The Dunas course at Terras da Comporta in Portugal, photographed by James Hogg, features on the cover of the new issue of Golf Course Architecture. The official opening in October will complete the project’s long journey since architect David McLay Kidd’s first visit in 2008. And on its opening day, “Portugal will have a new number one golf course,” says GCA editor Adam Lawrence.

We also examine the topic of green speeds. Are the days of highly contoured greens numbered, given how unplayable they become as clubs and their members demand quicker surfaces? We get the insights from Kurt Bowman, Stuart Rennie, Jason Straka, Connor Lewis, Jerry Lemons, Jim Nagle, Rob Collins and Craig Haltom.

Tom Mackin speaks with Cabell Robinson about his career in Spain, where he has lived for more than half a century. He provides some great insights into working for Robert Trent Jones, his portfolio in the Mediterranean, and his Finca Cortesin course, which is hosting this year’s Solheim Cup.

You may notice a few changes to GCA in this issue (the first in our fifth ‘round’ of 18), not least the introduction of a new Reports section. Here you can find out about plans for St George’s Hill in England, WAC Golf’s new layout for The Ranch in Florida, European Golf Design’s redesign of La Grande Mare on Guernsey, Mike Nuzzo’s 21 holes for Cabot Citrus Farms, Rees Jones’s renovation work in Japan, and Golfplan’s bunker project at Seowon Hills in South Korea.

Elsewhere, we hear from Renaissance Golf Design’s Eric Iverson about how the firm uncovered elements that make Cherry Hills a Golden Age treasure and golf historian Mark Wagner highlights the importance of inclusivity and sustainability for the Native American tribe that owns Firekeeper Golf Course in Kansas.

Our Tee Box sections includes news of the bunker overhaul that Clayton, DeVries & Pont has overseen at Royal Dublin in Ireland and we review the routing for King-Collins’ new Red Feather course in Texas. We speak with OCM’s Mike Cocking about The Furrows, a new short course that has opened at Kingston Heath in Australia and we hear from Henrik Stenson and Christian Lundin about their new Crownwood Club on the west coast of Sweden. There’s plenty more too.

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