After co-designing Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club in Pierson, Michigan, and serving briefly as the course’s superintendent, Kris Shumaker took a crack at developing his own mom-and-pop golf property. From the beginning, Shumaker’s goal was to build an excellent course that anyone could afford to play. Along with a few investors, he purchased a rural site near the small town of Hamilton and created a routing. He then called in Mike DeVries, the architect he had collaborated with at Pilgrim’s Run, to fine-tune the design and shape the bunkers and greens. To promote ease of maintenance, Shumaker established just two heights of cut: one for the greens, and one for all other playing areas. Twenty-two years after opening, Diamond Springs remains one of the truest examples of modern architectural minimalism in American golf, and its walking green fee tops out at $50.
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Take Note…
The Mike DeVries trail. A native Michigander, Mike DeVries grew up working at Crystal Downs, the famous Alister MacKenzie design next to Lake Michigan, and worked with Traverse City-based Tom Doak in the early 1990s. DeVries has since made his mark on his home state, with co-credits at Pilgrim’s Run (1999) and Diamond Springs (2002) as well as solo designs at Kingsley Club (2001), The Mines (2005), and Greywalls (2005). DeVries is a substance-over-flash architect; 35 years into his career, he still spends an unusual amount of time on site operating equipment and dialing in details.
The Grand Rapids tour. As Fried Egg Golf has highlighted numerous times over the years, Grand Rapids is one of the best destinations in the country for a budget golf trip. Diamond Springs, The Mines, Pilgrim’s Run, and Stoatin Brae—all within an hour of the city—offer first-rate architecture for green fees under $100 (significantly under, in the cases of Diamond Springs and The Mines). When you’re not playing golf, there’s plenty to do in the city of Grand Rapids, which is well known for its food and beer scenes. No Laying Up did a fine job of profiling the area in this 2021 Tourist Sauce episode, which features our own Andy Johnson.
Location, location, location. Although off the beaten path, Diamond Springs is within striking distance of several large population centers: 40 minutes from Grand Rapids, 50 minutes from Kalamazoo, and 30 minutes from the lakeside vacation town of Holland.
Two center-line oddities. Let’s get this out of the way: yes, there is a tiny pond in the middle of the sixth fairway, and yes, there is a pair of trees directly in the flight path of most players’ second shots on the par-5 11th hole. Are these “good” design features? Well, the pond was initially a bunker, and I wish Diamond Springs’ owners would turn it back into one. Its placement—right where many shorter hitters land their tee shots—does not befit the severity of a water-hazard penalty. The trees in the 11th fairway, on the other hand, could work, but they would make more strategic sense if there were more room on both edges of the hole corridor to maneuver around them. As it is, almost all players end up playing directly at them and hoping for the best.
