By Richard Humphreys |
The January 2026 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
The Farms in Rancho Santa Fe, California, photographed by Dave Evenson, features on the cover of our brand-new issue of Golf Course Architecture. Tim Liddy has led a renovation to re-establish the course’s original Pete Dye character, while introducing new layers of strategy and drama. Read the full story at the start of our Tee Box section.
Australian architect Lyne Morrison first saw the Royal Canberra course at the age of six, when she went there to watch a golf tournament with her mother, and later became a member. After establishing her design firm, she was hired by the club to design practice facilities. “I had a perception of the course from my young eyes, but as their architect, I had to look at the course more broadly,” she says.
The experience of working at a course that you know very well, either as a member or frequent player, is quite different to the norm for golf course architects, with a lifetime of perspective and additional pressures. For our main feature of this issue, ‘Home game’, we speak with architects who have done exactly that. As well as Lyne Morrison, we hear from Kevin Atkinson, David Hoekstra, Jay Blasi, Bill Bergin and Adrian Stiff, who all share their experiences of working at a course that is close to home, and their hearts.
Our collection of On Site reports for the January 2026 issue of GCA saw us clock up more than 20,000 miles of travel. Richard Humphreys made his way to Tbilisi, the capital city of Eastern European nation Georgia, for the opening of Golfplan’s nine-hole design at Paragraph Golf & Spa Tabori. He also visited Egypt’s Red Sea coast where nine holes of a Lobb + Partners layout, Hidden Coves at Somabay, have opened for play. And Toby Ingleton returned to Apogee Club in Florida, for the opening of its third 18-hole course, a Kyle Phillips design.
The new Hidden Coves course, designed by Lobb + Partners, at Somabay Golf on Egypt’s Red Sea coast (Photo: Kevin Murray)
Our feature interview is with former EIGCA president and German amateur golf star Christoph Städler. Adam Lawrence speaks with the architect about the major part he played in making Germany a significant golfing nation, leading one of Europe’s largest golf design firms and, even in his seventies, aspirations for the future. “My background as a banker helped me a lot because I was very happy dealing with numbers, and that helped me keep a lid on project costs,” says the German architect.
Elsewhere in the magazine, Greg Norman talks about the evolution of Vietnam as a rising golf destination; Bill Kubly of Landscapes Unlimited reflects on his life in golf as his construction business approaches 50 years of operation; and Justin Olmstead of Profile Products considers how the correct rootzone can protect an architect’s vision and deliver top-class playing surfaces.
Also, we have reports on Shura Links, Brian Curley’s course for a new island development on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast; Limassol Greens, the new Cabell Robinson layout in Cyprus; Olazabal Design’s two-course project, Montaña, that is under way in Vietnam; Arizona’s Quintero, where Rees Jones has returned to oversee infrastructure updates and design refinements; Saadiyat Beach in Abu Dhabi, which has been reconfigured and fine-tuned; and the hurricane-hit Elk River Club, where collaborative and community efforts have revitalised the course.
Shura Links, designed by Brian Curley, has opened for play as part of a new island development in Saudi Arabia (Photo: Brian Curley)
Our Tee Box section includes news of the official opening of Seven Mile Beach in Hobart, Australia, a newbuild by Clayton, DeVries & Pont; an interview with Art Schaupeter about Bella Ridge, his new public course in Colorado; and details of the Harradine Golf renovation of Golf de Campagne in the south of France.
As the golf course industry prepares for the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida, GCA also looks ahead to this year’s edition and highlights some of the businesses that attendees should check out.
The January 2026 issue of Golf Course Architecture comes with our GCA Green Pages 2026 supplier directory, which includes profiles of potential partners for your next golf design project, plus the stories of projects completed by EGM Golf, GeoGolf, Musco Sports Lighting, MJ Abbott, Rain Bird, TCS Agronomic & Renovation Services and Toro.
View the digital edition of the January 2026 issue of Golf Course Architecture
View the digital edition of the 2026 issue of GCA Green Pages