Golf Course Architecture - Issue 66, October 2021

41 The cover story of the latest issue of By Design magazine – produced for the American Society of Golf Course Architects by the team responsible for GCA – explores whether aesthetic appeal is becoming an increasingly important aspect of golf course design. “I’ve always believed golf is a visual game, 100 per cent,” said Jeff Lawrence, designer of Thracian Cliffs in Bulgaria. “People want to see beauty.” The Fall issue of By Design also looks at the legacy of golfing pioneer Marion Hollins and the impact she had on the sport’s most famous courses, which included Cypress Point, Pasatiempo Golf Club and Augusta National. To download the latest issue and subscribe to By Design , visit www.asgca.org “ People want to see beauty” GOOD READ Photo: GCA Gil Hanse appointed to restore Yale Golf Course Yale University has hired Gil Hanse to prepare a master plan intended to bring back the full scale and drama of Yale Golf Course, a 1920s design by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor. The course has been widely heralded for the boldness of its design but had gradually fallen into a deteriorated state due to tree overgrowth, bunker deterioration, green shrinkage and poor drainage. Hanse told GCA that the likely scope of work at Yale would include a complete reconstruction of expanded putting surfaces – rebuilt to USGA specifications. Plans also call for a thorough overhaul of the bunkers, fairways, course drainage, irrigation, tees and trees. “The goal is to bring back the scale of the grounds,” he said. “It was massive, grand and we hope to get back to that.” Among the resources at Hanse’s disposal are the original design plans – which include a routing for two 18-hole courses, though only one was built. Hanse said: “We also have a trove of aerials, ground imagery, maps and notes that Yale has made available to us via Dropbox, and we have begun combing through it.” Among the dramatic changes expected will be restoring the position of the green at the par-four third hole from its current position – to which it was moved, behind a hill – back down to its original site near a pond. Given the vast scale of work to be done, Hanse said that he expects to start at the end of the 2022 golf season and require full closure for all of 2023. BY DESIGN EYE CANDY To what extent do golf course architects prioritize aesthetics in their course designs? Excellence in Golf Design from the A merican Society of Golf Course Arch itects ALSO: // Accessible golf // Boar’s Head Resort // Punta Mita MARION HOLLINS A pioneer for women in golf who blazed a trail with her contributions to the sport’s most famous courses ISSUE 55 // FALL 2021 The Redan thirteenth hole at Yale Golf Course