Hadley Wood - Barnet, Hertfordshire, England  (Alister MacKenzie; current restoration/renovation by Clyde Johnson)

This was the first I had seen of Alister MacKenzie’s work in the UK, and while not as grand and bold as his earlier designs in the North, this London-area course immediately shows that you are not on a California MacKenzie anymore. The features and shapes—on the whole—are much smaller, sharper, and irregular in nature. This is probably partially due to the heavy clay soil and probably partially due to still being earlier than the boom of his career, the course being built in 1922. Either way, I really liked it. While maybe not as blended into the surrounding landscape, these features have personality and character that I had not yet seen on any MacKenzie course.

Alas, this is primarily a bunker project, implementing a master plan set forth by colleague and fellow former Doak intern Clyde Johnson. With only two early ground images, an aerial only as early as the 1950s, and numerous large-scale changes to the course (some of which may have involved MacKenzie but many could not have), we are left guessing at what a lot of the bunkers really would have looked like, but that also allows some creative freedom to implement a MacKenzie style as best we see fit from our various experiences seeing and working on his courses, which between the two of us probably encompasses over 80% of his global portfolio. Not quite Northern England, not quite Melbourne, and not quite California, it’s probably something in between. Which is appropriate, as every MacKenzie course, even those that seem most similar, has its own unique bunker personality.

The practical challenge for me on this project was getting used to the Blinder bunker liner system’s processes for construction. There are many steps to the liner installation process, some of which are highly invasive (basically your shaped edge gets scraped right off) and all of which provides opportunities to either lose, preserve, or enhance details. Therefore, being present throughout to make edits and paint out the exact thickness and steepness of the revet is critical to maintaining the character that was envisioned and initially shaped. It was a great learning experience, and we had excellent help and care from the contractor, Profusion, all along the way.

Six holes were completed last summer, which rounded out the front nine. Three more are scheduled to be done this winter, with the remaining six done this summer. I’m really looking forward to getting back to this most outstanding part of the golf world as well as working alongside Clyde this time. Should be a lot of fun!