Sorry, asleep at the wheel....
The Mines GC opened had a soft opening last August, and was well recieved. There was a superintendent change this Spring, with Kris Shumaker steeping in to take over the greenkeeping. Many of you may know Kris from his work w/ DeVries at Pilgrim's Run and Diamond Springs. I was out there today on a site visit and Kris has already made a difference in the quality of the greens. There is a media event planned for June, but I don't remember the exact date.
The Mines is built on land that has abandoned gypsum mines underground. The mines are anywhere from 90 to 150 feet below ground level, so there is no visible evidence of past mining activities. The history of the site and it's role in the economic developement of Grand Rapids runs very deep, pardon the pun. Because of the underground mines, there was never any opportunity for building or housing development above. The land basically sat there, unused, forever. It did have a lot of motorcycle trails through the woods, which occupied all of the land before clearing for a golf course. The most interesting aspect to the site is it's proximity to downtown GR...a mere 1 1/2 miles away. It's a highly contoured piece of ground and the routing uses the bumps, rolls, ridges and valleys in all manner of ways.
Sorry about the outdated DeVries Designs website. Mike and I have been compiling info and making changes, but with other master plan work and projects, we haven't been able to get with the webmaster to relay and confer. Sometimes we put off the things we're not so good at, and frankly it's much more fun creating things in the dirt than it is on a computer. But we will get it done soon...I promise!
Joe