Written By: Greg Johnson
Golf participation numbers have continued to increase in Michigan in recent years, and so has the investment in the game by Golf Association member clubs and courses in the state.
Pine Trace Golf Club in Rochester Hills, High Pointe Golf Club near Traverse City, Knollwood Country Club in West Bloomfield, Petoskey Bay View Country Club and Detroit Golf Club are among the courses in the state that currently have significant course projects in progress or planned and being undertaken soon.
Here is a look at each of those projects:
PINE TRACE GOLF CLUB
Pine Trace closed in September for renovations on several parts of the property, including a new special events venue slated to open in spring 2027.
Work underway includes upgrading greens, fairways, tees and construction of new cart paths. Drainage and the irrigation system are also being addressed, and the driving range will be relocated as part of a new practice area being constructed.
“Our goal is to elevate the overall guest experience and to reestablish Pine Trace Golf Club as a leader in public golf in Metro Detroit,” Michael Bylen, Pine Trace owner and operator, said in a news release.
Pine Trace was designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 1989. It is a sister course to Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club in Clarkston and Cherry Creek Golf Club in Shelby Township.
KNOLLWOOD COUNTRY CLUB
Knollwood, a Troon-managed club, celebrates a centennial in 2025, and significant renovation work designed by high-profile architect Dave Zinkand of North Carolina is underway.
Frontier Golf is doing the construction that involves complete bunker renovation, including new bunkers, moving bunkers, placement of bunkers for golf course strategy and new liners for each bunker.
In addition, greens and fairways are being expanded, holes 9 and 10 are redesigned and No. 17 has been moved to a new location.
The course dates to a 1925 design by Arthur Ham, who worked with legend Donald Ross before embarking on a solo career and doing several classic course designs including Knollwood.
Tracy Wilson, general manager and chief operation officer, said he doesn’t think there will be a better golf course in the district once the renovation is complete.
HIGH POINTE GOLF CLUB
High Pointe, the first-ever design of famed architect Tom Doak, closed as a public course in 2008 amid a recession, and some of the fairways became part of a commercial hops farm.
Now, with new owner Rod Trump, Doak has restored some of the holes and created new ones on newly purchased adjacent land for a high-end private club.
High Pointe expects to have 50 to 70 local members who are within 100 miles of the club, with up to 275 national members and a handful of international members.
Trump, a former college golfer and member at Pine Tree Club in Boynton Beach, Fla., as well as Baltimore Country Club, became enamored with Northern Michigan when he rented a house in Traverse City in the summer of 2021.
“It’s rare in life when you get to do something great and do it for the right reasons,” Trump told Golf Digest magazine. “It’s a great part of the world and the people are nice. The game has given me so much, including many of my friendships, and this was an opportunity to do something great for one of the game’s greatest architects.”
PETOSKEY BAY VIEW COUNTRY CLUB
Previously a tee shot on hole No. 6 at Petoskey Bay View Country Club required a blind shot over a traveled road, but it will not be a safety concern any longer, Alex Gutowski, the PGA head golf professional, said.
Architect Bruce Matthews III has designed a full three-hole renovation of holes 6, 7 and 8 at the club that was founded in 1915 and was originally home to a course designed by Willie Watson and Thomas Bendelow. Several renovations have been undertaken over the years, but the club maintains its early 1900s style.
Holes 6 and 7 have been redesigned and renovated, and all of hole 8 except for the green are new. Trees were cleared, new tee boxes, new fairways and new bunkers were built, and sod is currently being put down.
With help from the weather, the club hopes to have the new holes in play on July 1, 2025.
Gutowski said the blind tee shot at No. 6 is gone, No. 7 is now an uphill par 3 of about 200 yards maximum, and No. 8 has been turned into a straightaway par 5 that will require a shot over a gully.
“Everything blends in nicely with the other holes even though there are a few different shots now,” he said. “I think the members will enjoy it.”
DETROIT GOLF CLUB
A new master plan by architect Tyler Rae that includes a major renovation involving both golf courses at the historic club has been approved, and work is slated to start after the club hosts the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic, an annual PGA Tour stop.
The first phase is on the North Course, where the PGA Tour plays, and a few holes on the South Course with plans for the club to be ready for the 2026 Rocket Mortgage Classic. The second phase would include the rest of the South Course.
The renovations on the courses are following significant renovations inside the clubhouse. Detroit GC is contracted to host the Rocket Mortgage Classic through 2027.
Legendary architect Donald Ross was the original designer of the two courses for the club, which was founded in 1899 and featured the Ross-designed courses by 1918.
Among the work ahead is the removal of more than 100 trees, the addition of native grasses, some greens being moved and enlarged, and the addition of bunkers, drainage issues addressed and more. Making the course appear and play more like the original 1914 design of Ross is among the goals of the renovation.
“We’re really bringing back the original green complexes,” Michael Pricer, club president in 2024 told the Detroit News. “They’re going to be a lot more open, and they’re going to be a lot bigger. You’re going to get a much more expansive view of the entire golf course.”
Pictured: Petoskey Bay View GC – Hole #18 with Clubhouse in background
