How course nerds can win a chance to head to Crystal Downs
Nearly every year since 1998, the Alister MacKenzie Society has sponsored the Ray Haddock Lido Prize contest, the largest and longest-running amateur architect competition in the world.
MacKenzie, of course, rose to prominence in the architecture world in 1914 when his drawing won the original open call for submissions in Country Life Magazine for a golf holes design to be implemented at Charles Blair Macdonald’s Lido course on Long Island, about to begin construction. MacKenzie’s multi-route par 4 was selected and later built as the Lido’s 18th hole. That launched MacKenzie’s career as a practicing golf course architect, first in England, and later on three other continents.
The MacKenzie Society’s Lido contest, which also asks contestants to submit drawings of a single golf hole, is meant to give architecture enthusiasts and historians a chance to show off their design chops, but it’s also contributed to the careers of several practicing golf course designers including Thad Layton, who won in 2003, David Hoekstra (2011 & 2018), Riley Johns (2014) and Clyde Johnson (2015).
Last year’s winner was Robert Hoye of Massachusetts, whose 370-yard “Marsh” par 4 featured a split fairway with a high-risk alternate landing zone that shortened the distance to the green for those brave enough to take it.
The submission window for 2026 is now open through the May 1 deadline. Once again, the contest will showcase ideas for a two-shot hole (par 4) between 360 and 460 yards that should embrace the philosophies and artistry that MacKenzie demonstrated throughout his life.
The entries will be judged once again by a guest architect (past judges have included Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, Robert Trent Jones II, Rees Jones, Todd Eckenrode, Jim Urbina, Sandy Tatum and others), and the winning designer will earn a cash prize of $3,000, plus an additional $2,000 travel stipend should they choose to attend the annual Society gathering, this year held at Crystal Downs in Michigan.
For more information on the competition, head to the website here, and view the rules and guidelines directly here.
Get your pencils ready!