Walking-only, no housing, no pretense -- just Mike DeVries's heathland routing through sandy, rolling terrain in northern Michigan that looks transplanted from the British Isles. Wide fescue fairways and natural green complexes make Kingsley a pilgrimage site for architecture purists who believe the best courses are the ones the land was already trying to build.
History
The Kingsley Club owes its existence to a classified advertisement. In the late 1990s, Ed Walker, a Michigan businessman with decades of experience in oil and gas projects, spotted a listing in the Traverse City Record-Eagle for a 320-acre parcel of undulating terrain twelve miles south of Traverse City. Three days later, Walker and his longtime business partner Art Preston had purchased the property. What they found on that land -- dramatic ridgelines, sweeping valleys, open meadows of native grasses, and dense stands of hardwoods and pines -- convinced them that they were looking at something special. Their vision was to create a golf club rooted in the traditions and playing characteristics of the great courses of the British Isles, transplanted to the hills of northern Michigan. To design the course, Walker and Preston made a choice that was both bold and inspired. They hired Mike DeVries, a young architect for whom Kingsley would be his first solo design. DeVries had grown up in Michigan and spent years on the maintenance staff at Crystal Downs Country Club, the masterwork of Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell that sits just twenty miles to the northwest. Those thousands of hours walking, mowing, and studying Crystal Downs gave DeVries an intimate understanding of what made Golden Age architecture endure -- the way MacKenzie and Maxwell used natural landforms to create infinite variety, the importance of ground-game options, and the subtle art of green contours that reward imagination over brute force. Before striking out on his own, DeVries had also worked for both Tom Fazio and Tom Doak, absorbing different philosophies of design and construction. DeVries approached the Kingsley property with a minimalist's discipline.
He focused first on routing, spending extensive time walking the land to find a sequence of holes that would flow naturally through the terrain with minimal earth-moving. When construction was complete, only 30,000 cubic yards of dirt had been moved across the entire project, including 10,000 cubic yards for the green mix. To put that figure in perspective, many modern courses move ten times that amount. The front nine was completed in 2000, and the full eighteen holes opened for play in 2001. The routing DeVries crafted is a study in contrasts and variety. The opening nine plays across open, links-like ground with broad fairways framed by tall fescue, evoking the seaside courses of Scotland and Ireland despite being hundreds of miles from any ocean. The back nine transitions into a more secluded landscape routed through mature maples, oaks, beech trees, and white pines, creating an entirely different atmosphere without ever feeling disconnected from the front. Throughout the round, DeVries created an unusual sense of intimacy -- players can often see multiple holes simultaneously, heightening awareness of the course's rhythm and the land's natural movement. The green complexes at Kingsley represent some of the most creative and varied work in modern golf architecture. DeVries designed an extraordinary range of putting surfaces -- saddle greens, ridge-top greens, punchbowl greens, hillside-set greens, and dune-nestled greens. Each demands a different approach and a different kind of imagination.
The second hole, a 150-yard par three, features a narrow green flanked by deep bunkers and has been described by architectural observers as perhaps the finest short one-shotter built since the Second World War. The fifth hole, a 220-yard par three, uses a natural punchbowl green that appears almost too perfectly shaped to be real but is entirely a product of the existing terrain. The 13th hole, a drivable par four of just 285 to 292 yards, offers what may be the wildest green on the course -- a 58-yard-deep surface with a central bowl that creates endlessly interesting putting challenges and strategic options from the tee. The bunkering throughout the course reflects DeVries's Crystal Downs education. More than 120 bunkers dot the layout, their edges flowing and rough-hewn, appearing to have been torn from the sandy soil rather than mechanically shaped. They sit naturally in the landscape, reinforcing strategic choices without feeling punitive. DeVries's philosophy of minimizing artificial hazards is evident in his broader design approach. He has written that "the simplest form of a golf course is a sward of turf cut at one height, with a cup and flagstick," and that a rolling tract of land with finely shaved turf that allows the ball to bounce and roll expands the player's experience. At Kingsley, this philosophy manifests in firm, fast fescue fairways maintained by superintendent Dan Lucas, where the ground game is not just an option but often the preferred approach. The course plays to 6,900 yards from the tips at a par of 71, with bent grass greens providing a smooth contrast to the fescue fairways. The physical experience of playing Kingsley is demanding -- the terrain spans valleys, hills, and ridges that make for an arduous but deeply rewarding walk.
There are no golf carts. The facilities are deliberately modest: a small clubhouse with a covered terrace, a practice area, a compact pro shop, and three rustic four-bedroom cottages for members and guests. The club is accessed via a dirt road well removed from the nearest highway, and the entire atmosphere signals that golf is the singular focus. The architectural community recognized Kingsley's quality almost immediately. Golf Digest's Ron Whitten declared it "a twenty-first-century version of Crystal Downs." The course has been ranked among the five best in Michigan by Golf Digest and appeared in numerous national rankings. In the debut Golf Digest INDEX issue, the Kingsley Club was ranked 37th in a group that included Augusta National, Pine Valley, and the National Golf Links of America. Ed Walker, who found the land, organized the construction, established the membership guidelines, and served as managing member and chairman of the Kingsley Club LLC since its incorporation in 1998, built something that transcends the typical private club experience. In an era of excess, Kingsley proves that restraint, respect for the land, and deep architectural knowledge can produce a course that stands alongside the very best.