59 “When the project was finished, I think people responded to the fact that Inverness once again had a very distinct personality. It didn’t look like a generic restoration. It didn’t have modern warts stuck on it. It looked like Inverness.” Inverness is now firmly back on the championship calendar. The new (old)- look course will make its Major bow next summer, hosting the US Women’s Open, and will play host to a number of USGA events over the next two decades, culminating in the return of the US Open in 2045. Since Inverness received so much acclaim, Green has become something of a go-to architect for classic clubs, particularly those that used to be regular tournament venues, but which have, for whatever reason, fallen out of favour. “The thread that runs through all my work is trying to understand what makes each property unique before deciding what to do to it,” says Green. “I don’t want Inverness to look like Oak Hill, or Scioto to look like Inverness, simply because Donald Ross designed all three. The architecture should come from the golf course, the land, its history and the particular circumstances under which it was created. At the same time, restoration isn’t archaeology for its own sake. These are living golf courses. They have members, maintenance requirements, budgets and expectations that are very different from those of 100 years ago. So, the challenge is to understand the original architecture deeply enough that you can move it forward without losing its identity. I think the best work respects the past without becoming trapped by it. Critics may have particular issues with the word restoration… but for me there is not a single design decision I make on a historic property for which Firefly, just south of Nashville, is Green’s first original design. The course opened in September 2026
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