Very, very sandy, natural soil at Forest Dunes. I have never heard of one person who did not come away from their first visit to Forest Dunes saying that they were among the finest putting surfaces that they have seen in Michigan. (The next question, "Where have you seen better?" is usually a stumper...)
I wondered if someone knew whether Forest Dunes' greens had been seeded differently, in any kind of experiment with seed or technique. Because whatever they did, if it was new- or old-style trufgrass managment, it was a huge success!
The only reason that Forest Dunes hasn't gotten the buzz that it deserves is I think becuase of the on-again off-again plans to go private eventually. It is a wonderfully fun golf course to play. (In the middle of Bumfuk Roscommon County, which is somewhere in between Mullen, Nebraska and Bumfuk Egypt.)
A word of defense for The Gailes. My only complaint with The Gailes isn't the course's fault; it is the scenery that surrounds the course; sort of like the "early brake-shop period of Tillinghast" or the "later boat-storage period of Donald Ross." They should take all of the trees removed from Oakmont, Oakland Hills and Oak Hill and plant them around The Gailes' perimeter. I think it is a very interesting, very gamy, very thoughtfully laid-out golf course. Turf conditions are nowhere near as good as Forest Dunes. But the price is right. And I'd rather play The Gailes than any of the Treetops courses, by way of comparison.