Earl Stone
(1926-2016)
Born: Alachua Co. Florida, August 26, 1926
Died: Mobile, Alabama, September 10, 2016 at age 90.
He served in the US Navy during WWII. Earl would always love the Navy and consider his war service to be the most special time of his life.
Upon returning home Earl attended Auburn University. After graduating he went into sales and began to sell and oversee installations of irrigation systems. He enrolled in a course taught by Dr. Gene Nutter at U. of Florida and learned enough about growing and maintaining turf to springboard into a career of maintaining golf courses. It was Dr. Nutter who suggested Earl become a golf course architect.
Earl's first commission was to design Lake Forest in Daphne, AL. The country club had intended Robert Trent Jones to design the course but gave Earl the job instead, which launched a successful career that was to last decades and include designs for dozens of courses.
Earl's personal favorites were Rock Creek in Fairhope, Al, Timber Creek in Daphne, Al., Rocky Bayou in Niceville, FL., and Eagle Point in Birmingham, AL. Earl also executed several course reconstructions projects including Azalea City and Skyline, both in Mobile, AL., and Indian Bayou in Destin, FL. He also did international work, including the Bahrain National Golf Club. And installation and maintenance of the turf for the Rashid Equestrian Club Race Track and the Bahrain National Soccer Stadium. Earl's irrigation experience was invaluable in the desert kingdom. He designed and installed custom water treatment and irrigation systems to ensure his efforts in Bahrain were successful.
Earl was a single-digit handicapped golfer for many years and used his own experiences to guide his designs. He purposefully created courses to meet three objectives, 1. challenge the pros, 2. don't intimidate the 18 handicappers, and 3. be profitable for the course owners.
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