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

AML
/ Categories: News

Longer Olympic greets US Open

This week’s US Open will be played over a very different Olympic Club course than the one on which Lee Janzen became champion in 1998.

Bill Love, a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects has worked with the club, notably director of golf course maintenance operations Pat Finlen for several years making adjustments to Olympic's nearly 100-year-old Lake course, first for the 2007 US Amateur and now for the Open.

Rory McIlroy will attempt to defend his title on a course that, at 7,170 yards, is substantially longer in its 2012 iteration than in 1998. Love made adjustments that increase the length of nearly half the course’s holes, and the sixteenth will be the longest hole in US Open history at 670 yards. An entirely new par three eighth has been built, a change that enabled Love to lengthen the seventh and ninth holes

Tree removal has been underway since before the 2007 Amateur. Diseased trees have been selectively removed in order to maintain the health of remaining trees in addition to revealing the topography and improving the perception of the property the course sits on. The famed cypress trees the course is known for remain and will continue to provide a challenge for Open golfers who stray from the fairway.

“I hope both players and television viewers come away with an appreciation of what a great test of golf the Lake Course is,” Love said. “The work we have done is geared toward blending into the original golf course and existing architecture. We hope people will see the work we have done and let them discover the course and land in a new way.”

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Sean Dudley

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