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{{Short description|American golf course architect (1879–1952)}}
[[File:PerryMaxwell.JPG|right|thumb
'''Perry Duke Maxwell''' (June 13, 1879 – November 15, 1952) was an American [[golf course architect]]. He was a founding member of the [[American Society of Golf Course Architects]] and was an inductee into the [[Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame]] in 2012. He was known as the "father of Oklahoma golf".<ref name="www.oksportshof.org">{{cite web |url=http://oksportshof.org/hall-of-fame-members/perry-maxwell/ |title=Perry Maxwell |website=oksportshof.org |accessdate=March 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110749/http://oksportshof.org/hall-of-fame-members/perry-maxwell/ |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Early life==
Perry Duke Maxwell was born on June 13, 1879, in [[Princeton, Kentucky]]
In 1913, on land he owned that was the site of a former [[dairy farm]], Maxwell built the first nine holes of [[Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club]] in Ardmore. The remaining nine holes would not be completed until 1923. Maxwell—along with other fine golf course architects of this period such as [[Herbert Strong (golfer)|Herbert Strong]] and [[Donald Ross (golfer)|Donald Ross]]—was not formally trained in golf course architecture. Most golf course architects who worked in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th century were immigrants from [[Scotland]] and [[England]] whose only qualifications were their knowledge of golf and ability to play the game.
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==Augusta National Golf Club renovations==
Maxwell made a number of important changes to Augusta National in 1937. When Augusta National originally opened for play in January 1933, the opening hole (now the 10th) was a relatively benign par 4 that played just more than 400 yards. From an elevated tee, the hole required little more than a short iron or wedge for the approach. Maxwell had grand plans to improve the hole, and he implemented them by moving the green in 1937 to its present location—on top of the hill, about 50 yards back from the old site—and transformed it into the toughest hole in Masters Tournament history. [[Ben Crenshaw]] referred to Maxwell's work on the 10th hole as "one of the great strokes in golf architecture". It's important to note that Maxwell is not credited as the designer for the updated 10th hole.<ref name="Augusta">{{cite web |url=http://www.augusta.com/stories/2010/04/05/mas_572492.shtml |title=Boyette, John – Maxwell made No. 10 a monster |website=Augusta National Golf Course |accessdate=March 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923181608/http://www.augusta.com/stories/2010/04/05/mas_572492.shtml |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 10th hole at Augusta has been voted on by members of the PGA of America as one of the ten most difficult holes in the country.<ref name=HOF>{{cite web|title=Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame -- Perry Maxwell|url=http://oksportshof.org/hall-of-fame-members/perry-maxwell/|website=oksportshof.org|accessdate=May 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110749/http://oksportshof.org/hall-of-fame-members/perry-maxwell/|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:Augusta National Golf Club, Hole 10 (Camellia).jpg|thumb|left|260px|The 10th hole, "[[Camellia]]", at [[Augusta National Golf Club]]]]
==Maxwell's design philosophy==
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==Later years==
With MacKenzie's death in 1934 and the dissolution of the partnership, Maxwell began the most fruitful phase of his career. This was a monumental accomplishment considering the nation was still in the grip of the devastating [[The Great Depression|Great Depression]] and accompanying [[Dust Bowl]] that plagued the American midwest. During this financially difficult time he was still able to get contracts to work on such innovative designs as Southern Hills, Prairie Dunes in Kansas and the Old Town Club in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]]. But perhaps the best known aspect of Maxwell's work during this stage of his career was his prolific renovation work. He is credited with major contributions to several of the top courses around the country, including [[Pine Valley Golf Club]], Gulph Mills, [[Philadelphia Country Club]], Brook Hollow, [[Colonial Country Club (Fort Worth)]], [[Saucon Valley Country Club]] in [[Upper Saucon Township
After [[World War II]] Maxwell continued working, even after losing a leg from below the knee due to [[cancer]]. But by this time Maxwell's focus was once again on Oklahoma. His son, J. Press Maxwell, had joined the business after returning from his tour of duty in Europe. The Maxwells had several notable efforts in Oklahoma in the late 1940s, including Oakwood Country Club in [[Enid, Oklahoma|Enid]] and the University of Oklahoma course in [[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]]. They also did the first golf course at the Grand Hotel in [[Mobile, Alabama]]. Among other projects completed just prior to his death in 1952 were [[Lake Hefner]] Golf Club in Oklahoma City, the Oak Cliff Country Club in Dallas, Texas, and a major renovation of the [[Omaha Country Club]] in [[Omaha, Nebraska]].<ref name="Clouser"/>
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===Solo designs by Perry Maxwell===
* [[Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club]], Ardmore, Oklahoma, 1913–23
* Norman Country Club (NLE), Norman, Oklahoma, 1921
* Duncan Golf & Country Club, Duncan, Oklahoma, 1922
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* Melrose Country Club, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, 1924–26
* [[Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club]],<sup>†</sup> Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1927
* Crystal Downs Country Club, Frankfort, Michigan,
* University of Michigan Golf Course, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1929<ref>{{cite web |url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-bl017672/bl017672|title=Bentley Image Bank, Bentley Historical Library: Design of University of Michigan Golf Course by McKenzie and Maxwell, printed in 1929 football game program}}</ref>
* [[Ohio State University Golf Course]],<sup>‡</sup> Columbus, Ohio, 1935
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===Co-designed with J. Press Maxwell===
* [[Prairie Dunes Country Club]], Hutchinson, Kansas, 1937, 1957
* Lakewood Country Club, Point Clear, Alabama, 1944–47
* Lake View Golf Club (NLE), Woodville, Oklahoma, 1946
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