Percy Clifford, an established golf course architect, designed more than 40 courses during his career in Mexico. Clifford was the first Mexican citizen to be elected an ASGCA member. His design work throughout his career received international acclaim and will have a lasting impact on the game of golf in Mexico.

Before he began designing golf courses, Clifford grew up playing the game he loved the most. Clifford was considered an outstanding amateur golfer, winning six Mexican Amateurs and three Mexican Open titles. He also represented Mexico several times in The Americas Cup competition. His talent for the game of golf was passed down to his daughter, Sandra Fullmer, who is a former Women’s Amateur Champion in the nations of Mexico, Spain, and Germany.

After building an established amateur golf resume, Clifford took his talents to the professional level. As a professional, he was known for his gift of communication when teaching the game. He would also represent the nation of Mexico in two World Cups. He would eventually regain his amateur status before starting his architectural career.

Clifford was born and spent most of his life in Mexico City. Having been a golfer and having a desire to get into the golf architecture business, his first opportunity came in the late 1940’s when he was responsible for planning Club de Golf Mexico. For this project, Clifford envisioned a topflight golf course, and did much of the organizing, planning, and reviewing the golf course. After completing the project, Clifford felt confident in handling the design work on his own.

By 1980, Clifford was responsible for nearly half of the courses in his home land. Most of his courses were done on relatively modest budgets, for throughout his career Percy deplored the extravagance in both construction and maintenance of North American courses.

Percy Clifford was elected into ASGCA in 1968 and received Fellow status in 1977. During his time with ASGCA, he was heavily involved, which included arranging the 24th Annual Meeting at Pierre-Marques Hotel in Acapulco, Mexico. Clifford was a member of ASGCA until 1984, when he passed away at the age of 77.