Developers eye former golf courses for homes

Surplus of greens amid shortage of housing

BY RACHEL WATSON

GRAND RAPIDS — Developers across West Michigan are seizing a prime opportunity to turn the region’s abundance of golf courses into badly needed housing.

Long considered a golf mecca, Michigan is third in the nation behind California and Florida for the number of golf courses, with 738 public courses as of the end of 2022, according to the National Golf Foundation. According to Pure Michigan, the state’s travel bureau, about 115 of those golf courses are on the west side of the state.

But due to a decline in interest

Conversation

MORE ON GRAND RAPIDS

West Michigan looks to lure tech workers in bid to build a hub.

Starts on Page 8 in the sport, driven by generational shifts in leisure pursuits, the number of Michigan golf courses has fallen signi cantly since the state hit a peak of nearly 1,000 courses in 2000.

Golf’s regression may represent an opportunity for developers, as Kent County in particular looks to close a housing gap of nearly 35,000 units by 2027.

See GOLF on Page 17

CRAIN’S LIST General Motors tops list of largest employers in Michigan. Page 13