Fitness
Architect Gil Hanse on What Makes a Spectacular Golf Course
Across the global golf landscape, there are good courses, bad courses, and unforgettable ones. Architect Gil Hanse has created several of the latter. His original designs include Streamsong Black in Florida, the Rio Olympic Course in Brazil, and one of our favorite courses in the world: Castle Stuart in Scotland.
Over the past decade and a half he’s also been charged with restoring some of America’s finest gems from the Golden Age of architecture including including Oakland Hills (Donald Ross), both courses at Winged Foot (A.W. Tillinghast), Fishers Island (Seth Raynor), and the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club (George C. Thomas Jr.,) which will host the US Open in 2023.
This year, Hanse and his long time partner and shaper Jim Wagner have unveiled their sublime restoration of Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course (A.W. Tillinghast) and, later this summer, will welcome members on to a stunning original creation—The New Course at Les Bordes Golf Club in France.
We caught up with Hanse ahead of the opening of the New Course to hear about the project’s inception, his thinking on design, and what makes a great golf course.
Men’s Journal: Your first course in continental Europe opens this year, The New Course at Les Bordes Golf Club in the Loire Valley. You designed the 10-hole short course there, The Wild Piglet, which opened to acclaim last year. Plus you spent time refreshing the venerable Old Course at Les Bordes (a Robert Von Hagge design.) Can you tell us how the project came, about and what drew you to it?
Gil Hanse: We were contacted by the owner of the project, Driss Benkirane, and he asked if we might be interested. I was intrigued by the prospect and agreed to come to France to visit. Driss arranged a great evening including a boat ride on the Loire, great wine and food and I was hooked! In all seriousness, that introduction to Driss and the project was important in that it displayed the commitment to quality he has for the entire estate—the golf course in particular. He has a high Golf IQ—and when we got around to the golf part of the property, I was very impressed with the sandy nature of the site, the existing vegetation, and the gentle topography. It’s not every day you’re asked to design a course directly next to one of the top rated courses in Europe, the Old Course at Les Bordes. The opportunity to do something different with our site, the quality of the owner and estate, and the location made it very attractive to us. Once we came to an agreement, we then tried to create a vision of a heathland course in the vein of the work carried out by Tom Simpson at his masterpieces at Chantilly and Morfontaine. We’d never built a course patterned after his work, or that style, and it was immediately attractive to us. Time will tell if we were successful in our attempts.
As a designer, where do you find inspiration?
We find inspiration in the golf courses that look to nature to provide their challenge, intricacy, and style. Most of these courses are from the Golden Age of golf course design, but there are also many fine examples of these types of courses that have been built in the last 30 years. Nature inspires the texture, colors and, most importantly, the topography.
You both construct new courses and restore-rebuild old ones. How are those processes creatively and technically disparate?
Our new course projects are primarily about the potential of the site and the character of the client. Jim Wagner and I have a pretty simple formula: The first question is do we have the potential to build something exceptional? And are we going to have fun doing it? If both boxes get checked, then it comes down to timing. Once we’re in, we’re striving to maximize the natural advantages of the site and create interesting golf holes. With a restoration, we’re looking at the architectural pedigree of the original designer and the potential to restore his work. We also try to be geographically diverse. We never want to corner the market in any given area or any particular architect. Then we set out to do as much research as possible to get that restoration as accurate as possible.
So is there a difference between a renovation and a restoration?
It’s our belief a restoration is when the work of the original designer inspires all the design decisions we make on the project. We try to be as project specific as we can, researching what that particular architect did on that course. We never use the word ‘typically,’ as in Donald Ross ‘typically’ built crowned greens. We feel that word allows for a lot of interpretation by us and we don’t want to interpret. We want to be literal. Renovation is when we allow our ideas, biases, and concepts to influence the alterations we want to make to an existing course. In a restoration project, you try to channel the previous architect’s intent into a version that gels with the contemporary game.
Is that always possible?
I think it was Brian Silva who coined the term “sympathetic restoration,” and in many ways our restorations are always sympathetic to the original design and as accurate as possible. However, we do take some latitude in the addition of tees both forward and back, in the relocation of bunkers to match the distances of the modern game, and very rarely in softening the slopes on greens. That last liberty is one we take very seriously and we do everything we can to not modify the contours of greens. We feel like it’s much better to slow down greens speeds instead of carving up these works of arts. We try to retain a level of severity consistent with modern putting speeds.
When you’re updating a track like Baltusrol’s Lower Course or The Country Club, how do you balance its role as a major championship venue that has to test the best in the world every so often with its more central purpose as a course that’s played daily by amateurs?
That’s an interesting question. We’re so focused on restoring the original architect’s vision that we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that balance. We have so much trust and respect for the original design and designer that we feel like that balance will all work out in the end. There’s also the expectation among members and guests that if a course is capable and worthy of hosting a major championship it’ll be more difficult than a “normal” golf course. As a result, I don’t think that there’s that much focus on the balance by the players as well.
What differentiates a good golf course and a bad one?
A good golf course allows the players to make choices, provides options and interest, and is one where the golfer is learning something new every time they play. A bad golf course does none of the above. The truly great golf courses get everything right. They’re strategically interesting and fun to play, they maximize the topographical and scenic potential of the property, and they get the scale and nuance correct at every level. Beyond that, you need to have a high standard of maintenance and presentation. Those must be in concert with the design. When all of these notes come together, the truly great golf courses have a distinct sense of place, a comfort in their surroundings and maybe even a little bit of swagger.
Is there a project you’re particularly proud of—or that you think will stand the test of time?
They’re all like my children so it’s difficult to choose. I think the Ohoopee Match Club stands out in my mind because of its insistence on match play as the form of golf that’s played there. I love match play, and for an owner—in this case, Mike Walrath—to decide he was going to create a place where the form of the game is honored and required, is both ballsy and brilliant. Jim Wagner and I love taking chances and Ohoopee allowed us to do that in a big way. Oddly enough, the most successful thing we may ever build is The Cradle at Pinehurst. Another different type of course, but one that asks you to have fun, and golf certainly needs more of that.
If you could only play one more round of golf, where would you play and with whom?
I would play at The Old Course in St. Andrews. There are too many people I’d love to play with, so I can’t pick a particular group, but my wife Tracey and our children would be walking with me!
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top.
Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop
once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
