The New Wee Course in Benton Harbor

By Tom Lang

    This is the first full year of the new Wee short course at Harbor Shores Resort in Benton Harbor. No hole is longer than 60 yards and touches all the key components of short game development, created in a layout that is playable for kids and first-timers, while made for multi-generational family fun and neighborhood enrichment. 

    Two-time Senior PGA Champion Colin Montgomery designed the layout, while emulating nine holes from the partner 18-hole championship layout next door. The latter was designed by Jack Nicklaus on land that was reclaimed from wasteland on former Whirlpool manufacturing property, near the beachfront of Lake Michigan. Kids will play for free, and youth programming will be a priority.

    “I think the two key words here are affordable, and opportunity,” Montgomerie told me on a 2025 visit. “And this Wee Course as we’re calling it in true Scottish fashion, is going to be a very busy little course. It will help the community in huge ways. I think the children, the parents and the grandparents will come out here … for nine championship-quality par threes. For this community, that’s just great.”

    I played the Wee Course last fall – and simply as a test – I used only my putter. I found at least three holes that were impossible to reach the green in one stroke with only a putter, but that’s okay because the course is designed to use a handful of clubs. These are not all straightaway holes – twists and turns of the fairways require a variety of shots. An 18-hole putting green complements the Wee Course, located near the first fairway of Harbor Shores Golf Club.

    Montgomerie added: “It will be another great asset to the community and bring a beautiful landscape along the roadway for the community to enjoy.  It will also be a great complement to Harbor Shores, which, hole-by-hole, is one of the greatest courses in America.”