Design Notebook: Five Biggest Golf Architecture Storylines of 2025

Howdy, Fried Egg Golf Club, and happy holidays. Welcome back to Design Notebook, your monthly rundown of what’s happening in the world of golf architecture. I’m Garrett Morrison.

In this month’s DN (the final edition of 2025!), I discuss the most important golf architecture storylines of the year. Then, unfortunately, I feel compelled to address some recent reports about President Trump’s conflicts with the nonprofit group operating the U.S. capital’s municipal courses.

Biggest Golf Architecture Stories of 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, let’s run through five storylines that have defined the year in golf architecture:

1. The most interesting development company in the game, Dream Golf, stayed busy in 2025, hosting preview play at The Commons at Sand Valley, Rodeo Dunes in Colorado, and Wild Spring Dunes in East Texas. In addition, Dream Golf is planning a new destination in the Florida Panhandle, Old Shores. After this flurry of activity, expect the company to slow down a bit. On a February episode of the Fried Egg Golf Podcast, Michael Keiser Jr., with admirable honesty, told Andy Johnson that he, his family, and his team were ready for a breather. “I need to figure out a more sustainable way to grow the next 20 golf courses,” he said.

2. The Cabot Collection, too, remained active. At Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida, the 18-hole Karoo, 18-hole Roost, and two short courses — the Squeeze and the Wedge — opened on January 20. (So far, reviews of the architecture at Karoo in particular have been mixed, with some golfers finding the bunkering and contouring a bit overcooked. I’ll withhold judgment until I see the course for myself.) Over in Scotland, Cabot Highlands welcomed preview play at Tom Doak’s Old Petty in August and September.

3. Aiken, South Carolina, grew into a mecca for architecturally compelling golf development. 21 Golf Club broke ground on a re-creation of El Boquerón, a never-built Alister MacKenzie design; Old Barnwell announced plans to add a second 18-hole course, The Gilroy; and New Holland, a club spearheaded by developer Jeff Warne, started recruiting members. What’s driving all of this activity? Two main factors: Aiken’s location within day-tripping distance of several growing cities, and its surplus of good, relatively cheap land.

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4. Top British clubs made big moves in 2025. Royal Dornoch engaged the firm King Collins Dormer to carry out an outré redesign of the club’s Struie layout, Sunningdale moved forward with a Gil Hanse-led renovation of its Old and New courses, and North Berwick retained Hanse to direct improvements to its West Links. Meanwhile, the R&A’s favorite design firm, UK-based Mackenzie & Ebert, consolidated its hold over the Open rota, earning renovation commissions at likely future hosts Portmarnock and Muirfield while advising on alterations to rota staples Royal Birkdale and the Old Course at St. Andrews.

As green fees at highly ranked British courses have risen, so have expectations for architectural and agronomic refinement. I just hope that the architects working at these important places remember that the imperfections of nature are part of the charm of links golf.

5. Yes, the destination private club is having a moment. See: Skyfall at Forest Dunes, Kettle Forge, Coal Club, Fall Line, and High Grove. But accessible public golf showed signs of life in 2025. Poppy Ridge in California unveiled a striking redesign by Jay Blasi; Miami Lakes in Florida undertook an ambitious overhaul led by Bruce Hepner; Dunedin Golf Club in Florida reopened after a restoration by Kris Spence; Lake Oswego in Oregon debuted a reimagined nine-hole course by Dan Hixson; Buffalo Dunes in Kansas completed a years-long, community driven renovation; Wild Horse in Nebraska started building a new par-3 course designed by Dave Axland and Dan Proctor; and the North Course at Corica Park cut the ribbon after years of delays.

Ordinary golfers have every reason to be concerned about premiumization, rising costs, and the sluggishness of public golf development. But let’s also take time to appreciate the successes of our game and its industry. There were plenty this year.

President Trump Eyes D.C. Municipal Courses

Talk about a Friday news dump.

At 8:21 p.m. ET on December 12, the Wall Street Journal published a major report about U.S. President Donald Trump's apparent efforts to wrest control of East Potomac Golf Links from the National Links Trust.

In 2020, the NLT signed a 50-year lease to operate and improve the three municipal golf facilities in Washington, D.C.: East Potomac, Rock Creek Park Golf Course, and Langston Golf Course. At East Potomac, the nonprofit group partnered with architect Tom Doak to explore the possibility of restoring certain elements of Walter Travis's original reversible design. Also, as I noted last month, the NLT recently started the first phase of its ambitious, Gil Hanse-led renovation of Rock Creek Park.

A few months ago, however, rumors began circulating that higher-ups at the Department of the Interior — including Secretary Doug Burgum and Solicitor General William Doffermyre — were encouraging President Trump to take a more active role in the management of the courses. Published news trickled out slowly. First, the Independent revealed that the President was "weighing" a potential "refurbishment and rebranding" of East Potomac. Then, in early November, the Washington Post reported that the White House had directed excess dirt from the East Wing renovation project to be dumped on East Potomac’s nine-hole White course.

Now, the Wall Street Journal has filled in the backstory. Here’s what you need to know:

• In a meeting with President Trump and a handful of advisers on August 1, Secretary Burgum first pitched the idea of turning East Potomac into a "professional-level course" named "Washington National Golf Club." Trump has since expressed interest in hiring architect Tom Fazio to carry out the project.
• During an interview with the WSJ in the Oval Office on Friday, President Trump did not rule out playing a direct role in renovating D.C.'s municipal courses. "If we do them,” he said, "we'll do them beautifully."
• Trump added that if his administration were to take over management of the courses, D.C. residents would still, in the WSJ's words, "pay a lower rate than other golfers." It is not clear which "other golfers" are being referred to here, or how the administration could follow through on such a guarantee, given the ambition of Burgum's East Potomac proposal.
• The conflict between the federal government and the NLT is beginning to revolve around details of the nonprofit's lease with the National Park Service. Trump administration officials have claimed that the NLT "is in breach of its lease because it hasn't made enough progress on the renovations." In a statement posted on social media, the NLT said, "We respectfully disagree with the characterization that we are in default of our lease. In the five years since signing the lease, National Links Trust has worked hand in hand with the National Park Service through the extensive permitting and compliance processes required for these comprehensive renovation projects."
• The Trump administration has evidently been poking around for a reason to cancel the NLT’s lease. According to the WSJ, the administration indicated that if the NLT stood in the way of the East Wing dirt being delivered to East Potomac, the group would risk a finding of default. The NLT acquiesced, but that didn’t placate the government. Here’s the WSJ: "The Interior Department informed the group that it had violated a lease provision. Interior then issued a formal default notice, a move that could lead to the termination of the group's lease, according to the people. Trump told the Journal that if the nonprofit doesn't address the alleged violations of its lease by the end of the month, then the courses will revert to the Trump administration's control."
• Recently, the NLT presented the Department of the Interior with a plan titled “Make D.C. Golf Great Again” (*eyeroll emoji*), which suggested forming an oversight board consisting of Tiger Woods, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.
• The WSJ article notes several times that East Potomac Golf Links occupies a valuable stretch of Washington real estate.

On Saturday, the Washington Post added this amusing tidbit: before settling on Tom Fazio, the Trump administration approached Coore & Crenshaw about taking the reins at East Potomac. The firm demurred, citing “other commitments.” Good on you, Bill and Ben.

Anyway, these are obviously distressing developments. If the Trump administration has any valid reason to push out the National Links Trust, I have yet to see it. Every local golfer I’ve spoken to says conditions at all three courses have improved since the NLT took over. Plus, work is underway on a soup-to-nuts, $25-million renovation of Rock Creek Park, so clearly the NLT has not been complacent, ineffective, or even unusually slow-moving. Significant changes at federal properties take time. That’s why the NLT applied for and received a 50-year lease. It’s hard to imagine how the group could have moved any faster than it has without sacrificing its principles.

We don’t yet know the full details of Doug Burgum’s proposal to transform East Potomac Golf Links into a professional tournament venue. Any project in this vein, however, would involve reducing East Potomac’s current 36-hole offering to 27 or 18 holes. Otherwise, not even a fleet of Tom Fazio’s best bulldozers could create room for a regulation course capable of hosting a large-scale event. Given how busy all of East Potomac’s courses currently are, decreasing the number of holes on the property would inevitably make golf in the area less accessible.

The National Links Trust is an exceptional leaseholder with a clear and compelling vision for the future of East Potomac, Rock Creek Park, and Langston. It is designed to outlast presidential administrations and to serve D.C. residents rather than itself. If the NLT gets chased out of town, we should all be angry. And if the President’s own golf development company ends up filling the vacancy, we should be even angrier.

Chocolate Drops

East Lothian Council in Scotland has approved “urgent work” to protect the famous West Links at North Berwick Golf Club from coastal erosion. Recently, North Berwick hired Gil Hanse as its architectural consultant.

For her Substack newsletter, Ashley Mayo wrote about helping to build Candyroot Lodge, an under-construction golf destination an hour outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Lots of insights here. I reported some details of the Candyroot project in late November.

Sources tell Fried Egg Golf that Andrew Green’s plan for a historical renovation of the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago “overwhelmingly passed” last week.

Via Adam Schupak of Golfweek: the Pebble Beach Company spent nearly $14 million to buy a home behind the second green at Pebble Beach Golf Links. For now, no word on how the PBC will use the land.

In case you missed it…

• Gil Hanse joined the TGL’s roster of hole designers.
• Some people don’t love the look of the newly restored revetted bunkers at Harbour Town Golf Links.
• Calumet Country Club near Chicago recently closed its doors.
• Golf.com published its latest ranking of the top 100 golf courses in the world. Not much changed.
• Todd Eckenrode is restoring the William P. Bell design at Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena, California.

A Course We Photographed Recently

Aronimink Golf Club (Newtown Square, PA) — designed by Donald Ross in 1928, renovated by Gil Hanse in 2017

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Underlined and Starred

“Do not have the line of the fairway always straight from tee to green. Swing it a bit to the right or left. It adds interest by shortening or lengthening the line of play.

“Fight shy of all artificial or formal effects. The day of old-fashioned straight edges to the line of fairways is happily past.

“Zigzag the holes. Two or three consecutive holes going in the same direction is far from desirable. In fact, it’s decidedly monotonous. Having to contend with variable wind conditions adds zest to the game.” -Donald Ross

Have a topic or question you'd like discussed in Design Notebook? Contact Garrett at garrett@thefriedegg.com.