The Loop at Forest Dunes

A little-known fact about the Old Course at St. Andrews is that it was originally played in both a clockwise and counter-clockwise fashion, making the course reversible. Because of the large double greens, the course had the flexibility to be played in both directions up until 1870, when the counter-clockwise loop became the preferred routing. The Old Course was recognized as the first and only reversible golf course until recently. 

Tom Doak, a student of golf history, was fascinated with this concept – which had been outlined in Tom Simpson’s Book, “The Architectural Side of Golf” – of two courses in one and had always wanted to build one of his own. To pull it off, he needed a perfect site and a client willing to let him implement this unique and dynamic design concept. If the land exhibits too much elevation change, it typically means one direction of a reversible hole will simply be too extreme to play. In comes Forest Dunes Golf Resort in Northern Michigan, which had sandy soil, subtle, undulating land, and the appetite for an additional golf course to accompany Tom Wieskopf’s Forest Dunes course. The additional parcel of land at the resort was interesting enough for golf but not too severe for Doak’s reversible concept, which immediately piqued his interest. He was off to the races to design a fully reversible course with 18 greens but 36 separate holes to play, meaning that No. 2 today is No. 16 tomorrow as the direction you play the course flips between even and odd days of the week.

The Loop at Forest Dunes is certainly a unique design in modern times. On top of the genius created by Tom Doak and his Renaissance Golf Design crew is the incredibly firm and fast fescue turf. The best way to describe the playing surfaces would be concrete-like. All of the greens sit amongst expansive areas of short grass, allowing for countless options, club selections, and routes to get onto the green. The exceptional turf conditions promote this. The design is subtle yet very complex. The Loop doesn’t wow you on the surface but reveals itself more and more after each subsequent play. Playing the Loop is a truly fascinating experience and one that you’ll never forget. 

Take Note...

Surprise, Surprise. The owner of Forest Dunes Golf Resort, Lew Thompson, tasked Tom Doak with creating a new course that would “wow” guests and persuade them into staying on property for more than one night. When the time came for Tom to present his master plan of the golf course, he laid the drawing on the table and explained the golf course to Lew. Lew said something to the effect that “it looks like a nice course but I’m not wowed.” Tom then revealed an additional drawing of what appeared to be the exact same golf course. After a brief moment of silence, Lew realized Tom had designed two courses in one and was fascinated with the concept. It’s safe to say the brilliant design of the Loop has the “wow” factor. 

The Dual. If the Red course is played on even days and the Black course is played on odd days, what happens when you go from the 31st of the month to the 1st? Double up on one routing? Nope, you host a tournament playing both loops on the same day. On the 31st of May, July, and August, Forest Dunes hosts a two-person best-ball tournament in which both the Red course and Black course are played on the same day. 

{{content-block-course-profile-the-loop-at-forest-dunes-001}}