We visit Trump Aberdeen, Comporta and Baltusrol, chat to Rees Jones and ask if anyone likes a long par three.
By Richard Humphreys |
The July 2025 issue of Golf course architecture is out now!
Our latest issue presents the New course at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, Scotland, on the cover. Toby Ingleton visited the course and spoke to the project team about the spectacular site, centered around a system of high dunes just as impressive as those on the club’s first course.
The par three eighth at the recent U.S. Open at Oakmont received a lot of press for its length of nearly 300 yards, with many players critical of the hole and long par threes in general. For our “Not for long?”In the article, Adam Lawrence spoke with several golf course architects, including Steve Smyers, Brian Curley and Christine Fraser, to get their thoughts on long one-shots.
Adam also reports a visit to the new Torre route in Terras da Comportadesigned by the Sergio Garcia firm. “It may not be able to dethrone its sister Dunas for the title of best course in Portugal, but it is a very good partner,” he writes.
We also visited the Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, where the reopening of the Upper course marks Gil Hanse’s completion of the restoration of AW Tillinghast’s famous “double courses.” Hanse spoke to us about the distinctive features of the Lower and Upper courses and gave us insight into the process of restoring the double greens on the fourteenth hole.
Our feature interview for the new issue is with Rees Jones. He talks about following in his father’s footsteps, his work at Bethpage Black in the run-up to the 2025 Ryder Cup, his plans in Asia and much more. “I want the beginning golfer to have a place to play and enjoy a sporting activity that they will enjoy for a lifetime,” he says.
Ron Whitten writes about Swope Memorialwhere he is consulting on a project led by CE Golf Design that aims to recapture AW Tillinghast’s original vision for the Kansas City course. He writes: “There was not much to preserve at Tillinghast, but a good deal to ‘restore’. We call our process sympathetic restoration, trying to meet 21st century requirements with early 20th century design.”
We also have reports on Eschuri Vung Bau Golf Resorta new IMG course located on an island off the coast of southern Vietnam; the 3 billion dollars Hann Reserve development in New Clark City, Philippines, which will offer classes taught by Nicklaus Design, KJ Choi and Faldo Design; a new golf course by Greg Norman’s firm for the Moon Palace Punta Cana seaside resort in the Dominican Republic; the Mackenzie & Ebert renovation of La Moye Golf on the island of Jersey; the new one designed by Peter Harradine Capital Hills course, part of a larger development in Islamabad, Pakistan; And WichitaCCwhere Tripp Davis completed an infrastructure-focused renovation of the Kansas club.
Elsewhere, our news section includes King Collins Dormer’s proposals for Royal Dornoch in Scotland, the Gil Hanse renovation of Royal Sydney in Australia, the new Scarecrow course that DMK Golf Design created for Play sands and an overview from Canadian architect Jason Miller on the new Sands of Timehri golf course under construction in Guyana.
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