Mountain View, California, United States and Glasgow, Scotland: A new Scottish-American alliance has joined the global golf design industry.
Named for the ancient super-continent that included all of Earth’s landmass and a reflection of the principals’ philosophy ‘One world – better together’, Pangaea Golf Architecture is a strategic partnership between Jeffrey Danner and Stuart Rennie.
The two met while studying on the European Institute of Golf Course Architects’ (EIGCA’s) diploma course in 2007, and have been close friends ever since.
Danner said: “When I first met Stuart, his talent was obvious, and I could sense his ambition. We bonded over our shared aspirations. Even back then, we joked about taking over the golf world together, and now is the time for us to take a leadership role in our quickly evolving industry.”
Rennie added: “We have spent the years since our first meeting making our own ways in the golf design industry, but for both of us, we have always been interested in pooling our abilities to create great golf courses, and I think we have both reached the stage in our careers where it is time for us to pursue that interest.”
Rennie grew up near Dornoch, home of legendary architect Donald Ross, and has been a member of the Royal Dornoch club since the age of 12. After the EIGCA Diploma, he worked for the firm of Thomson, Perrett and Lobb in Australia, working closely with five-times Open champion Peter Thomson, and also in London, before forming his own firm, Rennie Design, in 2011.
His highest profile project was the design of the Highland Council King’s Golf Course in Inverness, which opened in 2019. Besides completing many renovation and master-planning projects, he also served as construction project manager on The Royal & Ancient’s Golf It! development in Glasgow.
Rennie said: “Growing up and learning my golf in the Highlands, I have an obvious connection with the work of Donald Ross. For years it has been a major career goal for me to follow in his footsteps and work in North America, perhaps even working on one of his courses. Creating Pangaea Golf Architecture sets the stage to fulfil that ambition,”
Danner is one of only four golf architects to be members of both the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) and the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA).
His career has seen him working with firms such as Golfplan and Lohmann Golf Designs, and a significant spell with Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD). He founded his own firm, Danner Design, recently, but has been interested in forming a long-term partnership for some years.
Danner was in a lead designer role for numerous projects for GNGCD, including projects in Vietnam, Japan and Saudi Arabia. More recently, he oversaw the renovation of Anchorage Golf Course in preparation for the 2022 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and has been leading the transformation of Hyderabad Golf Club in India, on behalf of his previous affiliation with Richardson|Danner Golf Course Architects.
