50 LIFE: ARCHITECTURE .COM G H EC IONARY REACT THE By MartinKaufmann//Kingsley, Mich. embraces randomnessandcelebratesMotherNature inhiswork Mike DeVries, fresh off oneoftheyear’s biggestcourseopenings, is littlemorethanadouble-wide trailer. Yet the Theclubhouse room. nofitness swimming pool, with asimplemission:It’s club. agolf There’s no said jokingly. andlives thecourse nearbydesigned inTraverse City, you’re there,’ almost Mike ”architect DeVries, who parking lot. onNiblick Trail, shortlylogo pullinginto the before until the club’sfirst-timers guessing theyfinally see a dirtroadandsketchy that signage willleave visitingtheKingsleyGuests Clubarrive via The unpretentious entryway foraclub isapropos “I tellpeople, ‘Whenyou starttohearthebanjos, OCTOBER 3, 2016 3, •OCTOBER DeVries’ Cape andmost-hyped design, newest Superior, isranked No. list. 77ontheModern farmoreextremetopographyacross nearLake Greywalls at MarquetteGolfClub. Greywalls, routed DeVries onMichigan’s design Upper Peninsula, saidofamuch different,be butsimilarly revered Golfweek’s list.Thesamecould Courses Modern Best geeks, asillustrated by thefactthat itisNo. 21on DeVries’ effort,isafavorite firstsolo ofarchitecture Portland, Ore., toPalm Fla. Beach, stretchingfrom anational membership club boasts Those courses helped lay helped thegroundworkfor courses Those The Kingsley Club, in2001andwas whichopened COURTESY LARRY LAMBRECHT 51 and his brand of ‘reactionary architecture.’ and his brand of ‘reactionary acclaim for architect Mike DeVries (above) Mike DeVries acclaim for architect Cape Wickham has drawn international After hitting his to had been 15,000 cubic yards About excavated wedge the -5 into turned first, DeVries back around and looked “You’ve on the hole. passed we did here,” already half of the earth-moving he said. second would hit their from which players a shelf create loosely was That intended as an homage to the shots. Alister the great Crystal Downs, nearby 17th hole at where Art Maxwell collaboration MacKenzie-Perry is a member. Club co-founder, Preston, a Kingsley learned game from his the also DeVries where It’s in the working was By age 14, DeVries grandfather. as quirky such to use a temptation adjectives There’s the away take the land, you overwork “If you for Bradley S. Klein’s story on how story on how Visit golfweek.com/courses for Bradley S. Klein’s competition to design. four former transitioned from touring pros Wickham Links in King Island, Australia. With Cape With Island, Australia. Links in King Wickham to international opening earlier this year Wickham acclaim, Golfweek decided with DeVries to spend a day learning more about Club, Kingsley course, his home at his approach to course design. More to describe Club. the Kingsley or idiosyncratic minimalist is an expression it of DeVries’ accurately, explained which he while walking design philosophy, the course. he said. unique,” something really opportunity to make not That’s try to fix things. we inevitably humans, “As a good has a randomness thing. Mother Nature always to her.” Mike DeVries, fresh off one of the year’s biggest course openings, biggest course openings, one of the year’s off fresh Mike DeVries, work in his Mother Nature and celebrates embraces randomness Mich. // Kingsley, By Martin Kaufmann THETHETHE REACT REACT REACT IONARY IONARY IONARY 52

No. 1atTheKingsleyClub GOLF LIFE: ARCHITECTURE GOLFWEEK.COM “reactionary architecture” –that is, “reacting towhat than Pebble andCypress Point Beach combined.” “It hasmorecoastline, andmorediverse coastline, downplay expectations. including asix-month stint withhisfamily. Hedoesn’t DeVries that ninemonths hespent estimated onsite, built.For arebeing Wickham,his courses Cape architect. a flyer onDeVries foran whentheywerelooking Ed Walker, Kingsley Club’s otherco-founder, totake onhislife.asked theimpactofCrystalDowns about Mead’s crew. years workingonsuperintendent Tom later began Muller,pro shopforlongtimeFred andthree DeVries’ timeonsiteallowsforwhat hecalls “It’s siteI’ve amazing themost ever seen,” hesaid. DeVries onsitewhen isanear-constant presence and Preston In fact,itwas Mullerwhoencouraged “That’s why Idowhat Ido,” DeVries saidwhen OCTOBER 3, 2016 3, •OCTOBER at alow-traffic private club, itcreates opportunities of thingthat wouldworkat abusy publiccourse, but andthethirdfifthtees.greens It’s notthesort andfourth ofthesecond routing istheconfluence sites,” DeVries said. if nothisstyle. withterrible things incredible “Hedoes shapes. ButDeVries identifies withDye’s philosophy, of dirthedidn’t want into angular toplowandsculpt admiration forPete Dye, onapiece whonever foot set –justrolling,heavingcourse land.” “Give ofthisandyou’ve me200acres agreat got golf andstrategicmore holelocations options. saw ofexpandingthesurfacetocreate thevirtues half that size. about to be Over time, though,DeVries butinitially is10,500squarefeet, was green intended the landgives me.” Asanexample, Kingsley’s third One of the subtleties ofDeVries’ ofthesubtleties One Kingsley Club It was his surprisingwhenDeVries expressed DeVries backfromthethirdgreen, Looking said, for members to interact. “Subliminally, that stuff seeps and a putt works, right?” in,” DeVries said. The Redan 16th green is “the most manufactured One of Kingsley’s most fascinating stretches begins green on the course,” though ironically, a member midway through the back nine, at the short par-4 13th. once complimented him for creating such a natural It’s perhaps the part of the course that best reveals green setting. DeVries’ design philosophy. For an architect, that’s what matters: creating a place There are good scoring chances at the drivable 13th that the members enjoy. During the round, DeVries – it’s 267 yards from the regular , with the largest shared the story of a member, a low-handicapper, green on the course – and the downhill, reachable par-5 who was used to target golf. Early on at Kingsley, 14th. The par-4 15th, in contrast, is the most difficult his started to edge up, and he shared with hole on the course – long, uphill, to a tiny, elevated DeVries some of his frustration with the course’s surface that rejects most approaches. random bounces. Over time, however, DeVries said the “Better players complain about it the most,” DeVries man “started to appreciate the variety and variability said on the way to the 16th . But he reasons that, of shots you have to hit.” having just given players good birdie opportunities, “That just tells me people are enjoying the game, he doesn’t owe them any favors. “Everybody has seeing new things, trying new shots. That’s what golf to figure out a way to play the hole,” he said. “A chip should be about.” Gwk COURTESY KEVIN FRITSCH COURTESY

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