Biography

Larry Packard was a golf-course designer who had a late start in life yet successfully carved out an impressive career in the industry. He didn't take up golf until he was 30 and didn't start designing golf courses until nearly 60 years old when he worked with Robert Bruce Harris. After graduating from the Massachusetts' School of Landscape Architecture in 1935, Packard had a diverse career, even playing a part in the construction of Chicago's O'Hare airfield.

Packard had a unique approach to designing golf courses. He was well-known for his interesting method of placing bunkers in a slightly elevated position within mounds to preserve their conditions during wet weather. Additionally, instead of using Harris's approach of vast green surfaces, Packard opted for smaller greens to increase the challenge of the game, believing it was too easy to get on the green but hard to get close to the hole.

The most distinguishing characteristics of a Packard golf course were twofold. The first five holes on his courses were designed to be relatively easy, allowing average golfers to warm up to their game. His signature was the double doglegs on par 5 holes, with one being the most renowned on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort, a continuous stop on the PGA Tour. Packard's primary goal was to ensure golfers enjoyed his courses and desired to revisit them repeatedly. He designed various types of golf courses across the U.S., with some earning spots in national top-10 lists.