Arguably, the "hottest" designer labels in the 1990s are Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, and Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Pete Dye is recognized as one of golf architecture's most creative designers. Most Dye courses have some, or a combination of, small greens, undulating fairways, railroad tie bulkheads, and deep native roughs. Dye created some of the world's top resort courses, including Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic; Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, SC; and the original Tournament Players Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
Tom Fazio has been rated the top modern golf architect in separate polls conducted by Golf Course News and Golf Digest. Among his most noted designs are Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, FL; Vintage Club near Palm Springs, CA; and Wild Dunes in Charleston, SC.
Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the son of legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr., has designed more than 150 new and remodeled courses on five continents in 33 countries. He has been called "the Frank Lloyd Wright of golf course architects" for designing courses that harmonize with their natural surroundings. Jones's high-profile designs include Chateau Whistler Golf Club in British Columbia; The Links at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach, CA; and Princeville Golf Resort, Kauai, HI.
Other prolific golf course architects include Geoffry Cornish, Bob Cupp, Tom Doak, P.B. Dye, Ron Garl, Arthur Hills, Mike Hurdzan, Rees Jones, and Bob Von Hagge. PGA Tour stars who now design courses include Ben Crenshaw, Bruce Devlin, Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Mark McCumber, Johnny Miller, Larry Nelson, and Tom Weiskopf.
An excellent guide to golf course architects is The Architects of Golf, by Geoffrey S. Cornish and Ronald E. Whitten (HarperCollins, 1993).