Designed by Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, the 10-hole, 1,135-yard layout in Roscommon, Mich. was built and grassed in just 81 days. The routing incorporates Forest Dunes’ bustling social scene, with the entire first and 10th holes viewable from the pavilion. “Music, bare feet and eightsomes” will also be part of the course’s emphasis on being playful and providing “an unintimidating sense of fun.”
Forest Dunes in Roscommon, Mich. will open its new 10-hole, 1,135-yard Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns-designed Short Course on August 1.
The Northern Michigan property is already home to the Tom Weiskopf-designed Forest Dunes course, the innovative, reversible Tom Doak layout, The Loop, and the 18-hole, two-acre Hilltop Putting Course.
Situated on a rolling bulge of land positioned between The Loop and Forest Dunes courses and near the clubhouse, pavilion, practice area and massive Hilltop Putting Course, the short course, with holes measuring between 65 and 150 yards, is a new focal point and an energetic hot spot for golfers of all ages and skill levels.
CRB reported on the plans in June 2019.
Forest Dunes owner Lew Thompson wanted a fun and playable course for his grandkids and beginning golfers, so he entrusted Johns and Rhebb, who helmed the renovation at Orlando’s Winter Park 9 course, to build a course with entertaining shot values and an unintimidating sense of fun. He also wanted it ready for this summer. Johns and Rhebb responded with a course that has excellent shot values while maintaining a playfulness is throughout the design. And they got it built and grassed in just 81 days.
“We essentially had carte blanche from Lew, which was awesome, and really the only way we could get the project completed in time,” said Rhebb. One of the few requests Thompson had was to make the course playful—a theme that permeated throughout the design process.
“You don’t often get the chance to get super creative when designing courses, but with the short course we really had the opportunity to have some fun with it. Lew wanted it to be fun and always engaging, and we were able to express that in the design,” Rhebb added.
The short course’s creatively designed greens are constructed to funnel balls toward pin locations, improving the likelihood of ever-elusive holes-in-one, while a few tee shots tempt you to make use of strategic slopes and banks instead of flying it in the air. The greens showcase a variety of subtle shapes, many being bowl-shaped and some resembling catcher’s mitts or table tops.
A unique feature on the course will be that holes 1 and 10 are crossover holes with a tree protecting from direct ball-flight issues. “The land gave us such a great canvas to create something fun that offers a ‘welcoming handshake’ to entry-level players and says, ‘this is what golf can be.’ Here you can go out in your flip flops and hit flop shots with a few buddies, try to make an ace on every hole, or use a putter off the tee to try and run one on the green,” said Johns.
Not only does the design lend itself to great on-course fun, its routing also incorporates Forest Dunes’ bustling social scene, with the entire first hole and 10th viewable from the pavilion.
“The pavilion is the social hub, it’s where music is playing and people are having drinks, so we wanted to take some of that liveliness and put it into play somehow,” Johns added.
Thompson thinks the prime location of the short course will easily entice guests to play it before or after a round on The Loop or Forest Dunes or any time they’re recreating on the resort grounds.
“When you come to Forest Dunes, we want you to have a good time,” said Thompson, who says music, bare feet and eightsomes are all fair game on the new par-three course if that’s what it takes to make the game more accessible and fun. “What Keith and Riley have built is bringing a new life and energy to the property. It’s going to bring people together and make their time here more enjoyable.”
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