Grand Golf – in Beer City
Michigan’s second largest city has golfer choices galore
By Tom Lang
Greater Grand Rapids provides a unique setting for golfers – a city large enough to provide all the fun bells and whistles of great lodging, food, entertainment and craft beer – along with the appeal of great golf at courses all over the quiet, surrounding countryside.
There are more than two dozen high-quality public golf courses in the region, and due to the high volume of good golf, the competition keeps greens fees lower than much of the rest of Michigan.
Just last year, GOLF Magazine put out its list of top courses from across the country which cost under $100 (at peak weekend rates for walking). Three locations from the small sliver of west Michigan made the affordable course list which ranged from Texas to the Canadian border. Those three are Diamond Springs in Hamilton; Pilgrim’s Run in Pierson; and the Mines Golf Club that sits at the edge of downtown.
All three have another major common connection: international award-winning course designer and Michigander Mike DeVries was instrumental in the designs. Some call it a mini–Mike DeVries Trail, but he is quick to point out that former superintendent Kris Shumaker was equally involved in the initial development and designs at both Diamond Springs and Pilgrims Run. DeVries did The Mines solo, but Shumaker ended up being the superintendent there after it opened.
“The thing about all three (courses) is that all feel like you are deep in the country, even at The Mines which is five minutes from downtown city center of Grand Rapids,” DeVries recently told me. “There’s a few houses on one side of (The Mines), but it feels a little like you’re Up North with the long-distance views and all. So collectively, they feel there’s a great commune with nature, and you get that in spades at Pilgrim’s Run, where you don’t see a house at all, much less a car.
“They all have that element to them. And Pilgrim’s Run with bent grass tees, greens and fairways, feels a bit more upscale, and they’ve always done well with great hospitality and have a great reputation for that.
“Diamond Springs has a unique land site with the ravine that was a mill at one time with an old water wheel,” DeVries continued. “It’s fairly flat terrain but with eskers going across the property providing lots of differentiation, and then the ravine providing the reverse of that with a gorge cutting through the property that’s really dramatic with it’s one big, wide swath and its big cut in the earth. It’s very playable, but the drama is super high.”
Diamond Springs is becoming more widely known for its tremendous layout and low costs, so much so that every year, more and more people come out of Chicago to play it. The average 18 cost is $60 in 2025. DeVries said he and Shumaker co-designed it to be a very low maintenance piece of property – with the intention that savings could be passed on to the consumer.
Greg Johnson, the long-time sportswriter and Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member, was raised in the area so his perspective goes back more than 40 years when he began covering golf for the Grand Rapids Press.
“First of all, there’s a lot of golf courses, even prior to the building boom in the 1980’s. Kent County alone had like eight private clubs and 15 public courses. Then it really boomed,” he said. “Grand Rapids developed its own audience with just a bunch of really nice public golf courses, from the original Grand Haven Golf Club (now American Dunes), to the L.E. Kaufman, a county owned park and golf course with great greens, which are maintained really well for a municipal golf course. It hosts the Kent County Amateur every year, one of the biggest in the state.”
A 6-time winner of the Kent Co. Amateur and the best amateur in the area for two decades was Tom Werkmeister, also a multiple winner of the Michigan Amateur and Michigan Open, and who reached the PGA Tour Champions level for a couple events. He said Pilgrim’s Run is one of his favorite in the state.
“It tests every part of your game with some fun risk/reward holes mixed in like holes 10 and 18,” Werkmeister said. “The property and scenery is incredible as well, with lots of wildlife to see. The Mines is a tough course from the tips. The greens are tricky; throw in some good pin placements and you have a fun challenge. It’s cool to have a course like this right in town (Grand Rapids). Diamond Springs is a nice course with a great layout.”
For first timers to the area, it can be helpful to create a stay-and-play package. The Country Inn & Suites by Radisson Grand Rapids East has been putting them together for 10 years. The hotel closely works with eight courses: Pilgrim’s Run, Quail Ridge, Thornapple Pointe, Boulder Creek, Ravines (near Saugatuck), The Mines, Diamond Springs and Links at Bowen Lake. Call: (616) 464-7272 for packages.
General Manager Ed Wilson said most groups range from 8-to-40 people, and they explore anything they can off the course, like casino runs and Whitecaps baseball games, the Detroit Tigers’ affiliate.
“So many people think of Up North, but the quality of golf we have here is equal, and if you mix in a little something you can do whether it’s downtown or in the suburbs, we have lots of options,” he said.
The Rest of the GR Story:
What’s likely an easier question to answer is ‘what does Grand Rapids not offer for fun, food and entertainment for people of all ages?’ There are so many offerings from a wide variety of options, we can’t cover it all here.
Grand Rapids was named one of America’s Top 20 Summer Travel Destinations by WalletHub. You can spend your days on the trail, the water, the beach or the golf course, and your nights on the town experiencing delicious farm-to-table restaurants, live music venues, craft beverage taprooms, dance clubs and more.
West Michigan summer days are long and temperatures are moderated by the cooling breezes of Lake Michigan, making Grand Rapids a great choice for a warm-weather escape.
Be sure to bring your appetite with you – there are more than 1,000 restaurants around town, offering an array of cuisine, price and amenity options, including outdoor dining. Downtown GR is home to nearly 200 restaurants within a 10-minute walk (or free bus ride) of hotels, shops and entertainment venues.
A main calling card to Grand Rapids is the adopted name Beer City. Be sure to download the Beer City Brewsader® app and sign up for the Flights of Flavor digital pass before you visit – you can earn free and fun perks when you use them to check in to participating breweries, restaurants, bars, coffeehouses and sweets shops.
When it comes to golf, I have played the following layouts:
American Dunes: This newer course is a classic in the sense Jack Nicklaus designed it from the former Grand Haven Golf Club in honor of our military heroes who died serving this country. The natural sand dunes near the Lake Michigan coastline are on full display in this masterful layout.
Thornapple Pointe: For a Detroit Free Press course review I wrote this about my favorite hole … No. 13 is not unlucky; it’s simply a gorgeous golf hole. To start, the tees are elevated for a beautiful pause in your round to watch the Thornapple River flow the length of the par 5 and onward to additional holes.
The Lynx: One of those pleasant surprises, The Lynx is nestled on land high above and down along the mighty Kalamazoo River – a beautiful course in a very natural setting between Allegan and Otsego. Hole No. 1 leads off with a great example of what golfers will find on their day. The fairway first appears flat and perhaps boring – but hit it to the end of the fairway and you’re faced with a drastic 75-foot elevation drop to the green.
Saskatoon: A long-time favorite of golf leagues, in recent years Saskatoon added a new nine (the Silver Course) that gives the property outside of Caledonia 45 holes and lots of choices.
The Meadows at Grand Valley State: A wonderfully beautiful and tough course that hosts Grand Valley State’s nationally-talented men’s and women’s college teams, and gives high school golfers their toughest state finals experience in the MHSAA rotation.
“We’ve just always been a little bit of a golf-crazy part of the state,” Johnson summed up. “West Michigan has probably been known just for the sheer number of courses and the nice price you could get, because of so much competition.
“It’s just always been an affordable sport here, with a golf crazy audience to boot.”
More information can be found at: https://www.experiencegr.com/things-to-do/outdoors-and-sports/golf/
