I’m delighted to be able to share Clyde Johnson’s favourite courses.

Following a postgraduate degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia, Clyde secured an internship with Tom Doak and hasn’t looked back since. He has been heavily involved in some of the most exciting recent projects in golf - Tara It, Te Arai, The Gunnamatta and St Patrick’s Links to name a few.

But Clyde doesn’t only work on new courses. He has also been responsible for some impressive restoration work. Whether he has been returning Titirangi’s green to MacKenzie’s vision, or turning his artist’s eye to Alwoodley’s bunkers, Johnson’s work is highly praised.

Clyde has an incredible breadth of understanding and appreciation of golf course architecture. He has played most of the big-name courses all over the world, but his experience goes way, way deeper than that. Mention an obscure nine-holer in the depths of Scotland and Clyde will have been there. Ask him for a recommendation on a random country road in New Zealand and Clyde will have options for you. Not only will he be able to talk to you about courses, he will remember every hole he has played. It is quite something!

His craftsmanship and encyclopaedic knowledge will be invaluable as he takes on his next project as lead associate on a new Tom Doak design at Cabot Highlands in the north of Scotland.

A big thanks to Clyde for taking the time to do this. Here are his favourite 10 courses -

THE OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS
A course I have never tired of, and could never tire of playing. Bringing a grey-scale of strategy with every yard of differing ball placement of consequence, the ground contour is of perfect dimension to contrast the huge greens, which are especially interesting with the pin tucked along their more contoured edges. The ultimate in golf course architecture!

ROYAL MELBOURNE WEST - AUSTRALIA
The course that reminds me most of The Old Course. MacKenzie’s width and angles capture timeless strategy, aided by the world’s best playing surfaces through the green. Fading into the Sandbelt textures, with distinctive sand flashed bunkering, you are reminded that you are halfway across the world!

NATIONAL GOLF LINKS OF AMERICA - USA
A course choked full of ideas and inspiration, there is so much to take in. The bunker scheme is a reminder of how the game was once played, with many of the hazards positioned just where you want to land, rather than finish. Forget about MacDonald’s templates, all eighteen holes are good enough to hold their own.

THE WEST LINKS, NORTH BERWICK - SCOTLAND
The epitome of seaside golf. Sporty, seductive and shared with the locals, The West Links also features a handful of my favourite holes in the world - the 2nd, the 13th, the 14th, the 15th, the 16th…and more!

TARA ITI - NEW ZEALAND
Mangawhai is my favourite place on earth. Amplified by expanses of exposed sand and the colourful seaside plant palette, Tara Iti is insanely beautiful. Still, with a fine mixture of hole types, and tight playing surfaces, its perfectly executed, classic strategy is strong enough to shine through.

Picture - www.renaissancegolf.com (taken by P Sjoman)

SAINT PATRICK’S LINKS - IRELAND
Links construction in its truest (contemporary) form, I never imagined having the opportunity to help craft a course on such an awesome dunescape. An exciting journey which twice climaxes high above Sheephaven Bay, the interior of the expansive property might just feature my favourites. There is a fine set of bold green complexes, but it’s the even more rambunctious fairways that most thrill.

GARDEN CITY - USA
A relatively quiet landscape brought to life by a myriad of funky above and below ground hazards. Sat unassumingly at grade, the greens are sneakily tilted and/or feature abrupt interior contour. Garden City captures the experimental, almost risk-taking nature of early golf course architecture in North America.

WAVERLEY - NEW ZEALAND
Situated in rural Taranaki, and 4.5km inland of the Pacific, the boisterously rippling landscape makes for a true discovery. Largely tended to by sheep, it would be easy to miss, even if you knew where to look. The routing tackles the terrain with adventure and anticipation, and without let down. Perched in a peaky dune, the high punchbowl 12th green is unforgettable. The ultimate ‘country course’!

APPLEBY - ENGLAND
Not the course I grew up playing, but the one I most looked forward to. Not too far from England’s Lake District, an expansive routing takes in the most dramatic features towards the periphery of this open moorland. A raised bathtub green above a winding beck has made for many (ill-fated) memories. I’m often nostalgic for this course, which sits at such ease with the landscape.

IONA - SCOTLAND
The sense of adventure isn’t always limited to the golf - a ferry to the Isle of Mull, a passenger ferry and then a walk to the other side of the small island of Iona makes this a true pilgrimage. One pound in the post office pays for a scorecard and your green-fee. This is (links) golf in its truest (and most basic) form, with a couple of insane holes tackling rocky outcroppings.

A big thanks to Clyde for taking the time to share these picks, you can see the rest of the Favourite Courses series here.