Multi-Phase Project Includes New Coore & Crenshaw-Designed Golf Course and New Clubhouse
(FORT WORTH, Texas) – Escalante Golf – a boutique owner and operator of luxury golf properties across 17 states – has started a multi-phase expansion at Kingsley Club, highlighted by a new golf course designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and new clubhouse.
The expansion represents an investment of approximately $40 million and reinforces Escalante Golf’s commitment to preserving the club’s minimalist spirit while enhancing the overall member experience. Kingsley Club is located in the town of Kingsley, about 15 minutes south of Traverse City, Michigan.
At the center of the project is construction of the club’s second 18-hole golf course. It will be located on a newly acquired 520-acre parcel southeast of the existing property and feature fescue playing surfaces, native grasses and minimal land disturbance in keeping with the philosophy that defines the current Kingsley Club brand and Coore & Crenshaw’s design portfolio. The walkable course routing will also include a 19th “bye hole” that returns to the clubhouse after the first six holes.
Construction is underway – tree clearing began in early 2026, with limited preview play anticipated in late 2028 and a full opening planned for the 2029 season.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a very special course in a region renowned for superb golf,” said David McDonald, President of Escalante Golf. “With this land and Bill and Ben’s expertise, we believe Kingsley Club will soon offer one of the game’s most fun and architecturally compelling 36-hole golf experiences.”
Kingsley’s new course is expected to play as a par 72 and max out at approximately 7,200 yards. The new course will complement the club’s existing Mike DeVries-designed course, currently ranked among GOLF Magazine’s “Top 100 Courses in the U.S.,” Golf Digest’s “Best in State” and Golfweek’s “Top 200 Modern Courses.”
”The Escalante team has again given us an opportunity to work with a wonderfully intriguing, gifted site for golf, this time in the state of Michigan, home to some of America’s most acclaimed golf courses,” said Bill Coore, who worked with Escalante on the recently opened Pines Course at The International outside of Boston. “We are excited about the potential of this highly individualistic site, the Kingsley Club in general and being able to create a course in a state with such a rich golfing history.”
In parallel with the golf course work, Escalante has broken ground on a new clubhouse. It will replace the retrofitted construction trailer that welcomed Kingsley Club members and guests for more than two decades. Designed by Mark P. Finlay Architects, it occupies the same location behind nine green as the former clubhouse yet features 4,000 square feet of indoor space plus an additional 850-square-foot covered patio. The design draws inspiration from the English Cotswolds, a designated “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” in west-central England, and reflects a commitment to understated architecture that blends with the natural landscape.
The new clubhouse is expected to open in Spring 2027. Highlights include expanded indoor and outdoor dining, a full-service bar, an outdoor fire pit, enhanced pro shop and upgraded locker room facilities including private wet rooms. Plans also call for a larger practice green adjacent to the clubhouse.
Kingsley Club opened in 2001. Since acquiring it from co-founders Ed Walker and Art Preston in 2022, Escalante has focused on enhancing the property while maintaining the “Spirit of the Game” mantra that has defined it since its founding.
“This project is about evolution, not change,” said Justin Mack, General Manager of Kingsley Club. “We’re committed to honoring what has always made Kingsley unique while thoughtfully investing in its future.”
About Escalante Golf
Founded in 1991, Escalante Golf is a boutique owner and operator of 26 luxury golf properties across 17 states. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company has quietly assembled an impressive collection of exclusive clubs in key markets that have hosted prestigious amateur and professional golf tournaments including the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships, the Charles Schwab Cup, the WGC Match Play Championship, the WinCo Foods Portland Open, the Shell Houston Open and five LIV Golf events in Portland, Boston, Tucson, Nashville and Houston.
Operating partners David McDonald, Elcio Silva, Robert Silva and David Matheson direct the Escalante team.
For more information, visit www.escalantegolf.com or call (817) 386-9721.
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