David McLay Kidd: Flying High

by | Oct 19, 2024 | News

David McLay Kidd describes his renovation at Tributary in Driggs, Idaho, as “the intersection between restraint and sophistication.” Kidd built the course—framed by the Grand Teton Mountains and Big Hole Mountains in the West Teton Valley—in 2008 for the late billionaire industrialist Jon Huntsman, Sr. Kidd’s renovated, toned-down version of Tributary—centerpiece of a 1,500-acre private country club community—is an ideal metaphor for his maturation into one of the world’s most in-demand course architects.

“I’m trying to understand that if I do something that’s sophisticated – but do it in a restrained way for the golfer – you can see the nuance and understand the sophistication,’’ said the Scotland-born Kidd, who first came to prominence in 1999 with his design at Bandon (OR) Dunes Golf Resort.

“I’m not doing it by just throwing a lot of money and bunkers and a lake at it. I’ve learned over time that I can still be restrained and achieve the same nuance of sophistication in a golf hole.’’

Besides Bandon Dunes and Tributary, Kidd’s most noted work includes the Castle Course at St. Andrews, Scotland; Machrihanish Dunes in Campbelltown, Scotland; Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa (WI);  and the recently- opened GrayBull Club in Maxwell, NE. His current projects include a second course to complement his original course at Gamble Sands in Brewster, WA; Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, MT; Two Rivers near Tampa, FL; and Loraloma near Austin, Texas.

Tributary

Tributary, previously Huntsman Springs, was constructed to compliment the natural beauty of southeastern Idaho in a fascinating and environmentally conscious way. To produce a cohesive relationship between residential, recreational, and environmental components throughout the site, an additional 50 acres of wetlands were woven through the golf course to provide habitat for native flora and fauna, mitigation for site drainage concerns, and a landscape feature that matched the enormous scale of the Teton Mountains wrapping around the Idaho horizon.

“It’s taken more than 30 years to get there – learning that less is more,’’ Kidd said. “I don’t have to make these bold statements. I can be restrained and still get something that’s cool to play.’’

In an odd way – perhaps not-so-odd – Kidd’s search for restraint and nuance carries over to his passion for flying. Kidd, who lives in Bend, OR., often moves from one-course project to another at the controls of his single-engine, high-performance turboprop aircraft that can fly at half the speed of sound (around 360 miles per hour) at 30,000 feet.

“One of the first things I learned early in my pilot career is that most pilots over-control,’’ Kidd said. “The secret to being a great pilot is to learn when to control without overcontrolling. As an architect, that’s very transferable. I can control without over-controlling.

“For me, piloting is very ‘left’ brain.  It’s very creative. Being a pilot is very “right’ brain. It’s very logical. I love that I get to do both things in my life.’’

Photo Courtesy of David McLay Kidd

 

OnCoreGolf
OnCoreGolf

About the Author

<a href="https://golfonemedia.com/author/steve_pike/" target="_self">Steve Pike</a>

Steve Pike

Steve “Spike” Pike is a lifelong journalist whose career covers Major League Baseball, the NFL, and college basketball. For the past 26 years, Spike has been one of the more respected voices in the golf and travel industries, working for such publications as Golfweek, Golf World, and Golf Digest for The New York Times Magazine Group. In 1998, Spike helped launch the PGA.com website for the PGA of America. As a freelance travel and golf writer, Spike’s travels have taken him around the world. He has played golf from Pebble Beach to St. Andrews, walked the Great Wall of China, climbed an active volcano in the Canary Islands, been on safari in South Africa, and dived with sharks off Guadalupe, Baja California.