Biography

Larry Packard, a man who took up golf when he was 30, built a successful career for himself, constructing over 250 golf courses before his retirement in 1986. Packard graduated from Massachusetts' School of Landscape Architecture in 1935 and found work designing golf courses with Robert Bruce Harris in 1994. Besides designing golf courses, Packard also helped in the construction of part of Chicago's O'Hare airfield.

Packard's golf course designs were uniquely identifiable, with distinct features that were characteristic of his work. For instance, his golf bunkers were elevated and fit into mounds, designed in a manner that rain water could not seep in. Interestingly, it was exceptionally hard to roll a ball into his bunkers; one's ball had to be flown in. His golf greens were also characteristically small, contrary to Harris' large surfaces. According to Packard, this was because attempting to achieve Harris’ 12,000 square feet greens often led to golfers' three-putts.

Two specific traits defined a Packard golf course; the first was that his initial five holes were relatively easy to play, allowing average golfers to progressively ease into their games. Most notably, he loved introducing double doglegs on a par 5. Probably his most renowned hole was the double-dogleg par-5 14th, located on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort near Tampa, Florida. This resort remains a consistent stop on the PGA Tour. Packard’s philosophy was to create enjoyable courses that encouraged players to return after their first experience.

Throughout his career, Packard built numerous acclaimed golf courses, with some ranking on national top-10 lists. Examples of these include the Copperhead and Island Courses at Innisbrook, the private layout at Echo Valley in Des Moines, Iowa, and public courses like Lick Creek in Pekin, Illinois, Benson Park in Omaha, Nebraska, and Sunflower Hills in Bonner Springs, Kansas.