By Kate Moore
Stoatin Brae has quickly become the shinning jewel of the Gull Lake View Golf and Resort collection in Augusta – nestled between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo – just a few short years after opening in 2016.
Accolades have been many in the national press and course rating bodies for the young golf course, and the latest is its selection as the 2020 Michigan Golf Course of the Year by the Michigan Golf Course Association (MGCA).
“We are both proud and humbled to have been selected Golf Course of the Year,” said Charlie Scott, CEO of the family-owned Gull Lake View properties.
The MGCA Course of the Year Award honors a member course that meets four criteria: unique characteristics of the course; exceptional quality of ownership and management; outstanding contribution to its community; and significant contribution to the game.
Jada Paisley, executive director of the MGCA, intimated that Stoatin Brae represents the golf course industry in perfect fashion.
“All nominees submitted were outstanding,” she said. “MGCA would like to congratulate Stoatin Brae for being named the 2020 Michigan Golf Course of the Year.”
Unique among championship golf courses in Michigan, Stoatin Brae is located at one of the highest points in Kalamazoo County and presents golfers with sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. It was designed by Eric Iverson, Don Placek, Brian Schneider and Brian Slawnik, senior associates for Renaissance Design of Traverse City in collaboration with the Scott family.
“The geographic area does have a northern Michigan feel, but the goal with Stoatin Brae is the opposite,” Scott said. “Think Scotland, but surrounded by forest-covered hills.”
Stoatin Brae — translated from Gaelic meaning Grand Hill — has the elements to become a destination course; part of the plan for the Scott family, whose resort includes five other golf courses. They continue to attract golfers from across the upper Midwest and beyond to the scenic, rolling countryside.
“Stoatin Brae offers a unique golfing experience,” said MGCA Board President Gilda Johnson of Lake Forest Golf Course in Ann Arbor. “We know golfing customers are wowed when they take to the tee.”
