David McLay Kidd

David McLay Kidd is a Scottish golf course architect. He has 1 course, Bandon Dunes, ranked among the top 100 in the world according to the "Top 100 Courses in the World"^[1] November 2025 list compiled by Golf Magazine. Other notable designs include Gamble Sands, Mammoth Dunes, and Tetherow. He lives in Bend, Oregon.^[2]

Early life and education

McLay Kidd was born in 1967, in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, in Scotland.^[3] His father, Jimmy Kidd, was a greenkeeper.^[3]

Kidd attended Writtle College, obtaining a HND in Horticulture.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Kidd worked at Swan Golf Designs and as Director of Design at Gleneagles Golf Developments.^{[citation needed]}

In 1994 he was hired by Mike Keiser to design the first course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.^[4] Kidd wrote that "My task was to create the first genuine Scottish-style links course in America, and I believe there are few places outside the sand dunes along the Oregon coast where this would be possible."^[5] The course opened in May 1999.^[6]

In the following years, in some of Kidd's designs, the "whole resistance to scoring, and defense of par, and all of this kind of stuff starts to play into the mix."^[7] Among such designs were the St Andrews Links Castle Course,^[8] and Tetherow in Oregon. Kidd engaged in an examination of what worked at Bandon Dunes, and in his subsequent work he shifted toward playability and fun for the average golfer.^{[citation needed]} Courses such as Mammoth Dunes and Gamble Sands, with wide fairways, large greens, and fewer opportunities to lose golf balls, reflect this change.^{[citation needed]} "Playability and challenge are not the scales of justice," Kidd says. "They are not connected. You can create an extremely playable golf course that is still very challenging."^{[citation needed]}

Kidd has done designs in unusual locations, including Fiji, Nepal, and Nicaragua.^{[citation needed]}

In 2025, Loralama represented Kidd's attempt to bring Links golf to Texas.^[9]

Kidd leads the firm DMK Golf Design.^{[citation needed]}

Courses

• Bandon Dunes, OR^{[citation needed]}
• Beaverbrook Golf Club, England^{[citation needed]}
• Entrada at Snow Canyon, UT^{[citation needed]}
• Fancourt - Montagu, South Africa
• Gamble Sands - Sands Course, WA^[10]
• Gamble Sands - Scarecrow, WA^[11]
• Gokarna Forest Resort, Nepal^{[citation needed]}
• Graybull, NE^{[citation needed]}
• Guacalito De La Isla, Nicaragua^{[citation needed]}
• Laucala Island, Fiji^{[citation needed]}
• Machrihanish Dune, Scotland^{[citation needed]}
• Mammoth Dunes - Sand Valley Golf Resort, WI^[12]
• Nanea, HI^[13]
• Powerscourt Golf Club, Ireland^{[citation needed]}
• Queenwood Golf Club, England^{[citation needed]}
• Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, CA^{[citation needed]}
• Rolling Hills Country Club, CA^{[citation needed]}
• St. Andrews Links - The Castle Course, Scotland^[14]
• Sand Point Country Club, WA^{[citation needed]}
• Tetherow, OR^{[citation needed]}
• TPC Stonebrae, CA^{[citation needed]}
• Tributary, ID^{[citation needed]}

References

1. "Top 100 Courses in the World 2025-26". Golf Magazine. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
2. Hunt, Morgan. "David McLay Kidd". The Fried Egg. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
3. "David McLay Kidd". Top100GolfCourses. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
4. "Our Story". BandonDunesGolf. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
5. "Bandon Dunes". DMKgolfDesign. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
6. Sens, Josh. "Bandon Dunes at 25". Golf.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
7. Desmith, David. "David McLay Kidd: A Continuing Education in Course Design". Links Magazine. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
8. "The Castle Course". St. Andrews Links. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
9. Ritter, Jeff. "A '$5 Million Decision' Brings Scottish-Style Links Golf to Texas". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
10. Deegan, Jason Scott. "Playing Gamble Sands: America's little golf resort that could". GolfPass. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
11. Sens, Josh. "5 things to know about Scarecrow, the new 18-holer at Gamble Sands". Golf Magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
12. Lawrence, Adam. "Mammoth Dunes: By name and by nature". Golf Course Architecture. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
13. Mackie, Karl. "Nanea". Golf Magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
14. "St Andrews Links (Castle)". Top100GolfCourses. Retrieved January 6, 2026.

External links