The Scots invented golf but they didn’t try to keep it to themselves. They exported it around the world. Nowhere did it take deeper root than in the United States, where the game grew into a multi-billion-dollar industry and, in many places, a private pastime. Over time, and to a lesser extent, influences flowed the other way, as American wealth and ideas made their way back across the Atlantic.
In Scotland, fully private clubs are, like buggies, vanishingly rare. But the small handful that exist, including Loch Lomond and Skibo Castle, are owned and operated by Americans. And now another is taking shape in perhaps the most unlikely place of all: St. Andrews, the ancient home of public golf.
With local approvals in hand, the people behind Hogs Head, an exclusive enclave on Ireland’s southwest coast, are moving ahead with a project called Hogs Haven, in the hills overlooking the town. It will be the first new course built in the St. Andrews area since David McLay Kidd unveiled the Castle Course in 2008. The work has been progressing quietly, but here’s what we know so far.
A site with history
For more than two decades, the property at Feddinch Mains — roughly two miles south of St. Andrews and bordering the Duke’s Course — has been the subject of on-again, off-again golf dreams. Various development schemes have come and gone. In 2010, a Scottish owner stepped in, bringing Tom Weiskopf aboard to lay out a course. With approvals already in place for a course and hotel, the stage seemed set. But after several years, the property changed hands to an American investor intent on carrying the project across the finish line. Weiskopf’s sudden passing derailed that momentum, and the owner eventually opted to put the site back on the market.
Enter the Hogs
The new proprietors, who purchased the site in 2023, are Tony Alvarez and Bryan Marsal, the principals of Alvarez & Marsal Golf — the same duo behind Hogs Head, the private retreat overlooking the Atlantic in southwest Ireland. Their résumé in the golf space is fairly recent but notable: when they acquired the Hogs Head property in 2015, they inherited a prone-to-flooding golf course and a 100-room Club Med. They demolished the hotel, purchased additional surrounding farmland, and hired Robert Trent Jones Jr. to craft a new layout. Today, Hogs Head features a 46-room lodge and a collection of cottages that cater to a selective membership, known among themselves as “Hogs.” Alvarez & Marsal also owns Paako Ridge in New Mexico.
What’s coming
GOLF.com has learned that the St. Andrews project will include: an 18-hole course; standalone par-3 course; Himalayas-style putting course; practice facilities; luxury lodge, and six guest cottages. Construction milestones have already been pencilled in. Developers expect 11 of the 18 holes, along with the par-3 course and the putting course, to be ready by July 2026. The full course is scheduled for completion by June 2027. The supporting infrastructure — including a 58-room lodge, two suites and a spa and fitness centre — is expected to be completed by May 2028. Once all pieces are in place, the property will have 84 rooms, matching the room count at Hogs Head. Each suite will look out toward the town and coastline of St. Andrews.
Meet the architects
The routing of the main 18 will be led by DJ Russell, a former European Tour pro and longtime design partner of Ian Woosnam. Russell will also design the range and short-game facilities. Phil Smith — who collaborated with Weiskopf for years — will design the 10-hole par-3 course and the Himalayas-style putting ground, blending in elements of Weiskopf’s concepts for the site.
Price of admission
A spokesperson for the club declined to discuss pricing, but a source familiar with the project told GOLF.com that initiation fees are expected to land around $150,000. The finer points of the membership structure still are being finalised.
This article originated on Golf.com
