GAYLORD, MI. — Treetops has grown into – arguably at least – Michigan’s most spectacular golf resort and one of its main features is its teaching program.

Started in 1990 by Rick Smith and Henry Young, the school thrived as the Rick Smith Golf Academy and Smith became prominent far beyond his home state as both a teacher and course designer. His success as an instructor at Treetops led to him eventually becoming a swing guru for Phil Mickelson and he now also works with PGA Tour players Rory Sabbatini, Jerry Kelly and Sang-Moon Bae – winner of this year’s Byron Nelson Classic.

Smith remains the owner and architect for three courses – Tradition, Signature and Threetops – at Treetops North. Threetops is widely regarded as America’s best par-3 course.

Inevitably, Smith’s success in teaching and course architecture led to his spending more time away from Michigan – he’s even designing a course in China now — and that led to a revamping and renaming on the teaching side. It’s now the Rick Smith and Jason Guss Golf Academy.

The name change isn’t something superficial within Michigan golf circles. Guss’ return to Treetops – he was one of Smith’s teaching assistants for 13 years – was made to expand the Academy and he’s done that significantly. Not only does it remain as the oldest continuously-operated golf school in Michigan, it’s also the state’s only three-time honoree of America’s Top-25 Golf Schools, as determined by Golf Magazine.

As for Guss, in 2013 he was named the Michigan PGA’s Teacher of the Year. We could see why on a visit to Couples Golf School, one of his expansion projects for the Academy. It consisted of an informative, fast-moving six hours of instruction conducted in two three-hour morning sessions. Guss did the bulk of the instructing with Gary Bissell backing him up.

The first three hours were spent hitting lots of balls on the range with the focus on swing technique supplemented by video analysis. The second three hours were devoted to short game skills – half on putting and half on chipping and pitching.

Guss left Treetops to start his own Academy at the nearly Otsego Club in 2011. That was an understandable move given that he had been recognized by Golf Digest as among the nation’s Best Young Teachers in 2010 and was selected to that publication’s advisory committee on equipment analysis for its popular Hot List issue. On that project Guss has spent three-day sessions working with scientists, retailers, teachers and amateur players to determine the best products coming into the marketplace.

Under the new setup Guss leads the Academy effort as director of golf performance with Smith there strictly part-time. Young and Bissell round out the instruction staff along with Judy Mason, long-time staffer for the Treetops’ Ladies Golf School.

Though offering a wide variety of teaching options, Guss is heavily involved in junior programs and one of his youngest pupils won an American Junior Golf Assn. 54-hole tournament.

The Academy, located at Treetops North, — on Wilkinson Road three miles north of Treetops proper, has indoor facilities and computer swing analysis equipment – Trackman and Tomi Putting System. We made use of it in our two-day program, but benefitted more from the unlimited golf offered as part of the package. In addition to the six hours of instruction, we had 18-hole afternoon rounds at the Tradition and Fazio Premier layouts topped off by a spin around Threetops.

Treetops North is one of the few facilities where you can play 63 holes without changing golf carts. We played 63 holes during our latest Michigan visit, but not all at Treetops. Our first round was at nearby Boyne Highlands the day before the Couples School started, and we didn’t get to play the third 18 at Treetops North. That’s the Signature course, and we expect to play it on our next visit.

ROCK FALLS, IL. — I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for golf history. That explains why it seemed a good idea to stop by what had been Rock River Country Club en route to the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, about 40 miles further west.

Officially known now as Rock River Golf & Pool, the facility is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013.

Several clubs in the Chicago suburbs have long past their year No. 100. The Downers Grove golf course was America’s first 18-hole course when it opened in 1892. It was reduced to a nine-holer long ago and is now owned by the Downers Grove Park District.

That course was originally called Chicago Golf Club, and its members soon wanted a better facility so they built another 18-holer in Wheaton in 1893 and that layout is now considered America’s first 18-hole layout. Private clubs Onwentsia, Midlothian and Glen View also opened before 1900 as did Jackson Park, which became the first public course in the Midwest in 1899.

The Rock River visit, though, showed that golf clubs thrived in downstate Illinois a century ago, too. Probably the best example of that is in Rock Island, where the Arsenal Golf Club has a course dating to 1897. It was a private club serving military personnel until 2010. Now the sporty layout on the Mississippi River is open to the public.

Rock River, however, is something different and we got a bigger dose of its history purely by accident. A day after our visit the course hosted the Ladies Lincoln Highway tournament. It’s almost as rich in history as the course it was played on this year. The 36-hole Ladies Lincoln Highway event is the longest-running ladies tournament of its kind in the United States and many of this year’s players were preparing for it when we played our round on the course.

First held in 1923 at Dixon Country Club, the tourney came to Rock River in 1925 and it had a notable caddie – Ronald Reagan – in its early years. He spent his childhood growing up in Dixon and the surrounding communities. Sandi Ivey, co-chairman of the Ladies Lincoln Highway event, provided pictorial evidence of the future U.S. President’s involvement as a bag-toter for the women golfers.

Some women have played in the Ladies Lincoln Highway tournament for more than 40 years, and some who can’t play anymore still turn out to watch.

This year’s Ladies Lincoln Highway tourney had some history made as well. Ember Schuldt, a 21-year old University of Illinois senior from Sterling’s Emerald Hill course, shot 68-67 to win the tournament for the eighth straight year. Her father Don was her caddie in the first round and her brother Frank was on the bag for the second.

Schuldt, who has played in the event every year since she was 13, won by six shots over Connie Ellett of Kishwaukee, in DeKalb. Schuldt’s latest win served as a springboard. Two days later she finished second in a qualifying event for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, so she’ll be playing in the finals of that national championship at Charleston, S.C., from Aug. 5-11.

A stop at Rock River is well worth it if you’re cruising down Rt. 88. The course is just off the Rock Falls exit and has a Supper Club that serves tasty, fairly-priced cuisine and offers a friendly atmosphere. The course is a bargain, too; these two seniors paid $30 total for an 18-hole walking round that included pull carts. Rock River doesn’t have any steep hills and the greens and tees are close together (except for the area between nines), so it’s a fun walking course. You don’t find many better courses for walkers.

Unlike most of the old Chicago clubs, Rock River’s history is sketchy. The course was built on farmland. It was limited to seven holes initially but quickly was expanded to nine for its opening in September, 1913. Those holes comprise the present front nine, which measures 2,707 yards from the tips.

Most memorable hole on either nine is No. 7, an uphill par-3 with water left and trees right, but the most striking features of the course are the views of the Rock River.

There’s one par-5 on each nine, the longer one being No. 11, at 485 yards. The back side, built in the 1960s, is notably longer than the front at 3,213 yards but the whole course is still under 6,000 (official yardage is 5,920).

A private club for most of its existence, Rock River is now open to the public. While the owners have plenty of photographic memorabilia to chronicle the course’s past, no one could name the course architects.

CENTREVILLE, Mich. — The Scott family’s five 18-hole courses aren’t far from either Island Hills or Yarrow Golf & Conference Resort. All are near the bigger cities of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, but the facilities are all quite different – in a good way. Between them they make Southwest Michigan a convenient golf getaway location, especially for players from the Chicago area.

Island Hills has been my most frequent stop in the area, and its owner Bob Griffioen is one of the most progressive golf operators in the country. Located in Centreville, Island Hills features a Ray Hearn-designed course, one of about 25 the architect has had a role in creating in his home state.

Hearn’s original designed opened in 1999. Griffioen purchased the property in 2009 and brought Hearn back for extensive renovations in 2010.

This year, though, the story at Island Hills isn’t about what Hearn has done to what is already a quality layout playable by all levels of golfers. This spring Griffioen and Andy Mears, who moved over from Indiana’s Swan Lake to become Island Hills’ president and chief operating officer, unveiled much-needed lodging at the facility.

Island Hills has in effect entered the resort business with the opening of the first three Signature Point Cottages overlooking the par-3 17th hole. Each has four and five-bedroom units with meeting/recreation rooms on the lower levels.

On the course there’s a new look, too. Continuing his extraordinary push to grow the game, Griffioen collaborated with Mears to create five-, seven- and 12-hole loops to accommodate players’ time schedules. Don’t have time for nine holes? How about five or seven instead? Want to play more than nine but can’t go the full 18? How about 12 holes? There’s even a mini-18 (2,946 yards with a par of 71) to prepare golfers for a regulation round.

The loop plan isn’t a casual plan, either. It’s well thought out, as shown by the maps and signage (one of the two seven-hole loops is shown above) readily available for each loop option.

Yarrow Golf & Conference Resort, in Augusta, already has plenty of lodging and also has a course designed by Hearn. He did this one in 2002 and it’s much different than Island Hills, being more of a links-style layout with a par-5 first hole that tells you right away that serious golf awaits you.

Less than 10 miles from Yarrow are the five courses operated by the Scotts. Their story deserves an historical explanation.

In 1962 Darla and Letha Scott broke ground on a nine-hole course, Gull Lake View. That led to them becoming pioneers in the destination golf resort business in Michigan. That nine grew to be 18 holes and is now called Gull Lake View West.

It was well received upon its completion in 1965 so the Scotts added an East course in 1975 and 1976 and a year later the Fairway Villas were opened for visitors’ lodging. Slowly the project grew and involved other family members. In addition to five courses, four of which are located in Augusta, Gull Lake View features two golf communities.

Stonehenge South became the third of the Gull Lake View courses. Charles Scott designed it in 1988. No. 4 was Bedford Valley, a long-popular tournament site in Battle Creek. Designed in 1965 by William Mitchell, the Scotts purchased it in 1988 and a new clubhouse was opened in 2008.

Newest of the courses – and the one I played on my first visit this spring – is Stonehenge North. Designed by Charles and Jon Scott, it opened in 1995. Stonehenge North has an unusual but interesting layout – six par fives, six par-4s and six par-3s. All have big greens and plenty of elevation changes. And its conditioning was excellent in what has been an extremely raining spring season.

The Scotts marked 50 years – or four generations – of golf course operating in 2012 and a wall of historical graphics in Gull Lake View clubhouse explains their success in detail.

HAMMOND, Ind. – The Lost Marsh golf course didn’t exist when I lived in Northwest Indiana from 1967-69 and was just getting serious about golf. What a shame!

Back then, while working for the Hammond Times immediately after finishing college, the courses of choice were Wicker Park – it had a player-friendly course, the best hot dogs in Indiana and a most friendly staff — and the much newer Scherwood, in Schererville. Then there was Woodmar, right next to Wicker, but it was a private club and difficult to get on.

Though Woodmar no longer exists — it was taken over for retail development in 2005 — this corner of northwest Indiana has many more golf options now. None, however, top Lost Marsh, which opened in 2003. It’s already hosted tournaments on the LPGA’s Futures (Symetra) Tour and gained popularity as a fine outings course after its spacious prairie-style clubhouse was completed in 2009.

Lost Marsh is operated by the Hammond Port Authority and its course was designed by Charles Howard. He isn’t very well known in the Chicago area since most of his creations are in Texas. Built on 330 acres of natural prairie, marsh and woodlands, the most striking feature of Lost Marsh is its No. 1 hole – a 340-yard par-4 (pictured above).

The presence of Lake George makes water a factor on the first four holes, but the island fairways and greens look is a particular eye-opener when you stand on the first tee. In fact, I can’t think of a more memorable opening hole in the entire Chicago area.

Lost Marsh isn’t very long – from the tips it’s a modest 6,803 yards – but the par-72 layout is tight and challenging.

There’s more to like about Lost Marsh than its championship course, though. There’s five sets of tees on the big course, but there’s also a nine-hole par-3 course and a First Tee program. The upscale clubhouse (pictured below) is one of the biggest and best of any at Chicago area public facilities, and the driving range has a heated indoor hitting area.

Plus, with Lost Marsh it’s location, location, location.

Outdoor enthusiasts can indulge in biking, hiking and bird-watching on its nature trails. In fact, a deer and two fawns crossed one fairway during this summer’s Concierge Outing, a shocker to me and my playing partners.

Nearby Wolf Lake provides canoeing, kayaking and paddleboat rentals. The Pavilion at Wolf Lake provides summer concerts, and the Horseshoe Casino is available for more nighttime pursuits. All are just a few minutes away from the course which itself is less than an hour’s drive from downtown Chicago.

All that tends to make Lost Marsh a tourist destination that just happens to include what its operators bill as “the finest public golf course in Northwest Indiana.’’ I can’t quibble with that claim.

ERIN, Wis. – The hoopla was extraordinary when Erin Hills first welcomed golfers in 2006. The very upscale public course on the outskirts of Milwaukee was even awarded a U.S. Golf Assn. national championship (the 2008 U.S.Women’s Amateur Public Links) before its land was even seeded.

By 2009 – following an ownership change from creator Bob Lang to Milwaukee businessman Andy Ziegler, co-founder of the investment firm Artisan Partners — Erin Hills was named a site for both the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Open. Frankly, I couldn’t understand why.

The main reason, it seemed, was that Mike Davis – then the USGA director of competitions and now its executive director – saw great promise for the place. But, in my first three visits to the course, spread over several years, the layout seemed to be in flux. In fact, it was. Architects Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten made renovations to the layout in 2008 and again in 2009.

“Blind shots were eliminated and a lot of changes were made to accommodate championship golf,’’ said John Morrissett, Erin Hills’ competitions director. A less significant tweak, the moving on the No. 3 green to the right, is coming next. Balls can roll on to the new green; they can’t now.

Even without seeing this next update, it’s clear to me what all the earlier fuss was all about. After playing the course the day after this year’s U.S. Open at Merion near Philadelphia, I can safety predict that Erin Hills will be a fantastic U.S. Open site in four years. You have my word on that, and I’ve covered 27 U.S. Opens live since my first one in 1973.

Merion, an old-style course with loads of history, turned out a better Open site than expected. Despite extraordinarily limited length by U.S. Open standards, it gave pro golf’s best players all the challenge they wanted. None broke par.

Erin Hills will, in many ways, be different than Merion. That layout in Ardmore, Pa., couldn’t even be stretched to 7,000 yards. Erin Hills was set at 7,760 for the U.S. Amateur and measures 7,823 from the current tips. That’s a staggering 800-yard difference or – to put it another way – two golf holes longer. And, I’m told there’s a set of tees – hardly ever used – that could provide a course measuring 8,300 yards.

The overall setting at Merion was cozy or cramped, depending on your point of view. That course was built on 110 acres. Erin Hills’ 18 holes are spread over 652.

The extra space can be put to good use, both historically and financially, if the USGA chooses to do that. Erin Hills’ 18th hole can play at 660 yards. If it’s set up at that length it’d be the longest hole in Open history.

More importantly, Erin’s acreage allows for many, many more spectators. Galleries had to be limited to 25,000 at Merion, unusually small for an Open venue, and more spectators means more revenue.

“Merion is certainly a gem,’’ said Jim Reinhart, general chairman of the 2017 Open, “but with its size there were certain restrictions. Our preliminary discussions with the USGA call for 45,000 per day and I know – with the enthusiasm of golfers in the Midwest – there’ll be a sellout.’’

My advice to the USGA and Reinhart on this issue is to openly go after a tournament attendance record. Shoot for 300,000 for the week. If ever there was a venue to do that, it’s Erin Hills. And, such a turnout would make a strong statement for golf in Wisconsin as well as the entire Midwest. The Open doesn’t come to the Midwest enough.

Erin Hills has room for much more than 45,000 each day. Medinah’s galleries for last September’s Ryder Cup matches were reported between 40,00 and 45,000 daily, and there was never play on every hole at any one time. That’s the nature of match play competition. During the U.S. Open all 18 holes will have golfers, as there’ll be 156 players on the course the first two competitive rounds. Erin Hills could accommodate well over 50,000 each day.

Reinhart is aware of the impact the 2017 Open will have on his state.

“The last 15 years a number of national and international events have come to Wisconsin, but we’ve never hosted our nation’s national championship,’’ he said. “We’re humbled to be given that honor. Some think we’re in the middle of nowhere, but we’re only 35 miles from downtown Milwaukee and two hours from Chicago.’’

One problem looms: the roads leading to Erin are mainly country roads. Shuttle buses will be an even bigger priority at the Open in ’17.

As for the course, the biggest change in Erin’s brief history comes at No. 7. It originally was a par-3 with a blind tee shot. Players were asked to ring a bell behind the green after completing the hole to signal the next group that it was safe to tee off. The bell is still there, but the par-3 is gone. It was combined with a par-4 to make for an excellent par-5 that plays at 605 from the tips. In fact, all four par-5s measure over 600 and the par-72 course carries a hefty rating of 77.9 and slope of 145.

With the historic Open closing in more and more players will come from farther and farther away to test Erin Hills. It was a busy place most of this spring, with greens fees of $200 (if you carry your own bag). Caddies – about 65 are available — are a must at this tricky walking-only course, however, so getting in a round is basically a $300 proposition.

While lodging looms a concern for the thousands of visitors for the ’17 Open, the club has developed some on-site options for this year’s visitors. There are three four-bedroom cottages with individual rooms and suites. There’s also fine dining in the clubhouse, which has been recently expanded, and post-round drinks can be enjoyed in the Irish Pub or on the Terrace Sports Lounge.

The U.S. Open goes to Pinehurst, in North Carolina, next year. Then it ventures to Chambers Bay, a newer facility in Washington, in 2015 and to long-time host club Oakmont, in Pennsylvania, in 2016.

After Erin Hills gets its turn the Open goes to three frequent Open venues – Shinnecock Hills in New York in 2018, California’s Pebble Beach in 2019 and New York’s Winged Foot in 2020.

“With all those names, it’s nice to have Erin Hills in the middle of that list,’’ said Reinhart. “The USGA chose Erin Hills because Wisconsin has been so supportive of major sporting events, both at the state and local levels. Plus, it’s been a long time since this part of the country had a U.S. Open.’’

The last one in the Midwest was in 2003, when Jim Furyk emerged the champion at Olympia Fields.

This latest revision of Erin Hills has not gone unnoticed. In August of 2013 Golf Magazine added the layout to its Top 100 Courses in the U.S. Erin Hills entered the prestigious ranking at No. 96.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Golf course openings are rare in these tough economic times. Three decades ago that wasn’t the case, but none back then were as celebrated as Jack Nicklaus’ The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort.

Grand Traverse, then just five years old, took an extraordinary step when The Bear was ready for play. Virtually very member of the media covering the 1985 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills was invited to play the layout the day after Andy North won his second Open title, and most of them showed up.
That type of sendoff for a new golf course was unheard of, and media members from throughout the country found the layout appropriately named. It was indeed a bear.

Over the years the course has been changed a bit, and Grand Traverse has undergone ownership changes. It remains, though, the heart of golf in the Traverse City area – and I consider that region the golf capitol of Michigan. Apparently I’m not alone. Golf Digest lists Traverse City as one of its Top 10 Best Buddies-Trip Golf Destinations this year.

Traverse City has grown considerably since The Bear opened. Now the area has 17 championship courses. The Bear is just one of three at Grand Traverse. Spruce Run, which pre-dates the resort, opened in 1979 as a Bill Newcombe design. Gary Player’s first Michigan course, The Wolverine, opened in 1999.

Now owned by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse has a 17-story hotel that features most interesting upscale dining (The Aerie Restaurant and Lounge) on the 16th floor and two casinos are nearby. Also new this year is an expansion of the golf teaching staff. Director of instruction Scott Hebert, lead instructor Terry Crick and assistant Charlie Hathaway have been joined by two new lead instructors – Randy Ernst and Adam Roades.

The Bear, still the toughest course in the area, was strangely bypassed as a site for pro tour events. A Senior PGA Tour event, the now defunct Ameritech Senior Open, was played there in 1990 before moving to Chicago for a 12-year run. The Michigan Open was played on The Bear for 28 years, and Hebert won it six times.

That tourney may have left in 2008, but The Bear has maintained its high profile without hosting an annual big event. In 2012 the Michigan Golf Course Owners Assn. named The Bear and Grand Traverse its Course-of-the-Year. That’s one lofty honor, given that Michigan has more public courses (768) than any other state. And, only two other states have more total golf courses. Golf is indeed big business in Michigan.

Traverse City golf, though, isn’t limited to The Bear and Grand Traverse. Shanty Creek, another long-time favorite in Bellaire, has four courses including two that have been widely recognized – Arnold Palmer’s The Legend (its popular par-3 fourth hole is shown above) and Tom Weiskopf’s Cedar River. The Bear and The Legend together started making Traverse City a significant golf destination. Now both United and American have direct flights from O’Hare to Cherry Capital Airport in part at least to accommodate golfers.

Shanty is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and Cedar River has long been one of my all-time Michigan choices. Interesting things are going on at another Shanty layout, though. Eight-inch cups have been added on all 18 greens of the Summit course, a move to make the game easier and encourage more people to give this challenging sport a try. A new set of forward tees, set at between 95 and 125 yards, have also been added to the layout, designed as a par-71 by architect William Diddel that plays 6,260 yards from its tips. This innovative moves are – at the very least – a good try to freshen things up a bit.

One of Traverse City’s other resorts, A-Ga-Ming, is also a multi-course facility. Located in Kewadin, it has three 18-holers.

Best of Traverse City’s other seven courses may be LockenHeath (a Steve Smyers design in Williamsburg that is the longest of the region facilities at 7,239 yards) or Manitou Passage, in Cedar, which offers great views overlooking Lake Michigan. The views are so good, in fact, that ABC’s Good Morning America named its Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as “America’s Most Beautiful Place.’’ It was selected after judging 10 contenders that included spots in California, Hawaii and North Carolina.

ROSCOMMON, Mich. – There never was a doubt about the quality of the 18 holes at Forest Dunes. The course has consistently been ranked as the No. 2 public layout in golf-rich Michigan, behind Arcadia Bluffs.

A Tom Weiskopf design that opened in 1999, Forest Dunes is –in the words of general manager Todd Campbell — “in the middle of nowhere.’’ Still, the national course raters have found it. Golf Digest had it No. 20 among America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses for 2011-12 and No.99 among America’s Greatest 100 for the same period. GolfWeek ranked Forest Dunes No. 87 on its Best Modern Courses list. And, in August of 2013, Golf Magazine added Forest Dunes to its Top 100 Courses in the U.S. Forest Dunes made that prestigious poll at No. 72.

Despite consistent recognition from raters, Forest Dunes has spent most of its existence in limbo – until now. The new Lake AuSable Lodge (pictured above) opened in April and every room was sold out the first two nights. The opening of the $1.5 million facility, built in just seven months, is the most significant new addition to the Michigan golf scene in 2013.

Forest Dunes has been largely lacking in lodging options despite its out-of-the-way location (Grayling, 20 miles away, is biggest nearby town). Now, however, Forest Dunes is prepared to welcome overnight guests. The Lodge has 14 luxury rooms and suites. Its 28 beds can accommodate 32 people, plus it’s located 35 yards from the No. 1 tee.

Six cottages, built 10 years ago by Forest Dunes’ original owners, can accommodate another 30 comfortably.

“But we never marketed them,’’ said Campbell. Now the effort to do that is on.

Though snow had to be shoveled off some spots on the course a week before its 2013 opening Forest Dunes reported 188 rounds on some weekend days in early May, which exhausted the supply of golf carts available. Various promotional efforts, particularly on social media, obviously got the word out about the rebirth of the place.

Forest Dunes’ clubhouse includes the upscale Sangamore Restaurant, appropriate for weddings and proms in addition to business gatherings, and the Kendall/Seltzer Golf Getaway School flourishes with a 10-acre practice facility. Dave Kendall is a two-time Michigan PGA Teacher-of-the-Year and Jack Seltzer a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.

“People have been intrigued by what we have going on here,’’ said Campbell, hired in January of 2011 after spending 17 years at Garland Resort – a 72-hole Michigan favorite. “Before our doors were opened we had two-thirds of our budget booked. We created a frenzy.’’

In truth, Forest Dunes has had an interesting history. A group of investors from Arizona got the project started. They envisioned a very exclusive private facility and hired Weiskopf, whose Michigan design work includes the well-regarded Cedar River layout at Shanty Creek, in Bellaire.

“They wanted to build a phenomenal golf course in an unbelievable setting in Central Michigan,’’ said Campbell. That wasn’t an easy thing to do at the time.

Weiskopf was still moving dirt when financing was shifted to the Carpenters Union Pension Fund. The course was well-received upon its opening and a clubhouse was built in 2004, but the Pension Fund tried four different management companies and couldn’t decide what direction to take. Should it be exclusively private? Should it be a high-end public layout? Should it be something in between?

In 2011 the course was put up for sale, and that’s when Lew Thompson entered the picture. A recreational player, he has only dabbled in golf. From Huntsville, Ark., he made his fortune in the trucking industry but his arrival was just what Forest Dunes needed long-term.

“His is an absolutely American story,’’ said Campbell. “He looks like Abe Lincoln without the beard – a 6-6 gangly guy who lived in a home with a dirt floor as a teenager and sold his car to marry his high school sweetheart. As a young man he wanted to be a truck driver, so he bought a truck.’’

He used that truck to haul poultry from nearby Arkansas farms, and his business grew from there. Now Lew Thompson & Son Trucking delivers nation-wide.

Thompson’s introduction into golf came when he bought a Jack Nicklaus-designed layout, The Bridges, in Montrose, Colo. He immediately fired Troon Golf, its managing company, and the general manager. That GM moved to Forest Dunes, which was then under Troon management, and advised Thompson to consider buying that course.

He eventually did, then hired Campbell in January, 2012. Thompson’s been largely a hands-off owner, as Campbell combined duties selling real estate with managing the course. He had no interest in making Forest Dunes a private facility, but it still has members from the previous ownership.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, but we’re near two main arteries (I-75 and US-27),’’ he said. “We’re not going to discount. We needed 15,000 players to pay $100 to $150 to play Forest Dunes, and we got them. We took a business that was losing close to $2 million and nearly brought it into the black last season.’’

His goal now is to put Forest Dunes on par with Arcadia Bluffs and its beautiful lakeshore setting. The next step in that process came in June, 2013, when Campbell announced the hiring of Chad Maveus as the club’s head professional. A Northern Michigan University graduate, Maveus had been an assistant for nine years at California’s Pebble Beach Golf Links.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Squeezing in a fast nine holes is a good way to break up a long driving trip. It doesn’t cut severely into the mileage covered and certainly is refreshing.

On our last winter trip we indulged in that practice twice – and with goals in mind. We’d never played golf in Tennessee or Kentucky. Now we have. In both cases we checked out courses in the southern-most part of those states.

Hillcrest Country Club is a private nine-holer in Pulaski, Tenn., just over the Alabama border but about 15 miles off Interstate 65. While it’s a private facility, with a nice dining room and tennis courts, its members told me that golfers from out of the area are welcome. That’s apparently how we got on the course on a nice Sunday afternoon in February with temperatures in the high-50s – and for fees of $15 and with a cart, no less.

Winter tees were in use and much of the grass was dormant. Still, it was golf and Hillcrest’s members were proud of what they have. They enjoyed not only the course but the big driving range as well. While Hillcrest was a long way from the courses we enjoy in season in Illinois or in the winter in Florida, it was still fun, challenging and well worth the stop.

Even more so – on all counts – was Kenny Perry’s Country Creek, the site for our Kentucky golf debut. It’s a few miles over the Tennessee line and about 35 miles from Nashville, Tenn.

Perry, a solid PGA Tour player now competing mainly on the Champions Tour, grew up in Franklin, went to college at Western Kentucky in nearby Bowling Green and feels so strongly about his home state that he took extraordinary steps to qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2008, when the matches against the Europeans were played at Valhalla in Louisville.

That year Perry caught flak for skipping the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open because he thought he could pile up more Ryder Cup points playing a different schedule. As it turned out, he was right. He earned a spot on the U.S. team and helped the Americans win for the first time since 1999.

It was long before that, though, when Perry decided to create an 18-hole course for his fellow residents of Franklin. The course, which can been seen off Interstate 65, opened in 1995. Its mailing address is 1075 Kenny Perry Drive and the compact pro shop/ clubhouse is filled with his memorabilia.

Perry’s daughter Lesslye came up with the Country Creek name, and Perry has called the course “a dream come true.’’ The layout includes some barns (shown below) left from the days before the land was a golf course.

Though Perry isn’t one of the many tour players who have dabbled regularly in course architecture, he did design Country Creek. I became interested in visiting the place after being one of Perry’s partners in the first pro-am of the 2007 BMW Championship, the FedEx Cup playoff event then played at Cog Hill.

That was one of my most memorable days covering golf. It started with a one-on-one interview with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem in the morning, then the afternoon round with Perry that included me sinking a 50-foot birdie putt. The pro-am round was rained out after 10 holes but Perry, pleasant on the course, was even nicer during the rain delay – a true class act.

Anyway, I had covered Perry’s bid for the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla, when he lost the title to Mark Brooks in a playoff and, of course, followed his unusual game plan to play in the Ryder Cup. Part of it included winning John Deere Classic, another event that I covered up close and personal.

Business obligations took me to Nashville several times a year for awhile, and I stopped by Country Creek for a few minutes on one occasion just to see what Country Creek looked like. It was too cold for anybody to play that day, but not on this most recent trip. Players were lined up to tee off on this chilly but sunny Monday in February, and the $13 greens fee (for seniors with cart for nine holes) might have been part of the enticement.

Maybe Perry should take another stab at course design. His first venture in his hometown has been well received, especially by the locals. They find it especially beautiful in the spring when the flowering is in bloom, but even in the winter the greens were in good shape.

Country Creek, which measures 6,633 yards from the tips, is on the short side for championship play but each hole was a fun challenge – especially the par-3 eighth over water. A steep hill fronts the green, and you’d better hit it all the way to the putting surface (a carry of 119, 137 or 199 yards, depending on the tee you choose) or your ball will roll back down the hill and into the drink. Mine came close to doing that.

Closing in on its second decade, Country Creek is a worthy contribution by Perry to his home town, and its worth a look by occasional visitors as well.

GREENVILLE, Ala. – Some things are just meant to be. That seemed to be the case when a chance to play on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail finally materialized at the end of a 10-week road trip.

This travel-writing journey was to finish up with rounds at Sandestin, on the Florida Panhandle, and Preserve, a Jerry Pate creation in Biloxi, Miss. Alabama had been on the route back to Chicago two previous times on similar trips, but not on this one.

Then Mother Nature intervened. Two days of rain in Destin, FL., and similar conditions — with more severe weather in the forecast at both Destin and Biloxi required a change in travel plans. Rather than go home via Mississippi we journeyed through Alabama. No more golf was planned — at least not initially.

A casual lunch conversation with a local at a Cracker Barrel in this small town revealed a Robert Trent Jones Trail course just a few miles away. The rain had stopped, so we thought a visit was in order. The course was relatively empty, and the price was right. So, why not play?

This was the 21st and last 18-hole round of the trip. It came on, by far, the best course we played on our journey and it also had the lowest greens fee. Go figure. There has to be a message there some place.

The Jones Trail has been in existence for 20 years (the first course opened in 1992). It’s created a boon to Alabama’s economy with its 26 course spread over 11 sites. In fact, The Trail Guide points out, golf is a $1.5 billion industry in Alabama. That’s more than Auburn and Alabama football and basketball revenues combined, and most of it’s due to the Jones Trail. On Oct. 23, 2013, the Trail welcomed its 10 millionth visitor.

All 11 sites are universally regarded as good, but we apparently lucked out in showing up at Cambrian Ridge – a 27-hole facility with an additional nine-hole short course about 40 miles south from the state capitol of Montgomery. It was filled with great, expansive views, one of which is shown here.

According to The Trail Guide Cambrian’s Sherling nine “may be the best on the entire Trail.’’ The Canyon, carved out of former hunting grounds, was the other nine we played. It was our first nine and we weren’t ready for its first hole – a long par-4 that drops 200 feet from the tee to the fairway.

The Wow! Factor was similarly prevalent throughout round but never more than at the finishing holes for both nines. No. 9 on the Sherling and No. 9 on the Canyon share the same wide three-level green. The tee shots of both are impacted by a huge, deep ravine between the fairways (see photo, below). The challenge is especially pronounced on the Sherling. Try to bite off too much yardage and you either lose a ball or take a precarious downhill walk in an effort to find it.

Unfortunately this one spur-of-the-moment round represents my only first-hand knowledge of the Jones Trail courses – at least for now. Believe me, hitting a few of the others on subsequent trips is a must. Golf Magazine has called the Jones Trail the best buy in golf, and I’m not in a position to dispute that.

The pictures shown here are from a February round, when the weather is obviously not ideal. Still, the beauty of shots over water (show here) is evident.

The Jones Trail was conceived by David G. Bronner, chief executive office of Retirement Systems of Alabama. The first Trail course designed by Jones and his design associate, Roger Rulewich, was Oxmoor Valley near Birmingham. The plan was to build eight courses at the roughly the same time. It seemed a dubious possibility then, but obviously the plan worked and the Trail outgrew its original plan.

A few other states have attempted to build trails around the works of famous course architects, the most recent being Indiana with its Pete Dye Golf Trail. None have taken off yet like Alabama’s Jones Trail.

Alabama has 252 courses, but the Jones layouts are special. The Trail consists of 468 holes. Every one of the 27-, 36- or 54-hole facilities have back-to-nature settings and are challenging. Though we’ve steered away from mentioning greens fees in these reports because they’re constantly changing, The Trail Guide declared that “most tee times (are) priced between $46 and $81 year-around.’’

Ross Bridge, in Hoover, is the newest course on the Trail and – according to Tour veterans – the best of the offerings. It hosts the Regions Charity Classic on the Champions Tour.

Magnolia Grove, the southern-most facility on the Trail in Mobile, has 54 holes with two of the 18-holers renovated extensively in the past three years. The northern-most facility on the Trail, Hampton Grove in Huntsville, has 54 holes. So does Brand National, near the Auburn campus; Capitol Hill, in Prattville and Oxmoor Valley.

The Shoals, in Florence, opened in 2004 as the first Trail course to measure more the 8,000 yards. (It’s 8,092 from the black tees).

Silver Lakes, in Anniston, was devastated by a tornado in April 2011. It re-opened five months later with a new look. It has spectacular views of the Appalachian Foothills and its ultra dwarf putting surfaces are – again according to The Trail Guide — “arguably the best on the Trail.’’ No. 7, 8 and 9 on its Heartbreaker nine also may be the Trail’s best finishing stretch.

Anyway, each facility – many of them tied into Marriott or Renaissance resorts – has been positively recognized by various industry publications at one time or another and has its own story to tell. All, I’m sure, are worth telling.