The acclaimed American course architect Tom Doak has been associated with some fantastic contemporary course designs around the world in recent years think Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, Barnbougle Dunes in Australia, Pacific Dunes in America all of them very highly ranked in our World Top 100 rankings.
Now, with his first course design at the Home of Golf in East Lothian’s Archerfield Estate, next door to Muirfield, Doak has added another brilliant layout to an already outstanding portfolio with the opening of the Renaissance Club course in April 2008. The 18 holes were carved out of around 300 acres of pine forest, developer Jerry Sarvadi told us there were over 8,500 tonnes of wood cleared – but the design retained a number of these trees in strategic fairway and greenside positions, adding both definition and a very pleasing aesthetic quality to the landscape.
Five years after the course opened, land acquired from the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in a land swap arrangement was used to fashion three new holes along the coastline. The opening three holes were dropped from the old 18-hole layout though they’re still maintained and used for practice, then the former holes at 12 and 13 were combined to fashion the current 12th hole and a new par three was installed at the 15th. The new holes at 9 to 11 are really important to the club, connecting the course to the coastline in a way that it wasn’t before. Starting and ending with par three holes, this little stretch, along with the preceding 8th hole, is the crowning glory of a round at Renaissance Club. The new par four 10th, in particular, is a dramatic addition, its thin ribbon of fairway and fiercely tilted green sitting tight along the edge of the cliffs, high above the Firth of Forth.
It was announced in January 2017 that the Renaissance Club will host the 25th edition of the Scottish Senior Open in August 2017.