Some Michigan Architecture Course History

[dennyjones]

From Michigan Golfer News:

The Bear, probably more than any course in Michigan, is responsible for the growth of golf in this state. The course was ultimately the vision of Grand Traverse Resort’s GM and owner at the time, Paul Nine. Nine had worked with Bill Newcomb in bringing the Resort Course, now Spruce Run  (https://youtube.com/watch?v=NIzuZNNuiuY&t=32s) to GTR and wanted something different for his second course.

He contracted with Jack Nicklaus, but was not satisfied with the original “resort course” design. “Jack was here quite a bit during construction. He was just getting into the business and he was more hands on then,“ said Nine. “I challenged him to do something better.

I remember that we were doing a walk through of the back nine one day and Jack and I began to have quite an argument at the 15th tee. I thought it should be longer and therefore more challenging. There was Jack with his entourage and me with mine and all being dumbfounded as Jack and I carried on with this shouting match. We were really at loggerheads. Finally, Jack summoned his construction chief, John Cotter and said, ‘John take this *&#@& dirt and move it back there.’ The changes cost us a lot of money, but the ink we got on the course was worth it,” said Nine. The Bear brought “up north” visibility to golf in the 80’s, as did the Heather course at Boyne in the 70’s.

The other great player and designer of the day, Arnold Palmer, left his mark on Michigan with The Legend. I can still recall that morning, Ed Seay at his side, when Arnold described what has become one of the top golf courses in the Midwest. It was a special day as hundreds of golf course fans trudged around the rolling terrain of Shanty Creek, watching this great course unfold and watching Arnold play the course. He continued to add to his own legend in the 90’s with his other Michigan courses— Kings’ Challenge, The Preserve, Northville Hills and The Ravines.

It had already been a long day in Gaylord, but Robert Trent Jones obliged a number of the media who had gathered at Sylvan Resort to celebrate his newest creation, Treetops. We had gathered to record his thoughts on a video we were preparing for the resort. Tom Durant, soon to be executive producer of Golfing Michigan and later Golfing the Great Lakes set up the camera, arranged microphones and lighting, and began to record the image and the words of the one of the greatest golf architects ever.

On hand for the taping and question and answer session were owner Harry Melling, with the ever-present cigar and beer just off camera; the new head pro, Rick Smith; Michigan’s premier golf writer, Jack Berry; and Michigan Golfer editor, Terry Moore. Also in the room was Michigan Golfer writer Sharon Collins and her father, Dr. Ron Collins, at the time the Provost of Eastern Michigan University. An hour later the taping ended, but for those in the room, it was an hour that would last a lifetime. As Jones described his work, you could feel he had a real love for the course, had a genuine friendship for Harry Melling and had acquired a deep admiration for Michigan’s newest head professional, Rick Smith. Jones left us with a history of fine work at Point O’Woods, Oakland Hills, Heather at Boyne Highlands and, finally, Treetops.

While The Bear, The Legend and Treetops captured much of the ink for Michigan’s emerging role as a golf destination, other courses such as Ron Otto’s Swampfire and Monarch, Tom Doak’s Highpoint and Black Forest, Harry Bowers’ The Rock, Jerry Matthews’ The Lake and Bill Newcomb’s, Monument and Donald Ross Memorial, contributed heavily to our state’s new stature as a golf power.