44 Lake Merced Golf Club in San Francisco, California, will reopen its golf course in October following a Alister MacKenzie-inspired renovation by Gil Hanse and his design partner Jim Wagner, with construction by Heritage Links. Willie Lock is attributed for designing Lake Merced’s first course in 1922, with MacKenzie putting his stamp on the layout in the late 1920s. In the 1960s, the construction of Interstate 280 resulted in the club losing land, and relocating its clubhouse from the north of the property to the southeast corner. A rerouting was completed by Robert Muir Graves that saw the creation of several new holes. Hanse Golf Design’s aim has been to complete a nuanced restoration and renovation by restoring many holes to how MacKenzie designed them, as well as creating several new ones with, as Wagner calls it, a “MacKenzie vibe”. “It’s the size, scale, look and placement of the bunkering mainly,” said Wagner. “With edging that reminds a lot of people of cloud formations. But it’s also the way they sit in the landscape: down into the green, while some f loat above grade. When you put that look into a landscape with vegetation, like Cypress trees, it just screams MacKenzie. The greens here are sort of simple compared to some others, but they work well in this setting.” TEE BOX Lake Merced to reopen restored course in October
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