b'Norman H. Woods, Anyone?One of the regions most prolific architects remains largely unknownA fter playing the fabulous fifth hole atInterestingly, A.V Macanthe Kokanee Springsa difficult par-4 thatPNGA Half of Famer and easily the plunges down the hill, crosses a glacier-fedmost famous architect from the Pacific creek, and ends with a bunker-guardedNorthwest and the man behind many green flanked by towering pinesit will berenowned courseshad an unsavory crystal clear in your mind that youre playingopinion of Woods, who had come onto a special golf course. As for who designedthe scene towards the end of Macans this under-the-radar relic, well, thats boundillustrious career and, certainly, would to be a little murky, at best.have been viewed as a competitor.Indeed, the architect of KokaneeMacan absolutely hated Norman SpringsNorman H. Woodsisnt exactlyWoods, said Mike Riste, the PNGA a household name in golfdom. In fact, heshistorian with the BC Golf Museum. virtually an unknown in the game. Which, considering heHe never gave him any credit as an architect. Macan authored a couple of hundred golf courses in, mainly, thebelieved Woods was just a shaper who worked for Canadian prairies and the Pacific Northwest, should notStanley Thompson. be the case.Did Woods make it a habit of undercutting Macan for Interestingly, even astute architecture aficionados,jobs? Were Macans superior playing skills and upper-current golf course architects, and fellow golf writersclass status a factor? (Macan was a champion golfer, a were very vague on Woods. Most, in fact, knew next tolawyer by trade, and his father was a knighted physician nothing about him.in Ireland.) Its unclear. However, according to Riste, the Im embarrassed to say Ive never actually heardthorny sentiments were mutual. When Macan died, of Norman Woods, said Ran Morrissett, the formerWoods contacted all of the courses he (Macan) designed, architecture editor at GOLF Magazine and the foundertelling them he (Woods) would make them easier to play.of GolfClubAtlas.com, one of the leading voices in golfAlthough details of Woods character and personality course architecture.are scarce, some of his quirksand certainly his wry sense of humorare exposed in a paper on golf course architecture he penned for the American Society of Golf Course Architects in the 1970s. I am, God help me, a golf course architect, he mused in his opening graph. But, clearly, in spite of his penchant for potshots, Woods relished the quiet life. Unlike his flamboyant boss, Thompson, and his nemesis, Macan, he avoided the spotlight. It appears that he lived largely alone and with his dog, Tinker, a dear sidekick who sadly died during the construction of Kokanee Springs. He buried the dog behind the eighth tee and, to honor his pal, named the hole Tinkers Grave.During the two-year construction of Kokanee Springs, Woods lived simply in the historic Murray Cabin, a small stone-and-log abode tucked in the trees behind the The par-4 fifth at Kokanee Springs Resort is one of Woodsaforementioned eighth hole. The cabin still stands today. more memorable signature holes. Andrew Penner'