Kingsley Club

The Kingsley Club, located a few miles south of Traverse City in Michigan, is laid out on links-like sandy ground. It opened for play in 2001 and is already being lauded as a modern classic.

The course was fashioned by minimalist architect Mike DeVries, whose design philosophy “endeavours to study the designs of the great courses of the world and writings by the "old masters'" of golf course architecture in order to learn and apply those ideas which have stood the test of time”.

The topography is diverse, with an open links-like front nine and a back nine which is routed through mature hardwoods and pines. DeVries moved little earth in laying out The Kingsley Club and the result looks perfectly natural. “I say Kingsley is a 21st Century version of Crystal Downs”, said Golf Digest’s Ron Whitten, “and someday it will contend for a spot on America's 100 Greatest.”

Someday maybe for Golf Digest, but Kingsley is a natural for us now; it's been consistently ranked in our US Top 100 since 2006.

Darius Oliver, in this short extract from the book Planet Golf USA, writes about Mike De Vries: “The young designer did not disappoint, recognizing the opportunity he had been given and working tirelessly to create a course that could stand proudly among Michigan’s finest. Just as at Crystal Downs, the front nine here is dominated by sparse rolling duneland and the back nine is carved through steeper hills and mature hardwood.

By shaping his bunkers with rugged edges and locating his greens in a range of natural settings, such as in saddles and punchbowls or atop crests and into hills, the designer was able to massage the terrain into a classically styled golf course without moving much earth.

Although there are a couple of problem spots at Kingsley, the architect’s inclination to leave the ground contours alone – even the severe ones – has paid dividends, because the entire layout fits nicely into the terrain. Pleasingly, the club keeps the bumpy course firm and fast, which ensures the holes remains both challenging and fun to play.”