Roscommon, MI – Forest Dunes, an award-winning national golf destination in Northern Michigan, has been named the 2015 Golf Course of the Year by the Michigan Golf Course Owners Association (MGCOA).
The MGCOA Course of the Year Award honors a member meeting four criteria: exceptional quality of the course; exceptional quality of ownership and management; outstanding contribution to its community; and significant contribution to the game.
Forest Dunes meets that criteria, especially with the recent growth and vision for the future established by owner Lew Thompson from Huntsville, AR and Sam Mathias of Fayetteville, AR, who acquired the 1,300-acre facility in 2012.
“In a state that is full of great golf facilities, to be recognized by our golf course owners association, is very humbling and an honor,” Thompson said. “This recognition is a tribute to our wonderful staff which has taken great pride in the vision we have to make Forest Dunes a top golf experience and leading national golf destination attracting golfers from all over the country.”
Thompson’s first move in delivering on his vision of a national quality golf destination was the addition of high-end lodging with the Lake AuSable Lodge, a 14-room and suites facility that compliments the beautiful Adirondack style clubhouse facility. This summer he also broke ground on new golf villas that will comfortably house groups of as many as eight people with four and two-bedroom options.
The latest and most anticipated move by Thompson is the addition of a unique new golf course. In an effort to compete with national golf destinations he brought in the most sought after course designer in the world, Tom Doak, who used all of his knowledge and experience on a new design concept that will challenge the conventional thinking of golf course architects for generations to come.
Doak and his Renaissance Golf Design team have created the first ever reversible golf course – two distinct layouts using the same greens but playing clockwise one way and counter clockwise the other way.
“This is a concept I have thought about for 30 years,” Doak said. “You needed the right site and the right client to understand the appeal of it. At Forest Dunes we finally have both.”
Doak said the idea of reversible course is not as revolutionary as it sounds. Many Scottish links, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, were played in reverse in the winter to spread out the wear and tear of divots. Architects including Tom Simpson and Alister MacKenzie designed private estate courses with a handful of reversible holes. The new Doak design will be the first 18-hole course in the world played in reverse on a regular basis.
Thompson’s vision extends beyond the new course. Long-term plans include additional lodging, new restaurants and more golf.
“We are creating a world-class golf destination that is attracting the discerning golf aficionado who believes location is not as important as the quality of the experience,” he said.
About Forest Dunes
Nestled on 1,300 acres of heavily wooded land within the Huron National Forest, Forest Dunes has become one of the country’s premier golf experiences. In this pristine setting, 1973 Open Champion Tom Weiskopf designed one of his top layouts featuring rugged native dunes, scruffy sand areas and water features. The course has been consistently ranked among the best courses by the leading golf publications. Golf Digest, which ranked it the Best New Course in the Country when it opened in 2002, currently ranks it No. 23 among its top public courses, and GOLF Magazine and Golfweek have also ranked it among their Top 100 courses.
In addition to the award winning Forest Dunes course and the new Doak course, the property features the beautiful Adirondack style Clubhouse with Sangomore’s restaurant, Lake AuSable Lodge with 14-rooms, golf villas, and six lakeside cottages.
For more visit www.forestdunesgolf.com or follow them on Twitter @forestdunesgolf.
Contact:
Michigan Golf Course Owners Association
Kate M. Moore, Executive Director
(800) 860-8575
KMoore@mgcoa.org
Forest Dunes Golf Club
Chad Maveus – Director of Golf
(989) 275-0700
cmaveus@forestdunesgolf.com
Fusion Media Strategies
Kevin Frisch – Public Relations
(989) 614-0241
kevin@fusionmediastrategies.com
