By Richard Humphreys |
South Ayrshire Council has committed £5 million to public golf, with some of the investment going towards the renovation of Belleisle Golf Course.
Pangaea Golf Architecture, led by Stuart Rennie and Jeff Danner, will oversee the renovation of the James Braid design, which includes work relating to bunkers, new tees, reinstating a public putting green and new irrigation. The project will also include updates to the clubhouse and a self-contained ‘golfpod’ that features the latest golf simulator technology.
Rennie will lead the Belleisle project, beginning immediately and to be completed by the course’s centenary in 2027.
Pangaea Golf Architecture’s masterplan for Belleisle Golf Course (Image: Pangaea Golf Architecture)
“James Braid’s beautifully resolved parkland routing has stood the test of time and is fully intact today,” said Rennie. “Bunkering, however, has changed significantly from the original plans. The course now has a range of bunker shapes and styles, and there are some issues with subsoil contamination.
“We will renovate all the bunkers across the course to create consistent playability, while restoring some of Braid’s original design intent. We are very fortunate to have a copy of a hand-drawn masterplan created by Braid and have found some interesting old photos of a more naturally shaped bunker style. Some of the bunkering would have been implemented with the ground game of 100 years ago in mind, so we will retain similar strategies while adapting placements for the modern game.”
One green will be relocated to improve safety in a busy area of the course but, otherwise, the Braid routing will stay intact. There will be some renumbering of holes so that the round begins closer to the clubhouse.
A visualisation of how the renovated Belleisle Golf Course will look (Image: Pangaea Golf Architecture)
“Jeff and I have been working with South Ayrshire Council for the past couple of years and are extremely excited to see this project finally coming to fruition, and we look forward to delivering it,” said Rennie, who grew up playing a Braid course in the Highlands. “I have been lucky to follow in Braid’s footsteps, working and playing on numerous courses where he once walked. Belleisle is possibly the first we have come across with such a natural style of bunkering, which we look forward to reviving.
“His dedication to the game is inspirational, winning five Open championships and travelling the length and breadth of the UK, playing, designing or redesigning courses. I am a member at Royal Troon, where I’m told Braid created 67 new bunkers on the championship course in advance of the 1923 Open. It is also documented that he was involved in the decision to rename the par-three eighth hole from ‘Ailsa’ to the now-iconic ‘Postage Stamp’.
“When we were developing plans for the Troon Links Darley course (another Braid design), we came across an old map with a par-three ‘Postage Stamp’ – perhaps the inspiration for the name over the road. Braid even made it to Royal Dornoch to play a challenge match with Harry Vardon in 1906. And Brora, one of Braid’s Highland gems, was the favourite course of my former boss: five-time Open champion Peter Thomson.”
James Braid’s routing plan for Belleisle Golf Course, a 1927 design (Image: courtesy of Belleisle Golf Course)
Pangaea has worked closely with South Ayrshire Golf Services, irrigation design firm Irriplan, agronomic consultancy Turfgrass and visualisation specialists Golfgraffix to deliver documentation and renderings associated with ‘RIBA Stage 4 Technical Design’. Development partner Alliance Leisure will deliver the project on behalf of South Ayrshire Council, in conjunction with Thomas Johnstone, Bellrock and Carrick Sports Construction.