Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University

Overview: The Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University is a private, collegiate parkland layout on the Ithaca campus. Reviewed course data lists a par-72 routing of about 6,890 yards. The course uses the rolling Finger Lakes terrain to create framed holes, elevation changes and a succession of strategic approaches rather than a flat campus loop. Its university setting gives the course a distinct identity, but the design remains a serious full-length test for players who can manage changing lies and the visual pressure of a Jones-style layout.

History: Cornell Athletics records that the first nine holes on the University Golf Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, was in play by April 15, 1941. The second nine followed in 1954, bringing the property to a complete 18-hole routing. The university later renamed it the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University on September 28, 1991. This staged history matters: 1941 marks the beginning of the golf project, while 1954 is the date used here for the finished 18-hole course. The site is also part of Jones’s personal Cornell story, since he was a member of the class of 1930.

Did You Know? Robert Trent Jones was a Cornell alumnus, and university athletic records identify him as the designer of the original nine. The course’s name therefore connects the place, the architect and his college years unusually directly.