He was born in 1906 in Ince (England) but his family emigrated to Rochester, New York, three years later. In his youth he caddied for Walter Hagen in the Rochester Country Club and became a golf professional but illness prevented him from playing professionally in competitions.

After leaving his secondary school studies he began working as a draughtsman in a railroad company. The construction in Rochester of Oak Hill made a deep impression on the young Trent Jones who decided to dedicate himself to the design of golf courses. For this he became the first person to work specifically in the design of golf courses initiating his own study course at the University of Cornell.

The career of Robert Trent Jones received great impulse after World War II. He worked with Bobby Jones in Peachetree (1948) and Augusta National, where he redesigned holes 11 and 16. In 1951 he redesigned Oakland Hill to host the U.S. Open and his work generated great controversy by the difficulty that he had contributed to the course. The winner, Ben Hogan, boasted that he had tamed the ¨Monster¨and Trent Jones became a national celebrity.

Trent Jones worked on some of the most demanding courses which have been constructed, like Firestone, Hazeltine, Spyglass Hill or Baltusrol and had an enormous influence on golf and the tournaments because of his concept of risk – reward. For him, a good hole had to be a difficult par or an easy bogey.

Throughout his life he designed or remodeled more than 500 golf courses in 35 countries worldwide and more than 30 of them have hosted great international tournaments. The RSGC was the first course he designed in Europe and it was a highlight in his career.

Robert Trent Jones is considered one of the very best designers of all time. In 1987 he became only the second golf course designer to be admitted to the Hall of Fame.