By Jackson Wolff
Nestled among the hills of Sugartown sits Applebrook Golf Club. Less then 15 minutes from the school, the course is recognized as one of the best in Pennsylvania. Designed in 1999 by Gil Hanse, the course opened in 2001 and offers golfers a difficult track with beautiful views.
Hanse, who was raised in Malvern, has worked on other world-class courses in the area. He restored both Merion and Aronimink Golf Clubs, in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Through restorations and original designs, Hanse has left a big footprint on golf in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Hanse did not grow up playing golf, and his path to course design was not streamlined.
“I idolized my grandfather, and though I didn’t grow up playing the game he introduced it to me” Hanse said.
He studied political science and history in college, and in grad-school he took a landscaping class and met a student who wanted to work on golf courses. Hanse ended up switching into the landscaping program and won a scholarship that took him to Britain for a year, and the connections he made there were instrumental in his career.
Hanse’s first project was with Tom Doak designing High Pointe Golf Club in Michigan. “I dug ditches, spent time raking and did mostly manual landscaping on the course. Then, in the last few days of work I was put on a bulldozer, and I absolutely fell in love,” Hanse remembered. After working with Tom Doak for three years, concluding with a project on Stonewall Golf Club, he decided to settle down in Pennsylvania and start his own firm, Hanse Golf Course Design.
The first project Hanse worked on was in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. The firm was hired by the Craig Golfing Society to build the Craighead links course. Hanse was only the third American to ever design a course in Scotland, following golf legends Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus.
Hanse’s firm has three types of projects: original design projects, renovation projects, and restoration projects. “Original Design projects offer the most freedom. We are given a plot of land and have to create a new golf course from scratch,” said Hanse. The process can take over 18 months and involves lots of on-site work from Hanse himself.
To start, an owner would select a piece of land and begin to interview different architects and firms. When Hanse’s firm is selected for a project, he begins by walking the course and looking at topographical maps to create a layout. After getting the necessary permits and contracts, construction begins on the course.
According to Hanse, each hole begins at the irrigation source and is designed from there. Once the design is finished, the different grasses are added from the tee box all the way to the green. After the 18 holes and practices areas are completed, the course is ready to play.
One of the many challenges of designing or restoring a course is keeping a balance between the difficulty for PGA tour tournaments and for the average golfer. Members at high end clubs like Winged Foot and Merion expect difficult tracks and don’t want their courses tampered down too much from where professional golfers would play. However when designing a new course, Hanse affirmed balance is necessary.“I want create a balance between the precision needed to play the course and have fun with the precision needed to score well on a course. Variety is important, and creating holes that average golfers can still play while pros can score on is one of our biggest challenges.”
Hanse designed Boston Golf Club in 2005, and noted it as one of his breakout projects. “I met many influential people while working at Boston Golf Club, and it was those connections that allowed me to have the opportunity to renovate TPC Boston,” Hanse explained. “My work on those two projects led to a lot more recognition.”
In 2016, after an over 100 year hiatus, golf was returning to the Olympics. Hanse was selected to design the course, and his work in Brazil completely redefined the future of Hanse Golf Course Design. “Designing the Olympic Golf course changed the trajectory of my career and made me a household name,” Hanse said.
The Olympic course is not the only championship course Hanse’s firm has worked on. The 2020 US Open was played at Winged Foot West Course, which Hanse restored in 2017. TPC Boston, one of Hanse’s renovations, hosted the Northern Trust Championship in 2020.
“It’s exciting to see my courses being played on TV but it’s also nerve racking. Sometimes the tour players have a lot to say about a course and that can determine its legacy.”
His firm’s goal when working on courses for PGA events is to create a layout that plays well and is difficult to win. At this past year’s US Open, Bryson DeChambeau won with a score of 6 under par across 18 holes. “Courses I’ve worked on have seen wins from Tiger, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau,” Hanse said. “It’s nice to see some of the world’s best players win. Sometimes when a player who has struggled in the past wins a tournament people call it a fluke and even blame the course, so its very reassuring when a great golfer can struggle but still succeed.”
Hanse’s work on championship courses is not slowing down. His biggest current project is designing the new PGA championship course in Frisco, Texas- the new home for the PGA of America. Starting in 2023, the course will host a major championship every 2 years, alternating between the senior, women’s, and men’s championship. As a creator, Hanse is always looking forward “It’s crazy to think so far ahead, but if all goes well, the course will host the Ryder Cup in 2040.” The Ryder cup, a two-team tournament pitting America’s best golfers against the best from europe, is arguably the biggest event of the year.
Frisco isn’t the only place to get a new Hanse course in 2021. This year, Hanse will open courses in France, Thailand, and Nebraska. With building many courses comes another challenge, variety and new ideas. Hanse has taken inspiration from many, including his former employer Tom Doak. “I learned a lot from Tom, most importantly the idea of the hands on commitment to a course. My firm and I have never ‘mailed-in’ a golf course.” Hanse added “There aren’t many designers I’ve taken too much inspiration from, but Alister Mackenzie, designer of Augusta National, is definitely one. His courses have a combination of beauty and difficulty that I try to incorporate.”
Hanse’s biggest inspiration, however, has not come from a world famous and fabled designer like Doak or Mackenzie, but from inside his own firm. “Jim Wagner, my partner, has taught me more than anyone I know,” Hanse mentioned with a smile.
From his different inspirations and teachers, Hanse has found that a specific style of course isn’t what his firm specializes in, but designing courses that blend into the landscape around it. It’s hard to make two courses similar when they are built into the terrain around them. “When we’re finished with a course, the best compliment we can get is that ‘the course looks like it’s been here forever,’” Hanse added, “I love the natural feel on a golf course, and it’s a great feeling when we can accomplish that.”
Hanse in is a league where most weekend golfers cannot play, but look out for his courses on TV in the coming years.