Robert Trent Jones, Sr.  (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a famed golf course archictect who designed (or re-designed) about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world including Valencia Country Club.

Born in Ince, England, Jones accompanied his parents to the United States at the age of five. The family settled in East Rochester, New York where young Robert took a job becoming the first golf professional at Sodus Bay Heights Golf Club. Jones became an avid and skilled golfer as a youth, but health problems prevented him from joining tournament competition.

Jones attended Cornell University, where he designed his own course of study to become a professional golf course designer, taking courses in landscape architecture, agronomy, horticulture, hydraulics, surveying, public speaking, and economics.

Jones courses are noted for their artistic landscaping, innovative use of bunkers, liberal use of water hazards, and deft placement of greens and hazards that encourage a high level of strategy. He believed that golf should be a no risk; no reward sport and his designs encouraged daring play.