Pat Ruddy

Pat Ruddy (b. 1945) is an Irish golf course architect from Ballina, County Mayo. He said: "You have to work with the raw material you're given... Start at A, head to B, get to C, and get it on the ground." On links advantages, he noted: "The links have a huge advantage in terms of drainage, being down by the sea with the winds blowing." Ruddy designed Druids Glen, Druids Heath, Ballyliffin's Glashedy, Rosapenna's Sandy Hills, and The European Club at Brittas Bay—his crowning achievement, which he created in 1986 after a helicopter search for the perfect site. Opened in 1992, it achieved world top-100 status. Ruddy retired from designing for others in 2004 to focus on The European Club.