15 Mid Ocean Club Bermuda Charles Blair Macdonald, 1921 Upon completion of the construction of the golf course at Mid Ocean Club, Macdonald wrote to his client the Furness Withy Steamship Company, describing the contours as “unsurpassed, delightful valleys winding through coral hills”. When Robert Trent Jones was called in to improve the course in the 1950s, his touch was relatively restrained, respecting the design of Macdonald. Noordwijk Netherlands Frank Pennink, 1972 Along with the golf courses at Kennemer and Haagsche, Nordwijkse sits in the west coast dunes that protect the Netherlands from the North Sea. Pennink’s course was created when the club’s original 1915 course in the dunes made way for a housing estate. The connection to Pennink remains as recent changes at the club have been handled by Mackenzie & Ebert, who previously worked for Pennink’s business partner Donald Steel. Machrihanish Argyll and Bute, Scotland Tom Morris, 1879 While its first hole, requiring a heroic drive over the beach, is one of its most famous, the fun at Machrihanish really starts from the third hole, when the course hits the dunes. Western Gailes Ayrshire, Scotland F. Morris, 1897 Western Gailes was a coastal retreat for Glasgow-based golfers made possible thanks to the train. The course is situated between the railway line and the sea, with out of bounds, pot bunkering, meandering burns and the coastal winds combining to make this a classic Scottish golfing experience. Casa De Campo (Teeth of the Dog) Dominican Republic Pete Dye, 1971 Christoph Städler says: “Teeth of the Dog, Pete Dye’s masterpiece in the Caribbean, probably was the most creative golf design in the 70s and is still outstanding today. In 1974, I was so fortunate to play the course on the occasion of the Eisenhower Trophy and it eventually became a real eye-opener for me. Bite-off holes across ocean bays, an island tee in the ocean, a ‘wadi’ alongside a hole, a green within a gigantic bunker, and many other unexpected features which I had never seen before on the dull, uninspiring German courses of that period suddenly evolved my dream of becoming a golf architect and of designing creative golf courses myself. However, it took another thirteen years and the boom following Bernhard Langer’s first Masters victory before I dared to make this dream come true.” “Seven holes parallel the ocean, a par three entirely surrounded by sand… great strategy, fun, playable, scenic and challenging for all – a bucket list must for all golfers,” says Lee Schmidt of Schmidt-Curley Design. Royal Cinque Ports Kent, England Henry Hunter, James Braid, 1892 Hunter’s original links were redesigned and rebuilt by James Braid following the World War I and again by Sir Guy Campbell and Henry Cotton in 1946 following World War II. The course now stands proudly alongside its famous neighbour Royal St George’s as one of England’s finest. Trump International Aberdeenshire, Scotland Martin Hawtree, 2012 The newest course in our Top 100 opened just last year, its presence in the list a huge achievement given the relatively small number of architects that will yet have seen it. The development was fraught with controversy, but the end result is a sensational golf course amid huge dunes, that will improve further once the ground settles. ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #69 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #68 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #67 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #66 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #65 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #64 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #63 Photo: Aidan Bradley ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #65 ARCHITECTS’ CHOICE #66 “ A bucket list must for all golfers” Lee Schmidt on Casa De Campo (Teeth of the Dog) 74-63
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