Golf Course Architecture

1 week ago | golfcoursearchitecture.net | Adam Lawrence

In the last issue of GCA, Sandy was to be found on the tee of the par-five fourth, Trá Mór (meaning ‘big beach’), on the St Patrick’s Links course at Rosapenna in County Donegal, Ireland. Rosepenna, essentially the world’s oldest golf resort, waited a long time for its best course, but Tom Doak’s design of St Patrick’s has been universally acclaimed, currently ranked as the 49 best course in the world by Golf magazine; a lot of us who have seen it think it will go higher.

1 week ago | golfcoursearchitecture.net | Laura Hyde

Contractor Aspen Golf has started work on the Jeff Lawrence renovation of Pine Lake Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The course has not changed much since being built in the late 1950s by Gene Hamm, with only John LaFoy carrying out a renovation in 1988. The Lawrence Golf Design masterplan was finalised in May 2022, and includes redesigning the green complexes, bunker upgrades, tee work, regrading, tree clearance, new drainage and a new irrigation system.

1 week ago | golfcoursearchitecture.net | Richard Humphreys

Paul McGinley Golf Course Design has renovated seven holes at Donegal Golf Club, located on the Murvagh Peninsula on Ireland’s Atlantic coast. Work is being undertaken in five phases, with the remaining 11 holes to be completed within the next three years. The 20-acre practice ground will also be upgraded to become a golf academy. The design team’s work is focused on greens, bunkers, realignment of the fairways and tees as well as native areas, irrigation and pathways.

2 weeks ago | golfcoursearchitecture.net | Richard Humphreys

This article first appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of By Design, the digital magazine of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA). Subscribe to receive a free copy. The new TGL high-tech golf simulator league has now progressed from vision to (virtual) reality, with the six teams of PGA Tour pros hitting into a 64-feet tall screen for 15-hole rounds at the purpose-built SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, culminating in a playoff final in late March.

2 weeks ago | golfcoursearchitecture.net | Richard Humphreys

Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm will create a new nine-hole par-three layout at Augusta Municipal Golf Course in Georgia. It will be known as The Loop and will be located next to The Patch, the muni’s 18-hole golf course, which is being renovated by Fazio Design and Beau Welling Design. TGR’s creation is expected to open in April 2026.