge expansions back toward original mounding were a 2005 deliverable designed to recapture MacKenzie’s contour intent after decades of shrinkage. As a result, holes where bold interior slopes interact with short-grass run-offs (e.g., mid-length par-4s) are the clearest surviving exemplars—but those are MacKenzie survivals, not Ross constructs.
Routing & ground-game cadence. The property’s modest elevation and sand base produce a routing that prizes angle and precision over raw length; Palmetto’s card (par 71 / 6,695 yards) masks how quickly the greens exact a toll on imperfect approaches. Ross’s 1928 presence coincided with that pre-MacKenzie era, but the cadence visitors feel today—short-to-mid par-4s where approach depth control is paramount, and recoveries punished by interior slopes—owes more to the 1932–33 reimagining that others (Doak/Hanse) have since protected.
Holes clearest for Ross? Absent plan sheets, no specific Palmetto hole can be responsibly claimed as a surviving “Ross green”. If Ross made low-visibility course tweaks in 1928, they were overtaken three to five years later by MacKenzie’s comprehensive work. Scholars should therefore treat Ross’s contribution here as infrastructural (irrigation) with any feature-level authorship unproven pending primary records.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s corpus. Palmetto matters to Ross scholarship because it documents a Southern, sand-belt engagement where his office appears to have supported course viability (irrigation) rather than imposing a new strategic plan. That contrast—with Ross as infrastructure problem-solver rather than principal designer—helps explain why Palmetto reads “MacKenzie” today even though Ross passed through in 1928. It is a case study in how infrastructure decisions can have lasting design consequences (firmer greens, faster surrounds) despite limited aesthetic footprints.
Standing in broader histories and rankings. Modern write-ups consistently present Palmetto as a Leeds/MacKenzie course that many raters consider among South Carolina’s must-see classics, precisely for its greens and bunkers. Several reputable overviews (Links Magazine; Global Golf Post; Golf Digest profile) repeat the 1928 Ross note while crediting MacKenzie for the course identity.
Competitive legacy. Beyond member play, Palmetto’s elite-amateur footprint is significant: the Palmetto Amateur (1976–present) has become a fixture on the world amateur calendar. The course record 59 (Dane Burkhart, 2005) is well-documented by the club and tournament materials, underscoring how the course can yield numbers only when approaches and putting fully solve the green contours. Earlier, the club hosted a Masters-week pro-am (1945–53) that drew Hogan, Nelson, and other greats.
Current Condition / Integrity
What (if anything) of Ross remains. The infrastructure intervention (creek dam and early irrigation feed) linked to Ross’s firm is the only element the club publicly associates with 1928. No current green or bunker can be assigned to Ross with confidence given MacKenzie’s 1932–33 conversion/lengthening and later restoration cycles. Thus, feature-level Ross integrity is low, while MacKenzie integrity is comparatively high, particularly after 2003–05 restoration moves and with Hanse advising.
Major renovations/restorations since MacKenzie.
• Rees Jones (late 1980s–1995): bunker renovations; course re-grassed (1995)—work that, while improving conditioning, altered some bunker forms/positions relative to historic photographs.
• Tom Doak (2003–2005): recommendations executed to restore MacKenzie design characteristics, notably greens expansion back to mounds/slopes and re-worked bunkering to better reflect 1930s intent.
• Gil Hanse (resident architect, post-2007): ongoing guidance to safeguard character and address modern pressures.
Preserved vs. altered.
• Preserved: MacKenzie strategy through green forms and many bunker placements; firm, fast presentation consistent with sand-belt ground and small, elevated targets.
• Altered/lost (relative to Leeds/Ross era): any pre-1932 green pads/bunker schemes; treeing-in and later clearing cycles have changed corridors over time; turfgrass and irrigation are fully modern. Routing remains substantially in its historic footprint, but micro-features reflect MacKenzie + late-20th/early-21st-century stewardship rather than Ross.
Facilities & playing parameters today. The club cites par 71 / 6,695 yards from the back tees and highlights “small elevated and undulating greens” and “clever” bunkers—a succinct public description of what visitors actually face. The Palmetto Amateur site repeats those figures, reinforcing their current accuracy.
Sources & Notes
Palmetto Golf Club — Official History page. “Course Construction” and “Our Current Course” sections (founded 1892; Leeds/Mackrell 1895; Ross 1928 limited works incl. irrigation dam at 18; MacKenzie 1932–33 conversion/lengthening; Rees Jones late-80s–1995 bunker program & re-grassing; Doak 2003–05 restoration toward MacKenzie; Hanse resident architect; current par 71 / 6,695 yds; Dane Burkhart 59).
Links Magazine (Palmetto profile). Notes Leeds/Mackrell expansion and MacKenzie’s 1933 grass-green conversion, bunker reshaping, and lengthening (to ~6,370 at the time). Useful for corroborating MacKenzie scope and chronology.
Global Golf Post feature (Mar. 24, 2020). Summarizes Ross 1928 tweaks/irrigation tradition and MacKenzie 1932 engagement; ties to Augusta contractor usage. Secondary but aligns with club history.
Golf Digest course profile (Palmetto, SC). High-level descriptor placing Palmetto as a Leeds/MacKenzie design; context for reputational standing in SC classics.
Palmetto Amateur — Official site. Confirms venue, par 71 / 6,695 yds, and Burkhart 59 (2005); tournament lineage (Aiken Golf Classic from 1976, Palmetto Amateur name from 1998).
AmateurGolf.com (news + course page). Multiple references to Burkhart’s 59 and event results; corroborative tournament history.