Services
Design
Routing, Master Planning, Greens Design and Expansion, Bunker Design, Tee Design, Practice Area Design, Conceptual Drainage, Conceptual Landscaping, Grassing Lines, Plan Drawing
Consultation
Site Analysis, Historical Research, Restoration/Renovation Planning and Design, Tree and Grass Line Management, Water Conservation Solutions, Turfgrass Management Strategy
Shaping
Greens and Surrounds, Bunkers, Fairway Contours and Features, Tees and Surrounds, Practice Greens, Practice Areas, Greens Expansions
Finish Work
Greens and Tie-ins, Bunker Edges and Contours, Bunker Edge Cutting, Fairway Micro-contouring, Horizon Lines, Tee Complexes
Work History
*other project architect, if applicable, noted in parentheses ( )
William Land Golf Course
Fall 2021 - Present | Sacramento, CA | Master Plan and beginning of Plan implementation
Haggin Oaks (MacKenzie)
Fall 2021 - Present | Sacramento, CA | Master Plan Development
Pasatiempo Golf Club
April-July 2023 & 2024 | Santa Cruz, CA | Restorative Shaping (Jim Urbina)
Golden Gate Park Golf Course
March-May 2023; Fall 2023 | San Francisco, CA | Greens, Sand Scrape Detailing, and other Shaping + Finish work (Jay Blasi)
Cedarbrook Country Club
Fall 2022 | Blue Bell, PA | Detail Shaping (Jaeger Kovich)
The Tree Farm (New Build)
Summer 2022 | New Holland, SC | Shaping+Finish Work (Kye Goalby, Tom Doak, and Zac Blair)
Teton Pines Country Club
Spring 2021 (Phase I); Spring 2022 (Phase II) | Wilson, WY | Bunker Shaping (Thad Layton, Arnold Palmer Design Company)
Lake Merced Golf Club
November 2021 - March 2022 | Daly City, CA | Restorative Shaping (Gil Hanse)
“The Park” West Palm Beach (New Build)
August-September 2021 | West Palm Beach, FL | Bunker/Natural Area Shaping (Gil Hanse)
The Golf Course at Wente Vineyards
Summer 2021 | Livermore, CA | Design/Build New Practice Bunker and Green
The Loop at Chaska
June 2021 | Chaska, MN | Greens Shaping (Ben Warren)
Sierra View Country Club
Summer 2020 | Roseville, CA | Design/Build Tee Areas
La Cumbre Country Club
August 2020 | Santa Barbara, CA | Bunker Shaping (Todd Eckenrode)
Diablo Country Club
March - October 2019 | Diablo, CA | Greens and Bunker Shaping (Todd Eckenrode)
Gleneagles Golf Course at McLaren Park
January 2018 - Present | San Francisco, CA | Consultation Work
The Saticoy Club
May - August 2018 | Somis, CA | Shaping and Field Assistant (Thad Layton, Arnold Palmer Design Company)
Redlands CC
August - September, 2016 and 2017 | Redlands, CA | Greens and Bunker Shaping (Todd Eckenrode)
Canyon Lakes Golf Course
Summer 2017 | San Ramon, CA | Practice area preliminary design
Balsam Mountain Preserve
April 2017 | Sylva, NC | Bunker Shaping (Thad Layton, Arnold Palmer Design Company)
Santa Ana CC
April 2016 - July 2016 (with followup projects) | Santa Ana, CA | Shaping (Jay Blasi)
Hardelot (Les Pins)
November 2015 - February 2016 | Hardelot, France | Detail shaping (Frank Pont and Patrice Boisonnas)
Orinda Country Club
May 2015 - October 2015 (with recurring projects) | Orinda, CA | Greens and Bunker Shaping (Todd Eckenrode)
Sallandsche Golfclub 'De Hoek'
September 2014 - December 2014 | Diepenveen, Netherlands | Bunker Renovation With Frank Pont
Schoolhouse 9 (New Build)
September 2014 - August 2014 | Sperryville, Virginia | Greens Shaping (Michael McCartin)
Fazenda Boa Vista (New Build)
May 2014 | Porto Feliz, Brazil | Detail Work (Thad Layton, Arnold Palmer Design Company)
Simapo Island (New Build)
January 2012 - March 2014 | Haikou, Hainan, China | Shaping (Renaissance Golf Design)
Dismal River (Red) (New Build)
August 2011 - September 2012 | Mullen, Nebraska | Shaping and Finish Work (Renaissance Golf Design)
California Golf Club of San Francisco
November 2011 - December 2011; Spring 2018 | San Francisco, California | Bunker Details; Tee Rebuilds
Mira Vista Country Club
February 2011 - August 2011 | El Cerrito California | (Forrest Richardson and Associates and Genesis Golf Builders)
Neal Meagher Golf Architect
February 2011 - May 2011 | San Francisco Bay Area
Southwest Greens
July 2010 - October 2010 | San Francisco, California
St Andrews Links
October 2009 - February 2010 | St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland
DeVries Designs
June 2008 - August 2008 | Traverse City, MI
Kingsley Club
May 2006 - August 2006 | Traverse City, MI
Education
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
2008 | Bachelor of Science - Landscape Architecture
Elmwood College (Cupar, Fife, Scotland)
2010 | Higher National Certificate - Golf Course Management (Turfgrass)
Affiliations
Golf Course Superintendents Association of Northern California
R & A Greenkeeping Scholar
Brett Hochstein (Right) discussing a potential field change with Thad Layton at Saticoy
How We Work
It starts with a few questions. “What is this golf course? What is its true place, and what does it want to be? What should it be, and how do we get there?”
All golf courses are unique to their land, their setting, and the people that surround it. This fundamental base is why we love golf and are willing to travel across the world just to play a new course. It is also the reason why every different potential golf course project needs to be handled with care and fully understood before embarking on improvements.
With a new project, that involves developing a thorough relationship with the land to understand its movement and its changing sense of space. It involves an understanding of the regional context and preceding styles of architecture. And of course, it also involves working closely with the client, understanding their wants and needs for the project.
With a restoration or renovation of an existing course, we will work to gain that understanding through research of the course’s past and talking with those who know it best. We will work with the owner, club committee, superintendent, and any other interest groups to understand the current issues and figure out the best approach of addressing them.
When it comes to actually designing and getting the work done though, both types of projects will involve a similar approach: we will be out there in the field, making decisions, managing issues, and creating the key features of the course (greens, bunkers, and any landform or feature important to strategy or aesthetics). We get on the machines, grab the shovels, and do the critical creative work ourselves, ensuring always that things both look right and play correctly.
Whether it is a new course or a small project at the local muni, Hochstein Design will always strive to make your golf course be the best possible version of itself.
Our Story
Since first being introduced to the game at age 4, architect Brett Hochstein has loved golf, or more specifically, golf courses. Through playing golf, collecting scorecards, and drawing golf holes at that young age, Brett decided very early on that he wanted to be a golf course architect. He followed that path by obtaining a landscape architecture degree from Cornell University, spending a year studying greenkeeping at the Home of Golf in Scotland, reading numerous books on golf architecture, and learning how to build golf courses hands-on with some of the best design teams in the business.
After spending over two years with Tom Doak of Renaissance Golf Design, Brett set out on his own to form Hochstein Design, LLC in January 2014. He has since worked on a number of projects all over the world, including Europe, South America, and back here in the USA. Many of the more recent jobs have taken place in California and include such projects as Saticoy and Redlands down in Southern California and Orinda Country Club here in the East Bay. He has served as an important person on the ground on all of these jobs, handling critical shaping duties of key features, offering real-time design input, and making sure all of the moving parts of the project are running smoothly.
Our operation is based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, and while the core of the company is architect Brett Hochstein, we also work closely with other architects, shapers, superintendents, agronomists, and builders, all of which provide a pool of resources to tackle issues as well as expand our operation as needed for larger projects.
“A young course architect out of Cornell (like the great Tom Doak before him), Brett Hochstein has already racked up an impressive resume. If you appreciate course design and architecture, this account is right up your alley.”