Gog Magog Golf Club in Cambridge, England, has completed the penultimate phase of a bunker project, which is being overseen by Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert.

Work on its Old course was completed in the winters of 2021-22 and 2022-23, while renovation of the Wandlebury course began in 2022 and will be completed by April 2025.

“For the Old, we wanted to keep the traditional style of the bunkering,” said Brad McLean, general manager at Gog Magog. “Martin proposed some relocations, but predominately rebuilt most bunkers in their original locations. The styling is more traditional, with flat bottoms and steeper faces built into the landscape.

“For Wandlebury, the brief was a bit different as we wanted to differentiate the two courses. We called for more defined revetted edges and much larger surface areas. The bunkering on many holes was more strategically imagined, and not only were landing areas considered but how the bunkering could add to the shape of the hole. The difference between the two styles is striking.”

The last phase of work, the renovation of the final six holes on Wandlebury, which also includes building a new fairway on the short par-four thirteenth, will start in October 2024.

“We chose to install China clay with its whiter appearance to help the bunkers really stand out,” said McLean. “The maintenance of the sand has changed too. We get a lot of wind, which sometimes caused issues, but with this variety, we are finding it much more stable and at the same time, playable and consistent. We are now working to develop thin and wispy grasses so that the ball returns to the sand if it hits the face.”

Most of the construction work has been done in-house, led by estate manager Andrew Howarth, with some assistance from Paul Davies of Shapewright.

McLean picks out the sixteenth (pictured) as a hole that demonstrates the positive impact of the renovation work on the Old. “Off the tee you can see the entire hole, now with stunning China clay sand and imposing bunkering,” he said. “There are two cross bunkers that longer hitters can reach, but for the shorter hitters, there are bunkers either side of the fairway that could catch slightly wayward shots. The hole also runs alongside First World War training trenches that have been recently excavated, and we have evidence that mock battles were held across the sixteenth fairway – a fabulous golf hole with a sobering history.”

Work on Wandlebury has required a different approach. “We have been more cautious in how we maintain the edges, allowing the grasses to grow a bit longer than preferred so that the structure of the revet is maintained,” said McLean. “But the crisp wavy edges of the bunkers has helped to produce a more modern looking course.”

The club has finished the tenth and eleventh holes on the Wandlebury this winter. “The tenth is a sweeping downhill par four with large, staggered bunkering on either side of the fairway,” said McLean. “Whereas the eleventh is a short dogleg left with bunkers on either side of the fairway and near the green, with a pot bunker located 30 yards out to catch any shots that may be running into the green or off the drive. As it is a short hole with substantial bunkering, it now requires the player to think their way through the hole.”

This article first appeared in the April 2024 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.