Denison University in Ohio, United States, announced on 4 November 2026 that architect Gil Hanse will lead the restoration of Denison Golf Club. The project aims to revive the strategic character of Donald Ross's original public course. It is a plan for future works, not a completed renovation or a new course opening.
A public course since 1925
The Granville course opened in 1925, in connection with the development of the nearby Granville Inn. Denison has owned the property since 2014. It is home to university golf teams and remains accessible to the public. The university says the restoration will be donor-funded and the renovated course will continue to welcome public golfers.
What Hanse intends to recover
According to the university, much of Ross's original routing remains on holes 1–13. Over a century, expanding trees narrowed fairways and historic playing corridors, bunkers were lost, and greens shrank. Residential development affected the original design of the closing five holes. Hanse's master plan proposes wider fairways, reopened corridors, restored and reconfigured bunkers, expanded and reshaped greens, better sightlines, and improvements to drainage and irrigation.
The aim is to recover Ross's strategic use of rolling terrain while meeting modern playing and maintenance requirements. If the entire master plan is carried out, the course could eventually extend beyond 7,000 yards and support higher-level competitions. That is a potential future length, not a claim about the course today.
A provisional timetable
Early tree management is anticipated in late autumn 2026. Major renovation closure is scheduled for June 2027. After restoration and regrassing, Denison expects to reopen the course in spring 2028, weather permitting. No unconditional reopening date has been announced.
The university already has the Waddell Golf Facility indoor training centre and a golf programme led by full-time coach Lauren Grogan. These existing investments are distinct from the planned course restoration.
Primary source: Denison University announcement, 4 November 2026.
