A view of the clubhouse from the green of the par-3 19th hole of the original Forest Dunes course at Forest Dunes Golf Club.
Erik MatuszewskiForest Dunes in Northern Michigan is the latest golf destination to get in on the short course trend, beginning construction on a new 10-hole par-3 course that’s scheduled to be ready for play in summer of 2020.
With fun and strategic holes measuring between 50 and 155 yards, the new layout is being built by Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, the creators behind the ballyhooed Winter Park 9 course in Orlando. The new course, which hasn’t yet been named, will be situated on a rolling bulge of land between the original Forest Dunes course and the property’s fun and innovative reversible course, The Loop. It will also be adjacent to the spacious clubhouse, practice area and sprawling HillTop Putting Course.
Forest Dunes follows in the footsteps of golf getaways such as Bandon Dunes (Bandon Preserve), Pinehurst (The Cradle), Big Cedar Lodge (Top of the Rock) and The Prairie Club (Horse Course) in offering a visually-stunning but fun-focused golf option. Like those destinations, Forest Dunes is located off the beaten path, tucked into 1,300 acres of heavily wooded land within the Huron National Forest, but is quickly emerging as a bucket-list option for traveling golfers.
Work is underway on a new 10-hole par-3 course at Forest Dunes that will open next summer.
Forest Dunes Golf Club“What Keith and Riley are building is going to bring a new life and energy to the property,” says Forest Dunes owner Lew Thompson. “It’s going to bring people together and make their time more enjoyable.”
The course is being built to play firm and fast, facilitating the ground game, if desired. It will have receptive bentgrass greens that allow golfers to use strategic slopes and banks to feed shots toward holes. Many of the greens will be bowl-shaped; others will have a variety of subtle shapes – such as resembling a catcher’s mitt or a table top.
Another unique feature is that the first and 10th holes cross one another, with a tree in the middle to protect players from direct ball flight issues.
A layout of the short course under construction at Forest Dunes.
Forest Dunes Golf ClubThompson says golfers can play music, go barefoot or even tee it up in large groups, like an eightsome. “The land gave us such a great canvas to create something fun that offers a ‘welcoming handshake’ to entry-level players and says ‘this is what golf can be,’” Thompson said.
Johns, who was previously at Forest Dunes while assisting Tom Doak in the initial design and construction of The Loop, said Thompson’s direction was a course that would be fun and playable for his grand kids and golfers of any skill level.
That’s why Johns and Rhebb are building holes where golfers can play a variety of shots and trajectories, and take different angles.
“We were thrilled at how quickly this project came together this year and with the huge amount of trust Lew has given us,” said Johns. As shaping of the holes is completed, irrigation work will take place in July and the grassing of the course is scheduled for August. And by next year, golfers visiting Forest Dunes will have yet another enticing option.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikmatuszewski/2019/06/30/forest-dunes-in-northern-michigan-is-latest-golf-destination-to-add-a-short-course/
2019-06-30 10:00:05Z
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