Profile of Marquette GC (Greywalls) Posted

[John Morrissett]

The profile of the new (2005) Greywalls course of Marquette GC is now posted under Courses by Country.

One of the rewards of seeking out the world’s most enjoyable courses is that along the way you find some wonderful spots you may not have otherwise come across.  For example, golf aside, St. Andrews is a fascinating town with its own rich history while central Nebraska offers an unmatched beauty and peace.  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the city of Marquette in particular, also fall into this category, as my desire to play Mike DeVries’s latest design led to an instant attraction to the UP in general for my family and me.  While Marquette lies only 240 miles from our home in Wisconsin, I doubt we have crossed into the UP for many years without the incentive of playing the new Greywalls Course at Marquette Golf Club.  Today, we would even make the trip to the UP in the winter.  (Confession: I liked the course so much at first sight I became a national (outside the UP) member.)

The work of Mike DeVries offers a refreshing contrast to that of the “factory” architects in that he does not impose the same style and look on each site.  For example, Greywalls and Kingsley Club occupy very different pieces of property, so the two courses have different “looks.”  While the bunkering at Kingsley catches many people’s attention, there are a handful of bunkerless holes at Marquette – those holes did not need bunkers, and DeVries did not want to become a “one-trick pony.”  DeVries also appreciates the value of having one course rather than 18 separate holes strung out over a dramatic property; the restraint and discipline shown at Greywalls is impressive in this regard.  At Greywalls it all adds up to a fun course where you look forward to each hole and each round.

Marquette Golf Club resembles a British club – a semi-private affair with wildly enthusiastic members whose dues are held amazingly low by the green fees of visitors.  The fact that this Club wanted to build a second course (the original course features nine holes by Langford and Moreau) speaks to the members’ appetite for golf.  

[Tom_Doak]

John:

Thanks for your review; the photos look great, and it looks like the course is in great shape as well.  (Obviously not taken this April!)

Is the course reasonably walkable?  It's obviously got quite a few abrupt elevation changes.

[Matt_Ward]

John M:

Wonderful pictures and great analysis.

Just to add a few thoughts ...

The opening hole is indeed a spectacular way to get started. There is so much going-on and the player needs to think long and hard about what line of play you favor. Those who wish to gamble with the tee shot need to slot a tee ball down the right side. The greensite is also a peach -- with the fall-offs in plain view with the picture you've provided.

As much as I like the opening at Kingsley Club -- I favor the one at Greywalls just a bit better.

The 2nd hole is also well done. Blind tee shot that calls for a slight fade off the tee. The greensite is also well done. Frankly, I think a back left pin placement is the most challenging.

There's so much to mention about Greywalls -- how the course isn't better appreciated is hard to fathom.

John, I can totally understand your love after one round and then joining. Superb course with superb people makes for a round of golf to remember. Looking forward to my next visit back.

[Geoffrey Childs]

John

Thank you for that introduction to Greywalls.  Its nice to see you contributing.  I am a great fan of the Kinsley Club and this is one more reason to return to Michigan.

I was curious if you or Mike if he reads this can explain his quote

"That was the biggest challenge, to not make it too dramatic and make sure it was good, solid golf"

I understand the good solid golf part but if the features could be naturally dramatic are they purposely toned down?

The tee shot on the 5th is most interesting.  I am struck by the resemblance with the tee shot at #13 of Shoreacres.  Its a daunting shot (dramatic?) that I would imagine solves some routing problem getting from a low lying greensite up to higher ground (and without a cart ride!!!!!).

[Brian_Sleeman]

Excellent, excellent review John!  That made me want to race back up there and bash it around in what's left of our late spring snowfall.  Your photos turned out beautifully, too.  Well done.

I do need to note, however, that although you mention hitting into the clump of trees on the left side of 12 fairly often, I can bear witness to the fact that you did manage a ho-hum birdie three there the first time around (and breezed around the rest of the course like it was a piece of cake).

Tom D: it does have some abrupt elevation changes, but the course is much more walkable than it may at first seem, primarily due to shortcuts that can be taken to avoid some of the hills reserved for cart paths.  

There are about a dozen players at the club who walk it regularly, but then again the vast majority of members are addicted to their carts also on the older course.  I frequently received looks of bewilderment from cart-goers whenever I walked.

Bottom line: it's no more difficult to walk than Crystal Downs.  Just make sure you get a ride to the first tee!

[Brian_Sleeman]

The tee shot on the 5th is most interesting.

I can attest to that.  I agree with John that the smart play may in fact be to hit driver up the left side toward the green, but you'd better be having a good day with the driver to be able to pull that one off.  Most people hit a fairway wood or hybrid up toward the 100 post, and from there it's a really fun pitch into the severely sloped green.

[T.J. Sturges]

John,

Great pics.  Thanks for the write-up.  Very interesting what you wrote about the "British style" club set up.  I've always felt they got it right over there.  If the course is worth playing, it is worth sharing with visitors.  Why not use that scenario to keep a club's costs down?  Most of the British clubs do this and then protect favored times of the day for member starting times.  This is the first time I've heard of a "semi-private" club doing this in the states.  John do you or any others on this site know of other clubs in the US that are doing it this way?

I'm putting Greywalls on my "to do" list.

TS

[John Morrissett]

Thanks to everyone for the comments.

Tom: You're certainly right about the photos!  They were taken last August (toward the end of the course's second season).  As Brian writes, the course is quite walkable.  There are a few walks between holes that are longer than one might like, but walking 36 in a day there is no problem.  The only reason to take a cart now is simply to get out to the 1st tee (and back from the 18th green) from the current clubhouse.

Matt: I actually joined without having struck a shot on Greywalls.  On a cold, wet, windy day in October 2004 I took a quick tour of the course and was taken with it right away.

Geoffrey: I think Mike's quote is somewhat similar to Bill Coore's thoughts on how helpful "quiet moments" are in a course's routing.  If every hole is a jaw-dropper, you eventually run into sensory overload.  

Brian: Nice to hear from you!  Congratulations on your new job at Crystal Downs.  I'll catch up with you via e-mail.

Ted: I too am at a loss to think of a similar club in the US.  On the one hand, it is definitely a Club, but on the other it welcomes visitors with open arms.  There isn't a nicer group of people.

[ed_getka]

I enjoyed our day at Greywalls last fall. The fact that Mike could even route a golf course on that land at all is remarkable. To have come up with a course that flows as well as Greywalls given the challenges of the land is a testament to Mike's abilities.
   My friend who I went up there with said it was the most enjoyable golf course he had ever played. His home course is Crystal Downs, just to give some perspective.
   One of the interesting challenges of the course are some of the "terraced" (for lack of a better word) fairways. The greens are quite imaginative (I particularly liked #2). The contours of the land ensure you will have plenty of interesting shots to pull off in the course of the round.
    Not a course for a beginner to learn on, but if playing approapriate tees I think most golfers can enjoy the course. I look forward to seeing it again when the new clubhouse is built. Marc Gilmore and Brian Sleeman couldn't have been nicer professionals who took time out to ensure we had a most enjoyable day.
    Congrats again to Brian and his new position. Well-deserved IMHO. Best wishes to Marc and continued success up at Marquette.

[Michael Dugger]

Yet another AWESOME review from the Bros. Morrissett.

[Jfaspen]

I'm making special trip and taking a day off of work to incorporate at least 36 holes at Greywalls into an upper-michigan wedding I'm going to August.  
From the reviews to the pictures, I can't wait to play this course.

Jeff

[Garland Bayley]

National membership at 990 initiation plus 300 per year in dues. If I were retired in Arizona, I would jump right on that. Is there anything near the value/quality combination for northerners wanting a national membership in Arizona?

[Paul Payne]

Geat review!

Great photos!

I am truly homesick.

I am so glad you enjoyed your stay in Marquette.

[tlavin]

Wow!  I have always loved the UP and this gives me another reason to get back there.

[Josh Smith]

Thank you John for the glimpse at Greywalls.  When I played I absolutely had a blast.  Hope to get back up there to see it again soon.  Every hole is memorable for different reasons.  I remember a handful of half par holes.  What a unique site for golf.  The course was beautifully conditioned and running fast.  Well Done DeVries!

Here are a few additional photos of Greywalls.  5 different shots from teeing grounds of each hole.  2 are action shots.


Above is the Mid length par three 3rd

Above is a very memorable short par four with rocks and fescue guarding the right hand pin locations.

Above pictured is 9, medium length par four with plenty of interest.

This is the architect, smacking his hickory on the drive on 5.

This is the "premature fistpump" that Mike often uses to get into the head of his playing competitor.  Here teeing it on the par three 17.

[Jeff_Mingay]

I was fortunate to do some work with Mike D. (DeVries, not the Mike D. of the Beastie Boys!) at Greywalls early in the construction. Unfortunately I haven't seen the finished product. But I will say this:

The greens may be varied and interesting; the bunkers rugged and cool-looking; but, it's the routing that makes the place work. In fact, an associate of a very well-known architect visited Marquette several years before Mike began his work, and commented: "You can't build a golf course here." It (was) a rugged, somewhat inhospitable property.

The fact that Greywalls is lauded here, by one of the Morrissett bros. (wow!), is really attributable to the intelligent routing, first and foremost.  

[Tim Pitner]

Oh great, now I have to plan a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan--the wife's going to be all over that one.  Thanks for the review.  The course looks stunning and pretty wild.  

[Mike_DeVries]

Marquette Golf Club resembles a British club – a semi-private affair with wildly enthusiastic members whose dues are held amazingly low by the green fees of visitors.  The fact that this Club wanted to build a second course (the original course features nine holes by Langford and Moreau) speaks to the members’ appetite for golf.  

Thanks for the wonderful review, John.

I will definitely second the enthusiasm of the club for golf.  When they had just one course, they were doing 35,000-40,000 rounds a season!!!!  They are avid players and the long days in the summer lend themselves to more golf after 5pm than most courses will do in a full day; it truly is an amazing club.  

When Brad Klein came up, Labor Day weekend just before it opened, the men's club championship final match was taking place on the old course the afternoon he left.  The weather during Brad's visit was not very good, with it so foggy and overcast most of the time that you couldn't see Lake Superior, but after Brad left and the match started that afternoon, the sky opened up and it was beautiful.  I went over to see some of the final and there were 150+ people following the match around, just like in the old photos where the spectators walk alongside the players, in the fairway and elsewhere.  I commented to someone about the unbelievable turnout for a simple club match and they told me it was usually 200-300 people or more (maybe the weather kept them away in the morning?) -- pretty nice for your club tourney and probably bigger crowds than some of the smaller field National championships get!

I am sure there are other clubs with semi-private status (Belvedere allows outside play at a reasonable rate, but its membership is not organized like Marquette's) but Marquette's is very similar to overseas memberships.

Mike

[Mike_DeVries]

Is the course reasonably walkable?  It's obviously got quite a few abrupt elevation changes.

Tom,

Brian is correct about it being walkable, despite some of the severe elevation changes, but, IMHO, it will only be avid walkers that attempt it, as it looks hard to walk, especially after a 3/4 mile cart ride from the other course!

A clubhouse is intended to be built behind the 18th green and the "Knobs," which is the rock outcroppings that back the 18th and 15th greens -- there is a natural way to site a building behind and amongst the rocks in a very organic way, providing outdoor sitting on the rocks and great access through the woods to the clubhouse for entrance, service, etc. without disrupting play.  With play coming from this location, golfers would get a ride up to the first tee, where there would be a starter's shack/small halfway house.  Walking would then proceed downhill from #1T, basically on the level from 2-4G, a short walk to 5T, uphill changes from 5T to 6G, great view at 7T, followed by all downhill hole, short hike to 8T, level for the hole, short walk to 9T and on the level thru 11T, downhill after drive on 11T to wild fairway, then on the level (nicely rolling, sandy ground) thru 16G, short walk uphill to 17T and on the level around to 18T, which has a view again and then is all downhill and level at the end.  The climbs are broken up by good level, rolling terrain, and they happen at certain spots along the way so it really works quite well.  The really tough spot was getting from the valley on #4 and 5T back up to the Middle Plateau -- I would have liked a little more room to the west of the property on #5 for a very nice tee that would give a better look at the landing area and hole, but alas, not to happen!  To me, the drive on #5 is my least favorite shot on the course, but it still works, people like it, and the green setting is worth it!  We needed to have holes in that portion of the property to make things flow well and it helps in the overall routing of the course.

Jeff Mingay said some of the rolls reminded him of Cape Breton, but not having been there yet, I do not know how to reference that -- maybe the adventurous walk that Cape Breton is touted to be has some similarities?

Mike

[Mike_DeVries]

The 2nd hole is also well done. Blind tee shot that calls for a slight fade off the tee. The greensite is also well done. Frankly, I think a back left pin placement is the most challenging.

Matt,

I think a draw on the second works very well, as it will turn into the left to right slope of the fairway, but maybe that is my swing bias.  Do you hit a fade more often?    

I also like the back left pin and there is a small shelf in the back center between the upper and lower tiers that is nice, but I think the hardest pin is the front position, which is on the upper tier -- hard to stop it there.

Mike

[Mike_DeVries]

"That was the biggest challenge, to not make it too dramatic and make sure it was good, solid golf"

I understand the good solid golf part but if the features could be naturally dramatic are they purposely toned down?

The tee shot on the 5th is most interesting.  I am struck by the resemblance with the tee shot at #13 of Shoreacres.  Its a daunting shot (dramatic?) that I would imagine solves some routing problem getting from a low lying greensite up to higher ground (and without a cart ride!!!!!).

Geoff,

See the other comments regarding the routing issue on #5 -- you are correct, it is the link (along with #6) that gets you back up to the Middle Plateau.

Regarding the quote, my focus is more on the rhythm and flow of the golf course and sequences of holes than on individual holes.  By tying good sequences together, either visually or via golf, and not just trying to hit a grand slam on each hole by itself, you can create a sum greater than the parts.  Some spectacular courses don't have very good rhythm and flow but look pretty -- it is the difference between being "sensory overloaded" on each shot or working from one shot to the next.  As my discussion about the walkability of the course said, it is not a normal walking course for many golfers, but it is walkable and there are many intimate G to T relationships which will help contribute to the rhythm and flow of the course.  If I had eliminated the walking factor, I certainly could have had some longer cart rides between holes and avoided some of the little hikes here and there -- ultimately, I think they add some character and tie the routing together better.

Certainly, I could have positioned more views of Lake Superior by opening more trees or getting to some higher spots with wild cart paths, but I like that there are views at 1T, 7T, 8T (if you turn around), 9-11T, and 17-18T -- it breaks up the visuals at the right intervals and provides a a highlight and referral to previous views and doesn't overload the course with the view all the time.

Gotta go now -- will check back later.

Mike

[Geoffrey Childs]

Thanks for that insight Mike.  I appreciate your taking the time to help us look into the mind and thinking behind how you build and design a golf course.

Look forward to seeing you and Joe when you're back my way.

[Joe Hancock]

Thanks for that insight Mike.  I appreciate your taking the time to help us look into the mind and thinking behind how you build and design a golf course.

Geoff,

He just makes that stuff up. (Insert "Peter Pallotta" tribute cheesy emoticon here!)

Joe

[Geoffrey Childs]

Joe - Of course he does! That's why he can design brilliant golf courses and I can't.  

[Joshua Pettit]

Mike,

When we played Greywalls together in September of 2005 I recall you mentioning that you felt the 7th green complex was amongst your favorite that you’ve ever built.  Can you elaborate a bit and explain what separates it from the other greens at Greywalls, Kingsley, The Mines, etc.  For the record, I too believe it is some of your best work, along with the 8th at Greywalls, 15th at Kingsley, and 3rd at Meadow Club.  In fact I love all of the wildly undulating true “Devresianesque” type greens that pose a distinctive challenge and demand a carefully executed chip or putt, and otherwise may be considered “controversial”.  I find that those greens tend to create the opportunity for extreme frustration or great satisfaction.  

I hope all is well in Traverse City, I’m looking forward to hearing about any new projects you’ve been working on.

-Josh