Robert "Red" Lawrence was born in White Plains, NY in 1893. He was a layout engineer at the Westchester CC in Rye, NY. While "Red" Lawrence wasn't among the founders of classical golf course architecture in the USA, he was well placed among the second generation of American designers. Lawrence emerged from the "Philadelphia School" of golf course architecture as he was a design assistant at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA. He worked for or with William S. Flynn at Merion from 1921 to 1932.

Later, Lawrence's work as an associate involved him in a number of inland Eastern USA golf courses including The Cascades at the Homestead Resort in VA and other fine courses. "Red" Lawrence is a founding member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (founded in 1947). In May, 1958 at the age of 65, "Red" left the East Coast and moved to Tucson, AZ. He designed many courses in Arizona. His design of Desert Forest Golf Club (1962) earned him the nickname of the "Desert Fox" as it was the first true desert golf course in the Southwest. It is probably his premier course design. "Red" died at the age of 83 in 1976, and was inducted into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.