Ron Whitten

Ron Whitten is best known in golf architecture circles as a longtime architecture editor and writer rather than primarily as a practicing designer. His deep expertise in course evaluation and design principles informed decades of coverage, including contributions to major golf publications where he analyzed and ranked courses worldwide.

Whitten's design work includes The Architects Golf Club in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, a project that reflects his scholarly approach to golf architecture. He also collaborated on Erin Hills in Wisconsin, which opened in 2006 and gained prominence by hosting the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Open—the first USGA regular men's championship awarded to an individually owned course.

His dual role as critic and creator offers a unique perspective: shaping courses informed by firsthand study of the game's greatest designs while maintaining an analytical voice in architectural discourse.

Sources: Wikipedia article on Erin Hills; course list from Course Vaults.