The architects at Toledo, Ohio-based Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates have authored nearly 200 original course designs, on four continents. With conclusion of October’s Samsung World Championship and September’s Ryder Cup, 38 of those designs have now hosted a PGA Tour, Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA, PGA of America, NCAA Championship, Asian Tour and European Tour events.
The LPGA’s Samsung World Championship was contested Oct. 1-5 over The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links, a 1997 Hills/Forrest design located beside the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay Resort, just south of San Francisco.
Two weeks prior, the golfing world descended on Kentucky for The Ryder Cup. While the U.S. claimed a rousing victory at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, the Americans claimed an even more dominant, 22-2 victory at the Junior Ryder Cup Matches held at the Hills/Forrest-designed Club at Olde Stone just outside Bowling Green, Ky.
“We honestly pride ourselves in designing courses that can stage significant championships one weekend and quiet member-guests the next – but I’d be lying if I didn’t say we’re proud of all the big tournaments held at our designs,” says Arthur Hills, founder and principal of Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates (AHSF). “It’s another way we serve the interests of our clients frankly. Half Moon Bay is one of the country’s most scenic resort courses – the owners there just happen to have a layout good enough to host the LPGA’s richest tournament.
“As for Olde Stone, well, I think the golf world is going to be hearing quite a lot from that course in future years. It’s a major championship-caliber design masquerading as a members course. Of all the Ryder Cup participants this year, I think the Juniors faced the stronger, stiffer test of golf.”
The Club at Olde Stone, a project directed by AHSF partner Drew Rogers, has already taken the golf world by storm since opening for play in 2006. It landed golf’s premier junior event and an NCAA regional in 2009. It’s been named (by The Wall Street Journal) among the country’s top 35 real estate courses, old or new. Golfweek has already ranked it above Valhalla as the top course in Kentucky, and many viewed the Jr. Ryder Cup as a test run for the 2011 Senior PGA Championship.
“To have an event of this magnitude coming to Bowling Green says a lot about Olde Stone and the potential for hosting major events in the future,” says Jim Scott, owner and developer of Olde Stone, referring to the Jr. Ryder Cup. “The course is getting rave reviews from the various raters, who have arrived here by the dozens. The word is clearly out. They have specifically commented on the variety of the holes, the greens and surrounds and of course the outstanding conditions. And many of them have said this is the toughest bluegrass rough they have ever played."
The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links has been around far longer and already boasts a long list of plaudits. Golf Digest rates it no. 38 among the country’s top resort tracks. It’s a Silver Award winner according to Golf Magazine's top resorts balloting. The Samsung World Championship, held at some of the world's finest courses on five continents during its 27-year history, proved Half Moon Bay is more than a drop-dead gorgeous links course set on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
“I think it’s telling that so many of our courses perform those multiple functions: private club and tournament venue, public course and tournament venue, resort course and tournament venue,” says Steve Forrest, partner and principal in AHSF. “I think that designing a tournament course that does nothing but effectively host a championship is a fairly straightforward exercise. What’s tougher is making it enjoyable on a private, resort or public course level the other 360 days of the year.”
Other examples of this duality include Oitavos Dunes GC in Cascais, Portugal, one of the continent’s finest resort tracks and home the European PGA Tour’s Open of Portugal; The Vintage Club in Bangkok, Thailand, a private club and recent host of the Asian PGA Tour Championship; Gaillardia Golf & Country Club (Oklahoma City, Okla.), another private club and site of the Champion’s Tour’s season ending championship in 2002; Mirasol Golf & Country Club (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), which played host to the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic before becoming the club’s premier members course; Bighorn Golf Club (Palm Desert, Calif.), a private gem that proved instrumental in popularizing The Skins Games, which it hosted from 1992-1995; Quail West Golf & Country Club (Naples, Fla.), host of the 2007 and 2008 Ace Group Classic on the Champions Tour; Chaska Town Course (Chaska, Minn.), a muni which played co-host to the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship; and Shaker Run GC (Lebanon, Ohio), a daily-fee that hosted the 2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.