Dawson was one of Southern California’s greatest golfers, winning four SCGA Amateur Championships and the 1942 California Amateur title, and he is the last person to win them both in the same year. However, equally important, Dawson was the visionary force that began the golf course boom in the Coachella Valley after World War II, developing Thunderbird Country Club, Eldorado Country Club and La Quinta Country Club, among others.