DeVries in the D Resurfaces

This time with positive momentum.

Around this time last year, Mike DeVries curiously retweeted a message from “DeVries Golf Detroit” that was over a year old.

That led me down the path to what I reported in Loop Links, no. 3 about an ambitious plan for a new Mike DeVries design in Southeast Michigan. What we knew then is that the visionaries of this plan were looking at sites in the Hartland area, they were seeking a semi-private model based on the likes of Pasatiempo and Belvedere, and that they were actively seeking investors for the project. Through occasional social media posts, including the retweet above, at least from a spirtual perspective, if not contractual, Mike DeVries appeared to be fully on board.

Things went fairly quiet for the rest of 2024. A logo was revealed for the project. Social media posts continued with call outs appealing to “accreditted investors”. And other than that, any new details were scarce.

As we hit the 2024 holiday season, a new update was revealed, which appears to have massively changed the direction of the project. I guess the holiday season is when golf business happens?

In case the font is too small to read - a recap. The DeVries in Detroit group are now the owners of Dunham Hills GC in Hartland, and are planning a Mike DeVries renovation of the course.

I was always going to write on this topic today, but the group was also kind enough to release another update this morning, this time with Mike DeVries in town and on site (below is a screenshot, follow the link to see all of the pictures).

Details are still limited in regards to many aspects of the project, which is not atypical of any new golf developments these days, so my list below of what I think I know is a mix of details gleaned from talking to people a degree or two removed from the project, along with my own conjecture.

• The original plan to build a new course in the Hartland area likely ran into several cost-related hurdles. Finding an appropriate site for a new build was apparently not an issue, rather agreeing on a price for the site and dealing with rising construction costs seemingly became insurmountable. I’ve read previously, for example, that irrigation alone can be up to a $3-4 million cost, so being able to reuse existing equipment in a renovation can pay immediate dividends.

• Simply by reading the tea leaves in these two social media posts, it would seem that the plan for 2025 is for Dunham Hills to operate as it has in the past as a public facility, and only very early updates to the course such as tree removal, improved conditioning, and possibly some alterations to mow lines (these usually go hand-in-hand with tree removal) will be on the table this summer. And the “phase 2 reno later this winter” is possibly pointing to the end of the 2025 golf season.

• The last I was aware, the target number for funding the full DeVries project remains quite high, like in the 8-figures, and is still a year or two off. I know so little about fund-raising, though, so don’t take my word for it. I would consider DeVries having a routing in place and being on property to mean that they are certainly closer to fruition than they are farther away.

• The ultimate plan, as I was told, will still be to have a semi-private, Pasatiempo/Belvedere model when all is said and done.

• What does the Dunham Hills site hold in terms of potential? I was alerted to this course a few years ago, and sadly didn’t get to see it in 2024. Some friends told me it had some interesting green sites that I would like, and post-announcement I’ve been told that while the site is fairly small, it has a lot of interesting land movement. If the course remains mostly in its original form in 2025, I will be very excited to take a look at it before it goes under the knife/bulldozer.

• My last musing here: as seen in today’s IG post, you get multiple glimpses of people following along with cameras. My mind immediately jumps to the highly-online, highly-documented construction process at High Pointe. If I had to guess, I would say the intention at Dunham Hills will be to follow a similar model, hoping to generate interest through video and other varities of social media.

If I’m honest, I spent most of 2024 being fairly skeptical of the ability for the DeVries in Detroit project to get off of the ground. With the newest Dunham Hills development, I am much more optimistic. The end goal of a full Mike DeVries renovation would be huge for the Detroit area, even if at the moment it’s closer to a Big Idea than a reality. But even if the project ended up at something smaller than a full redo, the idea of taking local courses that are smaller and maybe a bit (or a lot) outdated and giving them some love still sits well with me.

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LIV Golf Championship at The Cardinal

I won’t aggregate this announcement any more than I’m sure it already has been. If you follow this newsletter, you follow golf, and you already know that LIV Golf announced their 2025 schedule, and will conclude the season with their Team Championship at The Cardinal.

There are two things of note to me. One is this release from the notoriously scrupulous editing team at LIV:

“This year, the season’s showpiece event has a brand-new home, a 200-acre course from renowned architect Raymond Hearn on the outskirts of Michigan. Hearn has drawn on golf’s golden age to design the bunkers and green contours, while centuries-old trees frame the fairways. The 18th hole, with its long uphill approach (and fountains in the background) is a fitting place to settle any championship.”

I joked on Instagram that unfortunately for Plymouth, they are now a part of Ohio, being “on the outskirts of Michigan” and all. And those fountains in the background on 18! It really shows how much they will be emphasizing the important parts of the course.

The other thing that sticks out to me is how much things can change in a relatively small amount of time. Rewind to August 2016, when Saint John’s had 27 not very highly regarded golf holes. Imagine telling someone then, “Nine years from now, our current US Open champion, Dustin Johnson, will be playing here in the Team Championship for the Saudi Arabian golf league. No OWGR points will be on the line, but the golfers will be earning hundreds of millions of dollars.”

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It took me awhile to have enough free time to write again, and even a little more time to work up the motivation. What you will likely see going forward is more quick-hitters, covering one or two topics such as today’s newsletter. As always, my goal will be providing helpful and informative updates on Michigan golf, not paid advertisements masquerading as news articles. The best way to let me know how I’m doing? Sharing and Following! I appreciate you.