Muskegon Country Club’s beguiling ninth green
Recently, one of my good friends and golf buddies, now living in Baltimore, visited Grand Rapids for a week. In the past, we played most of the courses in the area. But this year, I wanted him to experience two courses he’d never played before. A low index player with a high golf IQ, Bill Monk has a deep appreciation for classic golf architecture and the joy it imparts while playing.
As such, I introduced him to Muskegon Country Club and Belvedere Golf Club, two venerable courses cut from the same cloth. They delivered a one-two punch of old-timey golf with all the amenities of excellent course conditioning.
Less than an hour away from Grand Rapids, Muskegon CC has delighted golfers for well over a century. The initial layout was done in 1908 by Chicago native Tom Bendelow. A dozen years later, Donald Ross was retained for a redesign. The Scottish master worked his magic on the walkable course, highlighted by challenging greens where being ‘below the hole’ was and is today a prerequisite. While Muskegon CC grew in stature it fell victim to a common course malady: allowing too many trees throughout the layout.
Fortunately, the club hired Brad Klein, the noted golf architectural writer and Donald Ross devotee, to assess the course in 2011. His critique led the way for the club’s long-range plan to smartly prune the course, shedding itself of overgrown trees encroaching on fairways and greens while opening up vistas throughout the property. In the process, the quality of turf improved due to increased sunlight and air movement.
Two green sites notably enhanced in the restoration process were holes nine and 18. Trees were removed from behind each green, lending a confounding “infinity” depth. When faced with an approach shot, knowing and trusting one’s yardage to the pin is paramount.
Not surprisingly, Muskegon was enchanting. “I love the look of the course and how you can see wide views across the layout,” said Bill, whose long and distinguished career was in land management consulting including several golf projects. (Growing up with him in grade school, I recall Bill designing golf holes and collecting scorecards.)
He noted Muskegon’s routing largely in a north and south direction. “Yet, you don’t sense a back-and-forth feel due to the ample space between holes and fairways. And the many elevated tees allowed you to see where you were going and plot how to play the hole.”
Thanks to Superintendent Jeff Hopkins and his staff, Muskegon was in typical tip-top shape. Strong course conditions, including the quality of the bunkers and the sand accented a great layout.
Next up was Charlevoix’s Belvedere GC, which earlier this year hosted the Michigan Amateur for a record 41st time. Designed by William Watson, whose resume included The Minikahda Club and Interlachen in Minneapolis, Harding Park, and both Olympic Club layouts in San Francisco, Belvedere embodies all the virtues of holes naturally discovered and shaped.
Watson retained five teams of horses and 150 men to build the course, routing the course across a pair of valleys dissected by Marion Center Rd. just south of Charlevoix. Much like Muskegon, Belvedere had the good fortune to rediscover some of its roots when it came upon some original drawings by Watson as well as some aerial photos of the course from the ’30s. The club retained golf architect Bruce Hepner and former and long-time course superintendent Rick Grunch to bring back some of Belvedere’s essential elements. And they did!
Bill was immediately taken by the opening hole. “A ‘wow’ moment was the walk to the first tee from the practice putting green, where the front nine unfolded from the elevated tee with the hole cascading down the steep slope,” said Bill. “It reminded me of the first tee at Portstewart in Northern Ireland.” (Bill has played in Ireland over 15 times,)
He was impressed with how the course is a testimony to an earlier time when the game was played more on the ground than from the air. He took note of the healthy dimensions of some greens and how they afforded numerous pin positions. As a result, deft lag putting on long putts is needed to avoid bogies and higher scores.
On the front side, he relished the par-four 7th hole and how a good drive, for the best angle to the green, must favor the left side of the fairway where OB lurks nearby. An expansive green accepts approach shots if struck well with the correct yardage.
On the back, we both admired the 10th and 16th holes. The par-five 10th heads due east and down toward another immense green. The cross bunkers well short and also around the green lend added visual appeal as well as obstacles for errant shots.
Belvedere’s iconic 16th
Naturally, the iconic par-four 16th charmed as well. With a narrow green ingeniously nestled into a hillside, the hole is a favorite of many, including Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Tom Watson. In the recent Amateur, this green site was a preferred member viewing spot.
“And the 18th is a strong par-4: classic and straightforward with devilish movement on the green,” said Bill,
Like Muskegon, the course conditions were exemplary due to Superintendent Jordan Caplan and his staff. The putting surfaces were smooth and true, and the fairways and bunkers were in tip-top shape. Again, being below the pin was crucial on several greens, which allowed for more confident strokes.
When comparing Muskegon and Belvedere, Bill couldn’t choose one over the other. Although Muskegon was a tad more intriguing in terms of its routing and full course vistas, Belvedere’s historic clubhouse, majestically sitting on a hill overlooking the front side, ruled the day.
Belvedere’s men’s locker room
“The men’s locker room truly was a walk into the past. Unpretentious, small, with half lockers: simply a place to change your shoes and with unique memorabilia on the walls. And the wooden enclosures for the toilets with the single wash basin sitting sentry in the room brought a smile to my face.”
As we drove back to Grand Rapids, time sped by as we recalled our favorite holes from the past two days.
That’s the bonus of playing Muskegon and Belvedere: the experience will linger and the memories will last.
For more information, visit www.muskegoncc.com and belvederegolfclub.com
The head PGA pro at Muskegon is Stephany Pawloski while Belvedere’s is Marty Joy who’ll compete in September in the 14th Hickory Grail tournament at Rya Golf Klubb in Helsingborg, Sweden.
The founding editor of Michigan Golfer and a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, Terry Moore may be contacted at terry50moore@gmail.com
photos courtesy of the GAM and Greg Johnson
