Tucked away in the forested sand dunes of New Buffalo, Michigan, the Dunes Club is Mike Keiser’s first golf development, created a decade before Bandon Dunes opened. Dick Nugent designed the original nine, and over the past several years Jim Urbina has revised some greens. The Dunes Club intentionally invokes the visuals of Pine Valley, albeit on a smaller scale. The relaxed ambiance, coupled with a focus on pure golf, make for a first-rate experience.

{{content-block-course-profile-the-dunes-club-001}}

Take Note…

Lake view. When you reach the first green, look to your right and and take in the Dunes Club’s only view of Lake Michigan. You may be surprised by the lake’s proximity, as the course’s sheltered corridors don’t provide many long views.

Tee it wherever. The Dunes Club was one of the pioneers of the no-tee-marker trend, since adopted by Ballyneal, among other courses. The custom is simply that the player or team that won the last hole picks the next teeing spot.

Keiser’s influences. An interesting exercise: chart out the golf courses and architects that Mike Keiser has emulated throughout his career in golf development. Clearly C.B. Macdonald’s National Golf Links and Lido have been major touchstones, as was Coore & Crenshaw’s Sand Hills in the run-up to launching Bandon Dunes. At the time he built the Dunes Club, however, Keiser was very much under the influence of George Crump and Pine Valley, and it shows.