I spoke to Peter McEvoy for an interview on his life and, in particular, his work on Druid's Glen (with Jeff Lynch, reGolf), which was settling in after a major overhaul.
From February 2023
We decided it was time to get inside Peter McEvoy’s head, to peel back his thoughts for Druid’s Glen and to learn some more about his design experiences. We even have a brief few words on his playing career and major successes. He has, after all, won many prestigious titles, competed in six Open Championships – making the cut three times – and three Masters – making the cut in 1978. And all while an amateur. His name is mentioned alongside the greatest amateurs in the game over the past 50 to 60 years, including Sir Michael Bonallack, Gary Wolstenholme and, of course, Joe Carr. The attention to detail and conditioning of Druids Glen
was at the level of 'perfection'
Peter McEvoy (PM): I thought ‘I hope I get it’. I had never been to Druids Glen and when I first went to see it… well, who wouldn't want to do that.
Q. On your early visits what did you think were the course’s strongest elements?
PM: The big thing about Druids Glen is what a fantastic natural site it is. I can't think of another course where nature has blended so beautifully, working through the valleys, creating holes like the 8th, 12th, 13th. I just thought it had been done beautifully. Yes, there were certain things that we had to do but the core of the course, the way it blended in with nature, we wanted to keep that as best we could.
Q. And where did you see the greatest opportunity for change?
PM: It wasn’t so much the greatest ‘opportunity’ for change, but the greatest requirement for change. Because the game has changed so much in 30 years, particularly the distance the ball goes the bunkers were in the wrong places for elite players. The course yardage at 6900 was also on the short side, particularly if the aspirations were to host another Irish Open. So the requirement was to gain some length and reposition some of the hazards to keep up with the modern game.
Q. How are the changes going to affect the member/visitor from the more forward tees?
PM: If anything, we have actually tried to make it easier for the club golfer. The semi-mature trees planted when Druids Glen was first designed had matured. As a result, the course had become a little claustrophobic with some narrow fairways. The bunkers originally intended for elite players were now in play for club golfers. So we widened the fairways and thinned out trees, and, in many cases, the bunkers are now beyond the reach of the higher handicap golfer. The new greens are also bigger, typically, albeit that pins can be hidden away.
Now, if you are playing off forward tees, you are playing to wider fairways and bigger green targets. I think the course is therefore a little more playable. However, it is playing harder and yet easier at the same time… depending on which tees you are playing from. For example, on the 8th hole we have made that green very much bigger but we have also created some very difficult pin positions on the back left and the back right. There are a lot of pin positions that aren’t difficult, like the central area, but from the back tee to a back pin position it’s a killer. With the budget we had for the project we have been able to create bigger greens that can be easy and difficult at the same time.
Q. What was the one thing that immediately jumped out at you?
PM: I just felt it was fairyland with babbling brooks and natural valleys and amphitheatres, like the 8th. I was lucky enough to play in three Masters and you can’t help but compare Druids Glen with Augusta. Some of the things are so similar – the natural shapes – but I have to say that Druids Glen is a better site. It’s much less hilly and has more features than Augusta, which is also a bit artificial.
Q. What was the most challenging element you and the team faced?
PM: Finding that extra length. We wanted an extra 300-400 yards to get it up to 7,300 yards which, by today’s standards, is not that long. That was a challenge as most of the tees were already up against the back walls. But we found some good length when the new 4th green allowed us to relocate the 5th tee to where the old 4th green had been. We found some length on the 11th with the tee moving back onto the island, and also on the 1st where the back tee is part of the new practice green. The 16th back tee was an easy one as we could go back almost as far as we liked. It’s close to 600 yards now.
Q. Now that the job is complete what elements of the redesign are you most happy with?
PM: The thing I’m most happy with, that gave me most satisfaction, is that after several member walk-arounds the members said to me that it is still their golf course. I didn’t want it to be any different to that. I just wanted it to accommodate the changes in the modern game… but still be the same course. That has given me the most pleasure.
Q. And what do you think will really impress the members (and returning visitors)?
PM: Technology has moved on in the past 30 years and that means the discipline of, say, designing and building greens has also moved on. We were extremely fortunate to be given the budget to complete this project absolutely properly. That has made a big difference and we must thank the Nevilles for that. We were able to build everything to top spec which means members will enjoy superb conditioning. I think that is the most important thing for any golf course. The flow and natural features are the same but conditioning will be everything.
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| The new 4th green |
Like so many golfers, I drive down the motorway, look into fields and design holes. So this was something I always wanted to do and Fota Island was my chance. It was my first full design. The trouble is, you can have all that golfing knowledge but there is so much more to course design, such as drainage and agronomy. So I teamed up with people who had that knowledge. I did that at Fota… and I do it still.
I worked with Christie O’Connor Junior. He was a very compelling person and he was good at everything… entertaining people all day long and a great golfer. And I worked with him again at Rathsallagh.
Q. And looking back now is there anything you would have done differently?
PM: I made the mistake of trying to create 18 feature holes, particularly 18 feature greens. You get so excited that it’s your first design that you take all of your ideas and experience and pile them in together. But you can’t have 18 feature holes because you have to give golfers a break. If you create those holes the course becomes too oppressive and I know that the greens have been redone at Fota, largely because I went at it too enthusiastically. I loved the process of designing it and I am very pleased with the layout – I wouldn’t change anything there – it was just that I was trying to make every hole extremely special.
Like everything in life you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes. And even now, every time I go back to a course, all I can see are problems and issues, and I wonder ‘what was I thinking!’.
Q. How many courses have you designed?
PM: I’ve designed 33 courses in eight countries.
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| Peter McEvoy with Colin Montgomerie, and the Greenkeeping team at Druids Glen |
Q. What is your proudest design achievement (Not Druids Glen)?
PM: I have done two holes in walled gardens – at Coollattin and New Forest – which I really like because I’ve never seen them anywhere else. I find them very interesting and idiosyncratic. But in terms of one course, I do really like New Forest. It’s a course I enjoyed doing and it’s a lovely site. I thought it turned out really nicely. Obviously though, Druids Glen is the answer if it was allowed.
Q. What other design projects are you/will you be working on?
PM: I will be 70 next month so I am very selective these days. I have a nice project near Doncaster and quite a lot of little bits of remodelling here and there.
Q. Can you give us a brief summary of your playing career?
PM: I had two main playing careers: the late 70s was the first when I won the Open Amateur in ‘77 and ‘78, and the Silver Medal in 78 and 79. I was playing a lot around that time and while I never stopped playing international golf I didn’t commit to it so much in the early 80s, when I was setting up my company. But once it was firmly established I committed to playing again, mainly because I felt that if I didn’t do it then I never would. It was then that I won the individual (and team) in the Eisenhower Trophy, in 1988, and we won the Walker Cup away from home for the first time the following year.
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| Opening Day at Druids Glen |
Q. How much golf do you still play? And where?
PM: I try to play every other day or at least some part of the game just to keep my eye in. I play at Royal Troon. We moved to Ayrshire about five years ago and my family came from this part of the world originally. Even if it’s only hitting a few chips it is good to have a club in my hand. Handicap is +2.
Q. Your proudest achievement in playing the game or managing a team?
PM: I think winning the individual in the world championships – Eisenhower Trophy – in 1988 because it involved both individual and team elements. I went out last and it was very clear, even before I teed off that it was going to be on me to win the team event as well as the individual. That was a weight on my shoulders especially as it was strokeplay. I felt under tremendous amounts of pressure but I came through. I know it’s politically correct to say it is all about the team but you never lose the fact that you are trying to do things for yourself. That’s how it starts in golf and that never leaves you. And when I was captain of teams I always liked people who played for themselves because they are the real winners.
Q. Which part of the game did you find easiest?
PM: Driving. I’ve always been a pretty good driver of the ball, certainly relative to other things. As I have got older and worse, so equipment has got better and made things easier so I have kept it going.
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| The 'new' 13th, with the giant lime trees to the left of the green all removed. |
Q. And which was your greatest torment?
PM: Putting … as it is for most people. I have had bad times with putting and if I look back at things with regret it is nearly always a missed putt. You just have to get through it and come out the other end.
Q. In a parallel universe, I’m about to design my first ever golf course… what’s the most important piece of advice you would give me?
PM: Don’t try to do 18 feature holes. I’m sure you would be susceptible to doing exactly that because you’ve got your chance. But you have to learn that there is a flow to 18 holes and you need to give a little bit back… so that after two tough holes you give golfers a big nice wide fairway and things like that. And it just allows for the flow and balance of the course. So fight your instinct to design 18 feature holes.
Q. In that same universe you’re allowed to work your design magic on any golf course in the world… which course is it… and what would you like to change?
PM: I gave this a bit of thought and I would go for Girvan Golf Club, which is down the road from Turnberry. It was designed by James Braid. It’s a public course but it is fabulous and the potential is huge. The first eight holes are links holes and I have never played a course that is so close to the sea. And then you cross over and play 10 holes around a river. It’s in nice condition but you could make it fantastic. Give it a little more length, but not change too much. I go there quite a bit and while it is completely different to Druids Glen it also uses what nature provides. That’s where I’d like to be given free rein.
