The Kingsley Club

A few weeks back I had the good fortune of receiving an invite to The Kingsley Club, near Traverse City, Michigan for a fiercely competed Ryder Cup style match featuring some of the finest golfers in the Midwest. If you’re not familiar, The Kingsley Club is one of the most shockingly underrated modern courses (by the big mags), but in a way that’s kind of good thing as it’s kind of “our little secret” by those in the know.  

This is a golfer’s club, through and through.  The bare-necessities clubhouse matches the minimalist golf course.  The course itself sits on a dramatic “Up North” property, taking you through a fairly open and wildly sloping front nine, then a slightly more tree-lined back half (reminiscent of the designer’s old stomping grounds – the iconic Crystal Downs).  You’ll encounter a couple blind shots, some speed boosters, a couple (dozen) gnarly bunkers, and zero flat putts.  This course offers a tremendous amount of flexibility and can test the weekend choppers and low cappers in so many different ways.

How Do You Get There?

Well, that’s part of the fun.  If you’re a Traverse City local, you can just scoot about 15 minutes South and you’re there.  If not, you’re likely one of the lucky ones taking the long but beautiful drive through Northern Michigan.  Coming up from Chicago, the idea is to hug the Eastern coast of Lake Michigan.  As soon as you get past Grand Rapids, you look for US Route 31, then hop on M-22 as soon as you can.  Being mid October, we’d only had a bit of our trees changing colors in Illinois so far.  Northern Michigan is typically a couple weeks ahead, so the anticipation to see what was in store for me on this drive was off the charts.  M-22 never disappoints.  It loops North from Manistee, around the Leelanau Peninsula, then ends in Traverse City.  You’ll wind through apple and cherry orchards, climb hills where you can see for miles, and get to gawk at the two Arcadia Bluffs courses.  It’s one of the best drives in America.

I mentioned understated, right?  Well, if you can manage to find The Kingsley Club and its dirt road entrance (likely without cell reception or functioning GPS,  good luck Millennial), you’re pretty sharp.  You’ll pass through their unassuming gate, find an unassuming parking lot, an unassuming clubhouse and cart barn, and a few unassuming cottages for lucky visitors.  You’re then greeted by a very… assuming… golf course!

OK, What Do I Need To Know?

A little backstory first.  The Kingsley Club opened up in 2001 as a private members course.  Designer Mike DeVries took the “found golf holes” versus “build golf holes” approach here, much like many of the classics you’ll find in the British Isles.  You’ll find many similarities to those links courses, as the land dictates the strategies you’ll take, but leaves you with endless options on what kind of shots you can try.  The wide fairways give you room to make mistakes, however there are areas where if you don’t place your shot wisely, you’re quickly taken right out of the hole.  The course plays 6956 yards, but length is not really the story here – it’s all about angles and finding your way into some uphill putts.  One thing that jumps out is texture.  I’ve never seen another golf course that can go from shimmering green, to crisp browns, to… full on white out.  More on that later.  We’d played only a few days after they’d cut the long fescue areas, but there’s an enormous amount of variety in the native plant life here, with subtle bursts of yellow, purple, orange all around you.  Of course, don’t forget the animals… I’ve seen bears up here too.

Alright Now, Tee It Up

While I’d love to do a full walkthrough here (and will again someday), I’m only able to highlight a bit of the wonderful 90 minutes I got to spend out there this time.  We were looking at about 35° weather with wind and “rain,” so not conducive to any good ‘ol DSLR camera action.  I managed a few snaps here – check out the phenomenal opening tee shot on the 602-yard par-5 first hole.  You’ll choose to left, right, or over the center-line hill bunker, then get up to its wildly sloping green.

You’ll go out and back and play the “world’s shortest par 5,” the par-3 second.  The wide third hole with some really interesting drop offs on the side of the fairways, and you’ll get to see your blind tee shot catch a speed slot on the fourth, only to hit another blind wedge into its enormous green.  I got to see two slick birdies on the punchbowl fifth, and a couple disasters on the short, but demanding sixth.

When #PureMichigan Gets TOO Pure

Walking off the sixth green, the rain began.  By the time we stepped on the next tee box thirty seconds later, that rain was now light snow.  We couldn’t even finish the seventh, as we were in near blizzard conditions at this point!  Let me tell you, it was a real trek just to get back to the clubhouse, as we were slipping and sliding up the hills…  

While longtime Superintendent, Dan Lucas, and team keeps the course in absolute perfect firm & fast conditions (even in October!), there’s not much you can do when a couple inches of snowfall blankets the place in about 15 minutes.

As unlucky as we were that the golf didn’t happen, The Kingsley Club proved to be a great golf weekend with great company and new friends.  It is unrelenting, unapologetic fun, and one of the best and most unique places in golf.  I’ll definitely aim to do another walkthrough here, hopefully sooner than later, and of course, without snow.

(A little context on the pics here… They were taken in about a two hour window.  We had light rain that caused a prominent rainbow, got the usual magnificent Northern Michigan sunrise, a perfectly crisp fall morning, then all of a sudden we’re climbing Everest.  The group went to dinner a mere ten minutes up the road, and there wasn’t any sign of snow.  **sigh**)

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