Legendary Beverly Golf Course Designer Ron Kirby Remembered

BEVERLY, MA — Legendary golf course architect Ron Kirby, a native of Beverly who authored hundreds of renowned courses across the world, died Thursday morning in Denmark, according to officials at his final completed course at Apes Hill Barbados. He was 90.

"We at Apes Hill Barbados are profoundly grateful for having had Ron Kirby become one of our family members through his extensive time here and the relationships he built with us," said Sunil Chatrani, Executive Chairman, Apes Hill Barbados, in a statement to Patch. "Ron became a wonderful friend and will be deeply missed.

"That he also designed our golf courses is a gift that will give forever."

Apes Hill Barbados said Kirby died following a short illness surrounded by his family in Copenhagen, where he was working on his next golf project.

Kirby began his career in golf as a caddie, caddie master and maintenance crew member in Beverly, went on to attend the University of Massachusetts and designed courses alongside the likes of golfing legends Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus over the span of five decades.

His designs include London Golf Club International Course, London; Dolphin Head Golf Course, Hilton Head, South Carolina; Sun City Golf Course, Bophutatswana, South Africa; and La Moraleja Golf Club, Madrid, Spain.

Apes Hill Barbados is Kirby's last completed design — an 18-hole championship course that opened last November, a 9-hole par-3 short course, a bonus 19th hole, and a practice facility.

"He was an incredible man, always with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes who had an abundance of rich friendships from the dozen-plus countries he worked in globally," said Roddy Carr, an Irish golfer who was instrumental in Kirby being selected to design Old Head Golf Links in Ireland and Apes Hill Barbados. "Ron lived a rich and full life and did what he loved doing right to the end — recently sketching golf holes in Denmark."

Kirby's travels with his wife, Sally, set the tone for Kirby’s autobiography "We Spent Half Our Lives on the Wrong Side of the Road," published in 2020. She died in 2021.

"He was never an ego guy, it was never about him but always about what his clients wanted," Carr said. "He worked with Dick Wilson, Gary Player, Robert Trent Jones Senior and Jack Nicklaus. Ron once told me: 'I did my finishing school with Jack. Nicklaus was the best strategist, Trent Jones the best router, Tom Fazio the best landscaper."

He is survived by his children Faye, Ron Jr., and Beverly.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)