Michigan Golf Journal September 2019

practice at the time. Both Rooney and Nicklaus wanted to make a dramatic shift in design style and playability by returning the land to its natural state. For that to happen, all the topsoil has been scraped off the surface and pure shoreline sand (not a single rock has been found) was mined from underneath and brought to the surface to be seeded for grass tees, fairways and greens while leaving all the areas in between as sand dunes. Most of the trees between holes have been removed to open Lake Michigan breezes and golfer sightlines across the entire property. The new design contrast between bright green grasses and white sand dunes should provide a gorgeous layout to look at, and challenging golf course to navigate. The tree-lined fairways had simply gotten out of control, literally making the course claustrophobic. There will be no visual comparison to the end result Nicklaus is going after. “It turned out to be a beautiful piece of property,” Nicklaus said in reference to what he saw once the trees were removed and the rolling terrain was more exposed. “And I think a lot of people are going to really, really enjoy coming here and seeing the golf course and see what Dan has done to honor our fallen soldiers and their families.” American Dunes is led by Rooney, who developed and launched the charity at Grand Haven to provide education scholarships for the children and spouses of military personnel killed New retention pond in front of clubhouse Hole 12 before tree removal; all holes looked this way Jack Nicklaus and crew look over plans with Dan Rooney 3 September 2019 www.michigangolfjournal.com Continues on next page >>