45 9 | North Berwick LOCATION East Lothian, Scotland DESIGNER Hanse Golf Design Hanse Golf Design is working at North Berwick, a venue that has become one of the most revered courses in the world. The course has some of the most admired and copied features in golf, including at the Redan, Pit and Gate holes. Hanse’s brief, when hired in 2025, was to make subtle improvements to the West Links while addressing the potentially catastrophic effects of coastal erosion – the sea has advanced to within a few feet of some greens, with the fourteenth hole, Perfection, particularly at risk. Stuart Bayne, general manager at North Berwick, said: “The masterplan will identify ways to polish the West Links to be the best version of itself, ensuring continuity year on year through minor refinements.” Photo: Cookie Jar/AGC Photo: Air Tog 8 | St George’s Hill LOCATION Surrey, England DESIGNER Renaissance Golf Design Harry Colt’s St George’s Hill will spend the next few years undergoing one of the most exciting restoration programmes ever seen in British golf – at the hands of a team led by Brian Schneider of Renaissance Golf Design. The front nine (the Red) will close in August 2026 for the work, with reopening expected in May 2027, while the back nine (the Blue) will follow a similar pathway a year later. The headline is the restoration of Colt’s enormous scar bunkers on the par-three eighth hole. Colt’s original green, which, for a short time after the course opened, also included the area to the right and below the existing surface, will also be put back. Matthew Dickinson, chair of the club’s course conditioning group, says that the goal of the project is “to ensure the course is as good for the next 113 years as it has been for the first!” Photo: St George’s Hill
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