Interviews

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

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

Elizabeth Robinson
/ Categories: News

Lennar proceeds with second course at Lakewood National

Homebuilder Lennar is proceeding with a second 18-hole course at its Lakewood National development near Sarasota, Florida.

Vice president and senior golf course architect Brandon A. Johnson of Arnold Palmer Design Company will oversee the project, having also designed the first course, which opened in January 2017.

“Full tee sheets since opening day and a surging housing market have bolstered the need to move forward with the second course,” said Johnson.

Johnson is aiming to create a different, but complementary, experience. “While the first course is very playable with tremendous, meaningful width and strategic options, bold contours create the challenge,” he said. “The request from our client on the second course is to contrast that boldness with subtlety. While the second course will stretch beyond 7,000 yards our aim will be creating a fun, playable, beautiful golf course with strategic interest in contrasting ways to the first course.”

In addition to the more understated use of contour as a hazard, another key visual and aesthetic contrast will be a completely different, but native, landscape palette.

Johnson said that five strong finishing holes, in a beautiful natural setting alongside the Braden River, will be a highlight of the new layout. “The short drop shot par three fourteenth with the nature preserve as a backdrop will require sound judgment and control of the short irons,” he explained. “The mid-length par five seventeenth should provide risk/reward options and the short, at times reachable, par four eighteenth will be a fun hole to build and ultimately play, providing one last chance for heroics.”

The new course, the first hole of which was built during the construction phase of the first course, is expected to open in Winter 2019.

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  • Lovely Golf Course

    The new course is expected to open in Winter 2019

  • Lovely Golf Course

    Johnson is aiming to create a different, but complementary experience

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