North Berwick, the beloved links on Scotland’s East Lothian coast, is set to pair its storied course with one of the game’s most influential modern architecture firms.
Beginning in 2026, Gil Hanse and his longtime design partner, Jim Wagner, will serve as the club’s official course architects — a coupling of a world-renowned design team with a layout that has become a touchstone of golf architecture.
Once a sleeper, North Berwick first cracked GOLF’s World Top 100 in 2007 and now sits comfortably in the upper reaches of that list. At just over 6,500 yards, it is short by contemporary standards but long on quirks and coastal charm, featuring a medley of blind shots, dramatic contours and compelling strategic choices further complicated by shifting winds. Among its hallmarks is a closing stretch that includes a collection of widely copied template holes as well as the idiosyncratic 13th, a par-4 known as the Pit, which is spliced at an angle by an ancient stone wall. Over the past few years, Clyde Johnson and Chris Haspell have carried out restorations on North Berwick that have further boosted the club’s esteem.
Hanse could not immediately be reached for comment, but in a message to members, the club emphasized that his and Wagner’s mandate is refinement, not reinvention. Their appointment comes at a pivotal moment, as the club confronts a challenge as old as links golf itself and increasingly urgent in the modern era: the steady advance of the sea.
North Berwick sits hard along the Firth of Forth, with the water in play on six holes. Historically, the club has fortified portions of the course, including along the 2nd fairway, but other stretches have grown more vulnerable. The 3rd tee is among the concerns. So is the 14th green, where the beach has crept to within roughly six feet of the putting surface. According to the club’s message, Hanse and Wagner will help guide “robust contingency measures to mitigate future risks from the advancing sea,” while preserving the unique elements that have made the course so cherished.
For Hanse and Wagner, the job will add to a bulging portfolio of Top 100 work that includes such original designs as Castle Stuart and Ohoopee Match Club as well as restorations of prestigious courses ranging from Los Angeles Country Club to Oakmont, Merion and Fishers Island.
