The Golf Explorer 2024/The Custom Build

of Michigan

A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort

Four Magnificent Golf Courses.

ONE REMARKABLE SETTING.

20 PILGRIM’S RUN ROUNDS OUT 25TH ANNIVERSARY | the public golf course officially turned 25 years old in late July 2023, hitting a major milestone in the golf club’s history

22 2024 KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AT HARBOR SHORES ENDS A CHAPTER | the major championship returns to southwest Michigan for a sixth time, bringing a highly competitive field of golfers and a celebration of the regional community to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course

24 THE COTTAGES AT BUCKS RUN | Bucks Run Golf Club debuts its first two onsite cottages this season

26 THE 2023 MICHIGAN GOLF COURSE OF THE YEAR | A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort’s Sundance Course named 2023 Michigan Golf Course of the Year by Michigan Golf Course Association

28

DESTINATION ESCAPES TO THE GREAT LAKES | a list of golfing destinations across the state of Michigan

38 THE COLLEGIATE | the tournament returns this fall to the birthplace of Folds of Honor in Grand Haven, Michigan with expanded live coverage and the introduction of a women’s field

55 DAVE PELZ ON PUTTING RHYTHM AND POWER SOURCE | the internationally recognized golf instructor and bestselling author on short game fundamentals like putting rhythm and the proper source for putting

60 COASTAL FAIRWAYS | this annual fairway tour heads to the shoreline, showcasing some of the signature course designs located near Michigan coastlines

45 GROUNDS TOUR | a visual gallery of Michigan golf courses

68 DESTINATION: GRAND RAPIDS | the festivals and special events that bring people together all year long through art and celebration, food and music, and reverence and unity throughout Grand Rapids, Michigan

71 LIFE ON THE LINKS: LAKESIDE DUNES | the residential community realized at Muskegon Country Club in West Michigan, designed and built in partnership with David C. Bos Homes

74 MEET IN MT. PLEASANT | the Mid-Michigan destination and cultural arts and entertainment hub, featuring acres of parkland, preserves, golf courses, and a vibrant downtown district

78 ON THE SHELF | in conversation with David Burns, owner of Alto Bar, on the historic bar’s prolific bourbon and whiskey collection

81 EXPLORING THE CAPITAL | Lansing and its unique attractions

84 PRIVATE IN MICHIGAN | inside the private golf course destination and experience of LochenHeath Golf Club in Williamsburg, Michigan

86 THE OUTLOOK | a look at the state of the golf industry in the country and a local perspective on the upcoming 2024 golf season

91 DIRECTORY | a list of courses in Michigan

96 ARRIVALS | a map of airports in the state

Ipsum

LEGAL

Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge

ACCOUNTING

Pennell CPA

Fred Pennell, CPA, CGMA Austin Roberts, Senior Accountant

MichiganGolfExplorer.com

EDITOR

Rachel J. Weick

CREATIVE AND DESIGN

Robin Vargo

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Riley Collins

Marsha Stratton, Idea Stream

PUBLISHER

John C. Olsa

ADVERTISING SALES

John C. Olsa, johno@svkmp.com

Kim Amesbury, Advertising Sales kamesbury@comcast.net

CIRCULATION

David Fant, Market Mapping Plus

PRINTING AND MAILING

Walsworth Printing & Holland Litho

CONTRIBUTORS

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Brian Walters Photography

Nile Young, Nile Young Photography

FINANCE

Lake Michigan Credit Union

PO Box 586 Hudsonville, MI 49426 (616) 379-4001 michigangolfexplorer.com/contact-us/

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Nile Young | PHOTOGRAPHER

With a portfolio spanning more than 400 courses across the globe, Nile Young is among the foremost photographers in the industry. His library includes some of nest golf properties in the world, including: e Old Course at St Andrews, Michigan’s Arcadia Blu s, Tucker’s Point in Bermuda, Florida’s StreamSong Resort, Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits, and Mexico’s Mayacoba. Nile’s expertise extends to lifestyle, portraiture, and architectural imagery for many of the world’s top resort brands, including Wyndham, Walt Disney World Golf, Four Seasons, World Golf Village, Hilton, and Waldorf Astoria, among others. His work has been published in such notable titles as Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, and Links Magazine, as well as the Sports Illustrated and Jack Nicklaus calendars.

From the editor

In 2023, the American Golf Industry Coalition released its latest industry impact report, highlighting golf’s direct, indirect, and induced impact footprint across the nation in key sectors like tourism, real estate, charitable fundraising, retail, and facility operations. It also outlined how golf can be leveraged as a vehicle or platform for purpose-driven missions, initiatives, and organizations that foster camaraderie and community, promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and drive awareness to industry opportunities for those looking to pursue a career in the golf-related industry.

In this issue, we touch on many of the segments and related industries highlighted in the report, providing a snapshot of what the game of golf looks like in the state of Michigan. We highlight the investment into existing courses and operations as facilities look to continually improve their experience, new developments taking place on property for both the visitor and resident alike, and the vacation destinations set in a dynamic, natural landscape that o ers more than economic bene ts. We hear about the festivals and special events that bring people together all year long in Grand Rapids, Michigan; we explore the Mid-Michigan destination of Mt. Pleasant and the Capital of Lansing. We tour signature courses near the iconic shorelines of Michigan, and learn about the Folds of Honor Collegiate, returning this fall to American Dunes Golf Club with a full men’s and women’s eld.

Welcome to e Golf Explorer: Michigan’s Journal to Incredible Golf.

Rachel J. Weick

Editor | SVK Multimedia and Publishing e Golf Explorer: Michigan’s Journal to Incredible Golf

DESIGNER NOTE

CRYSTAL

BOTH 18-HOLE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSES: RATED FOUR STARS BY GOLF DIGEST.

The Mountain Ridge course is a quintessential Up North challenge. The Betsie Valley course is scenic, playable and, after a major renovation, better than ever. The Golf Learning Center earned a Golf Digest Editors’ Choice Award as one of the Best Golf Schools in the U.S. Reserve lodging, tee times and lessons at crystalmountain.com or call 877-288-9775.

Gypsum Grill and Event Center opening in the fall of 2024.

guests

Pilgrim’s Run

ROUNDS OUT 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Text: R.J. Weick

Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club, a public course facility in Pierson, Michigan, o cially turned 25 years old on July 24, 2023, hitting a major milestone in the golf club’s history and in the longevity of its 18-hole course.

Designed by Mike DeVries of DeVries Designs Inc. in collaboration with a group of six designers—each of whom were designated three holes to shape and form—and Kris Shumaker, former superintendent, Pilgrim’s Run is a blend of six distinctive philosophies amid undulating greens and contoured bunkering. Built over 400

acres of West Michigan landscape, the course features bentgrass fairways and unique green complexes, and white pines and black oaks across 7,093 yards, with six di erent yardages available to allow players to choose their level of challenge on the par-73 course.

Pilgrim’s Run, which debuted its front nine in 1997, o cially unveiled its back nine on July 24, 1998 and since then, the course has been recognized as an a ordable, friendly golf course with top course conditions over the years by organizations like Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, Golf Advisor, and Golfweek.

Michael Rey, PGA, Director of Golf at Pilgrim’s Run, said it is rewarding for the facility to achieve the milestone, and is continuing to celebrate the 25th anniversary into the 2024 season.

“ e success record that we have had and just the longevity of what we have been able to accomplish as a facility—the bonds that we have made through the 25 years, it’s rewarding for us to be a part of this thing and to have the success that we have had for this long of time,” Rey said.

Since its o cial open in 1998, Pilgrim’s Run has introduced instruction and tournament events, invested in upgrading its clubhouse and improving cart paths, and ensuring its course conditions exceed golfers’ expectations—which is overseen by Kenneth Hunt, superintendent.

“We are looking at a hugely successful year,” said Rey, in reference to the 2024 season. “It is a fantastic time to be a part of the golf business and we are certainly having fun here at Pilgrim’s. We enjoy doing what we do and being able to o er what we o er to our guests.”

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City

Cog Hill Golf Club, Chicago

Centennial Golf Club,

Chateau Elan Winery and Resort, Atlanta

Cimarron Golf Resort, Palm Springs

PGA WEST, La Quinta

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, Phoenix

PGA National Resort, Palm Beach Gardens

Brocket Hall Estate, Carton House, Quinta do Lago,

Camiral Golf & Wellness, Barcelona

Green Eagle Golf Courses, Hamburg

Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort, Belfast

Al Hamra Golf Club, United Arab Emirates

Carmel London

Faro +

2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

AT HARBOR SHORES ENDS A CHAPTER

Text: R.J. Weick

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is returning to Harbor Shores Resort in Benton Harbor, Michigan for the sixth time this May 23-26, 2024. e championship brings a competitive eld of accomplished, senior golfers like defending champion Steve Stricker to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in southwest Michigan, as they compete for a total purse of $3.5 million in a 72-hole, stroke play format.

“ e players have really come to love Harbor Shores. From the facilities standpoint, it’s fantastic. ey have everything from parking, locker rooms, dining, practice facility, and rst tee all within a couple hundred yards,” said Brandon Haney, Director of Championship Operations and 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship Director at PGA of America.

“It’s a fantastic property for players, and the golf course itself is tremendous. It’s the only Jack Nicklaus Signature Course along

Lake Michigan and Harbor Shores has recently cracked the top 90 in public courses in the country, which is well-deserved. It is a fantastic golf course and one that really challenges all golfers, getting all sorts of terrains and experiences while playing,” Haney added.

e course, designed by Nicklaus Design, transformed about 550 acres of landscape into an 18-hole championship course featuring four diverse terrains with the removal of more than three million square feet of dilapidated structures and over 140,000 tons of waste material from portions of the Paw Paw River. As a not-for-profit, the resort also allocates a portion of its greens fees to maintain public areas in Jean Klock Park and integrates native plant names and artwork at each hole to complement plaques featuring Nicklaus’ major championships.

With its inaugural debut at Augusta National Golf Club in 1937, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is the oldest of the ve major championships in men’s senior golf and has cel-

ebrated players like Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and Colin Montgomerie as champions throughout its history. is year’s 84th edition also marks the end of a chapter, as PGA of America and sponsors, Whirlpool Corporation and KitchenAid, announced their mutual decision to part ways a er 2024. e move will also see future championships take place at venues like the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland in 2025; and Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas in 2029.

“ is is the sixth time the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be hosted at Harbor Shores. We started our partnership with KitchenAid and Whirlpool Corporation back in 2011 and as part of that we have brought it here to Harbor Shores every other year since 2012. We unfortunately had to cancel the 2020 edition due to COVID, but we are very much looking forward to coming back here to southwest Michigan,” Haney said.

“2024 will be the nal year of the KitchenAid sponsorship of the Senior PGA Championship. We decided it was mutually bene cial for us to go our separate ways a er this year, but we are immensely proud of everything we have accomplished together in our partnership; the growth we’ve seen in the community over the last 10 years. So, we are very much looking forward to hosting the event here, shining the spotlight on Harbor Shores and southwest Michigan one last time and making this really the best championship yet,” Haney added.

For Harbor Shores, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is as much about hosting the event as some of the game’s greatest players return once more to the 18-hole, public course set on Lake Michigan, as it is about showcasing southwest Michigan-based businesses and

partners, highlighting the resort’s history as a major revitalization initiative, and celebrating the local community.

Over the years, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship has evolved into a family-friendly fan event with experiences like the Makers Trail 19th Hole—located on the 17th green and featuring cra beer, wine, spirits, and cider from local southwest Michigan makers—celebrity chef demonstrations, and live entertainment. Makers Trail 19th Hole participants comprise: Silver Harbor Brewing, Sister Lakes Brewing, North Pier Brewing, River Saint Joe, Peat’s Cider Social, Round Barn Winery & Estate, Dablon Vineyards, Iron Shoe Distillery, Lazy Ballerina Winery, and Evelyn Mae’s BBQ Food Truck.

e KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is also sponsoring a free, community concert on Wednesday, May 22 to kick o the weekend. Haney noted to curate an event like this is not unlike building “a city on a golf course.”

“ e beautiful thing about it being our sixth time here, is we have been able to see what has worked and what needs to be improved as far as the spectator experience and one of the big changes we have coming this year is the Pure Michigan courtyard, which has been the fan zone, per se, of the championship, is moving locations,” Haney said. “We are actually moving all of those elements—the KitchenAid Fairway Club, the community showcase, our volunteer headquarters—from Graham Avenue out into a centralized location on the golf course adjacent to the 14th hole in North Pier Brewing’s parking lot.”

e move will allow spectators, volunteers, and other guests convenient access and proximity to the golf course rather than the more segmented experience from previous years. Haney noted that the team noticed there had been a bit of distance between the road location and the course in other years, and wanted to deliver a more immersive and connective experience

between the community showcase and the golf championship taking place on course.

“We are really excited about that change,” Haney said. “I think the level of Senior PGA Championship golf right now is really at an alltime high. When you look at last year’s championship that was held at PGA Frisco in Texas, going into Sunday, the top two names on the leaderboard were Pádraig Harrington and Steve Stricker. It came down to a playo between them which Steve ultimately won, so from a golf standpoint, you are getting guys that are playing some of the best golf of their careers and getting to see them test their game here at Harbor

Shores is going to be really fun to watch.”

As players, spectators, volunteers, and local partners alike return to Harbor Shores once more, Haney said the ability to showcase and highlight a lot of the things going on in the community and the area is one of his favorite parts about the championship.

“ is year we have 10 local businesses whose products will be featured in the Makers Trail 19th Hole, so it is just unique for us to be able to not only host a major championship, but do it in a way that there is a community tie and bene t to it. It is very fun and rewarding for us to be able to be a part of that,” Haney said.

The Cottages

AT BUCKS RUN

Text: R.J. Weick

In October 2023, Bucks Run Golf Club of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan announced that it had broken ground on the construction of its new onsite accommodations known as e Cottages at Bucks Run. e development, which is located near the 18th hole of the Jerry Matthews-designed course and was well underway at the time in preparation for the 2024 season, is a realization a long time in the making for the gol ng destination, according to Emily Cutler, PGA, Head Golf Professional at Bucks Run Golf Club.

“Ownership has wanted for a long time to build these cottages or houses along the drive coming in, because it is such a beautiful drive. ere was a lot of time spent planning and working with the construction company, the architect, and ownership until they were able to land on a design they liked,” Cutler said. “I think our playand-stay packages have a lot to do with it as well. Our play-and-stay package business has grown tremendously in the last eight-to-10 years, and people are coming here more frequently. We wanted to be able to o er them a more complete experience by being able to stay onsite.”

Built along the club’s signature, par-4 hole, e Cottages at Bucks Run overlook the fairway and Lake Fisher beyond. e rst two cottages are anticipated to open May 2024, and the club is already accepting inquiries and reservations for the four-bedroom, four-bathroom accommodations conveniently located adjacent the clubhouse.

To help realize their vision, Bucks Run Golf Club looked to tap the expertise of Terry L. Avink, principal, of Archidea Design and Architecture in Rockford, Michigan. e multidisciplinary design and architectural rm specializes in both residential and commercial design, and is informed by a philosophy that considers the relationship between architecture and idea. Designed with luxury amenities in mind and in context with its existing clubhouse—in which stonework on the façade, statement portico entrances, cross-gabled roo ines with deep overhanging eaves, and rich organic tones— e Cottages at Bucks Run speak to each other and their surrounding natural landscape. e Cottages also feature a kitchenette and dining space, living room, private patio and re pit, and an interior palette that draws inspiration from its setting, lending itself in tu ed button sofas, woodwork, textural lamps, rich rugs, and so hues of blues, greens, and browns.

Once a former quarry for sand, gravel, and stone, Bucks Run Golf Club has become a Mid-Michigan destination for golf enthusiasts since the Jerry Matthews-designed course debuted in 2000. Matthews, who sought to transform the landscape into an award-wining 18hole course on the 290-acre property, designed it with both challenge and playability in mind. Matthews sculpted fairways, sand bunkers, and tee boxes, and transformed its central mining quarry into the body of water that hugs the 18th hole, fondly known as Lake Fisher—in name-

sake of the local entrepreneurial family that has owned the property since the early 1950s. e course also incorporates nearly two miles of the Chippewa River and two additional small lakes throughout, and over the years the club has developed into a full golf club experience with its onsite restaurant, professional golf shop, and its new accommodations. For Cutler, the development is an exciting addition to the Bucks Run portfolio, as the sta looks forward to building upon relationships with returning and new guests alike this season.

“It is venturing into something new and exciting. We’ve never had anything like this at our facility, but ever since COVID, the golf industry in general has experienced so much growth and we’ve taken on new business ventures and welcomed new guests,” Cutler said. “We have had more people pick up the game—women, kids, young adults, older players—so it is going to be a really cool experience to continue to share the game and also have people stay here onsite, experience our culture, our food, our golf, and our sta . I think it is going to be great to build those relationships and have people continue to come year a er year, and make this their vacation spot for the summer.”

Sundance at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort

2023 MGCA COURSE OF THE YEAR

Course: Sundance

Opened: 2005

Designer: Jerry Matthews

Location: Kewadin, Michigan

Award: 2023 Michigan Golf Course of the Year by Michigan Golf Course Association

STAY AND PLAY PACKAGES AVAILABLE

Encounter one of West Michigan’s finest upscale public golf facilities. This magnificent course was built on over 400 acres and bears the hallmark of premier design and construction, with bentgrass fairways, distinctive green complexes, and 6 different yardages to play from! Pilgrim’s Run is a “must play” for golfers who enjoy the combination of tranquility, beauty, and great golf!

“Top 10” Golfweek’s Best Public Course by State, 2020

#1 Ranked Golf Course for “Staff Friendliness.”

The Golf Advisor Staff 2018

“Top 10 Hidden Gems in the U.S.” 2014 The Golf Channel Course record 29-36= 65

PGA Tour Two-Time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen

A-GA-MING GOLF RESORT

DESTINATION ESCAPES TO THE GREAT LAKES

Destination, as a word, can be de ned as a place to which someone is going or a place that people will make a special trip to visit. In its original form, there is a sense of purpose, of intention, where a destination can provide an experience or a form of temporary leave from routine—where pristine wooded acres, rolling fairways, and that rst tee up become immediate, allowing the rest to fade away. While by no means exhaustive, e Golf Explorer: Michigan’s Journal to Incredible Golf has once again compiled a list of gol ng destinations located across the state that just may prove to be a compelling escape, transporting players and visitors alike.

A-GA-MING GOLF RESORT

627 AG A MING DRIVE | KEWADIN, MICHIGAN

Located in Antrim County in the northern Lower Peninsula, A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort is a 72-hole gol ng destination nestled between the crystal waters of the 19-mile Torch Lake and Lake Michigan. e resort features four courses across glacier-carved blu s, rolling terrain, windswept bunkers, and playable fairways.

Its original course, Torch Course, which o ers 6,700 yards of countryside and namesake inland views, has been joined over the years by Sundance Course, Antrim Dells, and Charlevoix Country Club Golf Course. Sundance, which opened in 2005, is nestled between Torch Lake and Grand

Traverse Bay, and was named the 2023 Michigan Golf Course of the Year by the Michigan Golf Course Association. Antrim Dells, designed by Jerry Matthews, features a parkland-inspired front nine and tree-lined fairways, water, and sand in the back nine; while Charlevoix Country Club Golf Course o ers 6,520 yards of Jerry Matthews design through bentgrass fairways.

A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort is co-owned by Mike Brown and Larry Lavely, who are dedicated to the careful stewardship of the property. In addition to its courses, A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort also o ers lessons taught by Chris Hines, a certi ed First Tee Coach, and Junior Golf Camps, and practice facilities like its driving range and Indoor Learning Center, which features a state-of-the-art TrackMan Simulator. ere are also dining options like

Text: TGE Sta

Du ers Bar and Grill, Sundance Brick Oven, Sunset Bar & Grill at Antrim Dells, and Shanahan’s Pub at Charlevoix Country Club, and a number of signature and custom stay-and-play packages that make a multi-day golf escape or a 36-hole day trip convenient and accessible. With its three, onsite accommodations, Maplewood Ridge, Cedar Hollow, and Vista Townhomes, and four destination courses, A-Ga-Ming invites returning and new players alike to stay, dine, and unwind across 72 holes of golf on the shore.

BOYNE GOLF

Bay Harbor Golf Club

5800 Coastal Ridge Drive | Bay Harbor, Michigan

The Highlands at Harbor Springs

600 Highlands Drive | Harbor Springs, Michigan

Boyne Mountain Resort

1 Boyne Mountain Road | Boyne Falls, Michigan

Crooked Tree Golf Club

600 Crooked Tree Drive | Petoskey, Michigan

Featuring 10 championship courses designed by architects like Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Arthur Hills, BOYNE Golf o ers a unique gol ng experience across its three resorts amid the hardwoods, the coastal blu s, and the rolling terrain of its northern landscape. ere is the Scottish style of e Links and the industrial edge of e Quarry at Bay Harbor Golf Club, the timeless design of e Heather and Arthur Hills at e Highlands, and the unforgettable compilation of the Donald Ross Memorial and the challenging invitation of e Moor. BOYNE also o ers spectacular mountain panoramas at e Alpine at Boyne Mountain, a sanctuary-like experience at e Preserve at Bay Harbor Golf Club, and a walk through centuries-old hardwoods at Crooked Tree Golf Club. Whether it is charm, challenge, or dramatic backdrop, BOYNE Golf invites guests both on and o the course as an ultimate getaway.

In Boyne Falls, Boyne Mountain Resort is an all-seasons, 415-acre playground featuring two championship courses, a spa, the state’s largest indoor waterpark, and the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge, known as SkyBridge Michigan. e bridge, which spans more than 1,200 feet, connects the peaks of McLouth and Disciplines Ridge, and is available year-round. ere are also other a er-golf activities like shopping, dining, guided e-bike tours, Fitness and Wellness Center, Zipline Adventures, tennis and wakeboard camps, shing, and horseback riding, to name a few. And the resort o ers lodging like the European-inspired Chalet Edelweiss, Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa, Clock Tower Lodge, Boynehof Lodge, Deer

Lake Villas, Mountain Cabins, and Village at Disciples Ridge, among others.

To the north, e Highlands at Harbor Springs has embarked on a transformative journey that is reimagining the iconic destination as the “grande dame” of four-season resorts. Featured projects not only include improvements to its Main Lodge

and Tower Lobby, but also a Highlands Café, outdoor pool complex, course upgrades to the Donald Ross Memorial, and the introduction of a new par-3 short course known as Doon Brae. e course, which is inspired by the Scottish words for “down into a valley” and “hillside,” is located at the former site of Cu Links on the lower slopes

BOYNE/BAY HARBOR

BOYNE/BAY HARBOR

near the Main Lodge and designed by Ray Hearn, Michigan golf course architect. e short course will also be accompanied by a Himalayan style putting course meant to test the skills of all levels of golfers and nongolfers alike.

e BOYNE Golf portfolio also includes Crooked Tree Golf Club and Bay Harbor Golf Club, and its third resort, e Inn at Bay Harbor. With beautiful rooms, charming cottages, four onsite restaurants, and an immersive, full-service spa, e Inn at Bay Harbor is a waterfront hotel

and resort just outside of Petoskey. e Autograph Collection Hotel is serene and thoughtfully designed, featuring views of Little Traverse Bay and limestone cli s.

BOYNE Golf o ers a number of inclusive packages, like the Stay & Play, Unlimited Golf, and Champions Golf Package, and with direct ights from 17 major cities to nearby Cherry Capital Airport—and Boyne Mountain’s recently upgraded airstrip—a vacation to the world-class golf destination is just a short ight away.

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN

RESORT

12500 CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN DRIVE | THOMPSONVILLE, MICHIGAN

Since 1956, Crystal Mountain has become known as a dynamic community playground featuring 36 holes of championship golf, quaint cottages and vibrant village center, an 18,500-square-foot spa, 10-acre practice facility, amenities, real estate, and a 30-acre Michigan Legacy Art Park across 1,500 acres of forested land.

PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN WALTERS (TOP); CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN (BOTTOM)

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN

e four-season resort o ers two, 18-hole courses carved into its landscape, known as Mountain Ridge and Betsie Valley. Mountain Ridge, which will once again host the 31st Anniversary of the Michigan PGA Women’s Open Tournament—a 54-hole, stroke play event the course has hosted for 22 years—invites players to panoramic vistas, soaring pines, and elevation changes across its fairways. Its second course, Betsie Valley, o ers tree-lined fairways, challenging bunkers, protected greens, and its recent renovation introduced new tee boxes, expansive forest oor clearing, and additional forest management initiatives in 2021.

Crystal Mountain provides tailored golf instruction through its Golf Learning Center, the 10-acre practice facility complete with a driving range, putting green, and multi-tiered chipping greens with bunkers. e resort and golf destination also o ers additional programming through its Crystal Mountain Golf School, which leverages TrackMan4 technology and a collective teaching experience of more than 60 years across its team of professionals. As a member of America’s Summer Golf Capital, Crystal Mountain is a part of a collection of eight resort properties representing 26 golf courses and some of the world’s nest golf architects.

In addition to golf, Crystal Mountain offers a number of activities and amenities for guests to explore from the Crystal Coaster Alpine Slide, Outdoor Pool & Water Playground, and Edge Adventure Course & Zipline, to

chairli rides, biking, shopping, and guided or self-guided tours through the 30-acre preserve featuring over 50 sculptures and poetry stones. Located across from e istle, Kinlochen Shop is the resort’s golf pro shop and home base for apparel and more, and there are other dining options like the one-stop-shop, Mountain Market, family-friendly Wild Tomato, Bru Bar, and Betsie River Pizza & Subs.

Crystal Mountain also o ers opportunities for those wanting to make the resort home, such as condos, townhomes, fractional ownerships, resort homes, and land for sale along with real estate nearby. Other local attractions in close proximity include the award-winning Iron Fish Distillery in ompsonville, Point Betsie Lighthouse, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and Frankfort, Michigan.

FOREST DUNES GOLF CLUB

6376 FOREST DUNES DRIVE | ROSCOMMON, MICHIGAN

Nestled within the Huron National Forest, Forest Dunes Golf Club is a gol ng destination with 54 holes of championship golf o the beaten path featuring onsite lodging and dining amid nearly one million acres of protected land and habitat home to species like Kirtland’s Warbler and Pitcher’s istle.

As a getaway experience, Forest Dunes features the 18-hole Forest Dunes Course designed

by Tom Weiskopf as a parkland-style with modern enhancements across 500 acres of heavily wooded land. e course features a more rugged, open back nine in comparison to its front nine, and leads players through hardwoods, meadows, native dunes, and water features back to the Adirondack-inspired clubhouse designed by James Nordlie, AIA, of Archiventure Group in Denver, Colorado. e 22,000-square-foot clubhouse and facility houses the destination’s restaurant, bars, locker rooms, and golf shop amid vaulted ceilings and woodwork.

Forest Dunes also invites players to take a swing at its 100-yard-shot at the 19th hole, or BYE hole, a er 18 holes on its course, or try out its 10-hole short course known as the Bootlegger designed by Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns as a creative and fun experience featuring 65-to150-yard holes for players of all ages and skill levels. ere is also the HillTop putting course, a nearly two-acre practice facility reintroduced in 2018 following the debut of e Loop course in 2016. Designed by Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design, e Loop is a reversible course featuring two distinct gol ng experiences. e Loop-Red has a counter-clockwise routing featuring a more traditional design, while e Loop-Black features a clockwise routing that plays with a touch start and easier nish.

e golf destination o ers a number of convenient lodging accommodations just steps away from both fairway and clubhouse. Its larger cottages feature di erent amenities like re

FOREST DUNES GOLF CLUB

pits on the beach and ping pong to billiards tables and sauna, while its villas o er various oor layouts and a number of rooms that can scale up or down to di erent group sizes, such as its four-bedroom villas that allow ensuite bathrooms and for people to be grouped together in the village. ere are also a number of

standard rooms and suites in its two-story Lake AuSable Lodge, located just 35 yards from the Forest Dunes course’s rst tee, and onsite dining includes the Bootlegger Bar, e Grille, and Durant’s Room, which can host private dining and corporate events up to 24 people. Forest Dunes recently expanded its outdoor dining

Our redesigned golf course will test your skills, not your patience! It is now friendlier to play for all ages and skills, whether a beginner on a school golf team or a seasoned player.

Wolf River Golf Park is owned and operated by Little River Casino Resort, an entity of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. We are transforming the former Bear Lake Highlands into a casual and inviting outdoor recreation option for our community.

Book a tee-time, today, and you’ll enjoy a golf experience like no other!

experience with a renovation to its Bootlegger Bar, opening up the space to allow for a 360-degree view of the courses and to accommodate additional bar seating. is year, Forest Dunes will also have a new pavilion on the back patio to provide additional shade for guests interested in enjoying a quieter alfresco dining experience. Forest Dunes is located just under ve hours from Chicago, roughly three hours from Detroit, and two hours from Grand Rapids by vehicle, and nearby airports like Traverse City Airport, Grayling Army Air eld, and Roscommon Conservation Airport, o er travel options by plane with shuttle service available at select airports through Forest Dunes with advanced scheduling.

GARLAND LODGE AND GOLF RESORT

4700 NORTH RED OAK ROAD | LEWISTON, MICHIGAN

Just south of West and East Twin Lakes in Lewiston, Michigan on roughly 3,000 acres of Michigan wilderness, Garland Lodge and Golf Resort invites gol ng a cionados and enthusiasts alike to an immersive experience set within a region teeming with wildlife. Set into a rolling terrain of meadows, streams, lakes, and pines, the resort’s courses integrate unique character and course design that combines classic features with a combination of par-3s, par-4s, and par-5s.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GARLAND LODGE AND GOLF RESORT

GARLAND LODGE AND GOLF RESORT

Featuring generous fairways, water hazards, and a horseshoe-shaped tee complex, Swamp re is complemented by the well-bunkered greens of Monarch, lush fairways of Re ections, and the Michael Benkusky-redesigned Fountains.

Each of the four courses begin at the centrally located clubhouse, o ering convenient access to its golf shop and dining amenities. e log lodge also features rustic-inspired rooms that can accommodate between two and four adults, and other onsite lodging includes Single and Double Villas; Golf Cottages, four-bedroom units located near the Fountains Course; and French Villas, three- and four-bedroom villas also located near the Fountains Course.

Garland Lodge and Golf Resort also o ers golf lessons, electric carts, a tness facility, indoor lap pool, driving range and putting green area, outdoor volleyball court, and dining options like the Tamarack Dining Room, Antler’s Bar and Grill, and Tiki Bar. Located just ve miles from Lewiston, Garland Lodge is just a short drive away from a number of other local area attractions like the Twin Lakes, Au Sable River, Buttles Park, Bingham Park, Twin Lakes Marina boat rentals, and hiking trails.

GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT AND SPA

100 GRAND TRAVERSE VILLAGE BLVD. | ACME, MICHIGAN

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is a year-round work and play destination. Located just six miles northeast of downtown Traverse City, Michigan along Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is a 900-acre campus designed with the experience in mind for both the business and the vacation traveler. Its resort campus features 54 holes of championship golf, a full-service spa and health club, shopping gallery, ve restaurants and lounges, and 86,500 square feet of versatile meeting space. ere are also nearly 600 guest rooms and condominiums, three indoor-outdoor pools and additional hot tubs, an indoor water playground, and convenient access to area attractions like award-winning wineries and breweries, and its sister property Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel in nearby Williamsburg, Michigan.

Its golf course portfolio brings together the minds of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and William Newcomb into a three, 18-hole course experience where the Scottish-terraced fairways and tiered greens of e Bear, the spruce- and r-lined fairways and greens of Spruce Run, the versatile terrains of e Wolverine sprawl out across wetlands, hardwoods, rolling hills, and orchards at the resort property. What initially began as the nine-hole Acme Public Golf Course, the resort’s gol ng experience quickly evolved into what it is today. e nine-hole course expanded to 18 holes in the 1970s before being redesigned by William Newcomb in 1979 and subsequently joined by the Jack Nick-

laus-designed e Bear in 1985, which is considered one of the toughest courses in the state. Spruce Run was modi ed to a par-70 during the development of e Wolverine, which o cially opened in 1999 and was designed by Gary Player as a versatile and playable course that sought to highlight the resort’s richly diverse landscape.

For those interested in staying at the resort, there are a variety of accommodations available such as hospitality suites in its iconic, 17-story glass architectural Tower; newly remodeled guest rooms located within steps of the resort’s restaurants, spa, indoor pool, and health club in the six-story, attached Hotel; the wooded retreat

condominiums at e Shores; one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominiums located on the course fairways with access to the private Beach Club; and privately-owned rental homes at e Bear course. Restaurants like the Aerie Restaurant & Lounge invite guests to an unforgettable experience on the 16th oor of the Tower, while e Den o ers an entertainment escape featuring an arcade, axe-throwing, bowling, and escape room. e resort’s 100,000-square-foot Health Club o ers comprehensive tness and activities, from ve indoor tennis courts, cardio and free-weight studios, and pools and adults-only hot tubs, to the 7,000-square-foot, full-service

GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT AND SPA

GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT AND SPA

Spa Grand Traverse. Located inside the resort, the spa o ers a number of treatments like deep tissue and stone massages, facials and cosmetic facial acupuncture, hair artistry and nail care, and waxing, lashes, and brow services.

ISLAND RESORT & CASINO W 399 US 2 & 41 | HARRIS, MICHIGAN

Wholly owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community, Island Resort & Casino is a golf, gaming, dining, entertainment, and resort destination located roughly 15 miles west of Escanaba on the western shores of Lake Michigan’s Green Bay. Ever-evolving, Island Resort & Casino rst began as the Hannahville Bingo Hall in 1981 and over the years has developed into a dynamic resort featuring a 454-room hotel complete with an 11-story Palm Tower, a 42-site RV Park, a

full-service Dri Spa, indoor Splash Island waterpark, and an immersive gaming experience with traditional games like Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and 1,150 slot machines.

It o ers world-class entertainment and headline acts through its 1,315-seat, theater-style Island Showroom and its Club Four One, dining venues like Horizons Steakhouse and T. McC’s Sports Bar, and roughly 13,000 square feet of convention and meeting space. It also recently completed a $30 million expansion project in 2021 and introduced a dedicated Sportsbook area to its gaming oor in 2022, and continues to welcome professional, collegiate, and enthusiast golfers alike to its championship courses since its rst 18-hole course known as Sweetgrass opened in 2008.

Featuring a parkland layout, Sweetgrass is a celebration of the Hannahville Indian Community with its integration of traditional Potawatomi villages, allies, medicines, and symbols in each

of its course hole names. Recognized in 2021 as the Michigan Golf Course of the Year and in 2022 as the Jemsek National Course of the Year, Sweetgrass hosted its rst annual professional championship in 2011 and served as the Evian Championship Quali er in 2019. e course is also welcoming spectators, volunteers, and sponsors back to the LPGA Epson Tour Island Resort Championship—the 13th Island Resort Championship—this June 21-June 23, 2024 as players from across the globe compete for a purse and a chance to earn an automatic exemption onto the 2025 LPGA Tour.

Sage Run, which debuted in 2018, is a prairie links-style course designed by Paul Albanese, featuring timbers, open vistas, strategic bunkering fescue grasses, and a natural drumlin. It hosted its rst Island Resort Intercollegiate in 2019, welcoming NCAA Division 1 talent to the Upper Peninsula, which in 2023 saw teams like South Dakota State University, Bowling Green Michigan, Boise State, Central Florida, North Texas, Illinois State, and Miami of Ohio, among other NCAA Men’s Golf teams compete in the two-day, 54-hole stroke signature invitational.

e Hannahville Indian Community is a federally recognized Potawatomi Indian Tribe residing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is one of three tribes comprising the ree Fires Confederacy, or ree Fires Society.

LAKEWOOD SHORES GOLF RESORT

7751 CEDAR LAKE ROAD | OSCODA, MICHIGAN

On Michigan’s Sunrise Side coast, Lakewood Shores Golf Resort is a play-and-stay destination nestled between Cedar Lake and Van Etten Lake in Oscoda, Michigan. e region, located between Sturgeon Point Lighthouse and Tawas Point Lighthouse on Lake Huron, is a naturalist’s playground of coastal dunes, hardwoods, marshes, and bogs featuring roughly 35,000 acres of unique trails in and around the area, avian habitats, and beaches, to name a few. Set on the northern side of the Au Sable River, Lakewood Shores Golf Resort o ers three unique golf courses, onsite lodging, and meeting facilities across over 500 acres of manicured fairways, meandering berms, and fescue grasses.

Initially Serradella Farms, Lakewood Shores was transformed into a gol ng community complete with homesites, a private course, and various amenities in the late 1960s. When Stan Aldridge purchased the golf course and adjacent land in 1986, he invested in developing it into a true resort destination that provided exceptional golf at an a ordable price. In 1990, onsite lodging was introduced and in 1993, e Gailes o cially opened, setting the stage for the resort’s future. Today, Lakewood Shores features the three distinct courses of e Gailes, Blackshire, and Serradella; standard hotel suites and two-bedroom suites

ISLAND RESORT & CASINO

with in-room jacuzzi; and e Wee Links. e 18-hole, pitch-and-putt course invites players to warm up or wind down with holes ranging from 50 to 105 yards, and is free to resort guests.

Its original course, Serradella, features a classic parkland design by Bruce Matthews and is known for the more than 50,000 annual and perennial oral gardens planted along the 18-hole course that o ers minimal hazards, large greens, and wide fairways. In 1993, e Gailes added a di erent gol ng experience to the resort portfolio, drawing inspiration from the seaside courses of Scotland. Designed by Kevin Aldridge, son of Stan Aldridge, e Gailes captures the Scottish links experience with large double greens, long fescue grasses, and

meandering berms. Also designed by Kevin Aldridge, Blackshire debuted in 2001 with a rugged feel and classical walking experience. Aldridge, who sought to recreate the look and feel of Pine Valley, designed the course with large sand waste areas and undulating greens across less than 200 acres, to give it a turn-of-the-century feel.

Lakewood Shores o ers custom stay-and-play golf packages for guests, and each of its 152 onsite rooms overlook the Serradella and Wee Links courses from private patios. e resort is located about three hours, or 200 miles, from Detroit; four hours, or 215 miles, from Grand Rapids; and an hour, or 50 miles, from the Alpena County Regional Airport.

SHANTY CREEK RESORT

Cedar River Village

2400 Troon Road | Bellaire, Michigan

Hawk’s Eye Village

2620 Hawk’s Eye Drive | Bellaire, Michigan

Schuss Village

1826 Schuss Mountain Lane | Mancelona, Michigan

Summit Village

5780 Shanty Creek Road | Bellaire, Michigan

is four-season resort is an iconic destination located in Michigan’s Chain of Lakes Water Trail, a 100-mile inland water trail that traverses four counties, 12 lakes and interconnected rivers, and vibrant communities. Set in Antrim County, Shanty Creek is surrounded by miles of worldclass mountain biking and hiking trails, diverse marshy habitat, rivers and lakes, and features four distinct villages across more than 5,500 acres of landscape: Summit Village, Cedar River Village, Schuss Village, and Hawk’s Eye Village. Each of the villages bring their own unique perspective to the overall Shanty Creek experience, in which dining, lodging, and recreational opportunities re ect di erent architectural styles and inspiration—and 90 holes of golf across ve championship courses.

SHANTY CREEK RESORT

LAKEWOOD SHORES RESORT

ere is the Cedar River Golf Club designed by Tom Weiskopf, opened in 1999, and e Legend Golf Club designed by Arnold Palmer, opened in 1986, featuring water hazards, elevation changes, and well-placed traps. Schuss Mountain Golf Club designed by Warner Bowen, opened in 1972, features a 7,013-yard course that plays like two distinct nine-hole courses across forest, wetlands, and hills; while Summit Golf Club designed by William Diddel, opened in 1965, with its fast, challenging greens intended to test players’ short game. And with the recently acquired Hawk’s Eye Golf Course in Bellaire, Shanty Creek has also added Hawk’s Eye Golf Club designed by John Robinson, opened in 2004, to its portfolio. Considered a complement to Cedar River and e Legend, Hawk’s Eye o ers panoramic views, water hazards, and challenging putting greens.

Shanty Creek also o ers a resort-based shuttle service that can transport guests to and through the four resort villages, allowing visitors to take advantage of all of the amenities each of the villages has to o er them. Summit Village, o en known as the original Shanty Creek, features lodging options at the Lakeview Hotel and Trappers Lodge Condominiums, dining like Lakeview Restaurant and Co eeBAR, and amenities like a tness center, heated indoor and outdoor pools, and the Lakeview Conference Center.

Cedar River Village o ers lodging in one- and two-bedroom suites at e Lodge of Cedar River, dining at e River Bistro, TopGolf, hiking and biking trails, and a year-round heated outdoor swimming pool. Schuss Village o ers accommodations from Bergrand Condos, Vienna Woods

Homes, and e Schuss Lodge, while Hawk’s Eye Village o ers dining through its Chipper’s Pub.

While a vacation destination in its own right, Shanty Creek Resort’s shuttle system also provides transport to nearby cities and villages to explore local amenities and attractions like area museums and shopping, paddling trips, boating and shing, and cra spirits, microbreweries, and wineries in the region. Shanty Creek also o ers a number of packages and menu of options for golf retreats, corporate meetings, group reunions, and destination weddings with its over 36,000 square feet of event space and state-of-the-art AV equipment.

TULLYMORE GOLF RESORT

11969 TULLYMORE DRIVE | STANWOOD, MICHIGAN

In 2007, the late J. Peter Ministrelli looked to realize a vision of creating a high-end, resort style residential community and gol ng destination in Stanwood, Michigan when he acquired Tullymore Golf Club, St. Ives Golf Course, and nearly 470 surrounding acres. With the addition of its iconic clubhouse, designed by James Nordlie, AIA, president of Archiventure Group P.C. of Harbor Springs, Michigan and Denver, Colorado in 2009, Ministrelli’s vision of transforming the two distinct courses designed by Jim Engh and Jerry Matthews into a resort destination nestled in 800 acres of woodlands and wetlands began to take shape.

Today, Tullymore Golf Resort features 36 holes of golf, two clubhouses with pro-shops, three restaurants, indoor and outdoor swimming pools,

tness and recreation facilities, shuttle service, and live entertainment. e resort o ers accommodations like hotel rooms at the Inn at St. Ives or e Hideaway, condominiums, cottages, and rental homes, and is an active community with permanent residential opportunities available through Villages at Tullymore complete with tiered golf membership options in close proximity to Canadian Lakes, Mt. Pleasant, and Grand Rapids.

With landscape carved from glaciers and nestled amid acres of woodlands and wetlands, Tullymore Golf Resort’s two, par-72 courses bring together the design talents of two proli c course architects. St. Ives, designed by Jerry Matthews, o ers dramatic elevation changes of 40-to-80 feet and scenic vistas across woodlands, wetlands, and rugged highlands. Since its debut in 1995, St. Ives was joined by Tullymore in 2002 as a complementary gol ng experience. Designed by Jim Engh, Tullymore features subtle undulations with varied greens and multiple sets of tees. ere are challenging par-4s and long par-5s, marshes amid birch trees and pines, and doglegs and hidden greens to round out the experience.

Tullymore o ers custom golf packages including both courses that can be tailored to group needs. e resort also welcomes special events like corporate meetings and weddings, where a party of 300 can be accommodated at either St. Ives or Tullymore with several options based on the size of the event. Dining venues like e Tap Room at Tullymore and the St. Ives Grille are available onsite and are backed by talented culinary teams— and, in the case of e Tap Room, o er panoramic views of the 18th hole.

TULLYMORE GOLF RESORT

AmericanDunes funded over $2.5 million to Folds of Honor in the past two seasons, assisting our military and 1st responder families in Michigan and around the USA!

HEROIC ROUND

THE COLLEGIATE

Text: R.J. Weick

The “American Dream” is o en associated with material success and prosperity, but as a national ethos and aspirational ideal, it was intended to represent so much more: liberty, democratic equality, upward social mobility, access to knowledge, opportunity, and the value of education. And as American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan looks to host its third annual Fold of Honor Collegiate in September 2024 opportunity, education, and competitive play in both the men’s and women’s elds are just part of the overall story that will unfold this fall.

It is a story that brings together competitive elds of collegiate teams, a three-day event that has become more than a tournament, and the inland, links-style design of a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. And it also embraces a foundation and nonpro t organization providing the families of fallen and disabled service members and rst responders with life-changing educational scholarships at the birthplace of Folds of Honor, and highlights just how the game of golf can serve as a vehicle and platform for change, inclusion, and bringing people together.

“We want the Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes to serve as a uniter; that is why we have men and women; that is why we have Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the service academies. We want it to be a platform to talk about this incredible mission that we are on while highlighting a beautiful game,” said Scott Tolley, Corporate Impact O cer for Folds of Honor and Tournament Director of the Folds of Honor Collegiate.

“I want to emphasize that, because we wake up every day and we look at the news and our country is sadly very divided. e thing with Folds of Honor, Folds of Honor Collegiate, American Dunes, and the game that we love is that it is not red, it is not blue. For us, it is red, white, and blue, and when you are providing educational scholarships to children and spouses, I believe there is no better path to unity than through the gi of education. Education is knowledge, knowledge is power, and that enables us to bring people together. To be able to use the game of golf as a platform to raise money and awareness for Folds of Honor, it is invaluable in my opinion,” Tolley added.

e Folds of Honor Collegiate is a 54-hole stroke play event that takes place each year at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan. Born from a conversation Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, F-16 Fighter Pilot, PGA Professional, and Founder of Folds of Honor, had with Casey Lubahn, Michigan State University Men’s Golf

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF FOLDS OF HONOR | PICTURED: 2023 COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONS

NOTRE DAME MEN’S GOLF TEAM, LT. COL. DAN ROONEY

COURTESY OF FOLDS OF HONOR | PICTURED: LT. COL. DAN ROONEY AND CECIL BELISLE OF KANSAS, 2023 INDIVIDUAL TITLE

Coach; and Gregg Grost, former CEO, and Dustin Roberts, current CEO of the Golf Coaches Association of America; the event launched in 2022 with 18 men’s collegiate teams, including NCAA golf programs, Army, Navy, Air Force, and two HBCU Schools, Texas Southern and Virginia Union. For Lubahn, who was integral in that early conversation to create the college event at American Dunes, it was about developing a regional, homestate event that paid homage to Folds of Honor Foundation, and its mission—driven in-part in honor of his father, who is a Vietnam veteran—but a er connecting with Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, that vision became so much more.

“Your vision changes, it gets bigger. I remember telling people as we were building it, as we were raising money and creating awareness, that this would be one of the biggest things I’d ever done in my career, it’s a legacy thing. It’s great for the university, for college golf, and the biggest event in college golf in my opinion—and it starts with Michigan State at the center of it,” Lubahn said.

“I hope that as we continue to transcend college athletics by making this event about other people, that it becomes a model college athletics continues to follow, that we can use these incredible platforms we have as coaches, as student athletes, to do good for other people. at is what I hope the legacy is here and I hope Michigan State is proud of our a liation with America’s heroes and building something great for them,” Lubahn added.

Lt. Col. Dan Rooney noted that when Jack Nicklaus and he began to reimagine American

Dunes, they discussed having a collegiate event and agreed it was the right thing to do.

“In three short years, to have an event of this caliber, is something I never imagined. Each year it gets better and better. e Folds of Honor Collegiate is a tting representation of the mission, its legendary golf course designer, and the individuals who need and deserve our help,” Lt. Col. Dan Rooney said. “As a former collegiate golfer at Kansas, I know rsthand what an individual sport the game is. But the Folds of Honor Collegiate is di erent. You are playing for the spouses and children of fallen or disabled military service members and rst responders. With our Honor Bag Program, when you see the number of scholars at your school on your bag, you know that’s real people and you’re making a positive di erence. ere is no other tournament like this.”

Tolley, who has also served as consultant and representative for Jack Nicklaus for over 26 years and sportswriter before that, noted that with Lt. Col. Dan Rooney’s dynamic background as F-16 Fighter Pilot and PGA Golf Professional—and a member of the University of Kansas Jayhawk golf team—the college tournament was also a natural evolution for American Dunes to raise awareness for Folds of Honor, while highlighting some of the best players on collegiate teams, service academies, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Building on that rst year’s success—in which Michigan State University served as sole college host—2023 Collegiate once again welcomed 18 men’s teams to play the 54-hole stroke play event on Sept. 4-6, 2023,

this time with live global coverage on the Golf Channel and with co-host Florida State University, in re ection of the national eld.

“We decided to take this to another level and talked about doing this on television, so we engaged with Golf Channel, which has been a huge supporter of the college game. ey provided us a wonderful platform and so we were able to have 18 men’s teams on-air for three hours each day,” Tolley said. “It was a huge success last year, just very special, and to a person, to a coach, to a player, they all came away from the event saying, ‘this is more than a golf tournament for us, this is playing not for us or our school, but for a cause.’ It just really resonated with them.”

To better represent its own eld of scholarship recipients and better re ect its mission, the 2024 Collegiate is expanding this year to include women’s collegiate teams. Over the years, the Folds of Honor Foundation has awarded 52,000 educational scholarships since 2007—a record 9,300 for the 2023-2024 academic year alone—of which 45 percent of all scholarships represent minority recipients and 57 percent of all scholarships go to females, according to the foundation. Amy Bond, Florida State University Women’s Golf Coach, said the Folds of Honor program is a blessing to so many family members who have had a loved one serve in the military or as a rst responder and the event is a unique opportunity for all the teams involved.

“I am thankful to be a part of this event, especially as we add women’s college teams to the tournament,” Bond said. “We are blessed every day to be able to play the great game of golf and

it is thanks in part to those who stand up and defend us all. is is much more than a golf tournament and will allow every team and player to give back. We have compiled numerous top-tier golf programs to compete this year in the Collegiate. is is a premier event that will showcase spectacular golf, but more importantly, will raise funds and increase visibility for the Folds of Honor mission. I cannot think of a better way to kick o the 2024-2025 season.”

Grand Valley State University Women’s Golf Head Coach Rebecca Mailloux, also noted the invitation for the women’s team to participate in the 2024 Collegiate is a really exciting opportunity.

“We’re in a very upli ing time for women’s sports in general, with the basketball fame and even with women’s soccer, and it just seems like women’s sports in general is getting the representation and the credit I feel like they’ve deserved for a while. By adding a women’s event to the men’s event that they’ve had the last couple of years, I think is just another opportunity to showcase how talented female college athletes are,” Mailloux said.

“It was super cool when we got the invite. e girls were really excited about it, especially since they’ve watched our men’s team participate in the event the last two years and are good friends with them, so they’ve been able to hear how awesome of an event it is and how they really make the student athletes feel special. It is just an exciting opportunity to play with some really big Division I teams,” Mailloux added.

is third installment, which will take place Sept. 9-11, 2024 with a College Am and Welcome Party on Sept. 8, will welcome 15 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams, including Army, Navy, Air Force, an HBCU, and a non-Division I school—

with live coverage expanding from nine hours in 2023 to 18 hours in 2024. e event has also been moved back a week from previous years to mitigate Labor Day Weekend obligation con icts, and to accommodate some of the college team’s o cial start or pre-season play regulations.

“We really wanted to keep the same dynamic as far as we are going to invite the best we can, but still have the service academies, still have at least one HBCU, and we have accomplished that. We are, again, on the Golf Channel, and I think the Golf Channel is in joint step with us in how important it is to give both the men’s and the women’s teams a great platform to promote the college game, their universities, and the Folds of Honor cause,” Tolley said.

“It just so happens that our nal round will fall on 9/11, which just promises to be a very emotional day, and for this broadcast. Certainly, the quality of golf played and the drama is important, but it is also really about storytelling and the mission and what underlies the name, Folds of Honor Collegiate, and raising money and awareness to provide children and spouses of our fallen or disabled military and rst responders with educational scholarships,” Tolley added.

For American Dunes, that story touches on the Folds of Honor Memorial, Wall of Honor, and CAVU Fighter Squadron Bar—named for the aeronautical acronym for “ceiling and visibility unlimited”—featuring models of ghter jets above the bar to represent Captain Bob Pardo’s story, better known as “Pardo’s Push,” and an AIM 9 missile transformed into an operational beer tap. It also highlights the transformation of a heavily tree-lined, parkland style course into a Jack Nicklaus design that integrates intimate stories of fallen and disabled service members, rst

responders, and scholarship recipients. It also speaks to the educational impact the foundation has been able to make in its 17-year history, where participating schools in 2024 Collegiate represent about 2,664 students who have attended on a Folds of Honor Scholarship—a nearly $10 million value—and of the more than a record 9,300 scholarships allocated for the 2023-2024 academic year, 471 recipients attend one of the schools playing in the collegiate tournament.

“Whether it is this year or in the history of Folds of Honor, these schools are incredibly representative of our mission and that is an important tie-in for us,” Tolley said. “I think golf is an incredible uniter of people and it is an amazing vehicle for raising funds and awareness for all charities, not just within the game of golf. e game of golf raises close to $4 billion a year for charity and I believe 95 percent of that goes to causes outside the game, so golf is a critical vehicle to raise money for everything from pediatric care to scholarships for children and spouses of fallen or disabled military and rst responders.”

e 2024 Collegiate is presented in partnership with Folds of Honor, Michigan State University, Florida State University, Golf Coaches Association of America, and HNS Sports Group of Dublin, Ohio. e event, which will feature live coverage through the Golf Channel, is also brought to fans by broadcast partners and Folds of Honor supporters, such as Anheuser-Busch, Sedgwick, Titleist, Sinclair Oil, and Compliance Solutions. On Sept. 8, the College Am will also welcome families and other supporters who want to come on board as a sponsor to play a round as a foursome, joined by a college amateur, to help raise money for the mission. e single-day event will also feature well-known artists, live entertainment, food and beverage, and speakers like Lt. Col. Dan Rooney and a Folds of Honor recipient, who will share their story.

Doug Bell, PGA, general manager at American Dunes, said as the Collegiate moves into its next iteration, there is a tremendous opportunity for it to help showcase the golf course to audiences across the country and beyond, as well as highlight the Folds of Honor Foundation and its mission.

“ e long-term e ect for American Dunes is this great exposure and the ability to tease people from all over the country to come and play the course, and then they are exposed to Folds of Honor. And with 100 percent of our pro ts being donated to Folds every year, ultimately anybody who comes here and plays, helps the mission,” Bell said. “ e Collegiate broadens Folds’ reach and its mission to not only the players and the universities that attend, but also the general public across the whole nation that might not know about the foundation. e aperture on the camera just gets opened to a massive extent.”

is year’s eld of competitors, on both the men’s and women’s side, feature highly ranked teams, including six women’s teams recently ranked in the Mizuno Women’s Golf Coaches Association Poll rankings for NCAA Division

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF FOLDS OF HONOR | PICTURED: LT. COL. DAN ROONEY, JACK NICKLAUS

I, and ve men’s teams ranked in the Bushnell Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll. For Lubahn, this year’s Collegiate is an exciting and special opportunity in that it will bring its men’s and women’s teams, the university fan base, and the Folds of Honor communities together.

“We were runner-up last year, we get to play a home event, a course we are familiar with, and I think we can be competitive. I’m going to have a very young team, so this will be their rst pass at competing in the most unique event in college golf, but more than that I’m excited to bring this Folds of Honor community, which I adore, together with the Michigan State community. It is mutually symbiotic that these two organizations are together in this event,” Lubahn said.

“Besides the Golf Channel coverage, which is really exceptional, the minority participation with HBCUs and now the women’s [participation], this event has really done things that have never been done in college golf. I hope that people across the state of Michigan really do what they can to come out in support, it will be vital in continuing to move forward. It is a really neat event to go to watch great golf, but with more accessibility and maybe even a deeper and greater meaning,” Lubahn added.

e eld will also likely include Florida State University’s Lottie Woad, a sophomore who recently won the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur by birdieing three of her nal four holes; as well as include Army, Navy, Air Force, Grand Valley State University, and an HBCU, in addition to others. GVSU Women’s Golf is regionally ranked third in NCAA Division II and within the top 20 nationally in Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll Division II, and for Mailloux, the event is also a chance to represent Division II talent at the Division I level, while supporting the Folds of Honor Foundation.

“I believe that my girls are super talented and one of the things I’ve always been proud of my teams in the past is that when the competition is there and the stage is set—whether a top-level Division I or Division II event—they step up to the plate and bring their best. I’m excited for them to play at that level and at that stage and have another chance, an opportunity, to showcase the talent that we have,” Mailloux said.

And for Tolley, who said there is no game that exposes or highlights one’s character and personality better than the game of golf, he can’t wait to see the amazing assemblage of golf talent take to the course later this year.

“[Golf] is all about honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship, and it just has so many life lessons and values involved and that is why I think it is a beautiful game,” Tolley said. “ e message to me is American Dunes and the Collegiate provide opportunity, and that is what our mission does. It creates opportunities for the families of our fallen heroes and I just love everything about it. It’s a great collaborative e ort by some really talented people.”

THE GOLF, EPI C.

TH E TRIP, EASY. BOOKING 2024, EVEN EASIER.

Land of More

Grounds Tour 2024

Otsego, Michigan

PHOTOGRAPHY: NILE YOUNG (TOP); COURTESY OF GAYLORD CVB (BOTTOM)

GOLF MECCA

Gaylord, Michigan

Freeland, Michigan

PHOTOGRAPHY: NILE YOUNG

Otsego, Michigan

LYNX GOLF COURSE

PILGRIM'S RUN GOLF CLUB

Pierson, Michigan

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY H3 DESIGNS

THE MINES GOLF COURSE

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dave Pelz

ON PUTTING RHYTHM AND POWER SOURCE

Text: R.J. Weick

Dave Pelz is an internationally recognized golf instructor, having worked with many PGA, LPGA, and European Tour Players over the years, and a bestselling author, known for works like “Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible,” “Dave Pelz’s Putting Bible,” “Putt Like a Pro,” and “Golf Without Fear.” As a former NASA scientist and as a golf enthusiast, Pelz has leveraged his knowledge of science and physics and applied it to the game of golf, quickly becoming one of the most wellknown coaches dedicated to the short game.

Pelz Golf Scoring Game Schools, a 30-year pursuit based on the culmination of research and the belief that science can drive improvement in the game, was founded by Pelz in 1993. Since then, its network of schools has expanded across the country and the globe in places like Florida, Ireland, California, London, Barcelona, United Arab Emirates, Arizona, Chicago, Portugal, and Germany, o ering one-, two-, and three-day clinics, alumni programs and corporate events, and private lessons. Its network of locations also includes Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Michigan, in which its Golf Academy—a year-round, 2,000-square-foot facility—hosts Dave Pelz Scoring Game School one-day clinics, two-day schools, and three-day schools throughout the season.

It is a golf school that welcomes all skill levels, as some of the fundamentals of golf—particularly when it comes to the short game—apply to both the new players and elite golfers alike. Pelz, who also holds 17 U.S. patents and transformed his backyard into a short-game haven and golf playground, working with SYNLawn®, a Georgia-based company rede ning the idea of grass with its premium synthetic turf, shares insights online like his "Short Putt Drill" and “Wedge Tips by Dave Pelz” videos, and outlines his strategies when it comes to putting rhythm and the proper power source for putting.

Pelz noted in terms of putting rhythm, if one is having di culty managing distances, “it’s very likely that you’re powering those putts with the wrong source.”

“ e length of your putting stroke—a pure pendulum motion straight-back and straightthrough—should be what controls how far a putt rolls. e longer you take the putter head back and through impact, the farther the ball should roll,” stated Pelz in “Putting Rhythm.” “ is is an e ective and very simple way to control the roll of your putts if you consistently make a pure pendulum, in-line stroke along your intended aimline and, just as importantly, putt in your natural rhythm.”

He also noted how every golfer has their own distinctive rhythm, one that is comfortable, ecient, and natural, which is o en the same rhythm as one walks, and applying it to putting stroke can simplify and improve putting habits.

“ ink of the pros you’ve seen on television and how they walk and swing. You might have noticed that Max Homa, Brian Harman, and Jordan Spieth walk and swing quickly and Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, and Scottie Sche er have slower, more casual rhythms. If you look closely, you’ll also see they putt the same way,” Pelz stated. “ ere’s a clear advantage to hitting every putt in one natural rhythm that’s unique to your body and physical habits—it breeds a smoother, more consistent stroke on putts of any length.”

To identify one’s natural rhythm, Pelz suggests using a metronome set to 90 beats per minute and using two pillows set 18 inches apart to measure putter motion back and forth. en, reset the metronome ve beats faster and again ve beats slower from the initial tempo to see which feels closer to a natural rhythm for an individual. A golfer can train their putting stroke to their individual rhythm, which can provide a foundation of consistency to then start solving any mechanical problems in one’s stroke.

When it comes to the power source, which

Pelz indicated has a “major in uence” on putting success since the speed a ects “how much it breaks, the line it rolls on, and whether or not it stays in the hole if it hits it,” how one supplies power and speed is signi cant.

“Good putters need a gentle, precise, repeatable, reliable-under-pressure, easily adjustable and nely controllable source of power. What they don’t want is powerful, fast, sporadic, explosive-under-pressure, susceptible to excitement-and-adrenaline source of power. It’s important to understand your stroke’s power source and whether you need to modify or improve it to improve your putting,” Pelz stated.

“Many golfers power their putts with the small muscles of the hands and wrists. Because these muscles are strong, quick, and sensitive to adrenaline, players using them nd it di cult to putt well under pressure. Even worse, when the trailing hand overpowers the lead hand through impact, the lead wrist collapses. In truth, golfers would putt better with bricks for wrists, so they couldn’t hinge,” Pelz added.

To identify whether muscle control is an issue in a player’s putting game, Pelz suggests taking notes of details like freezing at the nish and notice where the lead arm is relative to one’s leg, and when putting the trailing hand in one’s pocket, how far the lead arms swings past the front leg. Pelz noted if a normal stroke is “longer than your lead-arm-only stroke, it means your trailing hand and wrist added power to make up the di erence,” and if one’s “lead-arm-only follow through is more than two inches longer than your normal two-handed stroke, use a learning aid that helps restrict excess hand and wrist movement”—or try a longer-sha ed putting style.

“ e goal is to set the putter into a pure swinging—pendulum—motion, with the hands, arms, and putter swinging together. e advantage of pendulum putting is its simplicity, which helps you maintain a consistent face angle at impact and better touch and distance control on putts of all lengths. Good Luck and Good Putting to You,” Pelz stated.

Take a drive

Sweetgrass and Sage Run: dramatically different, but equally exceptional.

Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

RANKED #10 IN MICHIGAN

RANKED #19 IN MICHIGAN

ROUNDING THE FAIRWAYS:

In this year’s edition, e Golf Explorer: Michigan’s Journal to Incredible Golf heads along the shoreline in its annual fairway tour, showcasing some of the signature course designs and their breathtaking natural landscapes. From Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to Lake Superior, we travel up the coast, exploring the wild grasses, rolling terrain, windswept blu s, dramatic ridges, and sandy soils that make golf in Michigan an unforgettable experience.

COASTAL FAIRWAYS

AMERICAN DUNES

AMERICAN DUNES

17000 LINCOLN STREET | GRAND HAVEN, MICHIGAN

Envisioned as a haven, a tribute, a memorial, and a place of celebration, American Dunes Golf Club has become fondly known as “the church Jack built.” Once the former site of the Grand Haven Golf Club—and birthplace for what would later become the Folds of Honor Foundation— American Dunes features a Jack Nicklaus Sig-

nature Golf Course design that reimagined the old course into a 7,213-yard, par-72 course that carves through iconic sand dunes and opened up narrow tree-lined fairways. e course, located near the shore of Lake Michigan, features 30 bunkers, Triple Seven bentgrass greens, and generous, rolling fairways.

e course, which debuted in 2021, is full of drama and reverence, incorporating Nicklaus’ 18 major championships in names for each hole and plaques to honor fallen military, rst

responders, and a Folds of Honor recipient. It is an experience that intentionally goes beyond the fairway as well, with its Wall of Honor, CAVU Fighter Squadron Bar, and daily reverent times in which taps play every day at 1300 hours and the national anthem plays at 17:30 for e Retreat. Featuring 18 holes of signature Nicklaus design and precision, American Dunes was created to become more than a gol ng destination, but also as a safe haven for veterans, rst responders, the fallen and disabled, and their families.

AMERICAN DUNES

GRAND HOTEL | THE JEWEL

286 GRAND AVENUE | MACKINAC ISLAND, MICHIGAN

is historic island destination has welcomed visitors for centuries, featuring recreational activities, landmark attractions, and car-free streets full of horse-drawn carriages. It is also home to the 1887-built Grand Hotel, a National Historic Landmark overlooking the Straits of Mackinac, and the resort’s 18-hole golf course. e course, which comprises the two nine-hole courses of the Grand and the Woods, is known collectively as e Jewel and is connected by a mile-and-a-half, horse-drawn carriage ride through parts of the island o en unseen by visitors.

e Grand, which was built in 1901, was redesigned in 1987 by Jerry Matthews and welcomes players with lush landscaping, manicured tees, and scenic views of Lake Huron and Round Island. e front nine was joined by the back nine less than a decade later when Matthews introduced the Woods through the interior of Mackinac Island. Both the Grand and the Woods feature

GRAND HOTEL | THE JEWEL

GRAND HOTEL | THE JEWEL

a driving range able to accommodate up to four players at a time and golf carts are also available throughout the season.

HARBOR SHORES RESORT

201 GRAHAM AVE. |

BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN

Featuring four diverse terrains, this Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course transformed roughly 550 acres of land that was once abandoned, marked by the distinctive ngerprint of industrial rise and fall, into a dynamic gol ng experience with deep ties to the local community. e revitalization, which saw more than three million square feet of dilapidated structures demolished and the removal of over 140,000 tons of waste material onsite and portions of the Paw Paw River, was backed by the not-for-pro t Harbor Shores, as it also sought to establish a relationship to its surrounding natural environment and bring wildlife back to the area. Each hole has been named for plants indig-

PHOTOGRAPHY: HARBOR SHORES RESORT

HARBOR SHORES RESORT

HARBOR SHORES RESORT

enous to the region and feature metal sculptures and hand-blown glass made by local artists, Josh Andres and Jerry Catania, through a partnership between Harbor Shores and the Benton Harbor Arts District. ere are also plaques describing Jack Nicklaus’ major championships and a portion of the greens fees are allocated to help maintain public areas in the nearby Jean Klock Park and its 12-mile walking system. e six-time host of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, Harbor Shores Golf Course unfolds with inland terrain, drawing players to the freshwater coast with dramatic views of the dune and shoreline landscape by the end of the rst nine holes. e course then

winds through rolling hills, ravines, and hardwoods before it nishes along Paw Paw River, Ox Creek, and wetlands.

HAWKSHEAD LINKS GOLF COURSE

523 HAWKS NEST DR. | SOUTH HAVEN, MICHIGAN

Designed by Arthur Hills, HawksHead Links Golf Course is an 18-hole course featuring a variety of play elements, o ering something for players of all skill levels. Ranging from 4,889 yards at the gold tees to a par-72, 7,003-yard layout at the champi-

onship tees, HawksHead Links features a combination of par-3s, par-4s, and par-5s across its 18 holes designed to naturally ow through prairie land and long grasses, links-style. ere are waste areas and deep pot bunkers, double-tiered greens with huge drop o s, waste areas intersecting fairways, elevated green complexes, and tight landing zones with narrow, triple-tiered greens guarded by bunkers in front and behind. is year, HawksHead has introduced new carts complete with GPS, invested roughly $250,000 in irrigation upgrades, and upgraded cart paths, and with its new superintendent, raised turf conditions and bunkers.

Located in South Haven, HawksHead has been a staple in the community since it opened in 1996. Founded by Al Ruppert, South Haven resident and local restaurateur—of Clementine’s in South Haven and Clementine’s Too in St. Joseph—HawksHead Links Golf Course also invites players to unwind at the pub-inspired HawksHead Restaurant featuring panoramic views of the woods and links, and to stay at the restored Old English Tudor-style inn onsite. e Inn at HawksHead blends old world elements with modern amenities, while the HawksHead’s GoldenHawk subdivision o ers four-bedroom cottages located on the back nine of the course.

MANITOU PASSAGE GOLF CLUB

4600 S CLUB DR. | CEDAR, MICHIGAN

Nestled amid Point Betsie Lighthouse, Leland’s Fishtown, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Manitou Passage Golf Club is an Arnold Palmer Signature Course de ned by Arnold Palmer Design Company design tenants like

PHOTOGRAPHY: HAWKSHEAD

LINKS (TOP); MANITOU

HAWKSHEAD LINKS GOLF COURSE

MANITOU PASSAGE GOLF CLUB

risk-reward, strategy and fun, and beauty, and the glacial-informed landscape. With site features like moraines, outwash plains, and drumlins, the 18-hole course intentionally begins in a sprawling meadow at the lowest elevation and then ascend, winding along ridges to return to the terraced clubhouse and nearby pond.

ere are fescue- lled meadows, hardwoods, expansive ridges, and water features, and when a group of dedicated golfers purchased the course, they invested in its redesign to increase playability, reducing severity in several doglegs, and widening select landing areas. e tee boxes were also raised on the h hole, providing a glimpse of Lake Michigan between Pyramid Point and South Manitou Island, while making the carry to the landing area more manageable. Lodging is available at e Homestead, from its historic waterfront inn, resort hotels, and privately-owned villas and homes rentals, and dining options comprise Arnie’s, overlooking the 18th hole greens, as well as a number of venues o ered onsite at e Homestead.

MARQUETTE GOLF CLUB | GREYWALLS

1075 GROVE STREET | MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN

Since 1926, Marquette Golf Club has welcomed golfers to the highland and coastal landscape surrounding the Lake Superior port city in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan. First designed by William Langford and eodore Moreau, the Heritage’s rst nine holes expanded in 1969 into a full 18-hole course when David Gill added dramatic slopes and a challenging nish to the gently rolling terrain and imaginative green complexes. In 2005, the semi-private club grew into a 36-hole facility with the addition of Greywalls designed by Mike DeVries.

Considered a testament to the natural wonder and rugged beauty of the area, Greywalls integrates fairways and boldly contoured slopes, dramatic elevation changes and bunkered links, and breathtaking panoramas and lake views. Ranging from 4,631 yards to 6,828 yards, Greywalls complements the original Heritage Course which runs 5,161 yards to 6,260 yards at the tees.

MARQUETTE GOLF CLUB/GREYWALLS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GREYWALLS

30+ golf courses within 30 minutes.

We are a lavender farm in Caledonia, Michigan, with store and bakery that people can visit. Open year round, but through harvest which begins mid June. (A ticketed event)

DESTINATION:

Grand Rapids

Text: R.J. Weick

Festivals and special events o en play a pivotal role in cities, communities, and individuals’ lives. ey may evoke laughter and music, art and celebration, reverence and unity, and as a platform, serve as a powerful means in which to bring people together to share tradition, stories, and hope for a vibrant future. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, unique and creative events help elevate residents’ quality of life while also activating di erent neighborhood parks, cultural landmarks, and locations within the city. And for its O ce of Special Events at the City of Grand Rapids, those events not only display its vibrant, diverse community, but also help foster a sense of belonging so people feel engaged and connected within the city.

“I think people came to see that there is an emotional connection when engagement hap-

pens and without that social connection, we saw that the emotional connection didn’t happen. at social element impacts our quality of life, it impacts the sense of unity and the sense of belonging, and it’s a collective action that brings together both public and private, social sectors and stakeholders, that creates a vibrant city,” said Evette Pittman, Special Events Manager at the City of Grand Rapids O ce of Special Events.

“On a community-wide scale, having this connection and this sense of community makes us a better place to live—a wonderful place to work, live, and play—and events play a part of that in creating that social bond and that emotional connection in the community,” Pittman added.

e O ce of Special Events, or OSE, partners with local organizations and works with residents, planners, and other organizers to plan and permit activities, special events, cultural festivals, and sporting tournaments that take place

on city-owned and public property, and activate spaces like streets, sidewalks, and parks. It strives to serve as a one-stop-shop for realizing high-quality, year-round activities, events, and entertainment across the city, as part of the City’s larger mission to elevate the quality of life for its residents through city services and become a nationally recognized destination that is welcoming, innovative, equitable, and collaborative. In 2023 alone, OSE oversaw 655 events in Grand Rapids, from Storytime in the Park, Fathers and Families Flag Football, Corgis in the Park, and Retriever Fever, to Amway River Bank Run, World of Winter, Festival of the Arts, and its weekly Swing, Salsa, Jazz, and Food Truck events.

“I feel like we are back to pre-pandemic levels and at a point in time where more events are coming, folks are excited to be outside and to gather together—folks are still being cautious, but they are de nitely enjoying the activations and events that are taking place within the city. Folks are excited to plan their own events and come up with new activations, so it’s an exciting time here in Grand Rapids,” Pittman said. “I think that social connectivity is so important and I think that it has brought us closer together as a community and it shows when we are at our events.”

Pittman also noted in recent years, OSE has witnessed new events, new activations, new locations, and new partnerships develop, and watched as di erent organizations that embraced similar values and goals work together to bring their events to fruition—and as the community has surrounded them and those new activations in really exciting ways in support. In 2023, OSE also launched new weekly events that will be added to familiar staples like the Tuesday Night Swing Dance, to feature Praise in the Park on Sundays, Art in the Park on Mondays, and Food Truck Fridays.

“Our longest series that we have here in the city is our Tuesday Night Swing, which will continue, and we have Wednesday Night Salsa, so it is a great time if you’ve ever wanted to learn some of the di erent Latin dances and just enjoy good music, good food, and good folks. And then we have our ursday nights, which are our Jazz in the Park,” Pittman said.

“Food Truck Fridays happens at Riverside Park and it has outgrown the space that it was in, so we are actually moving it north in Riverside Park to where some of the older, little league baseball elds are that are no longer in use. Our Parks department is taking those fences down and restoring the grass in those areas,

so we are able to host even larger events out there,” Pittman added.

Events like World of Winter—a two-month festival that is considered one of the largest of its kind in the United States featuring more than 100 art installations, activities, and events—have grown tremendously in recent years, while others like ArtPrize continue to adapt and return to the city as its new direction looks to become an event for the community of the community. ere are also diverse, cultural festivals like Festival del Cinco de Mayo, Festival of the Arts, Polish Heritage Festival, A Glimpse of Africa, Fiesta Mexicana, African American Art and Music Festival, Yassou! Greek Festival, Grand Rapids Asian-Paci c Festival, and Grand Rapids Pride Festival, to name a few.

Others, like Tots & Taps Festival, Beer City Open Pickleball Championship, Oktoberfest Grand Rapids, West Michigan Light the Night, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, and Grand Rapids Turkey Trot highlight unique interests, passions, and causes, and will take place around the city, such as at Calder Plaza, LMCU Ballpark, Van Andel Arena, and Belknap Park. Grand Rapids was recently named the thirdmost pickleball-obsessed city in the United States based on a Google analysis report on Offers.Bet, which Pittman noted is an exciting development to see how the di erent tournaments can attract players from across the country and beyond to the city. Pittman also said despite the growth—as the city welcomes a new 8,500-seat, downtown soccer stadium and the new riverfront Acrisure Amphitheater on Market Ave., as well as new restaurants and new activations and events—Grand Rapids is still a community, which is re ected in its dedication to festivals and special events.

“I love the fact that we have wonderful things like the Grand Rapids Ballet, which is still our only professional performing ballet company in the state of Michigan, and then we have our Grand Rapids Symphony, which has been around for so many years and now is outside of the walls. ey are still at DeVos Hall, but they are planning at least three activations where they are going to play at local parks, exposing a broader audience to symphonic music. ey haven’t changed their mission, they’ve just expanded, they understand that the community needs to experience them in di erent ways, and it helps these arts organizations stay relevant while the community bene ts,” Pittman said.

“We are still cohesive as a community. e city has so many partners, organizations, and businesses that work together to create that cohesiveness and that is what shows when you look at our community. What I would hope for the future is that we would be able to set aside anything that divides us as a community to work together to make sure that we stay vibrant and that we stay strong and we stay a place that is a great place to live and to work and to raise your children and to have fun,” Pittman added.

FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

GRPC Earth Day Open Pickleball Tournament | April 26, 2024. Belknap Park

Festival del Cinco de Mayo | May 4, 2024. Rosa Parks Circle

Fiesta Mexicana | Sept. 13, 2024. Calder Plaza

Amway River Bank Run | May 11, 2024. Downtown

Food Truck Fridays | Riverside Park

Cider Fest | May 18, 2024. Rosa Parks Circle

Roll’N Out Food Truck Fest | May 19, 2024. Calder Plaza

Storytime in the Park | June 4, 2024. Garfield Park

Festival of the Arts 2024 | June 7, 2024. 300 Monroe Ave. NW

Grand Rapids

Asian-Pacific Festival 2024 | June 14, 2024. Calder Plaza

Homecoming of the Three Fires Pow Wow | June 15, 2024. Riverside Park

Justice 4 All Juneteenth Vol. 4 | June 19, 2024. Calder Plaza

Art at the Park | June 21, 2024. Garfield Park

Grand Rapids Pride Festival | June 22, 2024. Calder Plaza

Beer City Open Pickleball Championship | July 8, 2024. Belknap Park

Fathers and Families

Flag Football | July 13, 2024. MLK Park

Hispanic Festival | Aug. 2, 2024. Calder Plaza

A Glimpse of Africa | Aug. 8, 2024. Calder Plaza

Oktoberfest

Grand Rapids | Sept. 27, 2024. Riverside Park

She Runs Grand Rapids | Sept. 29. John Ball Park + Downtown Streets

West Michigan Light the Night | Oct. 3, 2024. Calder Plaza

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer | Oct. 19, 2024. Calder Plaza

Walk to End Alzheimer’s | Oct. 26, 2024. Calder Plaza

Grand Rapids Turkey Trot | Nov. 28, 2024. Van Andel Arena

GRAND RAPIDS AREA PUBLIC GOLF COURSES:

Mines Golf Club | 330 Covell Ave. SW, Grand Rapids

Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club | 11401 Newcosta Ave., Pierson

Quail Ridge Golf Club | 8375 36th St. SE, Ada

The Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe | 7211 48th St. SE, Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS AREA HOSPITALITY:

Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton | 187 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids

Canopy by Hilton Grand Rapids

Downtown | 131 Ionia Ave. SW, Grand Rapids

JW Marriott

Grand Rapids | 235 Louis St. NW, Grand Rapids

Embassy Suites by Hilton Grand Rapids Downtown | 710 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids

Hyatt Place

Grand Rapids/Downtown | 140 Ottawa Ave. NW, Grand Rapids

*For a full calendar of events, courses, and hotels, visit experiencegr.com

LIFE ON THE LINKS: Lakeside Dunes

Text: R.J. Weick

At the turn of the 20th century, as cities became electri ed, automobiles began to shi from luxury to versatile necessity, and Prairie Style architecture started to emerge in landscape from architects in the Midwest, omas Bendelow began carving out a golf course into 130 acres of virgin dune near Lake Michigan in Michigan. Nestled on the southern edge of the 4,150-acre freshwater Muskegon Lake in Muskegon, the course would o cially open as Muskegon Country Club in 1908 as an architectural signature of the Scottish American golf course architect. e course, which subsequently underwent a complete redesign and renumbering process in 1920 by Donald Ross, renowned golf course designer, has endured to this day as an integral part of the

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF DAVID C. BOS HOMES

community amid the freshwater, wooded, and dune landscape.

e golf course, which has hosted Regional Qualifying Rounds for the U.S. Open and the Michigan Amateur Championship, features 6,697 yards from the back tees, rolling terrain, fescue-lined fairways, and a par-72 challenge for both the experienced and enthusiast player alike. In addition to its exible membership options, Muskegon Country Club o ers practice facilities like a driving range, a short game area, and putting green; a competitive-laned pool, poolside snack bar, public restaurant; and other amenities like access to private country clubs, athletic clubs, and business clubs through its ClubCorp network.

Recently, Muskegon Country Club has embarked on a collaborative endeavor with its new owners, RedWater, a hospitality company based

in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and local custom home builders to bring its newest addition, a neighborhood community, to build-reality. RedWater, which specializes in dining, events, golf, sports, and tness, acquired Muskegon Country Club in 2021 as one of six private courses, two public courses, and select LiveGolf Studios in its golf portfolio. Other courses in its portfolio include: Macatawa Golf Club, Holland; StoneWater Country Club, Caledonia; Sunnybrook Country Club, Grandville; ousand Oaks Golf Club, Grand Rapids; Watermark Country Club, Cascade; e Golf Club at ornapple Pointe, Grand Rapids; and Ravines Golf Club, Saugatuck. Since purchasing the country club, RedWater introduced a new onsite restaurant, Lake Blu Grille, in June 2022 and o cially announced its Lakeside Dunes at Muskegon Country Club initiative in July 2022.

Located southwest of the golf course near the intersection of Beach Street and Sherman Blvd., Lakeside Dunes at Muskegon Country Club features 34 freestanding, semi-custom club homes ranging from about 1,600 square feet to 2,688 square feet on the main level with select large custom home sites available. Designed and built in partnership with David C. Bos Homes, a family-owned custom home builder based in Spring Lake, Michigan, the customizable models and oor plans are informed by a team that has built a legacy of creating beautiful, living spaces for clients since 1973.

David J. Bos, president and chief executive o cer at David C. Bos Homes, said when RedWater bought the Muskegon Country Club, there was a gorgeous piece of property on the backside of the course and ended up hiring David C. Bos and Jim Remiga, a developer and land planning team, as consultants to guide them through the planning phase for an entire community. en, the company looked to David J. Bos to help bring their design vision to fruition.

“From an overall standpoint, when you are putting together a development like this, it is how can you impact the natural environment the least, or we always strive to save as many trees and natural vegetation as we can, while at the same time creating a great community with great sites where we can capture views or privacy. For Lakeside Dunes, the rst 17 sites are directly on the golf course, so they have spectacular views and it ranges from unobstructed views where you feel like you are right on the course, to beautiful views,

but yet still have some privacy,” said Bos, in reference to the community plan layout.

“And then, the sites on the other side of the street, or the south side, are wooded sites. So, you have the luxury of living in a golf course community, which has a path connected all the way to the golf course so you can drive your golf cart to the golf course or you can drive your golf cart to the restaurant, but then have a nice, private site in a cool community,” Bos added.

For 50 years, David C. Bos Homes has built a portfolio of work driven by creativity, careful detail, and cra smanship, striving to deliver stylish, sustainable, and e cient spaces for their clients. Specializing in custom building and renovation, the experienced design-build company has been owned and operated by the Bos family for two generations. For Bos, Lakeside Dunes is representative of the company’s design-build process, in which the team strives to work with clients through every step to ensure their custom home at the end of the day is a dream made real.

“I always say, ‘who you are and how you live is what you should live in,’ and that is always how we have approached every project with every client, because when we are nished, we don’t want them to say, ‘I wish we could have that,’ or ‘I wish we would have done this.’ We go through every part and piece of the home to make sure they are getting what they want and that they love their home,” Bos said.

“ e other thing that goes hand in hand with that is the fact that we are design-build and

when we go through that design process, we’re allowing each and every client to be so involved in it. We’re working through every step with each client, versus us designing what they think they want and telling them what it should be. We are going to have our name on it, but it is going to be their home,” Bos added.

For Lakeside Dunes, design options comprise single- and two-story homes, two-to- ve bedrooms with a primary on the main oor and walkout lower levels, a two-stall garage with golf cart storage—and a three-stall option on select sites—and additional living space in the lower levels with two bedrooms, bathroom, and recreational space options. Each of the current models—like Augusta, Oakmont, Andrews, and Cypress—feature design language expressive of the classic cottage vernacular inherent to the West Michigan lakefront, such as familiar gable forms, cottage-inspired elements, covered front porches, and lap siding with shingle accents. In Augusta, a two-story walkout features a total of 2,706 square feet with a three-stall garage option; Andrews, a single-story, walkout ranch features 13’ vaulted ceilings in the great room and kitchen; and Oakmont, a single-story, walkout with 13’ vaulted ceilings and three-stall garage options o ers a total of 2,442 nished square feet. Each of these models feature a total square footage that include a nished lower level.

“We have an overall theme of what we call ‘club homes,’ but they are very much your classic, cottage style home with a real front porch

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF DAVID C. BOS HOMES

that you can sit on. I would say really classic, cottage style architecture, but every single client we have met with so far, we are almost building them a custom home,” Bos said.

“I love meeting each unique client. Craig Smith, [chief operating o cer at RedWater] and I work together as a team, and I help [the clients] visualize what a home is going to look like on that particular site. What are your views going to be out of that four-season room, what are your views going to be out of the great room, do we want to make modi cations to the plan to capture those views di erently, or shi the home at a certain angle to maximize the views, maximize the daylight? It is so fun to be a dream merchant and get to meet people and help them capture what they want in their home,” Bos added

e project moved into the initial phase of development in 2022 and as of late 2023 had eight sites reserved with an additional one sold. For Bos, whose team is familiar with the nuanced challenges that o en arise working on or near the lakefront, it is also about designing to budget in order to achieve a home that ts their functional, aesthetic, and nancial goals.

“Rather than designing something with everything they could ever want and then see how much it costs, because of their involvement, we are able to design a home to t their budget while getting the spaces they need,” Bos said. “I just love houses, I love architecture, and I love seeing the excitement in clients’ eyes when we get to design

and they’re like, ‘that’s it, that’s our house,’ and then getting to see them at the end when they are moving into their house. It is just so exciting to see.”

With access to Muskegon Country Club amenities like its historic course, pool, and restaurant, as well as its close proximity to nature trails, Beachwood Park, Bronson Park, Kruse Park, Kruse Park Dog Peach, Blu on Bay Marina, Safe Harbor Great Lakes Marina, and Muskegon Yacht Club, Lakeside Dunes o ers a unique community lifestyle tucked into a natural land-and-waterscape.

“ ese are beautiful homes nestled into the community and the whole community is nestled on top of a dune. It’s like, where can you live on a beautiful golf course with a restaurant with pools and amenities and Lake Michigan across the street in western Michigan? ere is just nothing like it being built,” Bos said.

A shortened version of this feature has also been featured in our sister publication, Great Lakes By Design: e Acoustics, 2023.

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF DAVID C. BOS HOMES

MEET IN

Mt. Pleasant

Text: R.J. Weick

In Isabella County, Michigan, Mt. Pleasant is a Mid Michigan destination and cultural hub for arts and entertainment largely bordered by the Chippewa River. It features a vibrant downtown retail, shopping, and dining scene, a community of small and large businesses alike, more than 1,000 local farms, and over 1,000 acres of parkland and 19 nature preserves. It is also home to Ziibiwing Center, Art Reach of Mid Michigan, Central Michigan University, Mid Michigan Community College, Soaring Eagle Casino, Annual Mt. Pleasant Cra Beer Festival, and the Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival, a community staple since 1958. ere are more than 100 restaurants, such as local favorites like Summit Smokehouse & Tap Room, Midori Sushi & Martini Lounge, Mountain Town Brewing Company, Hunter’s Ale House, e Brass Café, Rubbles Dive Bar, e Green Spot Pub, Marty’s Bar, Freddie’s Tavern, and Max & Emily’s Eatery—and roughly 13 local golf courses, including Bucks Run Golf Club, PohlCat Golf Course, and e Pines Golf Course at Lake Isabella.

Located o East Airport Road, PohlCat Golf Course is a par-72, championship course featuring a mix of modern and classic links-style design elements. Designed by Dan Pohl, former PGA Tour Professional and Mt. Pleasant resident, the 18-hole course plays over and around the scenic Chippewa River and as an upscale public facility, features a full-service restaurant and newly renovated banquet facility that can accommodate up to 300 guests for special events. Pohl noted the design of the course was informed by roughly 30 years of experience playing di erent courses and it was critical to integrate playable characteristics that would allow for all levels of play from gol ng enthusiasts and experienced players alike.

In Lake Isabella, roughly 16 miles to the west, e Pines Golf Course at Lake Isabella invites golfers to tee up at their Bruce Matthews-designed course situated near the 875acre Lake Isabella. e 18-hole public golf course is considered user-friendly, while also posing a number of challenges to the more experienced golfer, across its multiple elevations and ve water holes, and the facility also o ers

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL BUCK, M-BUCK

a practice range with two putting greens and a chipping green. e facility o ers an onsite restaurant known as Tally’s Bar and Grill, featuring starters like crispy brussel sprouts, apple crostini, and Tally fries; salads, atbreads, burgers, and sandwiches; as well as full dinner menu like fall entrees of Parmesan Encrusted Walleye, Butternut Squash Ravioli, and House Smoked Baby Back Ribs.

Back to the east, along S. Chippewa Road in Mt. Pleasant, Bucks Run Golf Club has become a Mid-Michigan destination for golfers since

the Jerry Matthews-designed course opened in 2000. Once a former quarry for sand, gravel, and stone, the roughly 290-acre property has been transformed into a landscape of sculpted fairways, sand bunkers, and tee boxes across the award-winning, 18-hole course. Bucks Run Golf Club has evolved over the years to include an onsite restaurant, professional golf shop, and its new overnight accommodations, known as e Cottages at Bucks Run, which overlooks its signature, par-4, 18th hole on course and Lake Fisher beyond.

Mt. Pleasant also invites residents and guests alike to venture through its various museums, galleries, and indoor exhibits, like Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum, where creativity and inspiration meet; Ziibiwing Center, a premier museum and cultural center highlighting the tradition of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and Great Lakes Anishinaabe Tribes; For Arts Sake, a downtown space to sell, teach, and make art, featuring the community’s only splatter room for art therapy; and Art Reach of Mid Michigan, an arts organization o ering classes

and outreach, among other services. Its downtown district also features a number of local shops like Trillium and Sleepy Dog Books, and is transformed into a metaphorical canvas each year for its Art Walk Central, the highly anticipated art competition featuring more than 60 artists and their work across diverse mediums. e event is anticipated to take place August 1-24, 2024.

Beyond its sidewalk streets and galleries, Mt. Pleasant welcomes adventure enthusiasts to explore the area’s natural beauty, from the 100acre Bundy Hill Preserve, which feature more than two miles of hiking trails and the highest point in Isabella County; to Deer eld Nature Park, which is a 591-acre park featuring two, 18-hole disc golf courses, swinging bridges, a covered bridge, picnic areas, covered pavilions, an artesian well, and views of the winding, 92mile Chippewa River.

PHOTOGRAPHY: (TOP) MT PLEASANT CVB; (BOTTOM) MICHAEL BUCK, M-BUCK STUDIO LLC

On the shelf

Text: R.J. Weick

In the bucolic landscape of southeast Kent County, a historic bar has quietly fermented, distilled, and matured in recent years into a rich, complex bourbon and whiskey experience. Located in Alto, Michigan—a small community home to Saskatoon Golf Club and Tyler Creek Golf & Camp situated along nearly three miles of Pratt Lake Creek—Alto Bar has become known as a whiskey destination, featuring a proli c collection of bourbon, whisky, and whiskey in ranging rarity, avor pro le, and from regions like America, Scotland, Ireland, and Japan, to name a few.

Initially established in 1900, Alto Bar has undergone several iterations throughout its lifetime and when David Burns, current owner, acquired the bar in 2008, he had a vision of

transforming it into a bourbon and steak destination as home to Rockstar Steaks and a more-than 600-bottle collection of whiskies. e Golf Explorer: Michigan’s Journal to Incredible Golf had the opportunity to catch up with Owner David Burns to learn more about his a nity for bourbon and to learn more about the Alto Bar collection.

e Golf Explorer: Tell us about your collection. When did you start collecting whiskey and what drew you to the spirit?

David Burns: I started collecting probably about 10 years ago and I think I was a little bit ahead of the curve for most of the people who are involved in it right now. Part of the reason I started was I needed something to attract guests into the bar other than our featured food, so it was pretty much a necessity to try and provide a di erent bar experience than my clientele had before.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL BUCK, M-BUCK

Do you look for a certain region, year, avor pro le, rarity, or is it all across the board?

I look for new o erings based on what bourbon blogs are speci cally talking about, whether it is good juice or it is reasonable. en I usually buy three or six bottles on speculation, meaning that you can do well in relation to your collection, that you can put on your wall, probably 25 percent of the time. e other 75 percent is that it ends up being just okay, it’s not really sought a er, or it’s not what it was cracked up to be, so it is a speculation sport with the new stu . I also look for rarity and those are tough to get, because of the competition for a lot of bottles in the state of Michigan.

In terms of the distillation process, the aging, the aromas, the avor, the feel, the nish of a whiskey—do you have a favorite aspect of that story? What inspires you?

My personal taste preference is smoothness and depth of the juice that I’m drinking, depth meaning that when you nose it, it is there and when you taste it, it is a complete package, it’s not missing anything. To me, that is the most important aspect of a good bourbon or a good Scotch or a good Japanese whiskey.

What would you tell guests or people who are new to bourbon and whiskey to look for?

I would say, start with the basics, the budgets, meaning that if you are going to try bourbon and you’re going to try to enjoy it, start with Bu alo Trace, Eagle Rare, Maker’s Mark, [brands] that are mass-produced bourbons and see if there is something there that you really enjoy as far as the taste pro le goes and then once you do that, then it is based on your budget. How much are you willing to spend for a bottle or a drink in a bar? Is it $10, $20, or $50 or less for a drink? Are you talking $39, $89, $159 for a bottle? is can be a very expensive sport. I think people need to stick to realistic expectations of what they can a ord, but with that being said, there are really great bottles at $40 and there are really terrible bottles at $200 and it is based on personal preference, based on what you like, such as avor pro le or if you’re a high-proof person.

ere is such a rich cultural history, a connection to the earth and ingredients, the people behind the whiskey, and something about how people can come together to enjoy a glass—what makes the bourbon or whiskey story special in your mind?

If you’re talking about bourbon, it’s a uniquely American product. It can’t be produced anywhere other than America and I think that particular aspect is absolutely fascinating to me. Scotch is Scotch, Irish whiskey is Irish, and bourbon is American, and so that is what I love about it, I really do. From the aspect of a drinker who would like to explore di erent veins or venues of bourbon, meaning that 80 or 90 percent of all bourbon used to come from Kentucky, now you can get great bourbon out of Wisconsin, you can get

great bourbon out of Michigan, you can get great bourbon out of California, and there are fantastic distilleries in Utah.

Is there anything you would like to add or any speci c bourbons you wanted to highlight?

My favorite is Je erson’s Ocean. It’s reasonable. It’s an $89-$90 bottle and it’s my personal favorite out of all of the bourbons that are readily available. e best bourbon that I’ve ever had is Booker’s 25th [Anniversary Bourbon], which are extremely hard-to-get bottles, but that is the best bourbon I’ve ever tasted. e best rye I’ve ever tasted is omas H. Handy. It is impeccable, the way that

you taste it, it’s light-years ahead of everyone else. at is just my favorite.

As far as recommendations go, I would invite people to come into the bar and sit down and have a ight. Sit down and talk to our sta about bourbon in general and what makes tastings and a glass of whiskey so enjoyable, because there is nothing like it. We have 400-plus bottles at the bar, and a total whiskey [count] of 600-plus. We’ve had people come in from all over the United States and the exclamation is, ‘I cannot believe that this is here in the middle of Alto.’ We are a farming community, it’s a very small community, but we think we have a really great collection and we love what we do.

From its exclusive setting less than two miles from Lake Michigan, and nestled between South Haven and Saugatuck, HawksHead Links offers world-class golf, fi ne dining, superb accommodations, special events, and beautiful weddings. The 7,003-yard, par-72 golf course designed by Arthur Hills, a renowned golf architect, winds through sand dunes and woodlands in southwestern Allegan County.

Vacation cottages

Four-bedroom, four-bathroom cottages—featuring a common kitchen and dining room—are located on the back nine of HawksHead and provide a serene golf or beach vacation escape for families or friends.

S OUTH HAVEN, M ICHIGAN

EXPLORING THE CAPITAL

Text: R. Collins

Lansing, as Michigan’s capital, grew in recognition as an auto manufacturing powerhouse in the late 1800s before it transformed into a destination for Big Ten sports fans, festival enthusiasts, and avid golfers alike. roughout the area, visitors can nd subtle nods to Lansing’s history while also enjoying a growing list of modern amenities, including several championship golf courses o ering different styles of play. ough unique, each course in the area showcases the rolling green topography, pic-

turesque forested areas, and quaint streams that have come to signify Michigan golf for many.

Lori Lanspeary, CTA, marketing and community engagement manager at the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau, noted that Michigan’s capital region is a great golf destination with 30 courses within a 30-mile radius. With its central location, golfers don’t need to drive far to nd remarkable courses, that “up north” feel, and great a ordability.

In terms of course o erings, area favorites Eagle Eye Golf and Banquet Center and the Forest Akers Golf Courses in East Lansing hold signature appeals

for their links-style, championship course and collegiate reputations, respectively. Eagle Eye’s eponymous course presents enjoyable challenges from any of the ve tee sets on each hole, and even surprises golfers with a replica of the island green at the TPC Sawgrass on the 17th hole. Visitors’ greens fees include driving range access, and pre-play is complemented by two practice putting greens. e property is home to ve courses, as well as a putting course and the Michigan PGA’s headquarters. Visitors can nd several styles of play, from Eagle Eye’s links-style championship design to Woodside Golf Course, a rare 12-hole course showcasing Michigan hardwoods and challenging contours.

Just north, Forest Akers is nestled on the campus at Michigan State University, and it is home to the university’s Big Ten golf programs, championships, and two pro shops dedicated to quality MSU gear. Both award-winning courses on the property—East and West—are open to the public, and when not in play, visitors can utilize the Golf Center’s 20,000-square-foot putting green, 18 covered and heated year-round hitting stations, three-acre bentgrass practice tees, and more.

PHOTOGRAPHY: LANSING CVB (TOP); TOM GENNARA (BOTTOM)

Nearby both destinations, several new hotels o er ample rest points for busy travelers and golfers. e Courtyard by Marriott Lansing Downtown is located in the heart of downtown, near the home eld for the Lansing Lugnuts, the city’s minor league professional baseball team. For those who want a bigger taste of on-campus vacationing, the Graduate East Lansing hotel is one of the area's newest o erings overlooking the Michigan State University campus, where it faces a singular view of the Lansing skyline from its roo op bar.

Both hotels are also located near plenty of Lansing’s popular restaurants, breweries, distilleries, and shops. One, aptly named Lansing Brewing Company, is a historic venue positioned in the heart of Lansing’s Stadium District; it rst welcomed visitors in 1897 as more laborers arrived on Lansing’s growing automotive scene.

For the variety seekers, Lansing Shu eboard and Social Club along the Lansing River Trail o ers ve di erent restaurants, across an approximately 15,000-square-foot entertainment complex, including an organic Italian kitchen and a Himalayan snack shop. ere is also High Caliber Karting and Entertainment, an indoor action and entertainment park featuring high-speed go-kart racing, axe throwing, rage rooms, and games; and the nearby Zap Zone XL in Okemos, Michigan, featuring 120,000 square feet of diverse entertainment from laser tag, arcade games, and thrill park to rage rooms, bowling, and high-speed karting. And familiar names in dining like Jolly Pumpkin,

HopCat, and Bu alo Wild Wings, and local favorites like Crunchy’s, Falsetta’s Casa Nova, e Peanut Barrel, MEAT. Southern B.B.Q. & Carnivore Cuisine, and e Soup Spoon Café, to name a few.

Between the area’s new multi-seasonal activities and tried-and-true mainstays, Lansing re ects the vibrance of many Michigan cities in the spring and summer months, as barriers between indoors and the surrounding outdoors disappear, and sidewalks become busy.

Custom Publishing

Behind every company, service, product or individual is a story, and at SVK Multimedia and Publishing, our team is readytohelpyoutellyours. Gotosvkmp.comtocontactus.

PHOTOGRAPHY: LANSING CVB

PRIVATE IN MICHIGAN:

LochenHeath Golf Club

Text: Marsha Stratton, Idea Stream

Since its reopening in 2011, LochenHeath Golf Club in Williamsburg, Michigan—just east of the nation’s cherry capital of Traverse City—envisioned a future as a private club. A er it became a reality in 2021, the club experienced three successful years as a private golf destination. For Kevin O’Brien, PGA, General Manager of LochenHeath, its continued appeal for prospective and existing members is its high-quality golf, pristine golf course conditions, privacy, and signature vistas. e golf course, an exceptional design by Architect Steve Smyers, is carved from over 300 acres of historic cherry orchards that hug the Lake Michigan coastline and is an incredible property. e course sits on a dramatic piece of property with elevation changes of up to 85 feet and views of the East Grand Traverse Bay from 13 holes on the course.

“It has great movement to the land, and its setting above East Grand Traverse Bay provides wonderful vistas,” states Smyers.

O’Brien’s favorite holes are the 15th hole, a par3; the 14th hole, a par-4; and the 7th hole, a par-5, but he notes that there is something for everyone thanks to golf course architect Steve Smyers’ unique melding of links-style and parkland-style design features across the course. Generous fairways encourage breezy play and total views of the course’s scenic vistas, while wooded pockets keep play exciting and add to the intimate, private feel.

"Members will join for the outstanding golf and the exceptional culinary experience. It’s a

warm and welcoming membership. Our goal is to provide LochenHeath Members with a private, low-volume, exclusive destination golf club focused on like-minded golfers and bestowing an authentic championship-level golf experience,” O’Brien said.

LochenHeath members are invited to enjoy the experience without a hurry. e club hosts four membership tiers—national, seasonal, resident, and corporate—allowing members a comfortable t for their lifestyle and preferences. Foundationally, a signi cant bene t of the club’s private status is its allowance for careful, attentive maintenance that may not be possible otherwise.

“When you’re a private club with a low volume of rounds, the conditions are exceptional, and it also allows for a no-tee-time reservation when coming out to play,” O’Brien said. “Members will

o en just come out to practice because we have one of the best practice facilities in the Midwest.”

When at the club, members and their guests can enjoy well-appointed spacious Member Cottages, featuring four en-suites, an expansive common living area, a gas replace, and comfortable appointments throughout. A er a great golf day, golfers can unwind with a powerful wall shower and overhead waterfall feature. e relaxing outdoor deck overlooking the bay and beautiful sunsets will become a favorite gathering place at the end of a perfect day.

With its relaxed, low-round pace and cultivation of luxury amenities, LochenHeath Golf Club attracts members seeking top-quality Northern Michigan golf to enjoy leisurely in a picturesque, private setting.

THE OUTLOOK

In conjunction with 2023 National Golf Day, an advocacy event that took place May 8-10, 2023 in Washington D.C. for the rst time since 2019, the American Golf Industry Coalition released its 2022 Golf Impact Report, highlighting the industry’s footprint in the United States. e report, which is the h of its kind, building on data metrics introduced in 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2016, is intended to capture the size and scope of the game of golf by quantifying its direct, indirect, and induced impact across the country—and has produced a more complete picture of just how much the industry has evolved and grown even in the last decade.

Some of its key points outlined how golf drove $101.7 billion in direct economic impact in 2022, which is a 20 percent increase from $84.1 billion in 2016; and how its indirect and induced ripple e ect drove another $124.9 billion, resulting in a total $226.5 billion economic portrait that has enabled over 1.65 million jobs with at least 1 million of employees being directly tied to the industry. e report also highlighted how golf can serve as a powerful vehicle and platform for charitable fundraising, in which $4.6 billion was raised for various charitable causes in 2022—a 16 percent increase from $3.9 billion in 2016—driven by local courses, where four out of ve facilities held at least one charitable tournament outing in 2022.

With the introduction of alternative forms of golf, the game’s participation has also grown and become more diverse, with a base reaching 41.1 million in 2022 from the roughly 32 million in 2016, and drawn young players to the game as well. Nearly half of all golf participants, or 48 percent, of on- and o -course players in 2022 were between the ages of six years old and 34 years old—and in the wake of the pandemic, the more intangible bene ts of golf as a game and as an industry have emerged, highlighting its role as a “positive contributor to the physical, mental, and social wellness” of people, as a community asset, and as a means to provide valuable green space.

e 2022 Golf Impact Report also noted that the trees and turfgrass at facilities can improve

Text: R.J. Weick

PILGRIM'S RUN GOLF CLUB

air quality and can “serve as sanctuaries providing an essential habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals”—and the industry’s ongoing sustainability e orts have resulted in a water usage reduction of nearly 29 percent since 2005, introduction of drought-tolerant turfgrass, and a reduction in total irrigated acres of 11.5 percent at existing facilities.

It is a report that goes beyond high-level gures to analyze just how the industry can stimulate related or adjacent industries, breaking down golf’s total direct, indirect, and induced economic contribution of $226.5 billion into core industries like golf facility operations, capital investments, golf-related retail, tournaments, and charitable fundraising and their associated jobs, wages, and taxes at both the state and local, and federal level. It also looks at enabled industries like golf tourism and golf real estate, as well as its non-economic bene ts.

For instance, of the nearly $13.2 billion of total golf-related retail, supplies, and manufacturers, $7.22 billion of that is considered direct, while an additional $5.95 billion is designated indirect and induced. Golf facility operations, a roughly $90.5 billion engine, is broken down into a direct impact of $37 billion and an additional $53.57 billion in indirect and induced impact. Golf real estate has grown to be a $32.9 billion enabled industry with golf tourism reaching more than $64 billion in direct, indirect, and induced value.

In terms of participation, which reached 41.1 million with 27.9 million considered o -course participants and an additional 25.6 million considered on-course participants, the report highlighted how non-traditional forms of golf have led to a notable growth in the sport through forms like Topgolf venues, indoor simulators, golf-in-school programs, surpassing on-course play—which has witnessed an increase in its base for six straight years—for the rst time. e “fun, social, and approachable golf entertainment o erings” has contributed to a 62 percent increase since 2016 in latent demand, according to National Golf Foundation. And “female and ethnically diverse representation among on-course participants has also risen to its highest levels on record,” according to the 2022 Impact Report, noting that 25 percent of traditional golfers are women and girls, and “African American, Asian, and Hispanics” represent 22 percent of all on-course players, with proportions even higher among o -course-only participants.

Non-traditional or alternative, o -course options have also continued to expand across the national gol ng landscape. e National Golf Foundation found that there are more than 100 large-scale golf entertainment venues in supply, with over 600 additional golf simulator business locations, with the modern golf ecosystem evolving to include businesses, brands, and ventures like Topgolf, Swing Suite, X Golf, Five Iron Golf, Puttery, Puttshack, and Popstroke in the common vernacular. Topgolf, which recently merged with

Callaway to become Topgolf Callaway Brands Corporation in 2022, also noted that the game is growing and that the game is changing—making the game more accessible and enjoyable whether that is in a customized tting and trying new drivers featuring AI-integrated technology, or playing Angry Birds at Topgolf—in which golf balls virtually smash structures, pigs, and cause “mayhem and destruction” in Angry Bird fashion.

While new course construction has decreased, investment in existing facilities has grown 10.3 percent to roughly $3.5 billion and new home construction and reconstruction—within golf real estate—has also increased 10.5 percent to reach roughly $13.14 billion. ere are also ve times the number of golf courses in the United States compared to any other country, with roughly 15,945 courses and over 2,500 alternative golf facilities, and with associations like the PGA Tour, PGA of America, United States Golf Association, and LPGA, among many others, it alone is a segment that generates nearly $1.45 billion in revenue with more than 100 professional and major amateur golf events.

In addition to health and environmental wellness, there is also a critical social component to the industry as purpose-driven missions, initiatives, and brands look to the game as a means to “create a more positive impact on people and the planet,” according to the report. One such campaign, “Make Golf Your ing,” launched in 2020 as a collaborative, multi-faceted initiative to en-

sure the future of golf is open to everyone, which was received well by the public based on National Golf Foundation research in 2021. By 2022, “Make Golf Your Career” job portal was also introduced as an ongoing e ort to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and driving awareness to the industry’s opportunities.

FORE HIRE, an organization founded to educate, guide, and connect former and current collegiate women golfers with career opportunities, has partnered with PGA of America Career Services and organizations like Women’s Golf Coaches Association, AJGA, Mizuno Golf, and Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. to host “Women Who Want to Work in Golf” in both 2023 and 2024. is year's event, held May 19-21 in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, will be held in Carlsbad, California, hosted by Topgolf Callaway Brands, and is meant to connect participants with potential employers and increase awareness of the availability of talented women looking to enter the industry. e United Black Golfer’s Association Inc., a Laurelton Queens-based nonpro t launched in 2014, has spent the last decade providing opportunities for men and women golfers interested in the game of golf, including scholarships for students pursuing higher education and other nonpro t organizations, charities, and

groups; and Black Girls Golf of Atlanta, Georgia, founded by Ti any Fitzgerald, is on a mission to improve the gol ng experience for Black girls. Folds of Honor Foundation has also had a long history with the game of golf, leveraging the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan to help support its mission to provide educational scholarships for children and spouses of disabled and fallen service members and rst responders.

Other organizations like African American Golfer’s Digest, All Access Golf, Golf Women Mean Business, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Latina Golfers Association, Mexican American Golf Association, U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance, USA Disabled Golf Association, and Women of Color Golf, among others, are committed to increasing diversity, visibility, relatability, and accessibility to the game; while women and POC-owned businesses introduce unique top quality products, clothing, and accessory brands, social platforms, and services to the landscape.

And events like Women’s Golf Day, founded by Elisa Gaudet, which returns May 28 through June 4, 2024 as a global movement and series of events celebrating women and girls playing golf and learning skills that last a lifetime across a growing network of locations, is embracing a

mission to make golf fun and accessible across the world. It has grown to more than 1,300 locations in over 84 countries since 2016, including locations in Michigan, uniting women across the globe regardless of race, religion, language, geography, or economic status. Some of the local courses and resort destinations participating comprise: BOYNE Golf in Harbor Springs, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Verona Hills Golf Club in Bad Axe, and Pine Grove Country Club in Dickinson County.

LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

For Michigan, the Michigan Golf Alliance noted that the industry has a roughly $4.2 billion economic impact, employing over 60,000 people and $1.4 billion in wages paid annually, and manages approximately 127,500 acres of green space with roughly 28,000 acres of forest and wetlands that provide vital habitat for wildlife. And as local courses look to tee up for seasonal on-course and o -course play, at places like Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club in Pierson and Forest Dunes Golf Club in Roscommon, 2024 re ects a continued investment in existing facilities and growing interest in the game.

Michael Rey, PGA, director of golf at Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club, said that as the club celebrates its 25th anniversary into the rst half of the new sea-

FOREST DUNES GOLF CLUB

son, one of its goals in 2023 and leading into the 2024 season was to create an even better experience for their customers

“We did that by upgrading our technology systems inside the clubhouse, out to our starter shacks, and even our beverage cart operation to make the experience better all the way around. One of the key aspects we put into play last year is including a starter time, basically sending out ve groups each hour where a lot of public golf courses might go six, seven, or even eight groups in an hour. By taking that extra time out, it got people around the golf course a lot faster so they could enjoy their stay,” Rey added.

“We constantly looked to upgrade all of our operations, from how we redid the cart paths the last couple of years on the golf course, and how we have taken steps to improve our parking lot and driveway into the clubhouse, to how we have also done everything to the clubhouse possible to make this place look new and fresh a er 25 years. We’ve made a lot of changes to our overall program just to make it a better experience for the customer when they are here,” Rey added.

Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club plans to continue using the same booking format for this upcoming season, and as Rey noted, has already opened up their tee sheets for the entire season—a policy shi that was a rst in 2023—which has led to thou-

sands of pre-booked rounds as of March 2024.

“We used to do just a month out in our booking, but this year we’ve already pre-booked 7,000 rounds before April, so we’re looking at a very busy year here for us. We are keeping the same thing in play as far as the starter time involved, but overall, we are looking at a hugely successful year. e reason we had to change our policy on our tee sheet is because we have people coming from all over the world now to see us and we can’t just wait a month out to book them anymore,” Rey said. “We have to make sure that the season is there for them to book, so we open that tee sheet up in early November and start taking tee times all the way through.”

While the industry has maintained a robust, stable footing, full of innovative and exciting opportunities not just across the state, but nationwide and globally, it still faces challenges like rising costs across sectors such as turfgrass management, supply chains, operations, and equipment. And in a state like Michigan, where some courses operate seasonally or rotate their golf o erings with winter activities and indoor, o -course golf alternatives, weather can play a major role in a season’s success as well.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is that the cost of everything continues to rise for all, so unfortunately, we have to, and most golf courses have to, increase our rates. e cost of business has gone up drastically in the last three years— the cost of fertilizer, the cost of buying mowing equipment, the cost of new golf carts. I’ve run businesses for 25 years and if we can break even, it’s a successful year, so golf courses aren’t making a lot of money on this when there are increased rates, they are just trying to stay a oat while trying to make changes like upgrades in their program to make people want to keep coming back to their facilities,” Rey said.

“But I think golf is in a great position right now. People have come back to nd golf as a place that they want to spend their time and so the golf business itself is fantastic. It’s booming and it has helped us to have places like the Toptracers and Topgolfs of the world. ey are getting people in to just hit the balls and try it, and those people who are hitting balls and nding success there want to take it to the golf course. So, it is a fantastic time to be a part of the golf business,” Rey added.

Forest Dunes Golf Club, located roughly 135 miles northeast of Pilgrim’s Run, also is looking to build on another successful year in 2023 in this upcoming season. Don Helinski, director of operations at Forest Dunes, said that the big takeaway was that the club continued to welcome guests from all over the country as it has established itself as a true national destination for golf resorts, in large part due to its Tom Doak-designed, reversible course known as e Loop.

“Folks are coming to check out what it is all about and the architectural genius that [Doak] was able to accomplish in routing out two different courses utilizing the same 18 greens, and overall, golf is at a green state right now, particularly in northern Michigan with all of the great

courses we have up here. Folks who come from out-of-state aren’t coming to just play one of our courses, they are coming to experience multiple resorts,” Helinski said.

“I think the unique thing about golf is that it is something you can enjoy by yourself or you can enjoy it with a group. It’s personal, you can play at your own level, set goals for yourself, but more than anything there is a social aspect to it and I think with COVID, everybody felt trapped in various ways and coming out of that we really now value the time we are able to spend together and have fun and creating traditions. Golf can be the secondary part of enjoying the whole experience; it can be more about the time just spent being together,” Helinski added.

As Forest Dunes Golf Club heads into the 2024 season, which as Helinski noted is an exciting prospect as the destination welcomes golfers back on property, it is building on changes made prior to and in the wake of the 2023 season. e club not only renovated its Bootlegger Bar, removing the existing replace to open up expansive, 360-degree views of both Bootlegger Short Course and Forest Dunes Course, but also expanded outdoor seating and wrapped up construction on a covered pavilion on its back patio.

“ e pavilion on our back patio will o er shade to our guests dining during the day and then will have a cool ambiance at night with lighting and music out there, and obviously, in case of inclement weather, we could still have guests dining in a little bit of an alfresco experience under some cover,” Helinski said.

“We are also looking forward to continuing the evolution of the Bootlegger Short Course. Each year it continues to be more and more popular as groups realize how fun it is to be able to play with up to 12 people together, music playing, barefoot with two clubs and a putter, and beverage in hand,” Helinski added.

Helinski also noted the biggest opportunity for the club moving forward is continuing to keep things fresh and adding amenities to its portfolio of two championship courses, a short course, and an 18-hole putting course.

“We have the major things everybody is looking for as it relates to the golf experience, but there are always little nuances and new things we can continue to evolve and add to keep things fresh and I think that is important,” Helinski said.

“We do have enough land to expand with another course, and that has always been the goal of our current ownership since they bought the property in 2021, so we will see where that takes us in the near future. But the other opportunity and the great thing about the game of golf is enjoying it with travel companions, and so anything we can do to make the experience more special—whether that is re pits at the cottages or ping pong tables or the Bootlegger bar and the ambiance—to enhance that experience is going to be very important,” Helinski added.

Friday, June 21, 2024

7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Irish/Scottish Cèilidh (party!) in the Pub Tent with Live Music! Music begins at 7:00 PM

$22.50 Admission

Cash bar

Saturday, June 22, 2024

9:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Highland Games begin 9:30 AM Festival grounds open until 8 PM (Music continues until 11:00 PM)

$12 (16 & older)

15 & under - FREE

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN

Traditional Irish and Scottish foods

Celtic Genealogy Assistance | Vendors of Celtic goods

Irish Pub tent | Scottish Clan Tents | Kids area

www.HollandCelticFestival.org info@HollandCelticFestival.org Facebook.com/HollandCelticFestival

HOLLAND CELTIC FESTIVAL Ottawa

DeZwaan Windmill photo by Norm Hoekstra. Other photos by Erika Tinney & Cassie Veen-Haveman

GOLF PARTNER DIRECTORY

Arrivals

The moment the rubber touches the tarmac and the plane begins to slow, there is an inevitable pull causing passengers to sit at the edge of their seat. A slight anticipation often fills the cabin, and for those headed to the green it may be piqued by a curiosity of stepping onto a new course or excitement of returning to a cherished fairway.

ALPENA COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT (APN)

Alpena

Lakewood Shores .

Black Lake

Forest Dunes .

. .45 min.

.60 min.

.1 hr. 40 min.

BOYNE MOUNTAIN AIRPORT (BFA)

Boyne Falls

Boyne Mountain

Bay Harbor

Boyne Highlands .

5 min.

.15 min.

. .35 min.

CAPITAL REGION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAN)

Lansing

Eagle Eye

CHARLEVOIX MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (CVX)

Charlevoix

Bay Harbor

Boyne Mountain

Boyne Highlands

.15 min.

.30 min.

.55 min.

.50 min.

CHERRY CAPITAL AIRPORT (TVC)

Traverse City

Grand Traverse Resort & Spa

LochenHeath

Turtle Creek Casino

Crystal Mountain

Shanty Creek Resort

Boyne Mountain

Bay Harbor

Forest Dunes

Garland Lodge and Golf Resort

.10 min.

.16 min.

.15 min.

.45 min.

.46 min.

.60 min.

1hr. 15 min.

1hr. 20 min.

1hr. 30 min.

Boyne Highlands . . . . . .1hr. 30 min.

DELTA COUNTY AIRPORT (ESC)

Escanaba

Island Resort & Casino . . . . .15 min.

GAYLORD REGIONAL AIRPORT (GLR)

Gaylord

Garland Lodge and Golf Resort

Black Lake .

GERALD R FORD

Grand Rapids

Thornapple Pointe

The Mines

Gun Lake Casino

Pilgrim's Run

. .40 min.

. 1hr. 10 min.

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (GRR)

. .10 min.

.22 min.

.35 min.

.42 min.

Macatawa Golf Club .

Lynx

Ravines

Hawkshead .

. .45 min.

.47 min.

.50 min.

American Dunes Golf Club . . . .1 hr.

Tullymore Golf Resort

Harbor Shores

Soaring Eagle

Bucks Run

HARBOR SPRINGS AIRPORT (MGN)

Harbor Springs

Boyne Highlands

Bay Harbor

Boyne Mountain

Kalamazoo Lynx

Hawkshead

Harbor Shores

.1 hr.

.1 hr. 15 min.

1hr. 30 min.

.1 hr. 45 min.

1hr. 50 min.

5 min.

.15 min.

. .35 min.

KALAMAZOO/BATTLE CREEK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (AZO)

.29 min.

.60 min.

.60 min.

. 1hr. 15 min.

Regardless of the destination, there are a number of options for out-of-state travelers to choose from as they book their flight to the Great Lakes State. Take a look at some of the airports providing convenient access to incredible golf in Michigan.

MANISTEE COUNTY BLACKER AIRPORT (MBL)

Manistee

MT. PLEASANT MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (MOP)

Mt.

MBS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MBS)

Saginaw

PELLSTON REGIONAL AIRPORT (PLN)

Pellston

WEXFORD COUNTY AIRPORT (CAD)

Cadillac

David Burns, Owner

BOURBON AT ITS VERY BEST

72-Holes of Championship golf

Welcome to A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort, nestled on the shores of Torch Lake and Lake Michigan, where you’ll nd inclusive stay and play packages; club memberships; special twilight, junior and senior rates; dining options; a fairytale wedding venue; and so much more.

Sundance Named 2023 Michigan Course of the Year

Sundance embodies all of the characteristics of the Course of the Year award. The golf course has fostered a vibrant community hub where people can come together for gol ng, socializing and events while supporting charitable causes that bene t the broader community.

• Jada Paisley, Executive Director of the MGCA

Sundance exempli es the extraordinary beauty of northwest Michigan with views of both Lake Michigan and Torch Lake; wide, playable fairways, superbly sculpted greens, and vast windswept bunkers.

Tree canopy

is family retreat, inspired by its terrain, rises above the Indiana Dunes National Park as a vertically e cient and dynamic destination

DESIGN | BUILD | RENOVATE

SOUTH HAVEN | HOLLAND | GRAND HAVEN | GRAND RAPIDS | LUDINGTON

OUR DESIGN TELLS YOUR STORY

Welcome to

Contents

Design Corner

16 Sculptural element | the industrial designer and sculptor behind the custom fire features and site-specific memorials, markers, and sculptures

Design Spotlight

21 Smart Density | the Toronto-based firm redefining what is possible for the urban environment as it works to deliver human-scaled projects that position high-density as the new neighborhood

73 Timber frames | the rustic-modern home in the Finger Lakes crafted by the Farmington, New Yorkbased firm dedicated to the design and build of custom, high-performance timber frame structures

Form

30 The lakefront retreat | the transitional style home designed by Spalding Design Group LLC for clients looking to realize their forever home on the waterfront

54 Tree canopy | this family retreat, inspired by its terrain, rises above the Indiana Dunes National Park as a vertically efficient and dynamic destination

Creative Endeavors

In celebration | the studio that embraces and celebrates the unapologetic, finding a rich, creative balance in a pursuit of curiosity over conformity

Richly textured | in the expansion of Chicago Pacific Founders’ headquarters in downtown Chicago, its founder looked to BJC Designs LLC to bring the dynamic, full floor workplace to life

Cinematic escape | the team dedicated to bringing the unforgettable cinematic experience to the home theater through an artful integration of video, audio, and custom-built furniture

Cedar interplay | the cedar-wrapped tree house designed as a generational space for a family to enjoy, inspired by the existing structures and natural landscape around it

95 Nature-based restoration | to heal, restore, and protect waterfront landscapes and coastal habitats, SmithGroup looks to nature-based restoration solutions that respond to and work with the natural systems and processes

In this issue, we look at the habitual, the practice, and the bespoke—and the creative works that go beyond it, those defying expectation in a celebration of the authentic, the unapologetic, and the realm of possibilities. We consider the custom re features and site-speci c environmental sculptures that seek to restore the hearth as a ceremonial point of convergence, the human-scaled projects by Toronto-based rm Smart Density that are repositioning high-density as the new neighborhood, and the family retreat that inverts the traditional interior program as it responds to its environment.

We listen and engage with spaces that are intentionally designed to elevate their users’ unique lifestyles, passions, and hobbies in a pursuit of curiosity over conformity; and we travel to the freshwater coast where a Waterfront Design Practice looks to nature-based restoration solutions that work with the natural systems and processes in an innovative way.

We also consider the rich, welcoming experience in a workplace expansion; the playful element in the tree house designed as a generational space for one family; the cinematic escape in dedicated home theaters; the high-performance timber-frame structures of New Energy Works; and the transitional waterfront retreat that sought to capture its homeowner’s unique lifestyle and needs.

Welcome to Great Lakes By Design: e Custom Build.

Rachel J. Weick Editor | SVK Multimedia and Publishing Great

Lakes By Design

DESIGNER NOTE

On the cover: Tree canopy Photography: Tony Soluri Photography

This family retreat, inspired by its terrain, rises above the Indiana Dunes National Park as a vertically efficient and dynamic destination

Building homes is a craft. Building relationships is an art. BUILDING BOTH IS BIRCHWOOD.

greatlakesbydesign.com svkmp.com

EDITOR

Rachel J. Weick

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Robin Vargo

PUBLISHER

John C. Olsa

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Diane Kolak

ADVERTISING SALES

John C. Olsa — johno@svkmp.com

WESTERN MICHIGAN SALES

Kim Amesbury — kamesbury@comcast.net

CIRCULATION

American A uence Research Center

PRINTING AND MAILING

Walsworth Printing Holland Litho

ARTIST/PAINTER

Margo Burian

Gloria Oostema

Debra Sanborn

Jim Carroll

LEGAL

Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge

ACCOUNTING

Pennell CPA

Fred Pennell, CPA, CGMA Austin Roberts, Senior Accountant

Great Lakes By Design is printed six times per year.

Subscriptions are available at greatlakesbydesign.com.

PO Box 586 Hudsonville, MI 49426 (616) 379-4001

To contact us: greatlakesbydesign/contact

Subscription rates: $32 for one year; $52 for two years; International orders, please contact us.

Advertising and rate schedule at greatlakesbydesign.com/about

©2024 All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted or reproduced without written consent of publisher.

SVK Media & Publishing is not responsible for unsolicited materials or contributions.

Design Your Dream, Find Your Perfect Match

Find your ideal home and transform it into your haven. I’m Becky Vandenbroek, your dual-expertise Realtor & Home Designer. I find the perfect home, then craft it to your vision. Let’s uncover the hidden potential in every property.

@beckyvhomes

Sculptural element

Text: R.J. Weick

Fire is dynamic and primal. It is a state, a process, and a single point of combustion—an origin of social organization, transformation, destruction, and life. roughout history, it has touched so many aspects of the human condition and the global landscape, as a natural phenomenon, a technology or tool, and as a symbolic relationship that alludes to both the modern and the ancient. Fire has come to represent the creative potential, a source of community, a cultural ritual, a traditional practice, an unpredictable force, and the hearth around which people gather. And Elena Colombo, in-

dustrial designer and sculptor, has embraced a creative pursuit to restore the hearth as a ceremonial and sculptural point of convergence in which community and delight come together since launching her design rm in 2001.

“It really is part of our entire existence— re is a rite and something that people are inevitably drawn to—it is the center of every party, the place where everybody wants to be,” Colombo said. “When you’re gathered around a re, you put down your screens, look people in the face and converse together naturally and organically—you laugh, you

sing, you eat, and you drink. If you can put all those things in one place, that is life.”

Forged in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, FireFeatures is a full-service, design-build rm specializing in custom re features and site-speci c work like water and wind features, memorials and markers, and environmental sculptures and product design and manufacturing. Headquartered in New York, New York, FireFeatures is a division of Colombo Construction Corporation with a fabrication and manufacturing facility in Factoryville, Pennsylvania. Led by Colombo, chief executive o cer, and a team

of designers, metalworkers, and fabricators, FireFeatures has developed a portfolio of commercial and residential installation work for exclusive residences, luxury resorts, hotels, and wineries across the globe. Ever-inspired by the elemental nature of re, Colombo’s decision to launch the rm came while contemplating a career change a er 9/11 when a stockpile of damp wood wouldn’t ignite.

“I was in the lm business, I directed television commercials, so I was in media and advertising in New York, and when Sept. 11 happened, all of the industries crashed, speci cally the entertainment industry. It was devastated. Nobody really worked for that whole year, there were jobs out there, but they were mostly Public Service Announcements and you couldn’t be funny and you couldn’t be irreverent. ere were so many directors bidding for the same jobs, I just said, ‘to hell with it. I can’t count on this as an industry, I’ve got to change my career path,’” Colombo said. “My instinct was to go build a re, sit around it, and think about it.”

e instinct, born from formative memories and the years of building res with her father—burning large piles of brush pruned from his garden, the ash then tilled back into the soil—would serve as the catalyst for the rm’s rst “Firebowl” feature. e “Firebowl” in question featured a retro tted concrete planter, a swimming pool heating element, a manual switch for propane, and a creative ingenuity and determinedness informed by her experience in the lm business.

“As a lm director, you make anything; whatever the storyboards call for, you create. So, I wasn’t intimidated by coming up with something and guring out how to get it made. I went to my local propane dealer and said this is what I want to do and in the course of two weeks, we had a big round planter, stuck a burner in the bottom of it, covered it with rocks, and hooked it up to my gas and it was like, ‘voila.’ at was the beginning of creating re on demand,” Colombo said.

“ e ‘Firebowl’ was the rst product I designed and I did all of our testing out at my beach house in Greenport. It’s a community of creative people and a er Sept. 11, everyone was traumatized and needed community and it was the perfect thing for that moment. I saw how many people just gravitated toward it,” Colombo added.

Like the primal element its sculptural vessels contained, FireFeatures quickly evolved from simply a functional, creative outlet into one that sought to foster connection, inspiration, and purpose. Identifying a niche in the market for high-end, sculptural re features and environmental sculptures—at a time when Google was still in its infancy—Colombo looked to the network of creatives to get the full-service design rm o the ground.

Roughly two months a er getting the rm’s 45-inch-diameter rebowl designs in front of hotelier André Balazs, president and chief executive o cer of André Balazs Properties, FireFeatures had its rst commissioned work for Sunset Beach Hotel on Shelter Island in New York. e commission, as well as the interest the original concrete “Firebowl” continued to garner from its waterfront setting in Greenport, inspired her to take the leap into the new eld—leaning into her passion for architecture, for design, and for re, fostered at an early age. Colombo credits her father’s a nity for building and her mother’s creative pursuits as an artist and gardener for being surrounded by beautiful things as a child, but it was her FAO Schwarz Country Mouse House that whetted her appetite for all things design at the age of ve years old.

“It was this little box that was decorated like a cabin with owers and windows and checkered things, and inside there was a bed,

a stove, a bench, and other objects that were part of the house. It was run by Stei , the stu ed animal mouse, and it was her house. Everything was one-inch-to-one-foot scale. I played with that thing for a decade, but it also grew into this obsession with doll houses and doll house furniture and one-inch-toone-foot scale. My best friend at the time had one too and we would spend hours building things for it out of popsicle sticks, balsa wood, plastic,” Colombo said.

“I love drawing something out and building it and I even remember discovering when I drew the plans for one doll house, that I made the rooms way too long and my furniture was too big and too long and everything was the wrong scale. So, I’ve been thinking about oor plans forever,” Colombo added.

It is a perspective that has translated well into the rm’s current work, recognizing the importance of tra c ow, circulation, and oor plans—as well as their adjacencies and

surrounding outdoor spaces—and how it can impact the experience one has when interacting with a re feature or custom sculpture installed by the rm. Colombo noted while she tends to work on instinct, re is intended to be communal and accessible, and understanding scale and how people will use it is just as important as the design and cra of their work.

“I call it art that works. Besides being a nice sculpture, a re feature is also an appliance so I’m technically a gas appliance manufacturer. ere are a lot of safety concerns and design issues with ignition of ammable gas from the burner and how things have to function properly, so form does follow function in my world. I get to play with the sculptural vessel that contains everything, so I do have freedom in that regard for designing, but I have to start from a safe ignition, a burner, and housing for valves and parts that I have to then conceal and hide,” Colombo said. “I have to start from that vantage point and build the sculptural aspect around it.” ough safety is the foundation on which the sculptural emerges, Colombo nds inspiration in nature and in industry, o en looking to the industrial and the organic patterns found in landscape around her as she designs. ere is the 96-by-23-by-16-inch dimension-

al “Finned Ellipse,” inspired by the explosive nature of re and organic transformation of Corten steel louvres; the 12-foot tall stainless steel “Branch Twist,” in which beveled, solid rods are shaped and formed into eternal bon re; and the “Bridge” at Bethlehem Steel, the 35-ton cantilevered Corten steel commissioned by Je rey Parks of Artsquest in partnership with e National Endowment for the Arts Placemaking Initiative at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. e latter of which is a massive, arched structure completed with a thin blue line of ame that acts as a physical and spiritual bridge in the community.

“My philosophy embraces strong silhouettes, clear imagery, natural materials, and trying to integrate the appliance part of that so it is not taking anything away from the natural form of the sculpture. I have to be an industrial designer at the same time as a sculptor, which is fun, because it puts boundaries up that I think most artists would agree in saying that boundaries are good. It is nice to work within something, because your idea becomes clear once you’ve addressed all the issues that you have to address with whatever you are making. Boundaries help you clarify and distill the idea down to its best and most basic form,” Colombo said.

“It makes you better at what you do when you work within these. e tension in making a sculpture functional is the cross-pollination between art for art’s sake and form following function. e tension between those two things is what makes it a better appliance at the end of the day. It’s a better piece of art if it is seamless for the user,” Colombo added.

e rm works in materials like bronze, steel, and stone, leveraging both ancient and modern techniques like bronze casting, welding, laser cutting, and waterjet cutting. In the “Nest,” an admitted favorite in which Colombo was inspired by nesting birds, the textural impression of woven branches is achieved through bronze casting or the lost-wax method which can be traced back to roughly 4500 B.C. Also known as investment casting using a direct burn-out method, logs and branches provide the mold in which molten bronze will ll gated wax pieces invested in a ceramic shell. Once chased and cleaned, the bronze is then assembled into the nal sculpture, artfully welded, and tted with the gas burner and ignition system, a process that can take up to nine months to complete.

“Bronze is my favorite material to work with, because it welds like butter. Bronze is just very

inspiring because of how much you can do with it and there are so many processes that are really fun in metal fabrication—laser cutting, waterjet cutting, bending, rolling, and breaking—we use quite a lot of them in the work we do,” Colombo said. “Most metals are similar, but stainless steel and Corten are a lot more brittle than bronze, but I love what mild steel and Corten steel do as they patina. ey rust and rain resurfaces everything, so it is fun to watch the patinas of all these metals as they age.”

While she did carve stone in her college years, Colombo noted these days her rm manipulates stone more so in the form of cutting rather than sculptural work. And for her, understanding the unique characteristics of each of the materials that she works with, as well as their natural properties and that of re, is critical to ensuring the safety, longevity, and integrity of each of the rm’s commissioned pieces. roughout the design-build process, the team takes into account chemical processes like thermal expansion and the use of air-cooled features or convection air to ensure organic movement of stone and metal doesn’t jeopardize the function or beauty of the sculptures.

“I’ve learned a lot about what heat does to material and you have to take into account

temperatures being at 600, 700, degrees in some places next to metal or next to stone, so we’ve had to adjust our designs so that everything is air-cooled, that the feature does not directly sit on it. We have to cut a hole out for it and put it on legs, so that it oats above the stone and never touches it because it could potentially crack,” Colombo said.

“I’ve learned a lot about physics as I’ve done this work and a lot of it is certainly common sense too, but you never know how something is going to move until you test it and you see what it does over a long period of time. ere are a lot of ways that we integrated building techniques to help keep the appliance cool, so again, art that works,” Colombo added.

Since 2001, FireFeatures has installed custom work at notable places like e Barnes Museum in Philadelphia, Bethlehem Steel, e Pebble Beach Golf Resort, St. Regis Park City, Vail Cascade Resort, e Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa, Fairmont Heritage Place Ghirardelli Square, Paul Hobbs Winery in California, and Canyon Ranch and Aman Resorts, to name a few. While she noted her clientele is a high-end market, at the heart of the work she does is the relationship an individual has with

re and the signi cance of having access to something that is so primal, an element that in her mind is one of the purest forms of delight she has come across.

“Each state is very di erent about how they permit res and I am going to be the rst one to say safety rst, but re is primal and I don’t want to see the rules of fear start changing what our relationship to re is. I think it is one of the purest forms of delight that we have and I want to keep it that way. People with money will always be able to buy what they want, but I also believe that a wood burning rebowl is the most basic form of happiness. You have a built-in, chosen family when you have a repit. It becomes your meeting point and your gathering point,” Colombo said.

“My whole thing is about creating a space for people to be happy in and whether that is a house or rugs or decorative arts or architecture re features, everything I do or think about is how to make people happy. I think design is about creating an object that people are going to use for a purpose of making their life better. It is simplicity, beauty, and functionality married together. I can’t even articulate how big design is, it’s almost a concept like breathing,” Colombo added.

DESIGN SPOTLIGHT

Smart Density

Text: R.J. Weick

In terms of the built landscape, density and what it means, what it should look like, and to what extent, has been in conversation arguably since the advent of industrialization at the turn of the 20th century. And threads of that discussion are evident in the studies and reports that have mapped the draw or gravitation of populations in or near fertile-rich agricultural regions across ancient, classical, and modern urban centers. Over time, urban density has drawn thought leaders, activists, policy makers, innovators, developers, architects, designers, anthropologists, and philosophers alike into a robust discussion that has introduced its own type of language. Terms like

“missing middle” have emerged, highlighting a very real need in the housing market, and others like “disguised density,” stealth density,” and “gentle density,” have sought to reframe new and in ll projects within existing neighborhoods, but have also o en failed to capture and communicate the nuance and complexities surrounding it—and the simple fact that at its purest distillation, it is about housing, community, and opportunity.

For Naama Blonder, OAA, RPP, MCIP, architect, urban planner, urban designer, and co-founder of Smart Density in Toronto, Ontario, the words used to communicate to the public about what a project can bring is so

important. It is a challenge that is vital to cut through the jargon to understand how rede ning what good housing can and should look like in growing cities throughout North America can lead to a new, public, realm of possibilities.

“I don’t think I need to convince anyone why housing is important. I believe that housing a ordability is the crisis of our generation, but there is also the climate crisis, there is also the public health crisis, so I know we are competing here on the number one crisis, but I do think it’s everywhere. When I visited my friends in Madrid and Seoul and Tel Aviv, our generation says it so clearly, what worked for our parents, clearly is not working for us,” Blonder said.

“It’s really about how we create attractive urban environments, this lifestyle, where the suburbs just can’t compete. Everyone thinks the American Dream, the Canadian Dream, is to own a house with a backyard and a white fence, and it’s absolutely not about that. It is about having the opportunity regardless of your background, that is the true de nition of the Amer-

ican Dream. Having the opportunity by de nition could not happen in the suburbs, you can’t compete with all of the opportunities the city has to o er, so it’s almost contradictory, because you need to be in proximity to everything that is happening,” Blonder added.

Smart Density is an architecture and urban planning rm that strives to push the boundar-

ies on what is possible for the urban environment. Founded in 2016 by Blonder and Misha Bereznyak, OAA, LEED AP ND, architect and urban designer, Smart Density embraces a simple vision to create more density where needed, while improving how cities address housing a ordability, champion inclusive neighborhoods, and support equitable access to expand-

ed housing options. eir work focuses on human-scaled, pedestrian-friendly, community-oriented, transit-oriented, and a ordable housing projects that position high-density as the new neighborhood.

Smart Density has also served as a resource for both industry professionals and the public alike when it comes to urban design, housing,

and the missing middle. e rm, recognized with the Best Emerging Practice Award by the Ontario Association of Architects in 2022, has developed online educational content, interactive tools for forward-thinking developers, and produced ve case studies—one of which was an OAA SHIFT Challenge Selection in 2021.

“We have a pretty simple philosophy, which

is smart density. Let’s bring charm back to cities,” Blonder said. “Smart density needs to be near transit, it needs to be multi-family, and it needs to have the urban amenities that we crave so much, which are beautiful parks, retail, community centers, and something that the suburbs by de nition don’t o er.”

For the rm and its small team, it is about bringing that charm back to places historically designed with the sole-owned vehicle in mind. For growing cities, especially in North America, it becomes a balance of meeting growth with a density that prioritizes the human-scaled experience on the streetscape rather than the sprawl initially designed for car tra c. Blonder noted when it comes to daily car use by area residents, it is upwards of 87 percent in Toronto and 90 percent in Dallas in comparison to 33 percent, 25 percent, and 36 percent in London, Amsterdam, and New York City, respectively—highlighting a unique cultural mindset challenge in the eld.

“ e growing and sprawling in the form of the single-family house and just consuming more land, building more infrastructure, and driving everywhere, is just not a sustainable way to grow. We can’t absorb the growth in that form. In the next generations, people are going to live in more dense, urban built forms, which

are mid-rise and tall buildings and this is something I feel is very challenging,” Blonder said.

“We need, as urban designers, to make it so attractive that people say of course I’m going to [choose the city] and not necessarily compromise, but there are trade-o s. I don’t expect our parents to ditch the car, but our generation and

future generations, if there is something we can do, it is to ditch the car but for that we need to invest in superb transit,” Blonder added.

It has in part contributed to the current market conditions in which developers o en aren’t incentivized to build expanded housing options for the dense urban environment since they are

not seeing consumers invest in them, at the same time that consumers struggle to nd something that is family-friendly, a ordable, attractive, and meets critical amenities. Blonder, who lives in a three-bedroom, downtown apartment with her family in Toronto, said it is a little bit of the chicken and the egg conundrum, but at some point, urban designers, developers, and creative municipalities will have to gure out a solution despite construction costs and interest rates.

Blonder also said while large attractive cities like Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Vancouver su er from a ordability and housing challenges, Toronto is leading in that sense. In 2023, the City of Toronto released its HousingTO 2022-2023 Update highlighting progress it had made in its HousingTO 20202030 Action Plan, such as the completion of 1,082 net new a ordable and supportive homes for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, the approval of 3,340 net new a ordable rental homes, the allocation of more than 3,300 housing bene ts through the Canada-Ontario Housing Bene t, or COHB, program, and the allocation of $46 million in funding through the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition, or MURA, program. It also commissioned and released the Expanding Housing Options in Neighborhoods Final Recommendations Report in 2023, a City of Toronto initiative in partnership with the Canadian Urban Institute. e study, which included a roundtable Blonder was a part of, outlined recommendations like allowing equitable access by integrating a diversity of peoples and cultures, enabling small-scale housing development en masse, adopting user-centered design guidelines for new development in neighborhoods, prioritizing a ordable housing construction and preventing displacement, and expanding local retail, services, and opportunities for social connection, among others.

“In terms of pure design, the challenge in the way we design tall buildings and towers, it is no wonder we get the opposition we do from the public. ey are highly repetitive—there are certain angles in Toronto where it is even the same color, the same material of this greenish, blue-gray glass. It’s monochromatic, super repetitive, and when you have an element like a window that repeats itself hundreds of times in a tower, it creates this uncomfortable sense looking at it. In nature, nothing repeats itself hundreds of times. We really need to invest in design solutions for the aesthetic of tall buildings that will make the built environment more pleasant,” Blonder said.

“I’m trying to ght the stigma around tall buildings and that is from every perspective. You really can’t blame the public. ey look at those rental apartment buildings from the ’60s and then you see it in its current lifecycle as modern towers and it’s like, where are we going with this? Towers have great advantages, the units are well-lit, they provide a quality of life,

they are distanced, but it is how we design this density and how you deal with the public stigma with the design,” Blonder added.

In “Scaling Down,” a project recognized as OAA SHIFT Award: Public Health and as World Urban Pavilion Made in Canada Urban Innovation, Smart Density introduces a new design framework for how high-density neighborhoods are developed. While tall buildings remain, their in uence on the overall function and feel at the ground level is minimized. It introduces a mix of built forms such as low-rise buildings of three-to-four stories, slim towers of 16-to-28 stories to help carry density and de ne the skyline. ere is a exibility and reduction of block size, introduction of di erent street types like car-free and car-light to address the need for human scale, and rede nes the single, open green space with a variety of size and type throughout the community.

“We were approached by a really major developer, which owns about 100 acres near one of the future downtown rail stations, and had the opportunity to rewrite the rules. e problem is that a lot of those transit-oriented communities have gigantic plazas, empty of people, towers spread all over, and there are massive podiums, from those mid-rise buildings. Basically, what we were saying is we need to scale down, we need to work in a little bit more of a human-scale approach,” Blonder said.

“I said, ‘let’s scale down the streets, the buildings, and the open space.’ We decided to stick to either low rise or tall buildings, which are the most desirable ones. Towers are great in absorbing their required density and they don’t dominate. When you walk around as a pedestrian, what you experience are those three-tofour story buildings, that is what you experience, not so much with the tall buildings and of course the low-rise is more grade-related, but it is still at great density,” Blonder added.

e approach also scaled down the dimensional footprint of the blocks as well, which resulted in roughly a nine percent increase in the footprint of developable, or buildable, land that wasn’t related to height or density, according to Blonder.

“It is kind of Jane Jacobs 101, who talked a lot about narrow streets and smaller blocks. We talked about how we design a menu of streets that—every unit still has its own parking, something similar to that ratio, because it is not downtown Toronto and we acknowledge that cars still exist—does not prioritize the car over people. You will see, for example, even in the streets that use the traditional vehicle, we didn’t put bike lanes, because if we have the option to not share with a car that drives 80 kph, why would I? We wanted to really address as much of those issues that we see in the way we design today,” Blonder said.

“ is design approach for high-density neighborhoods was very appealing and we also

adapted it to a project in South Korea—they are dealing with di erent issues than we are in North America and they are much more comfortable with high density and have excellent public transit—but in their case, too, the typical new development is lacking in human scale and is too car-centric, just in di erent ways. So, this approach was very relevant,” Blonder added.

While the conversation remains complex, Smart Density is dedicated to the work, striving to foster creative collaboration, exploring innovative solutions, and forging new pathways in urban design to rede ne what the future of

housing and cities can look like. For Blonder, who studied at the Israel Institute of Technology and spent time abroad in Paris, France, her passion for high-density, walkable and beautiful neighborhoods emerges as a bold vision that looks to rewrite the rules.

“I will say, and I’m sure many of my colleagues will agree with me, that you go to architecture school thinking you’ll design public buildings, libraries, and museums, and then by the time you graduate, you realize that the challenge of our generation is in housing,” Blonder said. “Everyone needs a place to call home.”

Executive Screens & Clear Vinyl

BY PHANTOM

e lakefront retreat

Text: R.J. Weick

The lake home is o en an ode to the relationship between the built and natural landscape. In recent decades, as lakefront living and waterfront homes have become in vogue, the experience one has moving through and beyond space has emerged as one deeply appreciative of its surrounding nature. Vernacular o en takes on equally expressive or contextual style as the built and unbuilt structures around it, and interiors quietly blend into the backdrop, inviting daylight and rich color into the home, even as they are carefully curated in support of its users’ lifestyle and needs.

For Spalding Design Group LLC of Mishawaka, Indiana, whose creative disciplines

of architecture, interior design, and marketing and branding has led to an expertise across residential and commercial work, the dynamic and magnetic e ect of lakefront homes informs their holistic approach to the design-build process. e team is dedicated to delivering spaces that truly capture the moments for their clients. And when the clients, and long-time friends of John Spalding, RA, AIA, NCARB, architect and partner with Spalding Design Group, looked to realize their vision of a forever home, it fell right into their toolbox.

“It has always been about that magnet,” Spalding said. “ e force that attracts family and

friends to come and spend time with the homeowner for a day, a long weekend, or as long as those glorious summer months grace the lake.”

Founded in 1991, Spalding Design Group has evolved into a multidisciplinary rm backed by a team of architects, architectural designers, interior designers, and visual designers o ering comprehensive services to its clients across its three disciplines. eir mission embraces collaboration and the personal design experience as their interdisciplinary team strives to bring depth and dimension to design that ultimately re ects individual needs. e Mishawaka and Jupiter, Florida-based design group has also become

known for its lakefront residential work and as a rm that likes to invite their clients to “get their hands in the mix” when it comes to shaping their vision into built reality—an approach that is re ective in the custom-fabricated, wine room display racks made by the client of this transitional style lake home. e clients, who were drawn to the waterfront site on the 246-acre lake in Michigan, approached the collaborative team of Spalding Design Group, Dave Mark Custom Homes of Elkhart, Indiana, and Dave Barncord, landscape architect of Granger, Indiana, with a vision for a lake home that imparted a sense of oating on water upon entering the home. For Spalding, it was a great opportunity and fun challenge to help his long-time friends and clients bring it to life.

“We grew up in the same neighborhood together and we did some work for her husband as well over the years, so when they decided to build their new home, they reached out to us.

ey bought a lot that had a signi cant change in elevation, about 30 feet from the road down to the lake. ere were a lot of terrain challenges right from the beginning, but the objective

was for them to be sitting on their patio and have a pretty expansive view of the lake, and views of the water from pretty much every room in the house,” Spalding said.

“A lot of kudos go to Dave Mark, who was the builder for the project. He was exceptionally exible and very willing to price out design concepts that we presented so the clients were able to make accommodations in their budget and have a realistic understanding of scope,” Spalding added.

Initially, the clients envisioned the new build would be located in the same position as the previously existing home, which was sited about 15 feet below street level, and have a walkout at grade level to the lake. However, after walking the lot and developing several conceptual ideas to give the clients a picture of what it would be like if the house was pulled farther up the lot, the goal evolved into embracing dynamic views of the water from both the upper and lower levels of the home. Giavanna Spalding, lead designer of Spalding Design Group’s Interiors Division, said the interior design team was pulled into the project later in the process a er the space planning and ow of the home had been developed by the architectural division, and they came in to help with nishes, opening up a couple areas to capture views, and worked with the clients on what materials they wanted to use on the exterior as well.

“ ough terrain considerations were a challenge in the beginning, once we assessed the client’s desire for clean lines and a mix of straight and rounded pro les, we were able to combine exterior and interior elements to create a simple feel to the deceptively complex design. Our 3D renderings are a useful tool in helping clients visualize a space by providing depth and authenticity. We went through a couple of di erent revisions to ensure we had captured a cohesive design from roadside to lakeside,” Giavanna Spalding said. “Stone featured prominently throughout the layout, so we worked with Dave Barncord on the landscaping. He was incredible at guring out how to incorporate stonework into the terracing without it dominating the yard.”

Spalding Design Group’s Interiors Division is an integrated facet of the overall design group. For Giavanna Spalding, who is inspired by the clients she works with, her team members, and her community, a well-designed interior space is fully dependent on the user’s needs and wants, both physically and emotionally. It is one that is designed around context and is informed by communication throughout the process to ensure the design fundamentally creates harmony in space with an eye for composition and ultimately inspires joy.

“ e dramatic entrance to this lake home is anked by 12-foot-tall stone pillars supporting a substantial curved metal porch roof. e orientation of the home on the lot is meant to be welcoming as well as providing privacy, but the real wow factor occurs when walking through the oversized double front doors. e client’s vision was for guests to

feel as if they were oating on the lake as they entered and gaze out through the oor-toceiling windows in the cathedral great room. As they transition down the curved stairway, guests are in constant contact with amazing lake views,” Giavanna Spalding said.

To achieve that buoyant or soaring e ect, the interior embraces shades of ivory and beige, quietly stepping into the background as the lake takes center stage. ere are accents of black and gold, and natural elements that complement the light-colored hardwood oors. Large, lakeside windows and an open concept oor plan create a natural transition between oors and intuitive connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

While transitional in style, there is a contemporary element to the roughly 4,000-squarefoot home, where the use of curved lines, such as the arched lakeside roo ine and curved interior staircase and corridor, juxtapose modernist ones like the linear replace. ere is an organic feel to the home, where ceiling heights create human scale and delineation between space, and casual entertaining becomes the primary focus on the lower level.

“ e main oor consists of essential living spaces along with a guest suite, o ce, and primary bedroom suite for the owners, and contains comforts and amenities determined by

their needs. e lower level features guest spaces for entertaining: an ensuite bedroom, kitchenette, dining space, wine cellar, bar, billiards— lots of room for activities,” John Spalding said.

“It still feels very connected between oors, and walking down the curved stairway, which mimics the arc of the hallway that leads to the primary bedroom, there is an expansive window that spotlights the lake

the entire way down. It is beautiful during the daytime, but also mesmerizing in the evening with illumination from surrounding homes and across the water,” John Spalding added. ere is a quiet richness to the overall expression of the home, as it engages both visually with the eye and with its lakefront landscape. e three-stall garage draws visitors upon approach to the home nestled into its sloped ter231.357.4820 Kirsten@winkinteriordesign.com

Design Studio and Showroom Appointments preferred 601 E Eighth St., Traverse City

rain, providing a clear delineation of functional space through the use of hue and materiality, allowing the home, as it opens outward and unfolds through a series of landscaped steps onto the waterfront, to serve as the primary focus.

“Various outdoor living areas means that there are plenty of opportunities to experience the tranquility of lake life. e intentional natural ow from the interior of the house to decks, patios and down the terracing to the

lake, is an invitation to head down to the water and enjoy,” John Spalding said.

As a family-run business with multiple, in-house disciplines, Spalding Design Group embraces the collaborative experience, and in addition to the expertise of Dave Mark and Dave Barncord on the project, Giavanna Spalding noted the client became really involved in the process which made it a fun and successful experience.

“ e client is a steel fabricator, a machinist, so he had speci c ideas for his wine room and how he wanted to lay it out. He manufactured the display components to house the wine and all the wine racks. It was fun to work with a client who shared his artistry and created a showpiece instead of buying furnishings o the internet or something made by someone else,” Spalding said. “Sharing those moments with clients elevates the relationship in a unique way.”

CREATING SPACES THAT CAPTURE MOMENTS

ARCHITECTURE | INTERIOR DESIGN | MARKETING AND BRANDING

Interior Design: JWN Designs, Julie Novy

In celebration

Text: R.J. Weick

Lauren Svenstrup, founding principal of Studio Sven in Chicago, Illinois, is self-admittedly not a “yes person” when it comes to her clientele and her passion for design. Instead, it is about nding that rich, creative balance in a pursuit of curiosity over conformity, dedicated to a process of discovery, of exploration, and of the powerful potential of why. Her

work, as creative director of the luxury residential design rm, has been recognized over the years as intriguing and nuanced, bold and balanced, and re ned and re ective of her clients with an underlying thread that embraces and celebrates the unapologetic across her portfolio.

Yet, when delving just below the surface— as she does when getting to know her clients—

there is something more behind it that makes it all the more compelling. For Svenstrup, whose process explores the disruptive, the aspirational, and the countercultural, design is a tool of communication and of expression. Like a linguist, she strives to study, understand, and translate a client’s personality into a fully built, spatial experience; and as a designer, she has developed an uncanny knack for understanding a client’s assorted passions, memories, hopes, and dreams. Details, like soulful facets, are embedded as tactile and invisible elements to the spaces her clients inhabit, inviting introspection and honest connection as one moves, interacts, and engages with spaces undeniably de ned by their owners.

“Everything stems from the why. It is about getting to know our clients on a deeper level before we ever start to jump into the function or the aesthetics of it, and I always do these rst interviews in their homes, because it is as much about what I observe as what they tell me. How do they greet you at the door? Where do they sit? How do they interact with each other? It is really about observing all of those elements, talking through lifestyle, and how they interact with their home that starts to inform the ‘why’ of it all,” Svenstrup said.

“We really start to peel away those surface layers and make meaningful discoveries that can be applied in ways that not only contribute to a more beautiful home, but a more impactful environment. It is our responsibility to discover and appreciate every aspect of the project and get to the root of what the client truly needs, not just what they think they want—obviously, we are looking for aesthetically pleasing and highly functional design that matches those needs, but it can be so much more than that,” Svenstrup added.

Founded in 2014, Studio Sven is a full-service residential interior design studio for the bold. Informed by its cohesive, holistic approach to design, in which no detail is overlooked, Studio Sven seeks to address design solutions and lifestyle aspirations, translating them into residential and boutique hospitality spaces where clients can thrive—all the while embracing opportunities for the unexpected throughout the design and build process. Over its decade-long history, Studio Sven has undergone its own dis-

covery process developing into a rm that strives to bring meaning to luxury interiors de ned by its successful, empowered clients who embrace daringness, intentionality, and a wish to live unapologetically—an evolution that as Svenstrup noted is ironically a full-circle moment.

“When I started my business 10 years ago, I had the initial idea to create a niche for myself working with bachelors, but you have to take the work that comes to you when you are rst starting out, so we did initially work with

a variety of clients. Years later, I was fortunate enough to secure a series of bachelor clients and was quickly reminded of how much I love the demographic and process,” Svenstrup said.

“I forced myself to follow my own signature discovery process—asking questions like, what is it that I truly enjoy about this clientele? What sets them apart and their projects apart from past projects? e deeper I got into the questioning, I began to realize it wasn’t actually about their relationship status. Rather, this de-

mographic all had a similar underlying desire and decision-making hierarchy based on where they were in their lives. We refer to this mindset as embracing ‘unapologetic living.’ To me, unapologetic living is about living in the moment and without regret, while remaining con dent in those decisions,” Svenstrup added.

Svenstrup has since honed a passion for the eld that has become so integral to her own life that she o en feels it is simply a way in which she views the world rather than a profession

she has chosen. She noted as a kid, she spent all of her free time sewing, sponge painting, and learning how to build furniture, and went on to attend Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula to study furniture—and to snowboard.

“ ey had an amazing ne arts program, but it was more focused on being a true cra sman, not a designer. ose fundamentals were great for learning how things are made and the capabilities of wood, but at the end of the day I knew it wasn’t my calling, and I didn’t want to be in a woodshop my whole life,” Svenstrup said. “So, I transferred to a brand new program called Human-Centered Design, which focused on the study of how humans interact with the spaces and objects around them, and how to communicate those designs.”

Svenstrup then spent several years working at a multi-family housing rm in Texas, honing her project-deadline and budget-focused approach to the work, before moving to

Chicago to work in high-end residential design. For her, it was a career pivot that made it clear that the impact she could have through design for individual clients outweighed her previous work. Shortly therea er, she decided to take the leap and launch her own rm, Studio Sven.

“In order to live your best life, it’s not just about looking forward and creating a space that allows you to be the best version of yourself, but also about looking back,” Svenstrup said. “It’s re ecting on the person you were, the person you thought you would be, and how you got here—your passions, your hobbies, your stories, your accomplishments—it’s all part of you.”

It is this philosophy, paired with an inherent curiosity, that Svenstrup applies to each project, guiding clients through a dedicated discovery and design process that o en de es the expected and gets to the heart of the matter, or the ‘why,’ behind each project. When it came to the

clients of the Wolf of Wacker and Puttin’ on the Ritz, breathtaking views, sophisticated interiors, and statement art de ne both projects, yet it is in the whimsy and the spirit of adventure that elevate them into spaces that re ect the dynamic owners’ personalities.

“Wolf of Wacker is a really beautiful penthouse location downtown with oor-toceiling windows. It’s positioned right on the river towering over Merchandise Mart, with panoramic views of the city. e client was at a point in his life where he had already built a very traditional custom home on the North Shore and he wanted to live in the city to embrace something di erent. It was all about the view and how he wanted to feel in the space,” Svenstrup said. “ rough the design, we sought to create intimacy and warmth while seamlessly transitioning from the majority oor-to-ceiling windows. e black foyer opens up to the perfect shade of sky blue creating a smooth continuation of the city sky-

line. Additionally, he requested an art- lled home, but also a transformative space to have a clear division of work and self.”

Wolf of Wacker is de ned by fearless color, sculptural furnishings, and a touch of whimsy, re ecting the client’s penchant for Tom Ford fashion, tongue-in-cheek art, and rich textures. e client, who had an established home o ce pre-pandemic, knew a standing desk, his music, and city views were all that he needed to support his working lifestyle in that room, and wanted a clear delineation between function. Typical constraints like scale and lack of wall space drove the need for multi-function and a creative introduction to color.

“A hand-painted ceiling mural spans from the front door all the way through the main living areas. It was an opportunity to add tonal impact and transform the ceiling into a piece of art,” Svenstrup said.

Textures like the re ective metallic of the built-in bench, the sheen and luster of the silver-leafed column, and patchwork cowhide rug, were also layered throughout the space to lend tactile impression to furnishings and the overall unit. e artwork was carefully chosen to break up “that perfect shade of blue” and view, with pops of art in di erent mediums, like textiles, sculptures, and an oversized, hanging sculpture made of wire.

For the client of Puttin’ on the Ritz, Svenstrup was tasked with the interior redesign of a unit within the Ritz-Carlton Residences of Chicago, designed by architect, Lucien Lagrange. While space presented a familiar constraint due to its downtown location, there was the added challenge of turning the design around in a single week before the client le for a six-week venture to complete one of his last milestones in the Explorer’s Grand Slam—

an adventurer’s goal to reach the North Pole, South Pole, and all Seven Summits.

“I was instantly fascinated by him. His sense of adventure, his spontaneity—it was just contagious. He was a mountaineer with death-defying hobbies and I was so inspired that I agreed to turn around a design in one week, which I would never do in any other situation. His rst goal was obviously to move quickly. He thought he was bringing me in for a very functional thing, to furnish his home. But during that initial consultation, we realized he was actually in search of a space that celebrated his lifestyle and his spirit, but also suited his tendency for constant movement,” Svenstrup said. “He, like a lot of my clients, had very speci c hobbies and interests and needs. I always strive to elevate, never diminish.”

Rather than a literal translation of the client’s passion for mountaineering, the intent was

to evoke the sense of adventure, the experiential, and the playful storytelling through abstract art and installations. As guests explore the home for the rst time, there are intentional points to naturally stop and experience the space— and by extension, the client’s personality and accomplishments. Svenstrup noted during the initial interview, the client had a propensity for truly interacting with the space—pacing, pausing in windows to take in the view, and perching on furnishings and surfaces not meant to be perched on—and she wanted to try to capture and encourage that through the design.

“ is is not only how he experiences space, but it is how he lives his life. erefore, how people experience him and his home. So, I questioned, how do I design a space that is not only perfect for him, but as perfect of an experience as possible for people coming into his home for the rst time? It was about very intentionally designing furnishings and objects that are meant to be interacted with,” Svenstrup said. “He kept pausing at this corner window and leaning on the deep window sill that was slightly too high to be a true window seat. at’s when I realized it was not enough for him to just have the view,

he needs to be in the view. I immediately went to—how do I give that to him?’”

Subtly leaning into the theme, the walls are wrapped in custom built-ins and millwork, and the ceiling showcases a hand-painted mural of abstracted mountains. e furnishings are playful, organic and as durable as they are meant to be fun. A series of nine custom, 3D-printed topographical maps of the summits in the Explorer’s Grand Slam were purposefully designed to be removed and used as interactive sculptures for storytelling. Other features comprise a largescale, self-portrait of a famous mountaineer who

amdgarchitects.com/cottages 616.454.1600

just survived an avalanche, as well as a suspended chandelier that evokes the tapering of calcium salt deposits, icicles, and cavern stalactites.

While the main living spaces take inspiration from the client’s personality, his aspirational goals, and hobbies–elevating them rather than displaying accomplishments literally—the bedroom was a complete juxtaposition, serving as an intimate cocoon dedicated to reset and nest.

“I think a well-designed space allows you to live in the present and is a healthy re ection of the past, but living in the present and looking toward the future allows for growth in di erent ways. No environment can be perfectly curated in every moment or situation, but making sure that we are designing with challenges of daily life in mind, eases those little things, and I nd it incredibly rewarding,” Svenstrup said.

Over the years, success at the studio has

Creating more than new spaces – we’re building lasting legacies.

evolved much like its clientele, growing and expanding, taking on more projects and employees, and as the team looks to its next decade, they are dedicated to working with clients who embrace their signature Discovery Process, are open to the unexpected, and remain curious. e studio strives to o er a concierge level of services to their clientele, going above and beyond furnishings and construction management, meeting their clients where they are in life—embracing that unapologetic living.

“ e term unapologetic is so accurate, but it is also a little tricky. It is putting self-enjoyment and self-ful llment and function as a priority within the con nes of their home and doing so without regret, but that doesn’t mean a complete disregard for everyone else in your home. We strive to make these spaces inviting and comforting for guests, but our rst priority is how our homeowners want to live in their space and how they speci cally want to entertain,” Svenstrup said.

“We encourage our clients to step back and focus on themselves—their needs, their passions, their memories, their dreams. Focus the ROI on yourself rst and on the resale value second. at exibility allows for us to venture outside of the box and create environments that meet you where you are, then take you to the next level,” Svenstrup added.

We are a lavender farm in Caledonia, Michigan, with store and bakery that people can visit. Open year round, but through harvest which begins mid June. (A ticketed event)

38 YEARS OF EXCEPTIONAL WORKMANSHIP

SERVING WEST MICHIGAN AND MICHIGAN’S LAKESHORE COMMUNITIES

Tree canopy

Text: R.J. Weick

Informed by an e cient program and simple, vertical massing to minimize its impact on a steeply wooded site, this modern retreat quietly expresses a bold vision. Inspired by the rugged beauty of its natural landscape, set within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore of Indiana Dune National Park in Beverly Shores, this family retreat embraces its terrain, o ering a dynamic interplay of tree canopy and steel skin, and geometric volume and sculptural voids. Its narrative is embedded within the interstitial spaces of the project, in which sculpturally

carved balconies, so light and warm wood, and an inverted organizational program place it at the intersection of additive and subtractive form, preservation and innovation, and built and unbuilt landscape.

Built by Caron Custom Homes of Decatur, Michigan and designed by dSPACE Studio of Chicago, Illinois, the collaborative team was tasked with the design of a one-of-a-kind home that t contextually within the existing architectural legacy of Beverly Shores. e Indiana-based town is known for its Century of Progress Architectural District, a role the com-

munity has has served since 1935 when several homes from the “Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition” of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair were transported across the lake to be preserved as a celebration of innovation in architecture. e client was also deeply inspired by the natural beauty of the site and wanted the compact home to respond in harmony with the existing landscape, which is enveloped by roughly 15,000 acres of federally protected sand dunes, wetlands, woodlands, prairie, and diverse plant and bird habitat along the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana.

“ e owner wanted an innovative and exciting home that was di erent from what you would expect. We embraced that challenge,” said Kevin Toukoumidis, AIA, LEED, founding principal at dSPACE Studio. “ is project is a wonderful example of how constraints can yield a unique design that is one-of-akind. Here the design was in uenced by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which is beautiful, and its history of progressive, modernist architecture in Beverly Shores.”

dSPACE is an award-winning architecture rm that has built a portfolio of thoughtful, innovative, and sustainable design in architecture, interiors, and landscapes. For this retreat, known fondly as “Tree House,” its

location within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and within walking distance of the Century of Progress Architectural District—featuring the Weiboldt-Rostone House, Armco-Ferro House, Florida Tropical House, Cypress Log Cabin, and House of Tomorrow—served as quiet inspirational backdrop for the tall, narrow home. Surrounded by 1930s-era futurism and federally protected landscape, this home is intentionally stacked to minimize its footprint, and reimagines the primary gathering area on the top oor amid sculptural balconies and treetops to maximize interaction and views of the landscape.

“One of the things that drew them to the site was the natural beauty and landscape.

It has an interesting topography, dramatic changes in grade, and beautiful trees. In addition to a unique, modern design, the owners wanted views of the entire site, because it really does feel like you are nestled in the forest,” said Robert McFadden, LEED, principal at dSPACE. “It wasn’t only about focusing on views toward the lake, they wanted to maximize views in every direction. e wishes of the client drove the design of the house.”

Informed by the limitations of the site, the home is tucked high into the trees, rising above the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Rather than lean into the horizontality o en found in modernist design across the Midwest, where sprawling structures mimic dis-

tant horizon lines and rolling bucolic terrain, this Tree House embraces height as a dynamic solution, not unlike the dense, urban landscape. As its 2,200-square-foot volume stacks four levels of e cient programming onto its dune, this retreat is equally inspired by the towering mature trees and peaked sand dunes around it, and leverages structural voids as a means to provide views of the entire site. It not only creates a dynamic relationship to and with its landscape, but also o ers an inherent tension and creative landscape of additive and subtractive forms.

“ e client responded to the concept of a sculptural volume mirroring the trees. ey wanted outdoor space, so we proposed the idea of carving outdoor decks from the facade, bringing natural light deep into the house and integrating nature into every oor,” Toukoumidis said. “Wherever you are in this house, there is a strong visual and physical connection to the outdoors, promoting wellness and well-being," Toukoumidis added.

While sculptural and artful as cedar-wrapped voids within the white, steel skin façade, each balcony and carved space re ects an intuitive and intentional solution that complements the internal program across its multiple levels. ere is a curated feel that taps into the human experience, in which views from the primary suite on the second level face northeast, inviting early morning light deep into the space, while the windows in the kitchen on the third oor are oriented to the west, allowing the colorful drama of sunset light to ood the gathering spaces— and those spaces that are likely to be in use at that time of the day. McFadden noted the creation of that experience, where each space has a unique perspective of the landscape in both elevation and solar path in the sky, was an ongoing evolution working with the client to ensure the strategy aligned with specific needs and lifestyle. e shape and size of those windows and balconies were also highly considered, leveraging insulated glazing and deep overhangs to create a sense of human scale, intimacy, and expansiveness in line with each space’s function.

“We had clear direction to design this strong connection to nature on every side of the house. We had to consider how to achieve that goal, and how to incorporate these program elements in a way that is meaningful,” McFadden said. “ e largest balcony is situated o the living space on the top oor. It faces south, o ering ltered light at di erent angles throughout the day. It is an ideal approach to integrate nature with the main living space. In the kitchen, a tall window faces west to o er views of the lake and the city skyline when conditions are right. is design intentionally creates experiences of delight and discovery for the occupants,” McFadden added.

From the approach, the steeply pitched, heated drive draws clients and visitors alike toward a garage and lower-level space featuring functional, utilitarian rooms and the elevator core located at the southwest corner of the home. ere is a retaining wall that serves a dual purpose as a curated walkway, drawing guests around the home to the entrance and expansive front porch on the rst oor. From there, its interior unfolds in careful orchestration, leading family and friends up into the home before culminating into primary living on the third oor. Its design elevates daily living high into the trees, leaving those who use its space with an impression of being in a tree house. e elevator also provides an aging-in-place solution and its interior design intentionally recedes into the background as a quiet partner to the natural beauty of the landscape.

“ e natural lighting surrounding this house is quite beautiful. We orchestrated the interior and exterior nishes to integrate with the environment,” Toukoumidis said. “It

evolved into an elegant, quiet interior palette that allows nature to be the star of the show.”

To bring the vertically stacked retreat home to reality, the client and the design team looked to the creative and technical expertise of Caron Custom Homes. e rm has worked with architects, designers, and homeowners for more than 20 years delivering well-cra ed homes de ned by exacting detail. Paul Caron, owner of Caron Custom Homes, said from the onset, the project posed challenges as a di cult house to build in its location, but was intrigued by the design of the home and at the opportunity to work with the client and team at dSPACE.

“It is located on a very steep, critical dune and that comes with speci c criteria in how you can and cannot work on it. You have to make sure you’re applying all of the protective measures to the dune to keep it stable and so, working through that, there is a lot of planning and thought process that will go into its retention. Mobilization of equipment, of materials, of being able to apply the materials to the home, is more di cult in these types of builds and situations,” Caron said.

“dSPACE is good at what they do. ey are very good at design work, they are detail oriented, so in that regard we t together well as a team and I think a good architect paired with a good contractor who can understand it and then orchestrate and delegate the work, that’s the whole package. We need each other to build great things, it is not a singular art that makes all of this happen,” Caron added.

Caron Custom Homes o ers custom home, general contracting, and custom cabinetry services to clients throughout the Michiana, New Bu alo, Union Pier, St. Joseph, Sawyer, and Lake Michigan region. e rm also has an in-house woodworking shop and, as Caron noted, has continued to evolve over the years, improving its project management, construction management, and increasing its sta ng capabilities to ensure one-on-one dedicated attention to their clients both from an administrative and individual project management perspective.

“ is is Caron Custom Homes, it’s my last name, and I’m one of those people who takes a ton of pride in family and who you are, and I’m proud that we stick with our clients and apply a one-on-one perspective. I want to enjoy the excitement on their home with them. We’re honest, we’re dependable, we follow through, and we have a desire to improve as a company to make us better to meet the needs of our clients,” Caron said.

While the site of this particular build proved challenging, as did navigating township guidelines with the help of the design team and client, Caron noted that all of the interior and exterior details had been thought through and planned upfront, prior to breaking ground on

the home. And as a result, the build itself was a smooth process and the team was able to deliver a nal result that aligned with what had been planned from the onset.

“ ere are architectural alignments that were thought through carefully and the ways in which to apply lighting that were more of an indirect way to apply it to show some of those details—that keeps coming out for me. We all see things from a di erent perspective, but I think from a contractor or architect’s perspective, those are the things that stand out to me immediately, the amount of forethought and planning that goes into making all of those details appear the way they do,” Caron said. “Typically, the simplest homes are the most complex to make it look that way, and I think you see that in modern architecture.”

Caron Custom Homes also provided custom cabinetry and woodwork for much of the home—with the exception of the kitchen which had been pre-selected by the client prior to the rm coming on board—where natural oak oors and cedar wrapped balconies in matching stain complement the white exterior cladding and interior details like the white kitchen countertop and suede stucco replace. ere are also built-in bookshelves that house literary and musical collections, a wood-burning replace, and a hidden bar.

e lighting was also carefully considered for how it would appear and be experienced at night within a highly walkable neighborhood.

“Tree House has a di erent personality at night. e cedar cladding has a warm glow

in the architectural lighting, so ening the sculptural qualities of the contemporary design, and there is an artful array of windows. e house has a beautiful impact, a warm and inviting presence,” Toukoumidis said.

e team also worked with an engineering partner and an arborist, to carefully integrate a septic system into the slope of the dune and retain as many trees onsite as possible, respectively. ere is also a geo-web system integrated along the driveway in which drought-tolerant native plantings and dune grasses help blend the structural retaining all into its landscape. Its exterior, high-performance thermal envelope and passive solar design provides both a utilitarian and artful canvas in which seasonality unfolds upon its skin.

“ ere are a couple of things that we are really excited about with this project. e idea of inverting the traditional stack of the house creates a unique condition that adds interest to the project. Being in that space, among the trees is enjoyable,” McFadden said.

Toukoumidis added that the success of this project is in how it responds to the environment and lives in harmony with the dune landscape.

“We design homes to promote wellness and to bring people together,” Toukoumidis said.

For Caron, who noted the project was

a great team e ort and a wonderful experience, it is about the personal relationships built with each project and being able to see problems before they occur, anticipate them and be proactive, that really contributes to the success of a project.

“To orchestrate a build, it takes tremendous amount of planning and delegation, the right people in the right places. I gain the most in the personal relationship,” Caron said.

The goal?

A home you fall helplessly in love with, a little more every day.

We believe the real beauty of a home reveals itself over time—in the way the sunlight follows you down a hallway. In the way the kitchen fits your cooking and entertaining style. In the view from every window, through every season. At TEA2, these are the things we consider in designing a home. It comes from asking many questions and listening carefully, well before pencil meets paper.

It’s not how every architect or builder approaches a project. But it works, as evidenced by the number of clients who ask us to design a second or third home. No matter what stage of the process you’re in, or what style of home you’re considering, we invite you to work with us.

You’ll be glad you did—months, years, even decades from now. Visit TEA2architects.com to learn more

General contractor: Nor-Son Custom Builders

CREATIVE ENDEAVORS

Richly textured

Text: R.J. Weick

When Mary Tolan, founder and managing partner of Chicago Paci c Founders of Chicago, Illinois, looked to expand the rm’s existing square footage at their headquarters along Michigan Avenue, the investment leader tapped the creative expertise of long-time design partner Yvette Cusack of BJC Designs LLC to bring the dynamic, full oor workplace to life. Located at 980 North Michigan Avenue, overlooking the drama and verve of Lake Michigan, Oak Street Beach, and Magni cent Mile, the expansion sought to not only engage with its surrounding landscape, but also its passionate team, embracing natural light, dramatic views, richly textured interiors that celebrated Italian design and all things white, and an atmosphere that drew employees back to the workplace.

“It was a fabulous opportunity. We basically took 13,000 square feet of dark wood o ces and opened it up, and I think one of the big challenges in not just designing this space was that we were just coming out of COVID, and I have to say Mary [Tolan] was really kind of ahead of the game in her thought process of: ‘How do we get people back to the o ce?’” Cusack said.

“Why do they want to come back to this and how do we create an environment that, for her, had an atmosphere that would attract their talent and in which they could work as a team and everyone would kind of love being in this beautiful space? How do you get people back into the o ce ve days a week and loving it—the teamwork, the camaraderie— how do you achieve that?” Cusack added.

Chicago Paci c Founders, a strategic healthcare investment rm focused on innovation and value created within the healthcare sector with additional o ces in San Francisco, California, and Sarasota, Florida, had previously occupied roughly 7,000 square feet on the 19th oor of “One Magni cent Mile” in Chicago overlooking the lake complete with outdoor terrace. Due to recent growth and acquisitions, the rm took on the additional 13,000 square feet of available space located in the adjacent, available suite to become the sole tenant of the oor.

With its existing, traditional o ce layout, featuring dark wood and a series of cubicles, Cusack noted the challenge from a design

perspective was transforming it into an open space that had great acoustics, integrated privacy and security, allowed natural light to permeate deep into the oor plate, and felt good at the moment of arrival. It was about curating a luxurious experience that at the same time balanced inherent dichotomies of structure and so ness, transparency and privacy, openness and acoustics, the individual client relationship and team camaraderie, and the indoor and outdoor landscape. e solution was to celebrate the investment leader’s a nity for natural light and Italian design amid a layered, tactile experience that embraced organic shapes and materials and commissioned artwork.

“I met Mary Tolan when she bought my apartment and it was just like magic. She brings sunshine, besides being an absolutely brilliant business person. So, we met and the journey started then. I helped her re nish that apartment and she has had several homes I’ve been

involved with, so I’ve been working with her for over eight years now,” Cusack said.

“Mary loves art. She loves natural light, she loves Italian, and she herself is a collector and again, really wanted the o ce to feel like it was a beautiful space, and wanted to create something that everybody would walk into and feel good,” Cusack added.

For Cusack, as principal designer and president of BJC Designs, design is an integral part of living and since launching her own rm in 1986, has become a dynamic force within the interior design eld. Cusack has built a portfolio of work in residential, commercial, and luxury transportation sectors like aviation and yacht design across the globe in the more-thanthree-decades of her professional career. With an exacting attention to detail and a keen eye for color and the beauty of natural materials, Cusack brings a re ned and elegant aesthetic that embraces art and design, guiding clients through a personalized process.

“ e creative end of this is fascinating. I really enjoy the process and for the designer, for the client, each project is di erent and it is challenging and it opens up a whole new avenue. I love working. I feel like I’m a little senior in this eld at this point and everybody I work with is younger and it’s fabulous, because I have always felt that it’s about the team,” Cusack said. “It is teamwork, it is not about me, it is about all of us to make that client’s vision, dreams, happen whether it is a home or an o ce; something that will endure through the years and they’ll love it.”

Prior to launching her own design rm, Cusack initially started out in the eld of fashion, rst as a buyer for Bonwit Teller & Co., a luxury department store in New York City, and then as a manager of a personal shopping service for Saks Fi h Avenue and Neiman Marcus, before opening up her own children’s store in Lincoln Park. Cusack noted it was while working on the design of her

family brownstone in Chicago with architect Kenneth Schroeder that she really discovered her passion for interior design.

“It was kind of a natural segue. I was in fashion my whole life. We bought a brownstone, we were living in an apartment on Lakeshore Drive, and I was having my second child, and I was so enthralled,” Cusack said. “I think if you have a good taste in fabrics and style, that is hard to teach, it is an innate sense, but I could teach myself space planning. I spent months with [Schroeder] putting this house together and walking through the Mart, and a er it was done eight months later, it went into Metropolitan Home and all of a sudden, phone calls started coming in. It just opened the oodgates and I have had my business for 38 years now.”

Today, BJC Designs is known for its personalized and guided approach from start to nish, informed by an exacting level of detail to deliver sophisticated and timeless spaces

PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL

to clients that evoke emotion and exceed expectation. And with the collaboration of bKL Architecture, Interior Investments Inc., and Development Solutions Inc., BJC Designs infused the roughly 20,000-square-foot o ce suite with curated artwork, sculptural lighting, acoustical solutions, and an ambiance of hospitality that re ected its investment leader’s personal style.

Herringbone-patterned, white oak wood oors and large-scale porcelain oor tiles—to eliminate grout lines—are complemented by full-body porcelain slab wall panels by Italian-based Fiandre Architectural Surfaces and wallcoverings by Maya Romano , Weitzner, MDC, and Koroseal. TURF acoustical ba es lend functional dimension and sculptural acoustics throughout the space, and invert-

ed architectural ceiling details complete with uplighting and metal accents add interest and depth, as sculptural lighting so ens geometric forms and structure. Quartz surfaces and rich woodwork are paired with brass accents and upholstered furnishings in a series of whites and creams. e sliding glass wall between the reception and boardroom, designed by bKL Architecture, o ers exibility, ow, and a sense of transparency and privacy. e new suite’s oor-to-ceiling perimeter ofces also allow light deep into the oor.

“How do we house 28 o ces, how do we have this open area, and how do we acoustically achieve it, which is always challenging as an open space. How do we incorporate all of this and create this sense of arrival the minute you got o the elevator?” Cusack said. “It is also a

private equity company, so we had to talk about security, achieving openness, but being able to close those doors. ose were a lot of the challenges I think within this to create this incredible feeling of luxury within a space that had a function with professionalism.”

Cusack also noted the acoustical materials were intentionally chosen to be high-performance solutions and blend into the overall layered look of the design, appearing to mimic brass honeycomb in the ceiling, and the addition of high, wingback chairs with personal trays o er employees exibility and privacy throughout the day. And the Clubroom, featuring residential-inspired furnishings, replace, built-in bar, and an oversized kitchen island for entertainment like client events and company gatherings, was a key part of the design.

“It felt like a ve-star amenity oor. ere is a gorgeous, 10-foot replace with a television and a chef’s kitchen. It is beautiful, overlooking the water where they can sit and hold private parties or collaborate,” Cusack said. “I

think that in itself is art to me, looking out of those windows that had its own movement and when you walk in, you are looking at one level between the sofas and sitting there that is not taking away from the view. e view

was important here, and all the built-ins were to take advantage of that.”

ere is also an organic interplay of materials throughout, from the porcelain and quartz surfaces, and wood and brass accents, to the leather of chairs and chenille of sofas. ere is grasscloth on walls and the glass of windows and partitions, textural artwork of steel and blown berglass, the brushstroke of movement, and the veining of blues and grays in porcelain. Its boardroom also features a white, glass table custom made in Italy set before a row of windows overlooking Lake Michigan, so ened by the addition of sculptural lighting that lend whimsy and organic feel to the room, and a commissioned piece of art that builds on the sensation of movement and adds depth to hues of blue. It is a design, completed in 2022, that captures richness and nuance in a subtle celebration of luxury nishes and a welcoming sense of arrival back to the workplace.

“Design is almost re ective in everything you do. It is a way of living your life, it is a way of feeling. Design is detail. It is very important to me to see that it is not just one detail, it is lots of detail,” Cusack said. “It is just such a process and there is so much detail and all of a sudden you will be like this is fabulous. I think that is the fun part, that is the exciting part.”

“We design beautiful, functional places by solving architectural challenges with compassion, collaboration, and creativity. Old Mission Windows provides the quality products and professional service to help achieve our designs.”

John Dancer President of Cornerstone Architects

Kolbe Windows & Doors leads the industry with innovative products that push the boundaries and defy the limits of function, performance and style. Contact Old Mission Windows, northern Michigan’s premier window and door supplier since 1985, to schedule a personal design consultation today.

Timber frames

Text: Diane Kolak

Complex problems o en result in their most elegant and creative solutions through collaboration. It is in collaboration, and through the gathering of experts and bold thinkers, that smart ideas are o en generated and seamlessly executed. And when that challenge involves the creation of a stylish, relaxing home on a challenging piece of land— particularly when it means the design and build of a custom, high-performance wood struc-

ture—the teamwork in every branch of the design and build rm of New Energy Works helps to bring their clients’ ideas to fruition.

New Energy Works is a Farmington, New York–based rm dedicated to delivering the best timber frame structures in the industry. For more than three decades, they have built a portfolio of work rooted in cra , e ciency, and engineering backed by a team that is focused on collaboration, high-cra , sustainability, lon-

gevity, and intent. Founded in 1986 by Jonathan Orpin, New Energy Works has since become a 100 percent Employee Owned Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, and has been a member of the Timber Framers Guild since 1984. e rm works in both residential and commercial sectors, and has completed projects like the Timber Banks Country Club in Baldwinsville, Druthers Brewing Co. in Cli on Park, Bully Hill Vineyards in Hammondsport, the Bu alo Heritage

Carousel Building which houses the historic DeAngelis Carousel in Bu alo, as well as Seminary Hill Orchard & Cidery in Callicoon, New York, which is considered one of the world's rst passive house certi ed buildings of its kind among cideries, breweries, and wineries.

e rm, which comprises design and build, timber frame, High-Performance, and ne woodworking professionals as well as Passive House Certi ed licensed architects in both its Farmington and Portland, Oregon o ces, o ers its services à la carte or as a complete package for clients building custom homes, barns, and other structures across the United States.

e New York team’s head of design Architect Kyle Barber, RA, CPHC, led the design process for this striking rustic-modern timber frame home perched at the narrow lakefront point of a wedge-shaped lot on one of New

York’s Finger Lakes. He describes his involvement throughout the entire process and mentions the ease of collaborating with colleagues in charge of the construction, timber framing, and woodworking teams—because they all work in the same building.

“It makes for a really uid and informed design process,” Barber said. “ e client is making informed decisions throughout the whole design and build process.”

e clients desired a lake home with both rustic and modern sensibilities. New Energy Works’ signature style showcases wood and other natural materials, so combining those elements with clean lines and plenty of glass gives the design a modern edge. e plan also includes a mix of modern and rustic material elements. ere are hints of Midcentury modern design, such as a bank of clerestory win-

dows and low-pitched roo ines, and there is a cabin in uence that also comes through in the exposed timber framing and extensive ne woodworking, some featuring live-edge details. It’s all combined in a thoughtful plan that utilizes all of the available width at the tight lakefront point of the site.

“It’s pushed setback to setback. We tried to use that to our advantage and considered solar orientation, putting light where we want it, and developing the house based on the site,” Barber said.

e result is a modest-sized home with a split-shed, or split-section, roof surrounded by decking that’s angled to mimic the shape of the lot. Each space within was considered with regard to views, prioritizing brilliant water scenes and minimizing views of neighboring homes, which are quite close. To optimize the tight

constraints of the lot, Barber’s team developed a stepped plan that brings lakefront views into the main living spaces as well as bedrooms situated farther back. Careful window positioning brings in light while also maintaining privacy for the homeowners and their neighbors.

e homeowners also wanted main living spaces to face the water, and due to the slope and width of the property, that meant the garage, main entrance, and two main- oor bedrooms would be relegated to the wider area at the back. at arrangement posed a challenge to designing a graceful entry.

“It meant that you had to walk through the path of the bedrooms to get to the main living space,” Barber said.

e design team addressed the challenge with a few strategic elements, notably, o setting the roof heights along the “spine” of the hallway

and using south-facing clerestory windows to bring light in from above. In addition, a bold arrangement of angled wooden beams, lit to a so glow by concealed xtures, encourages progression through the space and distracts from its function as a bedroom hall. At the end, an expanse of glass presents a luminous lake view that beckons from the moment of entry.

“Our whole goal was to draw you through the house, and I think in reality it works even better than we could have imagined,” Barber said.

Lakeside, the team also sought to nd intuitive solutions that showcased the view naturally. A wall of windows invites light throughout the living room, dining room, open kitchen, and stairwell to the daylight lower level. is space showcases the breadth of New Energy Works’ in-house ne woodworking services. e stately timber frame structure de nes a space lled with custom millwork and cabinetry as well as wall paneling from reclaimed barnwood and wide-plank white oak ooring from sister company, Pioneer Millworks. e island kitchen is out tted with Shaker-style cabinetry and an L-shaped, live-edge bar so ens sharp lines. Black metal nishes bridge modern and rustic styles, and create a snap of de nition against the natural backdrop of woodgrain.

Neutral painted walls and matching trim serve as a subtle backdrop for the wood elements, creating a rough-and-smooth contrast that ts the clients’ complementary styles. e distinct textures are enhanced by a subtle lighting plan with a glow di using from hidden spaces in the ceiling and xtures that are classic and clean.

e New Energy Works interior design team created the modern-rustic aesthetic using

natural materials, textures, and colors that play against each other and enrich the space in a tactile way, as if the house is part of its surrounding landscape. e interplay of the rugged and modern materials generates an aesthetic that is rooted in the nature of the Finger Lakes region.

Underneath the beauty of it all is a strong emphasis on energy e ciency, which New Energy Works brings to every project. A high-performance enclosure system within the walls and roof seals the thermal envelope, saving energy. In addition, Barber notes that the team pays attention to any advantages that might be derived from solar positioning and the use of sustainable natural building materials. New Energy Works timbers are responsibly sourced from well-managed domestic forests, and some of the wood on this project came from the most sustainable source of all: the lot itself.

New Energy Works is also a member of Building Energies Bottom Lines, or BEBL, and NESEA, and as a rm dedicated to sustainable, green building e orts, has embraced some of those practices into their daily operations at both studio locations. eir Farmington-based o ce features more than 400 solar panels and uses its own timber scraps to heat its space, while the Portland studio and shop uses renewable energy sources and timber scraps to power their wood kilns to reduce their carbon footprint.

From the initial site visit all the way to the last interior detail, the New Energy Works team worked with the clients throughout every phase of the design-build to ensure a smooth and integrated process. While the company does not require its clients to use its full suite of related services, clients usually

nd that having a single point of contact for everything makes the o en-complicated process of building a custom home easy and ecient. In this case, the e ortless collaboration also resulted in polished solutions and a nished home that re ects the unique lifestyle of its owners.

Cedar interplay

Text: R.J. Weick

The tree house, as an architectural archetype, has existed for millennia. It has served as both shelter and retreat, observation deck and platform, and workspace and recreational place, tapping into powerful and emotive senses like belonging, safety, creativity, and play. While it continues to serve as a fundamental and necessary structure for peoples and cultures to this day, it has also evolved into a modern-day destination and imaginative space in which nostalgia and adventure awaits. And for the long-time clients of Birchwood Construction Company in Harbor Springs, Michigan, this cedar-wrapped tree house was intentionally designed as a generational space for their

family to enjoy, inspired by the existing structures and natural landscape around it.

“We’ve been thinking about it for several years and decided to pull a switch on it in the summer of 2021,” the clients said. “ e whole purpose of the tree house is to enhance the cottage area for our grandkids so they will want to be up there and they’ll want to keep coming up a er they’re grown up and have kids of their own. It was undertaken with that in mind.”

e clients, who are familiar with the design and build process having navigated it several times before, said they like to take a ground-up approach to their projects, and when it came to those initial conversations with the tree house, it began with a checklist.

It was a checklist that not only outlined aesthetic and functional needs, but also how the tree house would t within the generational family ecosystem—how it would be used and who would be using it—to ensure its design incorporated those integral elements into its nished product. e next step was to then have their grandkids meet with the design team, for which they also looked to Stephanie Baldwin, president, owner, and designer of Edgewater Design Group LLC of Petoskey, to help shape the envisioned concept into tangible, cedarlike form.

“We had most of our grandkids meet with the [designer] to give her a priority list of what should be included in this tree house. We weren’t able to use all of their ideas—we vetoed the swimming pool and the hot tub and trampoline—but we did include the reman’s pole and the older kids wanted a quiet place where they might be able to read and get away from the rest of us folks,” the clients said. “ at led to the second oor and I think they got everything they wanted with the exception of those few items.”

Tasked with envisioning a two-story tree house that t contextually into the property, Edgewater Design looked to the existing structures and natural landscape for inspiration. e clients originally purchased the property in the early ’90s and had rebuilt the previous cottage structure shortly therea er, noting with the cottage located near the lake at the bottom of the sloped property, they wanted to build the tree house on the top of the hill in the fairly large undeveloped section of the site.

“We went through a couple revisions on the drawings, most of which were aesthetics. Edgewater did a great job of incorporating the functional pieces into the original design, but then we started tweaking the aesthetics of the structure,” the clients said. “ e design phase took us up until a little bit a er Labor Day of 2022 and that is when Birchwood Construction began their work.”

For Birchwood Construction, building lasting relationships with their clients is the cornerstone to success, where every foundation laid is built on collaboration and communication. It is a mission that builds on a history and legacy of delivering distinctive custom homes and beautiful spaces for clients since its establishment in 1972, in which the team embraces a belief in family, communication, quality cra smanship, leading with compassion and accountability, and giving back to the community.

“We’ve known them for quite some time. We like the quality of their work, we like their customer relationship, and we had looked at them for a previous project,” the clients said. “Edgewater had also done the design work on another project for us, and Edgewater and Birchwood have an excellent working relationship, so that is what brought us all to-

gether. And when we started talking to Kenny Provost at Birchwood about the project, he got pretty excited and we thought it was going to be in good hands, as it was.”

Birchwood Construction as a company has since evolved in its 52-year history into a tightknit, collaborative team of cra speople and individuals led by Kenny Provost, chief building o cer and partner, and Tom Adams, chief business o cer and partner, and is dedicated to bringing their clients’ visions to life and to placing family at the center of every build process. For them, the hope is that Birchwood Construction is known at the end of the day as a company that cares, and having worked with this client and his family several times in the past, the opportunity to be involved in the tree house build was special for the team.

“What excited us is that it is just not something you get to do every day. I mean, there are not a lot of people building extravagant tree houses and when it was brought to my attention, I just thought it was going to be a fun project and out of the ordinary. For me, it was also pretty important because that was the sixth project we’ve done for that family, that is pretty special. You just don’t get to do that o en,” Provost said.

“ e design was done when we got to start building it, and the grandkids did have a ton of input on that, but as far as the build process, any time a guy like this client is that excited to build something for his grandkids, it just makes it fun. en you realize what you are building, and I think that is where the play comes in. You are not really looking at it as a project where you

are under this time crunch and the homeowner wants to get in. It was all about, ‘how do we make this that much better for the kids?’ at is where the fun came,” Provost added.

Featuring a pyramidal hip roof, half log siding, and exterior shake, this tree house takes on traditional log cabin inspiration nestled within its surrounding timbers. ere are cedar-wrapped steel supports designed to appear as if growing out of the ground itself, built for structural integrity and longevity; cable rail to accent the wooden stairs and wraparound porch; and an upper balcony that overlooks the landscape. Inside, tongue and groove envelopes the interior space and large windows allow daylight to ood the intimate space, while a winding steel staircase leads to the upper level. Fully equipped with

electricity and an upstairs lo , the tree house is both functional and playful—made more so with its reman’s pole, oversized stu ed animals, gaming features, and spiral slide.

“We love the look of it, it’s very functional, but most of all we liked the whole process of how it went together and the equity that the kids have in it. ey were part of the planning process and they were also part of the construction process. e family did all of the painting and we pre-stained everything inside and out. We had three great friends of ours and all of the grandkids and their parents involved in that staining process,” the clients said. “ ey’ve all had a hand in it, so if you ask me what I like most about it, it was a family project and it’s ours. It’s a piece of us.”

For Provost, who noted it is the details that stand out to him the most about the project, it was such a fun and special project, collaborating with both the client and his family, and the design team.

“It is just not something you get to do every day,” Provost said. “I told the client he was an excellent grandpa. I don’t know many who would do that, and it’s an extremely well-built structure. It’s a steel structure and everything is wrapped in cedar that we had split and hollowed out, so it looked like it was growing out of the ground, but he really let us have our

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way with it, which was cool. It was really the relationship that made it fun, just to go back and do another project for them, the family, that is what made it so special for me.”

SINCE 1910

CREATIVE ENDEAVORS

TCinematic escape

Text: R.J. Weick

deep resonance that began with a so note in G, lled cinemas at the start of the 1983 premiere of "Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi."

he cinema, the theater, has played a cultural role long before the art form of narrative on stage was captured in light, sound, and screen. It has shaped modern culture, re ective, aspirational, cautionary, and while the performative art has endured for centuries, how those stories and narratives told in auditorium, on stage, on screen, are experienced has changed as technology continues to evolve.

In 1979, the theatrical release of “Apocalypse Now,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Martin Sheen trans xed audiences with its 70mm stereo surround as helicopters swept on screen, sound mimicking the motion as it moved from speaker to speaker throughout commercial theaters. e same format was used in 1982 with the release of “Blade Runner,” and a year later, that iconic THX Certi ed sound, a

It is a composition intended to capture the auditory senses, as it expands slowly across four measures into an 11-note chord and crescendos into triple forte or fortississimo. e resonant chord, composed by Dr. James “Andy” Moorer, a Lucas lm sound engineer, would de ne cinematic experiences for generations before it was refreshed in 2015 and joined in 2019 with THX Genesis. And Ken Walker, owner and founder of Artisan Electronics Group in Chicago, Illinois, is dedicated to bringing that unforgettable cinematic experience to the home theater through an artful integration of video, audio, and custom-built furniture.

“ e immersive experience is such an integral part of what these rooms become,” Walk-

er said. “We are in the electronics business, we happen to have a type of furniture that is totally speci c to our category, but what we really like to tell people is we are in the escapism business. What we sell is an experience and it’s the cumulative sum of all the di erent elements that go into a home theater project.”

e rm

Artisan Electronics Group is a Chicago-based electronics integration rm specializing in custom, luxury home theater work or dedicated cinema projects. e rm, which introduces leading home technology brands and the bene ts they o er, has evolved into an electronics specialist wholly focused on the design and build of high-end, luxury residential cinemas for the home. Initially founded in 2003 as Sound Design Systems, the rm rebranded in

2012 as it re ned its focus from generalists with a handful of dedicated home theater projects, to serving as a full-time resource and collaborative partner for residential architects, builders, designers, and the discerning homeowner.

For Walker, a self-admitted lifelong junkie for electronics, pursuing residential electronics is a second career for him—or third, if one considers his experience in high-level auto racing, both as a driver and a team owner, which he credits as an important source for his attention to detail and working with extremely precise tolerances. It was also an opportunity that came a er a 20-year Fortune 500 career in sales in the broadcasting industry.

“It brought about a time in my life that I recognized I needed to make a career change, and it was really those people around me who said, ‘maybe this is the time in your life that you pursue something that you have a known passion for,’” Walker said. “Rather than go to work for someone else, I decided to go into business for myself with no professional experience, no contacts in the industry, and nothing but my own personal capitalization to start a business. It has been a roller coaster ride since then.”

Navigating the unprecedented 2008-2012 recession, the rm pivoted in name in 2012 from Sound Design Systems to Artisan Electronics Group, and shi ed to doing more “designer-centric projects.” e shi to becoming wholly dedicated to the high-end theater business came later around 2017, which is when the rm opened its experience-based showroom on the 14th oor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Walker also joined ASID in 2012 and noted with the video and audio breakthroughs in the industry in 2015 that rede ned the market for what was possible in residential home the-

aters, the rm was then well-positioned to capture the high-end, consumer niche. e breakthroughs introduced at the annual tradeshow presented by CEDIA, a global industry association for smart home technology, were as Walker noted “both related to a higher level of dedicated cinema type projects” and “were going to be game changers for what capabilities would be” in terms of what they could o er customers.

“From the time that the television became a mass-produced, available product a er WWII, we have wanted to create something in the home that could give people the feel of what the experience of going to a movie theater is like, and of course we were always chasing that and never really getting terribly close, until these changes came into the market in late 2015,” Walker said. “ ere was no question in my mind that the vortices were going to cross, from the time that we were chasing what was o ered in the commercial theater to o ering something that was not only equal to that, but in fact substantially superior. For me, that was very exciting.”

Vision distilled, Walker said he believed there needed to be a place in the market where people could physically come to see and “test drive” what a high-end residential cinema felt like, creating an environment that felt like a true experience. e key to its success on the highend, interior furniture oor was to showcase the quality seating solutions it could provide that are distinctive to the home cinema space. e furniture then would serve to draw visitors into the showroom to demonstrate the integrated video and audio services it could provide customers.

“If we went into the Merchandise Mart as strictly an electronics business, it really would have made us an outlier. On one hand, it makes

sense because every other high-end luxury category in the residential world is represented in that building, from ooring to lighting and appliances, but we felt there was a need to make us a little more endemic to the category,” Walker said. “We believed there was an opportunity there and so our strategy for designing our showroom was that we used the seating to draw passersby in the corridor and we hope that once they cross the threshold in the showroom, that we can then take them into the back section of the room, which is where the actual cinema exists.”

While Walker noted the team o en converts those walk-ins into complete theater projects, most of their dedicated remodel and new construction theater work comes through design partners like architects, designers, and general contractors they have established over the years. Walker noted one of the key things about the clientele or audience they work with is that they o en self-identify, meaning they know who they are and what they want to achieve in the space.

“ ese customers typically have already owned a home or homes that have some level of genuine dedicated cinema and the bene ts of that is they have a familiarity with these types of rooms. ey know what they are about, they know that they use them, they know that they not only like them but love them, and so they understand what the animal is, if you will,” Walker said.

“ ey are o en at a point where they have an opportunity to create something more sensational than what they’ve previously had, whether they have more of a budget, they have more space to work with—because you do need a fair amount of footprint to build a really fantastic room of this sort—and they tend to be very engaged in the process of creating the room,” Walker added.

e ve pillars

Over the years, Artisan Electronics Group, or AEG, has designed and installed theaters across the country in places like Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Ladue, Missouri; Walloon Lake, Michigan; Jackson, Wyoming; Atlanta, Georgia; and Chicago, for exclusive residences and cultural centers alike. While architectural vernacular of those homes and places, and the aesthetic style of the theaters themselves run the gamut, there are ve integral pillars that remain consistent across the work in AEG’s portfolio. Walker noted, as a CEDIA-certi ed educator, those ve pillars are outlined in a dedicated theater design course that he helped create and understanding—and including—all ve is essential to a successful cinema experience.

“It is understanding the di erence between some of the parts and a true sum of the parts. If you only have some of the parts, then you are only going to get some of the project done properly,” Walker said. “It always starts with

the room itself. Identifying the space, understanding very speci c room proportions to build a proper theater for both sightlines based on the amount of seating and the seating conguration, and the way the sound travels in a room. ere is a right way and a wrong way to design a room for proper sound performance and it has to start there.”

e rst pillar, a foundational element, covers proportion and dimension of a room that can then be scaled to a client’s desired square footage or the number of seats they may want to have included in the space. While square rooms and rooms that are wider than they are in depth are not conducive for sound, Walker noted the team looks to develop rooms using a formula of “width-2-by-depth-3,” such that a room that is 16-by-18-feet in dimension would be ideally suited for an eight-to-10-seat theater. Using those same proportions, theater spaces can then be scaled up to a 44-seat theater in a roughly 55,000-square-foot building.

“But the point is you have to understand getting the room done properly. A er the dimensions, there are very unique structural considerations that have to be accounted for with these types of rooms. You have to build them with enormous rigidity, because we are going to unleash an unholy amount of physical sound energy into these rooms, such that we could shake the house no matter how big it is and we don’t want to do that,” Walker said.

“In many cases, we will build a room within a room, so that the physical walls within the theater itself are completely decoupled from all the rest of the structural elements in the house, because all sound transfer takes place through physical vibration, meaning the studs shake, the joists shake, that is where you hear sound transfer—not in the cavities, but through the studs. We o en use the phrase, ‘solid surface vibration transfer,’” Walker added.

Building on the rst pillar, the second pillar looks at the seating con guration within the theater room then helps to inform placement of electronics later in the process. In the third pillar, components like video screen size and placement and the type of projector used are integrated into the space. Walker noted the team employs the same engineering philosophy as commercial cinema designers when it comes to screen size, in that it should essentially stretch from edge-to-edge across the room at seated eye level and higher—which o en results in a 120-inch diagonal as a starting point.

“Screen size is dictated almost entirely by ceiling height, because those are the nite boundaries of the space and there is a certain height above the oor that a screen should be placed, which at a minimum we would say should be at seating eye level roughly 36-to-40 inches above the oor,” Walker said. “We will go as low as 30 inches once we explain to a customer that they should use as big a screen as

possible, but according to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ standards, the human eye can see out, the human eye can see up, it can see out and up at the same time, but it can not see down, out, and up at the same time.”

Once the screen size has been identi ed, Walker said the next step is to specify the projector for the space, which in today’s market, provides a sensational viewing experience with the introduction of 4K and the laser-driven light source a few years later. e projectors, which can be complemented by external processors— like madVR Envy—to enhance video signals from proprietary servers, are designed to stream uncompressed video les, providing ampli ed caliber and detail of images. Walker noted it is at this point that the team then turns their attention to sound, which is really their signature.

“It has always been my thing. ere are more moving parts to it, there is more engineering to it, I love that aspect of it. When we talk

about surround sound, which is a term we’ve had in the language for many years, a lot of people just think about having a lot of speakers, quantity-wise in a room, and that is not true. What surround sound is at its most basic denition, is the ability to send di erent content to each speaker in the system. We use the term separation,” Walker said.

“‘Apocalypse Now’ is still famous to this day for what we call 5.1 surround, which is le , center, right at the front, le rear and right rear, and the subwoofer or low frequency channel. All of the helicopter scenes are still some of the very best helicopter scenes done in movies, because they understand how to give you this feeling of it moving around the room as it ew in and out of the picture,” Walker added.

While 5.1 remained the standard for roughly 20 years, surround sound has since evolved from 7.1 into a spatial envelopment or immersive sound experience like Dolby At-

mos. Walker, who noted there are other manufacturers with similar technologies, Dolby Atmos is the “locomotive that pulls the train” in this regard, and the brand really invented the concept of surround sound for both commercial and residential use.

“Ray Dolby is probably one of my biggest heroes in life. e business is still family-owned and they are brilliant in terms of how they combine pure engineering science with the artistic side of cinematic sound and I think they are one of the best businesses in terms of what their mission is and has been for all these decades,” Walker said. “Dolby Atmos created a di erent spatial layer, so that these speakers and the movie soundtracks are using this height sensation in the room that makes the whole sound experience so much larger.”

From Dolby Atmos, whose name is derived from atmospheric, sound has evolved into a high channel surround array that separates the sound into speakers ranging anywhere from six to 20 in a single room. Walker also noted the proper placement for those speakers is also important, particularly when it comes to dialogue to ensure the sound aligns with the facial movement on screen.

“ e h pillar is unquestionably the single biggest miss in our category, because it is also the area where, in my opinion, it exceeds the ca-

pabilities of the commercial theater, and that is what we do with the acoustics inside the room. Acoustics are about sound enhancement within the room,” Walker said.

“In a proper theater, we always tell people we want you to hear the sound, but we also want you to feel the sound. We want you to feel that pressure from all these speakers and all this ampli cation, we want you to physically feel that force in a way that you like, in a good way. is is where acoustics play a role,” Walker added. at physical force can result in distortion, decay, and loss of integrity in a space without good acoustics, which is why Walker noted one of the primary roles of proper room acoustics is to so en the blow in a way that maintains the integrity of that sound wave. From absorption and re ection—a method with a diaphragmatic capability—to the use of solid, exterior doors completed with gaskets that help seal the room like an air-locked spaceship to keep ambient sound out, the acoustics are the single most important element of a successful dedicated theater room, which as Walker noted, follows industry best practices for those committed to building world class theaters.

“ ere is absolutely nothing le to chance. We know what we want to do with every single element in this room. It’s the secret sauce, it’s the missing element, and when you don’t

do this, you’re missing so much of the experience,” Walker said. “We talk to our customers about a relentless pursuit of perfection and that is what probably appeals to me the most about this category. ere is this opportunity to be truly uncompromised, and I love the ability to focus all of my energy and engineering skills into such a de ned space.”

With evolution rather than revolution— and a need for more canvases on which to metaphorically paint—on the horizon, Walker noted the stability of the industry platform right now is exceptional and as a company, AEG is committed to not compromising on the details, down to one-sixteenth of an inch, in their pursuit to build sensational theaters that exceed their customers wildest cinematic dreams.

“I enjoy the absolute challenge of creating something that I think is the single coolest thing in the house. ese are customers who have high expectations and I love to blow them away. I tell people that the theaters I build are my race cars and so I approach them with the level of detail I would as if I were designing and building a very high-performance-level race car where everything has a purpose and everything is built to extremely precise standards,” Walker said. “I never tire of it. I thrive mentally on the engineering complexities, I mean, it is what keeps my brain going.”

Nature-based restoration

Text: R.J. Weick

The Great Lakes, as an interconnected waterway, is complex. Its freshwater system is compelling as a beautiful and natural landscape, integral as a diverse aquatic and shoreline habitat, and signi cant as an economic and recreational resource. With its drainage into the St. Lawrence River, it is the world’s single largest watershed, serving as a fundamental layer for life across eight states, two countries, and more than 94,000 square miles of surface water. It is home to aquatic species and native and migratory birds, rare panne wetlands and bifurcating rivers and streams, and is considered a hydrodynamic force in which wind, wave, sand, and ice collide.

While individual interventions o en seek to mitigate ecological challenges as they emerge within the Great Lakes system, the e ects of sediment transport, erosion, high water levels, and ow stretch beyond the bounded lines of private and public ownership. Sustainable, resilient solutions become an ever-evolving pursuit to address the constant, and powerful, changes taking place as harbors, revetments, and other infrastructure investments reshape the contours of the regional shoreline and underwater lakebed.

For SmithGroup’s Waterfront Practice, which specializes in waterfront planning and design, those solutions require innovative

thought, a nature-based response, and a keen insight into how the complexities and nuances of coastal habitat protection and restoration transcend familiar divisions. Over the years, as the rm has developed comprehensive and integrated solutions intended to heal, restore, engage, and protect water-based landscapes, its team of engineers, ecologists, landscape architects, and urban design experts have built on their portfolio of work, applying practices and lessons learned from unique private-public partnership models, o shore submerged breakwaters, and a unique combination of green and gray restoration strategies to address speci c needs within a much larger, holistic system.

“Right now, one of the exciting things is changing the paradigm in how we do these projects and driving new ways of thinking about them. Nobody has done these types of projects in a freshwater environment. It’s open coast, nature-based restoration,” said Jason Stangland, PLA, LEED AP, principal landscape architect and Waterfront Practice Director at SmithGroup in Madison, Wisconsin.

“I love the challenge of them in terms of the million-and-one inputs and complexities associated with it and how unique ideas and approaches become introduced to the public. I love seeing people come back thinking about something di erently, or going into a community and they are challenging you to do something in a di erent way—that, more so than anything provides me hope for the

future that people are becoming more aware, becoming better consumers or users of projects like this, and that is pretty exciting to watch,” Stangland added.

For Illinois Beach State Park, a roughly six-and-a-half mile stretch of natural, undeveloped shoreline at the southern border of Wisconsin, those inputs and complexities presented a unique opportunity to combine nearshore and o shore emergent and submerged breakwaters with sand nourishment to address accelerated erosion that had been threatening its panne wetlands, dedicated nature preserves, and recreational park for decades. Located in Zion, Illinois, the 4,160acre park is the last remaining beach ridge shoreline in the state and was losing up to 100 feet of shoreline each year due to erosion,

with cumulative impacts being a 490-foot loss of shoreline in a 10-year period.

e shoreline, while transient in nature as the beach ridge naturally migrates and redistributes sand and sediment, was rapidly deteriorating due to a combination of large storms, human intervention, and the rapid loss of sand migrating southward with little coming in from the north. To address the challenges, stabilizing the shoreline and its natural habitat, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources looked to SmithGroup to study and develop shoreline solutions.

“It is a pretty important resource in that area for a number of reasons, culturally as well as for its upland habitat. ere are a number of wetlands that are really only found in a couple of places in the world, this being

one of them, so a lot of the biologists and park managers were really concerned over the extent of erosion. We met with them initially and started looking at a number of di erent methodologies that we could use to help slow down that erosive, longshore sediment transport issue that was happening,” said Rob Wright, PE, principal and civil engineer at SmithGroup in Madison.

“We o ered a number of di erent levels of protection, methodologies anywhere from the gray to green spectrum of restoration, and really being cognizant that a green-only, or vegetation-alone, solution does not exist on the open coast. We wanted to be pretty upfront with them that we could do some things along the shoreline that were going to be very green, but they were going to be protected in

some other manner with a gray infrastructure, meaning o shore submerged breakwaters,” Wright added.

It was a realistic strategy that took into account the fact that in a two-week-period a er the state had invested nearly a half-million dollars into adding sand to its coastline, it had completely eroded away.

“I think that was the realization that while sand nourishment is considered a good, green protection method, it was not going to be nancially feasible for them long-term to be continuously dumping it there and having it be gone on a weekly basis,” Wright said. “So, a er developing where their priority areas were, we started looking at potential solutions that would meet the goals of stopping the receding shoreline, or limiting it, but also what

we could do on a habitat basis that would help us through the permitting process, because that was going to be a big issue, as well as try to nd something that was going to improve the experience out at the beach.”

Illinois Beach State Park, which is stewarded by Illinois Department of Natural Resources, welcomes more than one million visitors each year and the challenge was to nd a solution that responded, rather than fought, the shoreline erosion without armoring it and losing its recreational and ecological bene ts. Wright noted the team, which actively engaged agencies like the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois State Geological Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, conducted extensive technical analysis and coastal modeling in two di erent phases.

“Our rst phase, we used a standard breakwater solution to see what we could do within the numeric models to solve this, whether that was heights, widths, dimensions, scale, and shape. en, our second phase, was really to take those structures into the physical model to see what we could do to shape those to either be lower so they weren’t going to have this big visual impact for a person standing on the beach, or what we could do with the shape that would a ect the nearshore hydrodynamics a little bit di erently,” Wright said.

“We went through 30 or 40 di erent physical model runs for these areas by using scaled rock and sediment to really understand what was going on with the nearshore area. at led to the nal design that coupled the addition of sand pre ll with lower-crested, wider structures that were going to allow modest wave overtopping. is approach allowed for both aquatic and avian habitat creation on the front and back side of the coastal structures and the minimi-

zation of the visual impact of the structures for those visiting the beaches,” Wright added.

Instead, the series of semi-submerged and submerged o shore breakwaters work with the natural forces of the lake and are intentionally sculpted to slow the migration of sand, protect the shore from storms, and interface with the ecological habitat. Wright also noted the team ran a lot of stability testing within a ue to determine the sizing of the rock needed and tailor it to what was available in the market due to stone supply shortage in the region and took historic high-water levels, storm surge, and future water rise into account during the design.

“ ere is potential for another two feet of water rise, so the structures were designed to be really resilient for the future,” Wright said.

Stangland also noted their client and partners on the project understood that the o shore structures are not intended to permanently retain the beach sand, but rather slow the process,

reducing the rate of southward sand migration and achieving a better balance.

“It’s about trying to nd that equilibrium and understanding that this is a model and an idea that has been used in other places, particularly along the saltwater coast, less so in the freshwater coast. We are not seeing this solution done quite as much so I think it is pretty groundbreaking in that it is acknowledging it is working with the natural system and responding to the natural processes,” Stangland said.

“When I think about projects like Illinois Beach State Park or Sugar Island, it’s about infrastructure investments, whether that is breakwaters or another solution, having to do multiple things. In this particular case, Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists were talking about how can we integrate habitat for nesting terns in these structures or submerged aquatic habitats for Great Lakes native sh species,” Stangland added.

DRIFTWOOD

DRIFTWOOD

For Sugar Island, located at the mouth of the Detroit River in the western basin of Lake Erie, SmithGroup employed a similar nature-based approach featuring a series of o shore breakwaters or barrier shoals that would help re-establish upland, wetland, and aquatic habitat while enhancing, restoring, and protecting 2,700 linear feet of coastal shoreline, 2.5 acres of upland habitat, and 21 acres of coastal wetland. e 29-acre island, included in the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, was similarly faced with accelerated erosion in recent decades in a location considered one of the most important spawning areas in western Lake Erie and home to native, endangered species like the channel darter. e project, which began in 2017 and completed construction of the protective shoals in 2022, had a budget of roughly $18.6 million funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which was administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“If you are going to e ect change and look at non-traditional solutions to common problems, whether that is addressing equitable access like in Euclid or related to coming up with di erent strategies for shoreline protection and restoration, you can’t just do that on a parcel-by-parcel basis. e scale of six or six-and-a-half miles of shorelines allows you to actually look at and e ect change and respond, creating a more dynamic and adaptable solution,” Stangland said.

“When you think more globally about the Great Lakes, the changing shoreline dynamics are pretty consistent: the reduction in sand in the system, the reduction of beaches, and the lack of consistent thick ice on the lake that allows large winter storm waves to hit the shorelines are all pretty consistent issues. Human intervention and manipulation of the shoreline also plays a relatively consistent inuential role with harbors that stop sediment transport, revetments on shorelines and powerplant breakwaters halting migrating sand,

so projects done at scale allow you to address things more holistically,” Stangland added.

For Illinois Beach State Park, one of the other unique aspects of the project was its collaborative team e ort in which the Illinois DNR, Illinois EPA, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, worked quickly through the necessary Comprehensive Environmental Review Process, or CERP, and a 401 Certication for water quality, streamlining the design-build process. Wright said their ability to navigate the process quickly—which still took between six and eight months of review—was based on the great relationships built with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the onset of the project.

“We had the Army Corps involved and sitting at the table all the way from the CERP process moving forward, so they understood what we were going to do and they were involved in reviewing some of the technical data out of the models and had con dence in what they were seeing,” Wright said. “I think having somebody

from Illinois EPA and Illinois DNR on our project team helping move this through, just made the process so much more enjoyable.”

For Wright, who noted as architects, engineers, and landscape architects working on nature-based projects, which are o en going to be funded and perceived di erently just based on the approach, the goal is to maintain habitats and create untouched experiences for people, as much as possible. And, to him, seeing the work impact people’s lives is what inspires him.

“I really love seeing things get built and then used. I want them to be something that the public is going to be able to use and enjoy. We designed the shing pier in Euclid, which I thought was great, and then said in my head that there was no way anybody would ever sh o of this thing,” Wright said. “And then,

the night before the grand opening, it is eleven o’clock at night and we walk down there and there are a half-dozen guys shing on the end of the pier, catching sh to feed their families and they talked to us about how great it was. I had a big change of heart on our projects a er that, because it does impact people.”

Illinois Beach State Park, which broke ground in fall 2022 and is anticipated to be completed in 2024, is estimated at $45 million for nal design, testing, and construction. Stangland emphasized that the funding is out there for ecological, environmental, and recreational-based projects outside of traditional sources like FEMA, which is o en focused on building resilience. And to him, nature-based responses in the Great Lakes are in nitely more complicated than is o en given credit.

“I think Illinois Beach State Park is representative of a di erent solution, in a di erent widget,” Stangland said. “We actually had a great conversation with somebody who was interested in building a bat cave so they could inoculate bats against white-nose syndrome that is killing bats in the Great Lakes at a rapid rate as part of a recent project. It is goofy and cool and that is what we can actually do, we can integrate those solutions as part of these designs. So, I would encourage us when we talk about shoreline protection or ‘mitigation,’ to be thinking about them as things that can actually do some really great things, and preserve and protect our natural resources in places and spaces that we love.”

Friday, June 21, 2024

7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Irish/Scottish Cèilidh (party!) in the Pub Tent with Live Music! Music begins at 7:00 PM

$22.50 Admission

Cash bar

Saturday, June 22, 2024

9:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Highland Games begin 9:30 AM Festival grounds open until 8 PM (Music continues until 11:00 PM)

$10 (16 & older)

15 & under - FREE

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN

Traditional Irish and Scottish foods

Celtic Genealogy Assistance | Vendors of Celtic goods

Irish Pub tent | Scottish Clan Tents | Kids area

www.HollandCelticFestival.org info@HollandCelticFestival.org Facebook.com/HollandCelticFestival

HOLLAND CELTIC FESTIVAL Ottawa

DeZwaan Windmill photo by Norm Hoekstra. Other photos by Erika Tinney & Cassie Veen-Haveman