Golf External News 1166

Firestone officials express interest in hosting 2022 PGA Championship

8 months ago Golf External News, , , , , ,

AKRON, Ohio — Ohio golf fans might get another chance to watch Tiger Woods before he turns 50.

Firestone Country Club officials have made the PGA of America aware of their desire to host the 2022 PGA Championship, David Pillsbury, CEO of Firestone owner ClubCorp, told the Akron Beacon Journal on Thursday.

The 2022 PGA was to be held May 19-22 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, but the PGA voted to strip the club of the major championship four days after supporters of President Donald Trump staged a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the election victory of President-elect Joe Biden.

“We have made it known to all the appropriate people of our interest and desire to bring the PGA Championship back to Firestone and that we would bend over backwards as a club and an organization to make it an amazing championship,” Pillsbury said in a phone interview from Dallas, where ClubCorp is based.

“Obviously, the PGA of America has to make this decision at its sole discretion and they have a lot of things that they’ll evaluate. I’m sure it’s lost on no one there of the great, rich history of championship golf at Firestone.”

Firestone has hosted three PGA Championships: in 1960, 1966 and 1975, won by Jay Hebert, Al Geiberger and Jack Nicklaus, respectively. Its professional golf history dates back to the 1954 Rubber City Open. It hosted the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational all but one year from 1999-2018, and Woods won on the famed South Course eight times, last in 2013.

Firestone Country Club

The Arnold Palmer bridge on the 16th hole at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Photo by Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

A spokesman at the PGA of America gave no update about the organization’s timeline for its decision on a replacement site for 2022 and declined an interview request to discuss the factors being considered. NJ.com wrote in its story on the PGA cutting ties with Trump National that the decision would come after President Trump left office.

Pillsbury said he doesn’t know the PGA’s deadline for making an announcement, but understands what goes into staging the event. He worked for the PGA Tour for 11 years and served as president of championship management, which runs WGC events, and was at Firestone for nine of those.

The PGA process does not require Firestone to make a formal proposal or pitch.

“All you can do is put your best foot forward, which we’ve done,” Pillsbury said. “We stand on our great history at Firestone of the best players in the world competing year in and year out in three major championships and the WGCs for all those years. It’s certainly a proven venue, there’s no question about that.

“I’m sure they have no shortage of terrific options.”

Pillsbury pointed out that Firestone has a large base of volunteers and Ohioans and residents of the Midwest are strong supporters of professional golf.

After the departure of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2018, Bridgestone made a four-year commitment to sponsor the Senior Players Championship, one of the PGA Tour Champions majors. That deal runs through 2022.

Asked about the difficulty of hosting two events in one year, Pillsbury said, “We’ll figure that out if in fact we’re selected as the host for the PGA Championship. We will not let that be a problem as it relates to hosting a major championship.”

As for the condition of the course being compromised, he said, “We wouldn’t and I don’t think we would need to. I don’t think that would be an issue.”

In 1966, Firestone hosted three professional golf events — the PGA, the CBS Golf Classic and the World Series of Golf. In 1975, the PGA and the World Series of Golf, in its last year as a 36-hole exhibition, were both held there.

Presuming a Champions tour event remains at Firestone, the 2022 PGA would give Woods a chance to return to Akron before he turns 50 on Dec. 30, 2025. Woods recently underwent his fifth back surgery on top of five knee surgeries, and some wonder how much longer he will be able to play up to his standards.

After his third round in 2018 before the WGC event was moved to Memphis, Tennessee, Woods suggested the South Course should be the site of another major. He’s not alone in his reverence for Firestone, with Rory McIlroy also listing it among his favorites.

“It’s one of the great, iconic clubs in the United States and the players love the South Course,” Pillsbury said. “It would be a thrill for all of us to host another major championship. We would make it amazing, and so would everybody in Akron and Northeast Ohio. They would all pull out the stops. It would be incredible.”


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Fitness with Averee: Lateral plank walk

8 months ago Golf External News, , , ,









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A strong core is essential for a good golf swing.

On the latest episode of “Fitness with Averee,” Averee Dovsek demonstrates the lateral plank walk: a move that will target your core muscles so you can hit pure shots down the fairway.

Combine what you learn through “Fitness with Averee” with Steve Scott’s instruction series and you will be a different golfer on and off the course.

Watch this episode of “Fitness with Averee” above and check here for previous episodes.

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Importance of playing your natural curve

8 months ago Golf External News, , ,

Whether you prefer to draw or fade your golf shots, it really doesn’t matter.

In this week’s episode of Instruction with Steve Scott, Scott explains how you can utilize your natural curve to benefit your scores out on the course.

Scott, the PGA head golf professional at the Outpost Club, founder of the Silver Club Golfing Society and a PGA Tour Live analyst, has taken his thorough knowledge of the game and broken it down into digestible lessons from which anyone can benefit in Golfweek‘s series, “Instruction with Steve Scott.”

Check out these step-by-step instructions and tips in the video above and share your before and after videos and photos with us on Twitter with #GolfweekInstruction.

Click here to watch previous episodes of “Instruction with Steve Scott” including Gator-clamp putting, iron play and flop shots.




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Willie Mack III Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption Genesis Invitational

8 months ago Golf External News, , , , , , , ,

Willie Mack III has earned his shot to play on the PGA Tour.

Mack, a Flint, Michigan native, will participate in the Genesis Invitational thanks to a standout career and a shoutout from Tiger Woods. Woods—host of the tournament—announced Mack as the 2021 recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption that, since 2009, aims to increase diversity in golf.

“Willie learned to golf with his dad just like I did and those are memories that will last forever. I am excited to see Willie make another lasting memory when he tees it up at Riviera,” Woods said. “Willie has endured through difficult times off the course the past few years and I know Charlie would be proud of how he has stayed focused on achieving his dream.”

After winning 11 titles at Bethune-Cookman, Mack became the first Black golfer to win the Michigan Amateur Championships in 2011. He now plays on the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour and Florida Professional Golf Tour, earning Player of the Year honors for each in 2019.

Willie Mack III

Willie Mack III at the APGA Tour at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida, July of, 2020. It was on the Slammer & Squire course. Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour

The tournament, scheduled for Feb. 18-21 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, will be Mack’s first PGA Tour start. He previously played on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica Tour, according to a news release from the Genesis Invitational.

“I want to thank my father who introduced me to the great game of golf,” Mack said. “My dream since I first picked up a club has been to play on the PGA TOUR. It’s really special that I will play in my first PGA TOUR event because of an exemption named after Charlie Sifford, a person I’ve long admired, and in a tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, who is the reason I got into golf.”

The Golf Channel and CBS will have live coverage of the Genesis Invitational.

The exemption to play the PGA’s yearly event at the Riviera has existed for more than a decade but in 2017, was renamed in honor of Sifford, the first Black person to play on the PGA Tour.


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American Express fantasy golf power rankings

8 months ago Golf External News, , , , ,

PGA West in La Quinta, California, hosts this week’s American Express as the PGA Tour returns to the mainland after opening 2021 with a two-week stay in Hawaii. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings and betting odds for the top 30 golfers at the 2021 American Express.

The first two rounds of the tournament will be split between the Stadium Course and the Nicklaus Tournament Course with all golfers who make the 36-hole cut sticking to the Stadium Course for the weekend.

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 8 a.m. ET.

American Express: Gambling odds

Fantasy Golf Top 30

30. John Augenstein (+25000)

The runner-up at the 2019 US Amateur makes his professional golf debut following a T-55 finish at the 2020 Masters. He’s an excellent irons player and will have better success on more neutral putting surfaces.

29. Nick Taylor (+9000)

Moved up 11 spots to 125th in the Official World Golf Ranking with a T-11 finish at the Sony Open last week. Gained 1.59 strokes per round putting and stays on Bermudagrass this week.

28. Zach Johnson (+6600)

Missed the cut here three times in his last five appearances but has made the cut in nine straight events since the 2020 PGA Championship. He has three top-10 finishes during that stretch, including a T-8 at the US Open.

27. Si Woo Kim (+6000)

Tied for 25th last week with 0.00 strokes lost or gained on the greens. Averaged 1.25 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round.

26. Kevin Streelman (+10000)

Finished second on another Pete Dye-designed course at the Travelers Championship last summer. Has averaged 0.51 total strokes gained on the field per round over 13 career rounds at the Stadium Course, according to Data Golf.

25. Sepp Straka (+8000)

Tied for fourth in this event last year while ranking second in the field with 2.78 SG: Approach per round. He missed the cut in his 2019 debut.

24. Keegan Bradley (+8000)

Missed the cut last week due to 3.49 strokes lost putting per round but ranked second in the field in SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach.

23. Francesco Molinari (+8000)

Slipped to 130th in the OWGR and 359th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings after playing just seven tournaments last year. He won four times through 2018 and 2019, including the 147th Open Championship.

22. Rickie Fowler (+4500)

Had just two top-10 finishes against eight missed cuts in 20 events last year, but one of the top 10s was a T-10 in his debut at this event. He has played his best golf early in the season in recent years.

21. Brian Harman (+5000)

No. 27 in the Golfweek rankings despite not registering a win since the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. Didn’t pick up a top-10 finish last year but was T-21 at PGA West. He tied for third here in 2017.

Place your legal, online 2021 American Express bets in CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM. Risk-free first bet! Terms and conditions apply.

20. Cameron Davis (+8000)

Twelfth on Tour in Birdie or Better Percentage through 24 rounds on the 2020-21 season. Finished 31st last week while gaining 1.57 strokes per round off-the-tee.

19. Andrew Landry (+12500)

The defending champ also finished second in 2018. He relied heavily on his putter last year, but he also averaged 1.94 SG: Approach and 2.22 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.

18. Russell Henley (+3000)

Has been on a steady rise from No. 251 to No. 52 in the OWGR since a missed cut at last year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. He’s No. 18 in the Golfweek rankings after collecting six top-10 finishes in his last 17 events.

17. Charles Howell III (+5000)

Only one golfer in this field has played more rounds on the Stadium Course. He has averaged 1.02 strokes gained on the field per round over his 14 laps but missed the cut last year.

16. Cameron Champ (+3500)

Just two top-10 finishes in 20 events last season. Tied for 21st in this event despite a dreadful 1.77 strokes lost around-the-green per round. His distance doesn’t provide his usual advantage.

15. Doc Redman (+8000)

Tied for 29th last year with an impressive 1.44 SG: Putting per round. Hasn’t played since missing the cut at The RSM Classic but had success against weaker fields last year with three top 10s.

14. Phil Mickelson (+6000)

The tournament host is a two-time winner here and more recently tied for second in 2019. Having slipped to 137th in the Golfweek rankings, he figures to split his time between the PGA Tour and Champions circuit this year but could start strong against a weaker field.

13. Gary Woodland (+8000)

The 2019 US Open winner dropped to No. 40 in the OWGR in an uneventful 2020 campaign in which he had four top-10 finishes in 19 events but never really seemed to challenge for the winner’s circle. He tied for second in 2011 at this event but on different courses.

12. Adam Hadwin (+6000)

Missed this event last year for the birth of his child, but finished 2nd, T-3 and T-2 from 2017-19. Leads those with a minimum of four rounds played on the Stadium Course with 2.56 strokes gained per round.

11. Sam Burns (+5000)

First on Tour in Total Driving through five events played on the 2020-21 season. Tied for sixth last year with 2.66 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.

10. Matthew Wolff (+2500)

No. 46 in the Golfweek rankings and 15 in the OWGR. Hasn’t played since a missed cut at the 2020 Masters. Finished just T-61 here last year but averaged 1.61 SG: Off-the-Tee per round and has improved his short game.

9. Paul Casey (+5000)

Ranked second on Tour in Par 4 Efficiency: 400-450 Yards last year. That’s the key distance at PGA West with 11 of 20 par 4s between the Stadium Course and Nicklaus Tournament Course falling in that range.

8. Kevin Na (+3000)

Last week’s winner finished T-17 here last year with 3.00 SG: Approach per round. He’d be ranked higher if it weren’t for the long trip back from Hawaii.

7. Tony Finau (+1800)

Tied for 14th last year despite losing strokes on the greens, on approach and off the tee. Was off last week after finishing T-31 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

6. Brooks Koepka (+1800)

The former world No. 1 makes his 2021 debut having slipped to No. 54 in the Golfweek rankings. He has never played this event.

5. Abraham Ancer (+2800)

Has averaged 0.73 strokes gained per round over 11 career rounds on the Stadium Course. He finished alone in second with 2.38 SG: Putting and 3.32 SG: Tee-to-Green per round last year.

4. Sungjae Im (+2000)

Disappointed with a T-56 result as a popular betting pick last week at the Sony Open. He continues to strike the ball well but is struggling on the greens.

3. Patrick Reed (+1400)

A somewhat surprising entry this week coming off a T-21 at the Tournament of Champions. He ended his 2020 schedule with a T-3 finish in a strong field at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

2. Scottie Scheffler (+1600)

Debuted here last year with a third-place finish. Still trying to get back on track after having to withdraw from the 2020 U.S. Open due to a positive COVID-19 result.

1. Patrick Cantlay (+1200)

Became the betting favorite after world No. 2 Jon Rahm withdrew Monday for an undisclosed reason. Tied for ninth in his lone appearance here in 2019 with 3.13 SG: Approach and 3.45 SG: Tee-to-Green. He’s 10th in the Golfweek rankings and is the top golfer in the field by that measure.

Get some action on the 2021 American Express by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.

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The golden age of golf course renovation and restoration

8 months ago Golf External News, , , ,

There’s a segment of art fans who regularly demand the Mona Lisa be cleaned and restored. It’s a touchy debate. If the painting were to be restored, it might better represent what Leonardo da Vinci intended as he created it. But if so much as a line of her smile was damaged during such attempts, a real possibility when dealing with a 500-year-old painting … well, art fans don’t like to consider the loss of even a single stroke of paint on that famous face. 

There are similar debates throughout the art world as experts consider what was, what is and what will be for masterpieces of all kinds. Paintings. Classic architecture. Sculpture. The list goes on and on. 

Even golf courses. 

The early 20th century has been dubbed by many to be the golden age of course design in the United States, as 94 of the top 100 layouts on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list were built in the four decades through the 1930s as cars proliferated and airplanes took off. The 1990s and early 2000s also were boom times, but nothing compared to that previous stretch in which famed designers – artists, really – produced so many masterpieces. 

And just like famous paintings, these courses sometimes show their age. Throw in the effects of benign neglect or, even worse, well-intended alterations that abandon key characteristics, and many of the best golf courses have slowly lost much of their original designers’ intentions, even without considering the greater distances that modern golf balls travel.

Greens shrink and their internal contours are often subdued. Bunkers migrate, changing shapes, depths and sizes. Fairway widths are altered. Trees grow to block ideal lines of play. Golf courses are living, breathing creations that are subject to ever-changing budgets, growth patterns and whims of membership committees – nothing remains static. 

As with any work that might be done to the Mona Lisa, there are many considerations when tackling the problems of aging golf courses. But Mona Lisa doesn’t live outside in a field, subject to weather and all kinds of dynamic forces. Golf courses do, and they need work to retain their artistry.

Enter the modern golf architect, many of whom have become restoration artists. For most of today’s designers, much of their business since the financial crash of the late 2000s and subsequent drop in new golf course development is less about creating their own namesake layouts as it is restoring, renovating and otherwise touching up existing layouts. 

In fact, it’s safe to say that in the past decade we have entered a golden era of restoration and renovation. The top courses on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list is full of prime examples, many of which are on full, televised display during major championships. Even the list of top resort courses in the U.S. – which tends to favor more modern layouts – is dotted with significant renovations and restorations. 

“There’s been an appreciation building over time going back several decades, and I think what’s been happening is, because of this golden age of restoration, not only is there an appreciation for the name architects – A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, Alister MacKenzie, C.B. Macdonald and several others – there’s a greater appreciation for their talents and their golf courses,” said Gil Hanse, whose portfolio of restorations with design partner Jim Wagner continues to grow. “There’s maybe more of an appreciation for those architects now. You can see that across the board for other modern architects and the courses they have touched, too.”

Winged Foot Golf Club West Course

The ninth hole at Winged Foot Golf Club’s West Course in New York, which was restored by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner before the 2020 U.S. Open (Copyright USGA/Russell Kirk)

Hanse’s restorations and renovations include but certainly are not limited to Merion’s East, most recently host of the 2013 U.S. Open; Winged Foot’s West, most recently host of the 2020 U.S. Open; The Country Club, next hosting the 2022 U.S. Open, and Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course (in collaboration with author and blogger Geoff Shackelford), next hosting the 2023 U.S. Open. 

 “It’s a long-winded kind of answer,” Hanse continued, “and there’s been this kind of appreciation for a long time, but now because of all this good restoration work that is happening – of which we are happy to do our part – there’s an even bigger appreciation of the older golf courses and those architects. ‘Wow, we knew these guys were good, but we didn’t know they were this good.’ ”

Bill Coore – who with design partner Ben Crenshaw has worked on classics such as Pinehurst No. 2, Maidstone, Seminole, Riviera and many others – agrees.

“We do seem to be in an era where there are significant efforts going on to try to restore or, in some cases I guess you could say, address the current playing conditions of some of the classic old courses,” Coore said. “They are all living, breathing things like we are, and they change and evolve.

“In the case of the best courses in the country, they have for the most part evolved in a very positive fashion. But they do change. Sometimes the changes are so incremental that they’re almost unnoticeable until years and years later. Then, you realize they were slightly better the way they were intended. You see a lot of that going on, I think. We’re trying to recapture the original intent and playing characteristics of some of these old courses.”

Seminole Golf Club in South Florida was restored by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. (David Cannon/Getty Images)

 

It can be a daunting task. How exactly does one go about touching up a masterpiece without damaging it? The first step typically involves some definition of intent. 

“Part of the process you go through is, what are the goals?” Coore said. “What are you trying to obtain if you’re working at one of those great old courses? Is it purely trying to recapture the character and the aesthetics? Is it trying to recapture the playing characteristics? Is it trying to address issues pertaining to more modern golf? Is it all of the above?”

The terms thrown about can muddle things. What exactly is a restoration? And what is a renovation? Do those terms ever cross, and how many shades of gray are present between them? 

“The easiest way for us to describe it, for Jim Wagner and myself, is that a restoration is when the original architect’s thoughts, style and design are the driving force behind every decision on the site,” Hanse said. “A renovation is when we’re interjecting our original design thoughts into an existing golf course, allowing our prejudices, thoughts, skills, etcetera, to influence what we think would make for a better golf course.”

Hanse pointed to his and Wagner’s work at Winged Foot’s West course in New York as a restoration, with the duo trying to reclaim the characteristics instilled by the original designer, Tillinghast. Greens edges had crept in since the course opened in 1923, leaving fewer hole locations. Some bunkers had become irrelevant. Among all the work involved, perhaps key was Hanse and Wagner’s expansion of putting surfaces back to their original sizes and shifting of bunkers to better fit Tillinghast’s intent of challenging players. 

The second hole at Pinehurst No. 4, which was renovated by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Pinehurst Resort)

At the opposite end of Hanse’s redesign-renovation spectrum is Pinehurst No. 4, a Ross layout at the famed North Carolina resort that had been the subject of numerous subsequent redesigns since its opening as a full 18 in 1919. Defining it as a renovation and not a restoration from the start, Hanse and Wagner built what Hanse called “close to being a whole new golf course” through mostly existing corridors in the pines, and that renovation opened to play in 2018. 

Pinehurst is a great example of the different ways to approach a renovation or restoration, as it has been 10 years since Coore and Crenshaw wrapped up what most certainly was a restoration of Pinehurst No. 2, the resort’s flagship course that rests directly next to Hanse’s since-renovated No. 4. 

Often cited as among the best of Ross’s designs, No. 2 had changed considerably over the decades following its 1903 opening. The course’s most famous features are its crowned greens, but much of the rest of the course might have been almost unrecognizable to Ross, who lived for years to the side of the third green. Most dramatically, the native sandy areas alongside fairways had been replaced with grass at rough heights, presenting totally different appearances and playing challenges. 

No. 2 hosted U.S. Opens in 1999 and 2005, and even between those Opens the course changed, with fairways growing more narrow between ever-expanding fields of rough. After that 2005 Open, the resort’s operators wanted to make drastic changes. Employing Coore and Crenshaw in 2010, they opted to take the course back in time, restoring what once was to replace what it had become. 

“Sometimes we look back at some of the architecture that has happened at Pinehurst, whether it’s golf course architecture or building architecture, and you scratch your head a little bit,” Tom Pashley, now the president of Pinehurst Resort, said at Golfweek’s Architecture Summit in November of 2020. “How did this happen, how did that happen? …

“The decision was made, and it was a risk but it was obviously the right decision, to take No. 2 back. It had become a very manicured golf course, and the standing wire grass areas were only ornamental. It didn’t look like a Sandhills course. … Things had happened over the years, and the courses had evolved and all that, and we just said, look, this land is where Ross laid out the original four courses in Pinehurst, and we need to be true to some sort of aesthetic, the Ross aesthetic.”

So Coore and Crenshaw were tasked with taking the course back, but to what, exactly? And for whom, Tour pros in the U.S. Open or resort guests? And how to do that? 

“At least for us, the single biggest priority is to take ourselves out of it,” Coore said. “If we leave signatures that we’ve been there, we failed, quite frankly. The goal is to recapture – at least at places like Pinehurst or Maidstone or wherever – the goal is to try to recapture what made that place so special in the beginning. And all those cases, they were built long before Ben and I were ever on this earth. So we take ourselves out of it, yet we’re so involved in it, trying to study the original intent. What did Donald Ross intend at Pinehurst No. 2? What was the focus? How did the course play and look?”

Coore and Crenshaw got a major boost when local resident Craig Disher presented them with aerial photos of Pinehurst No. 2 taken on Christmas Day in 1943. The design duo received another break when Pinehurst agronomist Bob Farren told them the current irrigation system had been laid in the same trenches as the water pipes installed during Ross’s time, allowing them to figure out the previous center lines of the fairways while projecting their width based on how far water would have been sprinkled. 

“I said, ‘Bob, if that’s the case, we have not only a road map, we have the center of the road,’ ” Coore said of the old irrigation system. 

Such sleuthing can be crucial to a true restoration. At Pinehurst, those kinds of efforts allowed Coore and Crenshaw, with a fairly high degree of certainty, to present the course as it looked in 1943, with wider fairways surrounded by native grasses and no traditional rough. 

The ninth green at Pinehurst No. 2, as seen before Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s restoration (inset photo) and after, with new wire grass (Photos courtesy of Pinehurst and by David Cannon/Getty Images)

The U.S. Open returned to No. 2 in 2014, with Martin Kaymer winning on a firmer, faster and browner layout that looked almost nothing as it had in 1999 and 2005. It was a departure from the typical U.S. Open setup of tall rough, but the work was roundly praised. And with the U.S. Golf Association now slated to establish a second headquarters at Pinehurst, the U.S. Open will return with No. 2 as an anchor site in 2024, 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047.

“We’re very proud of Pinehurst, because the people there are very proud of it,” Coore said. “I know there were people who said, what on earth are they doing, they’re going to destroy the place. But I think given the time since the work – and it’s probably been enough time to begin to assess – that this was a positive move. 

“I grew up in North Carolina and I played golf at Pinehurst as a kid, and I remembered it from what it was in the 1960s, and I just knew from my own memory that it had changed dramatically through the years. Ben and I certainly never would have gone there and said you need to change this, you need to restore this. All that influence came from the Pinehurst people, who said we’ve been listening and studying that this course is not the way it used to be. It was a huge leap of faith.”

While Pinehurst serves as a great model for restorations and renovations, it’s hardly alone in efforts to refine a golf course, even among U.S. Open venues. Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, host to nine Opens, for example famously removed thousands of trees in the 1990s and 2000s to restore playing corridors as intended by original designer Henry Fownes. That certainly would be one of the most visually impactful restorations for any television viewer. 

None of this is exactly new. Robert Trent Jones Sr. was known for his work on championship courses, and his son Rees followed in his footsteps. Courses have been the targets of redesign efforts ever since the game developed. Old Tom Morris certainly was known to tinker.

But as courses continue to age, efforts have been stepped up at many private clubs and resorts alike, often with grander goals of revisiting previous work that was more limited in scope. Whereas announcements of course openings filled the news wires in the early 2000s, today’s design news is more typically filled with restorations and renovations – not a week goes by without announcements of such work across the U.S. 

It’s all a great opportunity for current architects, but it can be very different than creating a new course. In a sense, great restorations are more of a research endeavor than a design process. 

“When you’re in the field, there’s a ton of archeology,” Hanse said. “You’ll find old bunkers and things. We’re working at Oakland Hills right now, and we’ll be sifting through, and ‘That looks like old bunker sand. Yep, there’s a layer, chase it and find where it goes.’ So there are markers on the ground. Working at Baltusrol, we’ve been sort of peeling away layers of bunker sand buildup along the edges of greens. You have thatch and sort of top dressing, then all the sudden you hit this sort of blackish soil layer. You can chase that soil layer, and that sort of reestablishes where the edge of the bunker was. If you’re paying attention, you can find these things.”

Hanse said the greatest example may have come at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, a George C. Thomas Jr. original design from 1921 that had been reshaped and diminished through the decades. A skilled contractor on an excavator kept finding all kinds of clues to the original course beneath the sod, especially as to the placement of the second and sixth greens. 

“He found the old green surfaces that literally had been covered by dirt – they hadn’t even stripped the grass off it,” Hanse said. “Pulling this away, we even found old cup holes. It was remarkable. We were just able to pull away the dirt and have the old green edges and contours intact. That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.”

But the fact there are clues in the dirt doesn’t necessarily make it any easier for the architects. 

“Without question, I think Ben and I would both say that there’s more stress in (restoring a classic course than in building a new one),” said Coore, who along with Crenshaw delivered one of the most-anticipated new courses of 2020, the Sheep Ranch at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon. “It’s because you’re not dealing with your product. You’re trying to return the greatest potential of somebody else’s product, a product that has proved to be successful and sometimes even revered around the world for years. 

“So it’s way more stressful and intense than creating a new product where, even though the site might have great potential and expectations, the course doesn’t exist yet. On a new course you’re living up to what the potential of the site is, but you’re not living up to what was. You’re not chasing a ghost.”

– This story originally ran in Golfweek’s 2021 Ultimate Guide.


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