pics from Harbor Shores in MI

[Terry Lavin]

Sven,

It's just that the ten or so people that I've spoken with weren't at all complimentary of the golf course.  That's nothing more than anecdotal evidence, but I'm still waiting for somebody I know to tell me that it's worthy of a repeat visit.  Given the competition in the area (Point O' Woods and Lost Dunes chief among them), I think Harbor Shores may suffer a bit after the bloom is off the rose.

If the plan is to take HS private, then it will certainly be overshadowed by the other high end clubs in SW Michigan.  As a public option, its an expensive round, but in my opinion there was just enough fun to make the visit worthwhile, but it does not rise to the level of a course I'd keep on a regular rota.  The 10th green alone is worth experiencing once.

Of the courses I've played in Western Michigan, my ranking would be as follows:

1(tie).  Kingsley/Greywalls
3.  Lost Dunes
4.  Arcadia Bluffs
5.  Dunes Club
6.  High Pointe
7.  Tullymore
8.  Angels Crossing
9.  Belvedere
10.  Harbor Shores
11.  Ravines

I'm curious as to what it was about HS that those 10 folks did not like.  The obvious routing/development/surrounding issues, the pace of play and certain design aspects were all distractions to me.

I would add that after hearing about the pre-existing nature of the area (wetlands, bisecting roads, industrial sites, garbage fields, etc.), its amazing that the team was able to pull together 18 holes of any kind.   Think of the Lost Dunes setting and double the restrictions and you probably get a good idea of what the site was like pre-construction.

Sven,

I'd send that list off to their public relations firm, because I'll bet you $10 that it's the only Top Ten list the course will make!  I'm joking, of course, but your comments are nothing like I've heard from others.

[Sven Nilsen]

Terry, keep in mind I think I've only played 11 courses in Western Michigan (including one from the UP).

[Terry Lavin]

Terry, keep in mind I think I've only played 11 courses in Western Michigan (including one from the UP).

Well, that's one way for a course to sneak into the Top Ten!

[Mark Smolens]

Terry, imo the greens alone would make Harbor Shores worth a return visit (tho I too would not make it a regular stop at $155 per round). In terms of a day trip from Chicago, however, most of us do not have ready access to the Point or LD or the Dunes. I'd play HS over the recently upgraded Chikaming, Long Beach or Pottawattamie, all of which are okay. None of the public courses in the area are even close. This may change if/when housing is built, but in these economic times I don't see that occurring any time soon. . .

[Anthony_Nysse]

Sven,
  No offense, but many of the courses that you listed are not in west Michigan, maybe the west side of the state.

Of the courses I've played in Western Michigan, my ranking would be as follows:


3.  Lost Dunes
5.  Dunes Club
8.  Angels Crossing
10.  Harbor Shores
11.  Ravines

The above courses are Western Michigan courses. Also, there are not alot of hihg end courses in West Michigan-POW, Lost Dunes, Wuskowhan to name a few. I wonder IF they do go private, they will draw a Chicago crowd like Lost Dunes and POW does.

[Greg Tallman]

For a course that's somewhat open off the tee I'm shocked at the 15 min tee time increments. Why is the play so slow?

Pat, Do not believe the 15 minutes has a lot to do with pace of play but rather perception of "the experience" trying to cretae a scenario where there are rarely if ever two groups on the same hole.

We flirted with the idea about 5 years ago but quite frankly could not justufy the financial hit it would have created.... well into the 7 figures... at that time. We did do away with twilight rates, close the tee 4 hours and 45 minutes prior to dark for maintenance purposes and various other things that helped in maintaining the course and providing a better golf experience but the additional 5 minutes between groups was a pill too big to swallow.

[Greg Tallman]

Not all of Tom's influences.

Nice berm!

Yep, can't figure that one out. Why not leave the left side alone and simply grow the all grasses in the field? Would be a pretty cool visual from the tee. Perhaps another playing corridor precludes this but that does not seem to be the case from the photo.

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,
  No offense, but many of the courses that you listed are not in west Michigan, maybe the west side of the state.

Of the courses I've played in Western Michigan, my ranking would be as follows:


3.  Lost Dunes
5.  Dunes Club
8.  Angels Crossing
10.  Harbor Shores
11.  Ravines

The above courses are Western Michigan courses. Also, there are not alot of hihg end courses in West Michigan-POW, Lost Dunes, Wuskowhan to name a few. I wonder IF they do go private, they will draw a Chicago crowd like Lost Dunes and POW does.

I get it, like how Arizona and New Mexico are not in the South, but are in the southern part of the US.  I apologize if I offended any true Western Michiganders who do not wanted to be associated with their northern brethren, or vice versa.  I imagine the folks from the UP don't want to have anything whatsoever to do with the rest of the state, so I'm doubly sorry for including them in the mix.

[Sven Nilsen]

Yep, can't figure that one out. Why not leave the left side alone and simply grow the all grasses in the field? Would be a pretty cool visual from the tee. Perhaps another playing corridor precludes this but that does not seem to be the case from the photo.

The path to the left of the berm is part of the public access walkway that winds through the course at different points.  My guess is the berm was included as a protective measure to steer the player away from passing walkers, runners or bikers.

[Greg Tallman]

Sven,
  No offense, but many of the courses that you listed are not in west Michigan, maybe the west side of the state.

Of the courses I've played in Western Michigan, my ranking would be as follows:


3.  Lost Dunes
5.  Dunes Club
8.  Angels Crossing
10.  Harbor Shores
11.  Ravines

The above courses are Western Michigan courses. Also, there are not alot of hihg end courses in West Michigan-POW, Lost Dunes, Wuskowhan to name a few. I wonder IF they do go private, they will draw a Chicago crowd like Lost Dunes and POW does.

I get it, like how Arizona and New Mexico are not in the South, but are in the southern part of the US.  I apologize if I offended any true Western Michiganders who do not wanted to be associated with their northern brethren, or vice versa.  I imagine the folks from the UP don't want to have anything whatsoever to do with the rest of the state, so I'm doubly sorry for including them in the mix.

I thought the only thing that offended Michiganders these days was Rich Rodriguez???

[Jud_T]

Don't get me started....

[Greg Tallman]

Yep, can't figure that one out. Why not leave the left side alone and simply grow the all grasses in the field? Would be a pretty cool visual from the tee. Perhaps another playing corridor precludes this but that does not seem to be the case from the photo.

The path to the left of the berm is part of the public access walkway that winds through the course at different points.  My guess is the berm was included as a protective measure to steer the player away from passing walkers, runners or bikers.

Ugh! Looks to be in the prime spot for the old double cross as well, too bad.

[Greg Tallman]

Don't get me started....

From the most devout West Virginia fan on mother earth I will simply say... YOU'RE WELCOME!

[Chuck Brown]

Here's the back-story on the development of Harbor Shores.  As abbreviated as possible.

Benton Harbor, where HS is located, is something of a twin-city to its neighbor, St. Joseph.  St. Joe is the headquarters city for Whirlpool Corp.  Relatively prosperous, upper-middle class.  Benton Harbor, in contrast, is depression-era "rustbelt" by comparison.  The two cities probably have opposite-percentage racial compositions.  The developers wanted an anchor-type project; an ambitious game-changer for the city of Benton Harbor.

They settled on a mixed-use site; all was well, until they figured that they needed some prime dune-land for the Nicklaus Signature course.  They were going to get that land, by taking over a portion of Jean Klock park, an old county park that features a lovely Lake Michigan beachfront, backed by some fantastic dunes.

The golf course design would not obliterate the beach; it would just reconfigure the parking lot, the park entrance and some of the inland areas of the park.

Local activists in Benton Harbor and other urban precincts exploded.  There were charges of racism, etc.  As the dispute festered for more than a year, the developers enhanced their plans; they would donate to the city, for additional new parks, more land than what was being taken for the golf course.  And they would build new parking and amenities for the beachfront, which would of course remain open as a public beach.  Of course, the entire development meant new income and opportunity for the struggling city.  The local activists fought on, and went statewide with their protests.  Complete with sneering at the game of golf, "Jack Nicklaus Signature" luxury connotations, etc.

The developers reamined steadfast.  They had the near-unanimous support of the mayor and the city council of Benton Harbor; the county officials and even Michigan's Democratic Governor supported the project.  The local paper supported the project.  The developers even had to get the feds involved in the apporval, since in years past, the old beach park had fallen into such disrepair and disrepute (it was a great place to score drugs, I am told) that the county had ceded control to the federal government.

In the end, the golf course developers won a hard fight.  The much disputed area is the teeing ground you see in the last photo above; it is just steps away from the crest of the dune that leads down to the Lake Michigan beachfront.

[Edit. - Somebody above suggested that they had to move a mountain of toxic waste or soemthing like that.  My understanding is that there was some waste removal done, but that was all without controversy, and was in fact more related to the housing projects that have accompanied the golf course, and not so much the course itself.  I'm not aware of any "mountain," and if there was that kind of removal, it only occurred because somebody did this project; otherwise it would all no doubt still be rotting in place.  This was as closely-monitored as anthing like this I've ever seen in Michigan.]

[Paul Richards]

Has there (ever) been anyone yet who has walked and carried this whole golf course?

[PCCraig]

Has there (ever) been anyone yet who has walked and carried this whole golf course?

I'll probably try in a couple weeks. After Erin Hills on a 90* day I can't imagine a much harder walk!

[PCCraig]

I played Harbor Shores two days ago and it was a very interesting round, to say the least. First off, what they were able to do with the given property is something to be greatly admired. While the feelings amoung the other players in my group was mixed, I thought the course was fun.

As said before, the greens are wild (and fast as they were probably a legit 10 on the stimp), making the nearby set of greens at Lost Dunes look tame in comparison. The other guys in my group rarely putted out as 10 footers often turned into 7 footers coming back and even some short putts had some serious break. All those slopes did make for some interesting chips and pitches from off the greens.

The course is very spread out but on the whole very good for golf (according to the super the course has a sand base of 12"...keeping it very F&F). I tried my best to walk the course, walking everything except for the very long green to tee hikes (9 to 10 is probably 1 mile), if not for those the course was not a hard walk.

The best two holes on the course are #7, #8, and #10. The two holes playing on and around the natural dune are very fun and well done, and the 10th, despite the WILD green is a fun short risk-reward par-5.

We were the first group off for the day, and we played in 3:30, but just two groups back of us finished in 4:30 and it would seem to me that the course would play very hard for 10+ handicaps.

It's an extreme course which results in some extreme views...both positive and negative. It would be tough to turn down a round at either Dunes Club or Lost Dunes to play HS, however it's a very good option for an extra round in the area or if you find yourself in the area and there is a lack of access to the other two.

[PThomas]

you must have been a tad tired after walking here too , Pat...

[PCCraig]

I played Harbor Shores two days ago and it was a very interesting round, to say the least. First off, what they were able to do with the given property is something to be greatly admired. While the feelings amoung the other players in my group was mixed, I thought the course was fun.

As said before, the greens are wild (and fast as they were probably a legit 10 on the stimp), making the nearby set of greens at Lost Dunes look tame in comparison. The other guys in my group rarely putted out as 10 footers often turned into 7 footers coming back and even some short putts had some serious break. All those slopes did make for some interesting chips and pitches from off the greens.

The course is very spread out but on the whole very good for golf (according to the super the course has a sand base of 12"...keeping it very F&F). I tried my best to walk the course, walking everything except for the very long green to tee hikes (9 to 10 is probably 1 mile), if not for those the course was not a hard walk.

The best two holes on the course are #7, #8, and #10. The two holes playing on and around the natural dune are very fun and well done, and the 10th, despite the WILD green is a fun short risk-reward par-5.

We were the first group off for the day, and we played in 3:30, but just two groups back of us finished in 4:30 and it would seem to me that the course would play very hard for 10+ handicaps.

It's an extreme course which results in some extreme views...both positive and negative. It would be tough to turn down a round at either Dunes Club or Lost Dunes to play HS, however it's a very good option for an extra round in the area or if you find yourself in the area and there is a lack of access to the other two.

While Paul did a great job documenting his round with photos back in early July. I also took a few photos of Harbor Shores and posted them on my blog at:

http://secondcitygolfer.blogspot.com/2010/09/golf-club-at-harbor-shores-benton.html

[Paul Richards]

Pat:

Perhaps all that walking left you a bit dizzy ..!?!?

>The best two holes on the course are #7, #8, and #10.


 

[Tony Ristola]

Had no idea who did the work when I started looking at the pics, but thought... nice work whoever did it.

I'm not a fan of placing bunkers behind the green set into a mound... flashing it up the mound. I've done it but very sparingly... something about that practice just doesn't look right to me unless it's set into long grass and there is a natural slope or seemingly natural slope to work with. These are better than big ovals slashed out of hillocks which was in vogue 10-20-years ago... ugh. Perhaps they'll look better with time, as they get some wear and tear.

Love the look of the first photo of the par-3 2nd; short and left pic. Reminds me of a photo I've seen a Doak/Hanse par-3 at Black Forest, but believe theirs was taken from the tee.

.

[Brad Klein]

I lost count of the road crossings, the number of isolated parcels it's on, the mileage spent on a cart shuttling between holes, the 1/2 mile from 18th green to the clubhouse. My favorite is the crossing from 13 to 14, which is through a housing area, across a very dangerous double road and intersection and across the entry to a bar. They are going to have two PGA Senior Championships there? On those greens? Harbor Shores is a great story about urban redevelopment. But that's all.

[Paul Richards]

 

[Anthony_Nysse]

I played here while home in MI this past week. The condition of the golf course was fantastic! I HAVE to think that it could have been routed a little better, without the excessive travels between #5/6, #6/7, #9/10, #13/14 nd #18/clubhouse. Also, #10 HAS to be the worst modern green every designed. I know that the club hangs their hat to it, but is it awful.

[Ken Fry]

#10 HAS to be the worst modern green every designed. I know that the club hangs their hat to it, but is it awful.

Anthony,

I've heard a number or remarks about people not caring for it but none stronger than yours.  I'm curious why you feel it's so awful?  From a maintenance perspective?  Playability?

Ken