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The Ryder Cup 2018: The Gauntlet Awai...

“The Gauntlet”, as we affectionately dubbed holes 15-18 at Le Golf National, promises to provide unparalleled drama as the American and European teams compete for the Cup. vonHagge, Smelek & Baril is honored to have co-designed the host course for this year’s esteemed competition.

The following are excerpts of an interview with Rick Baril. Rick was asked about his experience with Les Bordes: 1 Had you been to France before you worked on Les Bordes? Or Europe? I visited Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria) after my first year of college. It was a tourist visit. But, I was also starting a degree in La [...]

Primera Golf new report

LES BORDES: Memories of a classic golf course in the making…

I was recently asked to provide answers to some questions about Les Bordes for a magazine article. This gave me the opportunity to commit to writing, many of my experiences and memories associated with Les Bordes. I had the distinct honor of working with Mr. von Hagge during the creation of the golf course. As the “project Architect [...]

Will the 2015 US Open be described this way? Player’s arriving experienced “psychological shock”. They were used to dominating courses, not finding ways to simply make par. (One player said) I thought I was going to a golf tournament, not on a safari. It’s a nightmare. Just awful. We’ve got to play it, but we don’t have to like it. [...]

by: Rick Baril My first knowledge of Chambers Bay (CB) came from the RFP issued by Peirce County, soliciting interest from golf course Architects. Like 50 other firms, we visited the site and submitted a proposal. Trent Jones II was eventually awarding the design commission. I hadn’t visited Chambers Bay since visiting 8+ years ago, [...]

Much Ado About Nothing 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay

Chambers Bay – Hole #12 – net in fairway to preserve area turf the pro’s are expected to hit their drive or approach. Foreground – barriers to keep players out of the rough so it grows for the US Open. (sound familiar? – US Open – high rough…) The hype is ramping up for the US Open at Chambers Bay. W [...]

GREAT GOLF! Golf Course Reviews by: Rick Baril I’ve seen hundreds of golf courses during my career; making it a point, during my travels, to visit golf courses. I’m curious to see any and all golf courses. It’s an ongoing quest to learn as much as I can about golf and golf architecture. My intention is to write about the courses I’ve [...]

Golf Course Architecture magazine recently published A decade of golf design: industry figures reflect on the past ten years. The article provides comments from golf architects and others; their experience in the profession and golf industry, over the past 10 years. This is an excerpt from the article, “Some are still in the same pla [...]

Andalucía, Spain An article published in the “The Olive Press” today, reports a golf course development project, proposed on UNESCO protected land near Ronda, Spain, has been blocked by Spain’s Supreme Court, following an “overwhelmingly unfavorable position” by Spain’s Hydrographical Confederation. Seeing [...]

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The Ryder Cup 2018: The Gauntlet Awai...

My Memories of the making of Les Bord...

The one that got away – thank g...

LES BORDES: Memories of a classic gol...

2015 US Open: A New Kind of Monster!

My Day at Chambers Bay

Much Ado About Nothing 2015 US Open a...

Golf Course Reviews

A Decade of Golf Design…

No Water. No Golf Development.

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