Going back to the Renaissance having played there in the Renaissance Cup in 2014 - it seems that a lot of trees have been removed since then to open it up - having seen the flythroughs it looks a bit bare
They have cleared out more trees to make it look more links-y for TV. The client wanted to do that from the beginning and the planning authorities wouldn’t let him; the politics of that have changed with bringing the tournament to East Lothian.
I have to say, the tournament is a much bigger deal now that it’s a full on PGA Tour event. I’ve done 4-5 interviews about it this week, which is more than the first three years combined. They have a strong field coming for it, too.