Bermuda's iconic Mid Ocean Club is set to be restored

Few courses evoke a sense of place quite like Bermuda's Mid Ocean Club. 

Now, this most fabled of island golf courses, is getting a redesign for the first time in over a century.

Picturesquely hugging the shining waters of the Caribbean, the Mid Ocean has long been synonymous with the highest echelons of golf and statesmanlike luxury in the region, routinely placing among the world's finest coastal golf courses and having played host to U.S. Presidents and British Prime Ministers.

Laid out by the great Charles Blair Macdonald, the course itself is one of just a handful reliably credited to the American, who as the architect of the United States’ first 18-hole course, is widely considered the father of American golf architecture. 

In addition to the Mid Ocean, Macdonald laid out many of the great American golf courses, including Chicago Golf Club and Shinnecock Hills.

Gil Hanse, designer of Cabot's Castle Stuart course, the black course at Florida's Streamsong Resort, and Rio De Janeiro's Olympic course, has been brought on to oversee the redesign.

“C.B. Macdonald is on my personal Mount Rushmore of golf architects, so it’s an honour to have the opportunity to work on another of his courses,” said Gil Hanse.

“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 added: “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."

Macdonald laid out the course at the Mid Ocean – his only design outside of the U.S. – in the early 1920s, and would go on to take the Bermudan club as a second home away from the U.S.. The American owned a property overlooking the course's iconic 5th hole, and wintered there for much of his life.

While Hanse's planned changes are yet to be confirmed, the changes are intended to bring the best out of the template originally laid out by Macdonald over 100 years ago.

"Ultimately our goal is to be faithful to Macdonald and restore his work,” said Hanse.

“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.”

Work will start on the restoration in mid 2027, following an extensive renovation of the clubhouse that's already underway.