Boyne’s Updates at Ross Memorial Are Truly Memorable
By Tom Lang
For the past few years, BOYNE Golf has painstakingly made improvements and detailed updates to the Donald Ross Memorial course that; 1) most properties would never create in the first place, and 2) made thoughtful revisions as more information on Ross’ true dimensions, scale and blueprints became available.
For the past few months, golfers have been able to enjoy these once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece replica holes from around the country while located on one piece of northern Michigan land.
BOYNE Golf’s founder, Everett Kircher, had a vision 35 years ago to create a new and unique golf course at the time that would pay homage to the golden era of classic course architecture of Ross. His vision was to re-create some of Ross’ signature holes from his top courses east of the Mississippi River. The course features classic renditions from historic venues like Seminole, Pinehurst No. 2, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Scioto, Detroit Golf Club, Aronimink, Wannamoisett, Plainfield, and Inverness, to name a few.
Today, President and CEO Stephen Kircher of Boyne Resorts continues his father’s vision by curating a pure Donald Ross experience for golfers.
“When we began this journey in the late 1980s, Dad wanted to create a unique golf experience that no other resort had done before, replicating some of the great designs of famous holes in one compositive golf course,” said Kircher. “Bringing a focus on arguably the most prolific and successful architect of the 20th century was the driving force in the selection of Donald Ross’ works, especially since so many of his best works were not readily available to the general public (being located at private courses). This has been very exciting for us and our resort guests, who will now have a more genuine Donald Ross experience (than before)."
The original national search included visiting 50 clubs to find the best holes. Kircher and long-time BOYNE executive Bernie Friedrich, the Director of Golf Course Renovations and Development for BOYNE Golf, were also part of the original selection and execution team during the course's initial development in the 1980s.
“The opportunity we now have through technology makes this process so exciting,” explained Friedrich. “We didn’t have iPhones or camera phones back then, so we took pictures of the holes with a Polaroid camera. We now have more access to Ross’ original drawings, Google Earth data (past and present), CAD drawings, and, maybe most importantly, Lidar maps.
“The green complexes have always been a priority,” explained Friedrich. "Today, through the new technology, we can gather photos and dimensions to replicate each green more accurately, creating an authentic Donald Ross experience. We are getting the greens within one inch of their original grades now.”
The accuracy of the updates has surprised many.
"We were at the PGA Show in Orlando and ran into Jeff Kiddie, the PGA Head Professional at Aronimink," Friedrich said. "I mentioned we just remodeled our 15th hole, which is their 11th. We showed him a picture of our hole, and he looked at it for a while and then said, 'Did you get that picture off of our website?’ That is how accurate the construction and attention to detail has been.”
Next on tap will be the 10th hole, a rendition of No. 14 at Royal Dornoch, where Ross grew up, was the superintendent, and learned the trade under Old Tom Morris. Construction started in June and will be done by 2025.
Boyne provided this description of updates to four holes:
Hole 2 (No. 4 Plainfield Country Club)
There are now three new, larger tee boxes better aligned with the fairway. Select trees were removed from the left side of the fairway, which improved the view of the pin from the tee box and fairway. In addition, two bunkers were added to better replicate Ross’ original design. One bunker was added to the right side of the fairway, approximately 40 yards from the most forward tee box, and the second was added about 220 yards from the front tee box just inside the fairway on the right side near the top of the knoll.
Hole 13 (No. 15 Seminole)
The green complex has been modified extensively, reducing its size by 10 percent and raising it approximately three feet. The entire green complex, including greenside bunkers, was reshaped, and the fairway cut around the green was extended to better replicate Ross’ original design.
Hole 15 (No. 11 Aronimink)
Several years ago, officials at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania determined that the hole was altered from Ross’ original design, and the club restored the hole to Ross’ plans. The BOYNE team received the original design and restored our version of the hole to its original layout. A new set of tee boxes was added, the fairway was widened, fairway bunkers were added but reduced in size, and the entire green complex was expanded by 65 percent and reshaped to replicate Ross’s original design. The team added multiple levels at the front of the green and off-set bunkers in front of the lower level, creating a challenging illusion on the approach shot.
Hole 16 (No. 10 Pinehurst No. 2)
Renovations on Hole 16 changed it back to the original Ross design. Boyne built a larger back tee. The fairway was reshaped and corrected to the same width as Pinehurst No. 10. The grass-covered mound on the left side of the fairway was removed, while a new mound was added on the right-hand side near the front of the fairway. The bunker on the right side of the fairway was removed, and the remainder of the bunkers were rebuilt, with most being slightly reduced in size. The green was completely redone, increasing the size from 4,100 sq. ft. to its correct size of 8,300 sq. ft. It’s very undulating, producing the subtle ball movement that Ross greens often create. The green complex now has an additional run-off area on the side and back of the green that’s found on many Ross signature holes.
