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Gil Hanse has been tabbed to do a historic restoration of the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, the latest C.B. Macdonald course he'll restore after Sleepy Hollow and Yale.
Mid Ocean Club
Golf architect Gil Hanse is headed to Bermuda to restore the acclaimed Charles Blair Macdonald-designed Mid Ocean Club after recent historical restorations of Macdonald masterpieces at Yale Golf Course and Sleepy Hollow Golf Club.
Earth moving work at Mid Ocean, which is Macdonald’s lone international design and is ranked 44th in Golf Digest’s list of the 100 greatest golf courses outside the U.S., will begin in fall 2027 following a clubhouse renovation and upgrade. The course is expected to reopen in late 2028.
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Gil Hanse (right) and Jim Wagner (left) are overseeing the restoration of the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, which begins in fall 2027.
Hanse Golf Course Design
Hanse, who first visited Bermuda and the Mid Ocean Club 40 years ago while on honeymoon with his wife Tracey, said the opportunity to restore the course, which dates to the early 1920s, is an honor given that Macdonald is on his “personal Mount Rushmore” of golf architects. Hanse completed a comprehensive rebuild at Sleepy Hollow in New York in 2018, while Yale reopened this year after a massive $25 million restoration overseen by Hanse and his team.
“He only built 10 or 12 golf courses, depending on how many you credit to him. The fact that we now have a significant opportunity at Mid Ocean Club, means the world to us,” Hanse, who will again team on the project with partner Jim Wagner, said of C.B. Macdonald. Hanse has three of his original designs among Golf Digest’s Top 100 U.S. courses and, alongside Wagner, has worked on restorations or renovations at about 20 more.
“Every single golf course C.B. Macdonald worked on was impactful, not only from the standpoint of that particular club, but in the world of golf course architecture,” added Hanse.
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Century old images from the Mid Ocean Club, including what's thought to be architect C.B. Macdonald.
Mid Ocean Club
Historical Research
The historical research for the restoration project at Mid Ocean includes the recent discovery of a 1926 silent film featuring what is believed to be the only moving pictures of Macdonald, who is known as the “Father of American golf architecture.” Rick Skelly, a member and researcher at the club, found the footage in a 1926 film about Bermuda in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. Skelly was scouring the long film hoping to find imagery of the course to help the design team when the images switched to the first tee of the Mid Ocean Club and what historians believe to be Macdonald taking a backswing and later putting on the opening green.
While Macdonald spent summers at his home at The National Golf Links of America on Long Island, another of his most famous designs, he owned a home and cottage overlooking the famed 5th hole at Mid Ocean Club where he wintered every year until his death in 1939. Macdonald, who teamed with Seth Raynor on the design at Mid Ocean, is best known for template holes such as “Redan,” “Alps,” and “Eden” that were inspired by holes on some of the greatest British links courses.
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The Cape 5th hole at Mid Ocean is one of the most well-known holes that will be restored, with changes including the removal of mangrove trees along the water.
Mid Ocean Club
Hanse has called the 5th at Mid Ocean, which features a bite-off-what-you-dare diagonal drive over Mangrove Lake from an elevated tee, one of the most audacious of Macdonald’s so-called “Cape holes” as well as one of the “greatest holes in the world of golf.”
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A historic photo of players teeing off on the 5th hole at the Mid Ocean Club.
Mid Ocean Club
“Ultimately our goal is to be faithful to Macdonald and restore his work,” said Hanse, who has already completed hand-drawn designs for the project that include the restoration of modifications done by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1953.
“With the archival information and, ultimately, having a presence on site and being on the machinery myself, we will have an opportunity to get in the ground and faithfully restore what Macdonald and Raynor built on the property.
“It's our expectation that when we're finished, members will see the golf course through the lens that he saw it through – and that will be a wonderful success,” Hanse added.
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Aerial photo of the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, the lone course that architect C.B. Macdonald designed outside the U.S.
Mid Ocean Club
In addition to the world on the golf course, the project includes a detailed environmental management plan that expands and enhances the habitat for native plants and wildlife, from the endangered Diamondback Terrapin to the rare Bermuda Skink.
On the infrastructure side, the private club is undertaking a clubhouse rehabilitation that includes the construction of a new south façade, a refresh of the clubhouse interiors, and the addition of a state-of-the-art performance center and new golf shop. The efforts, including Hanse’s work on the golf course, are part of the club’s commitment to preserve its legacy for current members as well as generations to follow.
“Gil is unsurpassed for his attention to detail in the restoration of some of the world’s greatest golf courses,” said Mid Ocean CEO and General Manager Austen Gravestock, “and we are excited for what he will bring to Mid Ocean Club.”
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Architect C.B. Macdonald wintered at Mid Ocean Club until the time of his death.
Mid Ocean Club
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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