Interviews

Dave Axland: From the ground up

The shaper-turned-architect has worked alongside some of the most talented designers in the business, but what is his story? Richard Humphreys finds out

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

Martin Ebert: Design journey

With a portfolio that includes eight of the ten Open venues, Mackenzie & Ebert occupies an enviable position in the golf design industry. Adam Lawrence spoke with principal Martin Ebert to learn how they got there

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

Golf development firm Cabot now has properties in six countries. Richard Humphreys speaks with co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar about what makes a great site, selection of golf course architects, and more

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Brian Curley: Life of Brian

The designer has surely clocked up more air miles than anyone else in the business. Adam Lawrence caught up with him in between flights to discuss his career and his new venture with Jim Wagner

Dave Axland: From the ground up

The shaper-turned-architect has worked alongside some of the most talented designers in the business, but what is his story? Richard Humphreys finds out

Oakmont: An interview with Gil Hanse

With the 2025 US Open arriving at Oakmont, Richard Humphreys spoke with the architect, who renovated the course in 2023, about what to expect

Martin Ebert: Design journey

With a portfolio that includes eight of the ten Open venues, Mackenzie & Ebert occupies an enviable position in the golf design industry. Adam Lawrence spoke with principal Martin Ebert to learn how they got there

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Ben Cowan-Dewar: Shock and awe

Golf development firm Cabot now has properties in six countries. Richard Humphreys speaks with co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar about what makes a great site, selection of golf course architects, and more

Team building

Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more

Brian Curley: Life of Brian

The designer has surely clocked up more air miles than anyone else in the business. Adam Lawrence caught up with him in between flights to discuss his career and his new venture with Jim Wagner

Adam Lawrence
/ Categories: News

Bel-Air Country Club starts major Thomas restoration project

The upmarket Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles has started construction on a significant project to return its course as closely as possible to original architect George Thomas’s 1925 design. A number of architects including Robert Trent Jones, Dick Wilson and Tom Fazio have altered Bel-Air’s Thomas course.

Tom Doak and his crew from Renaissance Golf Design are leading the project, which aims to have all eighteen of the course’s green complexes restored and ready for grassing by the start of January 2018. Eric Iverson, Kye Goalby and Blake Conant are the on-site team.

Work started in early October on holes eleven to sixteen at Bel-Air, which includes the famous ‘Mae West’ green at the twelfth hole. The Renaissance team is using historic aerial photos to guide its work; golf historian Tommy Naccarato handled much of the pre-project research.

As well as restoring green contours and bunkers as close as possible to Thomas’s originals, the project will see the removal of a number of water features added over the years, most notably a pond at the third hole.

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  • Lovely Golf Course

    The punchbowl home green is in line for restoration

  • Lovely Golf Course

    The bunkering at the seventeenth will be returned to Thomas’s original scheme

  • Lovely Golf Course

    A restored bunker at the thirteenth hole

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