ROSCOMMON, Mich. – The idea is at least intriguing. Tom Doak has designed a golf course that will have 18 greens and fairways but will play in two directions.

The No. 18 green will always be the No. 18 green, but one day you play around to that green from a clock-wise direction, and the next day you do it in a counter-clockwise direction. Michigan’s respected Forest Dunes will get two new courses while building only one.

Think about that — and a lot of people have.

“Most people are over-thinking this,’’ said Todd Campbell, the general manager at Forest Dunes. “Some, even executives, think people we will be hitting into each other. No!!!! We’re smart individuals. This is going to work out.’’

After touring the property with Campbell I think it will, too. But, you have to see it to understand it. Hopefully this description will help in that regard.

Forest Dunes’ first course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, opened in 1998 and is a gem. It’s long been listed in America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses and last year golfers came from 34 states and seven different countries to play it. Thirty-eight percent of the rounds played there were from non-Michigan residents.

The problem for Campbell and Lew Thompson, the course’s Arkansas-based owner, was keeping players around after they’d played Forest Dunes once. They built a lodge and other lodging options. That helped, but still there was just that one great course in a relatively remote area of Michigan.

“Our ownership wanted a national destination,’’ said Campbell. “People weren’t staying here. We were seeing money drive out of the parking lot.’’

There was plenty of land available, however. Having 1,320 acres to work with was a good thing.

Thompson, who is in the trucking business and is also part of the investment group that owns the Jack Nicklaus-designed The Bridges course in Colorado, and Campbell wanted a second course at Forest Dunes — one designed by a Michigan architect that would be much different than the first course – and they’ll certainly be getting it.

There won’t be any course in the country, if not the world, like the radical Doak design when it opens. Hopefully that will be in late fall, 2016, but the course won’t likely be in full swing until the spring of 2017.

Doak has said he considered building a reversible course for about 30 years, and insists it’s not unprecedented. Several European courses – even the famed Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland – were played in reverse in their early years in an effort to minimize the wear and tear from divots.

In these modern times, though, there aren’t any such courses and the anticipation for this one has been building.

“Tom will build a great-experience golf course that will be fun,’’ predicted Campbell. “And, it will look different.’’

Doak, whose Renaissance Golf is based in Traverse City, last designed a course in his home state when Black Forest opened in Gaylord in 2002. He also designed Lost Dunes, in Bridgman, before creating 31 courses around the world including five recognized in America’s Top 100. Most recently his renovation of Medinah’s No. 1 course in the Chicago area opened in 2014.

To create the reversible layout Doak needed flat property with few trees, sandy soil and an owner who could think outside the box. He found all that at Forest Dunes and groundbreaking was held last October amidst much fanfare.

“We can pull this off,’’ said Campbell. “We’ll have two golf courses wrapped into one, and people will stay multiple nights. And this will only enhance our other golf course.’’

The key to the reversible course’s success will be tee placements, and there’ll be many of them. Tee box areas will be defined, and each hole will have multiple tees, but the staff will have lots of flexibility in their use.

While there’ll be just 18 greens and 18 fairway complexes, there will be two courses thanks to the positioning of the tees. Both layouts are expected to be par-70s, but one will play about 6,700 yards from the back tees and the other will be about 100 yards longer.

“There’ll be two different golf courses,’’ stressed Campbell. “They’ll play completely different. The wind will be completely different. Some greens that you hit into will be for a par-3 one day and for a par-5 the next.’’

There’ll be no water holes and the fairways will be extremely wide and lively. There won’t be much in the way of flowers, and grass from the tee boxes all the way to the greens will be mowed at the same height but there will be some fescue in evidence. None of the tee boxes will be elevated, and the present design calls for 41 sand bunkers and about 40 grass bunkers.

“We want a completely different golf experience than we have over (at the existing course),’’ said Campbell. “There’s no other place in North America where you can find a bentgrass golf course and a fescue golf course 100 yards apart.’’

The existing Weiskopf design was a $12 million project. The Doak layout will be considerably less, though Campbell declined to offer a cost estimate. The Weiskoopf layout was built on 500 acres, the Doak will need only 200. The Weiskopf course is connected to some real estate development. The Doak course won’t be.

Cost for the Doak course was impacted by the fact that it’s being built basically in house. Forest Dunes owns the equipment being used, irrigation comes from a nearby pond and, said Campbell, “We think it’s kind of sexy that the green mix is all from the property.’’

A tornado that struck the area before work began last October turned out a blessing. It reduced the number of trees. Then still more were removed to expose the sand. The arrival of Brian Slawnik, Doak’s lead representative on site, and the hiring of Brian Moore as course superintendent triggered the grassing process. It’s to be completed by Labor Day.

Moore, 33 arrived in May to take what he considers a “dream’’ job. His resume includes a brief stop at Philadelphia’s famed Merion and a three-year stint as first assistant superintendent at Chicago Golf Club, America’s first 18-hole course.

The new course isn’t all that’s being built at Forest Dunes.

“For us to build this without more lodging would be suicidal,’’ said Campbell. “We struggle with lodging just for the existing course, and we need to triple our accommodations. We have about 50 beds and will need 135 to 150 – enough accommodations for our guests to play both golf courses..’’

One villa is under construction and another six to 10 will likely follow. Several members are also building homes on the property that will be put into the rental program.

Maybe by then Campbell will know what to call the course that Doak is creating.

“I’ve been working on a name for 18 months, and I’m ready to tear my hair out,’’ said Campbell.

Staff members, which included head professional Chad Maveus and first assistant Patrick Bloom, all participated in the naming process but they couldn’t come to an

agreement. Forest Dunes has 20,000 golfers in its database, so Campbell contacted them for some “idea-sourcing.’’

That didn’t work, either, though he received 600-700 responses and some even included suggested logos for the new course. The list of possible names is now down to about 20. Names will also be needed for the direction of the layout used; Campbell doesn’t want to “clock-wise’’ or counter clock-wise.’’ There should be something more appealing than that.

Forest Dunes, once the Doak course is completed, will be more of a golf destination, but still not a resort. The golf season will still be a short one, but golf can be played until nearly 10 p.m. most nights during that season.

Like Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and Streamsong in Florida Forest Dunes doesn’t have much of a local market but Campbell expects the expansion will have benefits locally.

“What we’re doing is great for everyone in the state,’’ he said. “We have a cat by the tail. We just don’t know how big that cat will become.’’

GLEN ARBOR, Mich. – The Homestead is located in the heart of Michigan’s best golf areas, but it’s difficult to consider it a golf destination. There’s so many more attractions there, most notably Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. In 2011 ABC’s Good Morning America labeled that area “the Most Beautiful Place in America.’’

It’d be pretty hard for a golf destination to compete with “America’s Most Beautiful Place,’’ wouldn’t you agree?

The Homestead welcome sign doesn’t even focus on golf. Instead, it proclaims itself as “America’s Freshwater Resort.’’

Still, there’s good reasons to link The Homestead with golf. The facility has a 19-year history with the sport, dating to the creation of a nine-hole 1,200-yard par-3 course called Mountain Flowers. Bob Kuras, The Homestead’s owners, was one of its designers.

Kuras was part of the ownership group then and golf was in a big growth period nation-wide. Consideration was given to building an 18-hole course then, but the idea was eventually rejected.

Mountain Flowers, though, worked out just fine in providing guests with a golf option during the warm weather months (it was also in use for skiers in the winter). The short course had multiple tees, water hazards, sand, bunkers and trees. A fieldstone bridge replicating the 13th hole at Augusta National’s Amen Corner was included. Kuras had a romantic attachment to the beauty of ancient courses, visual aesthetics and a commitment to the environment. It showed in the course’s creation and – most important – it was fun to play.

In 2004 Kuras took things a step further in expanding the golf options to include the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School. It was located away from Mountain Flowers and had its own unique atmosphere around the Firefly Lodge.

Pelz’ schools are held across the country, but the one at The Homestead is more elaborate. It includes classroom, locker rooms, club storage and an amphitheater for outdoor instruction. The hitting bays are also covered so that instruction and practice can go on even in inclement weather. Golfers can come for a variety of schools to enhance their chipping, putting and bunker play.

By 2009 Kuras, now sole owner of The Homestead, took an even more dramatic step. He purchased The King’s Challenge, an Arnold Palmer-designed 18-holer 10 miles away in Cedar. It needed, and received, upgrades and was eventually renamed Manitou Passage in honor of a shipping route that ran through the property, most notably by the No. 8 tee box and fairway. That elevated spot produces the most spectacular view on the course.

Remnants of a once-thriving ski area, Sugar Loaf, remain on the golf course though skiers haven’t been there for about 15 years. The second course that was part of the Sugar Loaf complex is being operated as a public course known as the Old Course at Sugar Loaf.

This Old Course has no connection to Manitou Passage, which has kept ahead of the changing times through the guidance of general manager and former IBM executive Bob Summers.

“I do things a little differently,’’ Summers is quick to point out. He refused to get involved in price-cutting, as so many other course operators have done in recent years. Instead he kept the upscale Manitou Passage at the upper end of the fee schedule while increasing the services offered his players.

Most notable in that regard was the installation of a new phone app, Pace Setter. Golfers use their I-Phones or Androids to get course information and about any other information they might want. Pace Setter keeps track of their statistics all year long. Users can book tee times, learn if they’re on or off pace on the course, order food and beverages and be advised of upcoming events at the course.

Summers believes that Manitou Passage is the first course in Michigan to use Pace Setter, but he’s had inquiries from no less a facility than Oakland Hills regarding its performance. In barely two weeks about 250 golfers had loaded Pace Setter, and Summers had set a goal for 1,000 by the end of the year. He also is offering golfers weekly and monthly play passes.

Manitou Passage also introduced a six-hole loop on holes 10 through 15 this year to stimulate youth and family play. The full course, though, can be all the challenge you could want from the back tees – a layout that measures 6,668 yards

All that means that serious golfers have Stay & Play visit options. They could include top-level instruction at the Pelz School, on-course sharpening on Montain Flowers and a serious challenge at Manitou Passage. At the same time they – or family members — can explore the beauty of Sleeping Bear Dunes, taste the delights of Nonna’s – a fine Italian restaurant on The Homestead property, play some serious tennis on courts equipped for exhibition play and relax in Spa Amira at Little Belle.

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. – For the life of me I can’t understand why Grand Geneva Resort hasn’t hosted a big PGA or U.S. Golf Assn. championship. The playing facilities are certainly there to do it.

So is the lodging (355 guest rooms and suites), restaurant options (three fine-dining spots on property plus more in this long-time vacation destination community on the Illinois border), and space for the on-course requirements that a big tournament requires. There’s even an executive airport on the property.

More than anything, though, Grand Geneva has quality courses, two of them in fact.

The Brute is the better known. It’s 68 bunkers and huge, rolling greens have challenged golfers of all abilities since the Robert Bruce Harris design opened in late 1968. The other course, which opened at about the same time as The Brute, was first called the Briarpatch but is now The Highlands.

Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus made a rare joint design effort to create the Briarpatch, and it underwent a major transformation from Bob Cupp in 1996. Bob Lohman gave the course an additional update in 2006. It doesn’t have the reputation The Brute has, but The Highlands has its devotees – among the most notable being head professional Kyle Kunash.

Kunash pointed out that the property has lost about 40 ash trees recently and will likely be taking more down. He also says plans are underway to add a tee placement between the front markers (5,244 yards) and regular tees (6,554 yards) on The Brute. That’s necessary, and would be a plus, but the quality and conditioning of the courses and the views they offer is still extraordinary.

As for landing a big tournament, Grand Geneva is trying but so far has been unsuccessful. The courses still host a variety of Wisconsin PGA events and USGA qualifiers while remaining one of the best outing destinations around.

The lack of a big-time tournament, while not worth dwelling on, could simply be because Wisconsin already has so many coming up state-wide. A third PGA Championship is coming to Whistling Straits later this summer. The U.S. Open is coming to Erin Hills in 2017, and the Ryder Cup is coming to Whistling Straits in 2020. Earlier this month the Champions Tour announced a new tournament to be held at University Ridge in Madison in 2016.

All the activity in recent years has left Dave Hallenbeck, Grand Geneva’s long-time director of golf, stunned. Hallenbeck has worked on property for 42 years – he was a lifeguard back when the facility was known as the Playboy Club Hotel in the 1970s – and has been a golf professional for 37.

“You wouldn’t think of Wisconsin hosting all these major events at these first-class facilities – but it’s happened,’’ said Hallenbeck. “I never dreamed it would get to this point.’’

Grand Geneva no doubt played a role it that going back to the Playboy Club days.

“Playboy got the state on the map and Kohler (Blackwolf Run, Whistling Straits) made it international,’’ said Hallenbeck.

Together, Grand Geneva and the state’s other array of golf facilities and destinations overcame the perception that a short season weather-wise was detrimental to golf development.

“There’s no better place than where we are four-five months a year – during our peak season,’’ said Hallenbeck. “The climate’s great, and there’s so many things you can’t find in other parts of the country. Wisconsin has it all, and it’s affordable. That’s huge.’’

PRAIRIE CLUB, in Valentine, Neb., will be the site of the second KemperClub Championship from Aug. 2-5. Northbrook-based KemperSports held the first championship at Bandon Dunes in Oregon last year.

The competitive format will remain the same for the second version – a fourball handicapped event that will be limited to 40 two-player teams.

ARNOLD PALMER’S Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fla., will be closed during the summer to allow for a comprehensive re-grassing project on the greens and additional fairway restoration and design modifications.

The courses are scheduled to re-open in August. In the meantime, Bay Hill is offering a summer fishing package for anglers in search of bass in the Butler Chain of Lakes in Orlando.

FOREST DUNES, in Roscommon, Mich., has named Brian Moore the director of agronomy at its unique Tom Doak-designed course that is under construction. The course can be played in both directions. Moore had formerly been senior assistant superintendent at Chicago Golf Club.