Kingsley Club
Kingsley Club offers intricate greens by Mike DeVries and a wonderfully laid-back atmosphere in a majestic Northern Michigan landscape
No bunkers needed: the 12th at Kingsley Club
Minutes south of Traverse City, Michigan, sits one of the country’s finest modern golf courses. Kingsley Club was architect Mike DeVries’s second solo project and served as a springboard for his future work in his home state of Michigan and across the world. At Kingsley, you will find a majestic Northern Michigan landscape, intricate greens, and a wonderfully laid-back atmosphere.
Take Note…
Secret sauce. If you look in the rock wall alongside the 18th tee, you will find a whiskey surprise. Take a shot before you play the exhilarating finisher.
All about golf. This club doesn’t suffer from an identity crisis. It’s a place to play golf. The clubhouse is a double-wide trailer, the range is bare-bones, and the pro shop is small. It’s all about the golf course and the enjoyment of the game here.
Need for speed. Kingsley is one of the few courses in the United States that maintains an all-fescue playing surface. This means lots of bouncing and rolling, so be ready for your ball not to stop where it lands.
Favorite Hole
No. 3, par 4, 287-426 yards
A tone-setting hole with several options off the tee. You are welcome either to go for broke with driver or to lay back with an iron. The fairway is wide, but the right half cascades down, leaving players on that side with an obscured shot from an uneven lie into a green that angles from left to right. The left portion of the fairway is ideal because the lie is level and the angle into the green is ideal. Hitting your tee shot there is dangerous, though, because of the course’s boundary. The front portion of the green sits up before tumbling down with the natural topography in the back.
Favorite Hole
No. 3, par 4, 287-426 yards
A tone-setting hole with several options off the tee. You are welcome either to go for broke with driver or to lay back with an iron. The fairway is wide, but the right half cascades down, leaving players on that side with an obscured shot from an uneven lie into a green that angles from left to right. The left portion of the fairway is ideal because the lie is level and the angle into the green is ideal. Hitting your tee shot there is dangerous, though, because of the course’s boundary. The front portion of the green sits up before tumbling down with the natural topography in the back.
Overall Thoughts
Many developers and architects like to use the term “minimalist” for their golf courses. At Kingsley, it’s actually an apt description. On a sandy, rollicking property, architect Mike DeVries moved a mere 30,000 cubic yards of earth to create one of the most fun golf courses in America. That fun factor comes from a combination of stunning topography, clever design, and firm fescue turf.
One of the benefits of moving very little earth on a unique property is that you will have a one-of-a-kind golf course. The course traverses two distinct types of Northern Michigan land: open, rolling meadow and dense woods. Along the way, you play over and around incredible landforms. No two hole feels similar because of the abruptness and variety of terrain that Mike DeVries was given.
The start of the round sets the stage for what’s to come. The first six holes traverse some wild land and represent one of Kingsley’s most significnt strengths: how DeVries draped fairways over bold features massive land forms, creating a wide range of outcomes for shots.
The fourth hole, for example, is a par 4 playing over a big hog’s back. A perfect tee shot directly down the middle will yield a look at the half-punchbowl green. The farther you lay back, the wider this center-fairway feature is. The farther you push up, the more it narrows. Missing the hog’s back either right or left will send your ball tumbling down the side of the fairway, likely resulting in an uneven lie and a partially or fully blind view of the green. So if you want to get aggressive off the tee, you have to walk the plank. Many other architects would have moved earth to make this landform more forgiving, or bypassed it under the assumption that it was too severe for a fairway. The boldness of DeVries’s vision and his respect for the natural qualities of the site instead produced a thrilling tee shot that has you questioning your strategy.
Compared to many modern designs, Kingsley is unusually ferocious. It tosses ill-advised or ill-executed shots to yonder with an unabashed attitude. A few greens—especially Nos. 2, 8, 9, and 15—are punishing and extraordinarily difficult to hit. Some golfers may find these too extreme or unfair. But aside from the 15th, all of these greens are on holes that allow for short approaches. Kingsley is not randomly cruel. It just doesn’t hand you a low score unless you play with precision and intelligence.
I like when a course reveals more of itself with every play. The first time I played Kingsley, I became frustrated on the front nine. Shots I hit straight at flags often ended up in undesirable locations. The speed of the turf, green contours, and wild terrain punched me in the face. My initial reaction was annoyance, which I think is common for first-timers at Kingsley. For nine holes, I fell victim to the disease of believing that the correct shot is always the one directly at the obvious target. But at the turn, I regrouped and started looking more closely at the course and approaching it more creatively. I began to have fun. The next time I visited, I enjoyed myself even more.
Aiming at your ultimate target isn’t always the correct strategy at Kingsley. It’s paramount to understand what the contours will do to your ball after it lands. The only way to discover these intricacies and different routes of attack and recovery is to play the course more than once. To me, that’s one of the best qualities that any golf course, whether private or municipal, can have. An opportunity for discovery that keeps you coming back to learn and master more.
2 Eggs
I hemmed and hawed over this rating for a while, debating between two and three Eggs. Ultimately, I do have a couple of design-related nitpicks; I don’t love the seventh and 17th tee shots, for instance. However, one of the best compliments you can give a golf course is that it knows what it is, and Kingsley knows exactly what it is. For a true golf nut, there aren’t many better places to spend a day.
Additional Content
No Bunkers Needed: The 12th at Kingsley Club (article)
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No bunkers needed: the 12th at Kingsley Club
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Dan Lucas is nationally respected, so he was a big get for the reborn High Ponte GC.
Member here for over ten years now and I learn something new every time I play it.
I played a college golf tournament here about 10+ years ago and ever since I have been wanting to get back, but have not been fortunate enough to go back. I think this course was my real introduction to fun, architecturally interesting golf on great land. As a college golfer, I knew nothing about golf architecture or anything about golf courses. I just hit it at my target and expected to make a birdie, as Andy referenced.
My biggest takeaway about those 54 holes I played there a million years ago was how the scale of the land can make for some really interesting golf holes and if you hit the correct side of the fairway, the ball just never stops. The 1st, 14th, and 17th tee shots, to my recollection, really stand out to me. All of these are fairly long par 5 but hitting a great tee shot doesn't guarantee a 4.
For the first hole, for instance, I recall hitting it up the right side of the fairway to find my ball about 200 yards away from the green and still coming up short (the hole is like 600 yards). You all have to remember I was playing college golf before slope was a thing on a rangefinder. I wanna say I walked off with a 5 or something, but still today I think about that hole and how awesome it was. Anyways I'm done rambling about the past, loved the post great work TFE team.
The front 9 routing is one of my favorites I've seen. It's a whirlwind that twists you around the big open and hilly field in a disorenting but incredibly comfortable way. The land and it's use reminds me of Boston Golf Club's property a lot.
There are many terrific holes there, and I'm a big fan of 12, 13, and 16. The spartan facilities are a refreshing counterpoint at a time when most modern clubs have too many luxury amenities.
With no disrespect to Bill and other members, I have a contrarian view towards the design that even Andy refers above as being "unusually ferocious." The rev of gas powered carts to traverse the land, and the frequency of their use, reinforces how difficult of a walk I personally found the routing to be. It's the first course of notable architectural merit where I found myself wanting the architect to have subtracted more from the natural terrain. Climbing down and up 7-9 may be the most conspicuous. And no, this isn't just because I've played ping pong on 2 green or putted off 9! My view is on a more macro scale of walkability and playability, but it also certainly is indicative of my own tastes.
A wonderful course. And, at least for me, a bit too extreme of one.
Wow, that looks stunning. There are a few fairways where I'm wondering how the heck you keep your ball in the short grass!
The wide variety of tee boxes on the par 3 ninth caught my eye. Looks like you'd get some cool looks at that hole every day.
Looks like you would be in for a long day if you don't have precise control of your golf ball. But I can imagine the joy of finding some of those hidden contours to help funnel your shots to the right places. Thanks for the review!
Also, was it groundskeeper revenge day when you flew the drone? That pin position on 13 green just looks plain evil.
Like Andy, I had mixed feelings the first time I played it. To be honest, the course put me in a daze- navigating the 2nd and the 9th greens highlighted just how exacting some of the short game demands can be. Over time I have really grown to love the course, it is easily within my top 3 in MI and, if you catch me on the right day (after a few whiskey's), I may put it at the very top. The consistency of the course is what sets it apart. I don't think there is an 18 hole course that has a higher floor on a hole-by-hole basis in the state and the playing surface is second to none.
Couldn't wait to read the review on Kingsley. I am particularly intrigued by wide fairways that present a significant advantage to executing a riskier shot and Kingsley seems to have this in bunches. I can't wait to get there for TFE event!
Kingsley is a special place. Any insight if new ownership will bring back the left side of the fairway on 17?
I believe I recall seeing an original plan having the trees down on the left side of 7 removed. This would entice people to take driver off the tee and maybe go for the green in 2 (proceed with caution!). Curious why DeVries didn't remove them during construction?
Despite playing in an absolute downpour this past summer, my first loop around made the routing an instant favorite. Surprised you all picked #3 - definitely overlooked on the front and has a great approach when the pin flirts with the death bunker. Our host commented on the "half-par" match play design concept, and you can especially notice that on the back nine on holes 13-17. I'm convinced 15 may be one of the hardest Par 4s in the world.
Any thoughts as to why the legacy publications consistently place Kingsley outside of America's top 100? I know the club's bare-boned philosophy does not appeal to the Fazio sycophants, yet surely the routing, fun shot making, and stellar conditioning would easily put it in the conversation. Thanks for this post!
Cannot wait to get signed up next week.
A wonderful read. I've never been, but clearly a place worthy of distinction. A couple things that stand out to me:
Laid-back atmosphere - Golf needs more of this. This is supposed to be a game, and for too long has the American version been stifled by a morose over-seriousness. 12 + 13 - I love back-to-back half par holes. I also like the psychological effect of having the hard hole precede the "easy" one. The green and pin position on 13 looks particular scintillating, especially when paired with the uphill tee shot.
As I read, I couldn't help but be reminded of Yale Golf Course, which got me even more excited for the upcoming restoration. There are surely notable differences between the two, but I wonder if the conditioning, character, and aesthetic will end up being similar.
Really nicely done. Love what at least looks like the serenity of the 12th approach and green site leading into the come-and-get-it...if-you-dare 13th and that green complex...
Been fortunate to have made 4 trips to Kingsley, love the place, everything about it. Looking forward to getting back this summer. If anything is deserving of 3 eggs it certainly is Kingsley.
Great review. Kingsley has been on my shortlist of courses I want travel to play and this review just raised it to another level. Perhaps it's hard to tell by the photos but is there a way to hit your tee shot for 3 to the fairway on 4 and play it from there? I'm assuming it would be a blind shot but I can't really tell from the photos. I know from playing Prairie Dunes the photos do not do the scale justice. I love the undulation in the fairways.Looking forward to TFE event there later this year!
I absolutely loved Kingsley. But what do people think of the idea that #15 would make more sense as a reachable par 5 where you were trying to run up a long iron or fairway wood onto the elevated green?
I also kind of wished #17 were a par 4 like #17 at Royal Dornoch where the ski slope fairway doglegs hard and you had the choice of playing an approach from either the top or bottom of the hill. That would also allow #18 to be played as a par 5.