Talk about the people who have shaped golf in the desert, and Ted Robinson might not be the first name that springs to mind.

You might think of Pete Dye and his dramatic course designs, or Arnold Palmer and his designs and playing record. You might even think about course developers or just men and women who played the game. Bob Hope and Dinah Shore might also come to mind.

But no list of the most important figures in desert golf would be complete without Robinson, the prolific course designer who died last week at age 84 of pancreatic cancer.

Between the courses he designed on his own and the layouts he redesigned or renovated, Robinson counted 26 desert golf courses on his résumé. That means he had something to do with one out of every five courses in the golf-rich Coachella Valley.

His courses in the area were as diverse as they were consistent to his design philosophies. He could do short courses like Sunrise Country Club. He could redesign a long course like Ironwood Country Club. He could do municipal courses like Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort or he could design popular private country clubs like the Lakes or Palm Valley. And he could do resort courses, like his two courses at Marriott's Desert Springs.

Water bearer

Robinson, who died in Laguna Beach but who was a part-time desert resident for years, could do any kind of hole you'd want, of course. But he was forever linked with his use of water on courses like The Lakes and Desert Springs.

Robinson's use of water came from some practical beliefs. First, people who bought homes on courses liked to see water out their back windows. Second, golfers themselves like to play beautiful courses, and golfers generally point to water as a beautiful element.

Finally, and perhaps most practical of all, was Robinson's idea that water was the one hazard on a golf course that didn't slow down play. Put a player in a bunker and he might fidget and ponder and worry, then hit a poor shot that might stay in that bunker, where he'd start the process all over again.

Have a player hit into a lake, and the player just walks up, drops a ball and hits again, Robinson once told me.

Whatever the reason for Robinson's extensive use of water, a philosophy that earned him the nickname the King of Waterscapes, Robinson took the water and the rest of his design ideas around the world for more than 160 projects. In Southern California alone, his popular designs include Tijeras Creek and Robinson Ranch.

But nowhere has Robinson's imprint been felt stronger than in the Coachella Valley, where a Robinson design or redesign seems to lurk around every corner. And for that, Robinson will never be forgotten in the desert he helped to shape.