Dusting Off a Rembrandt
Washtenaw Golf Club’s new life
Story and photos by John Retzer
Founded in the 19th century and a private course for most of the 20th, Washtenaw Golf Club in the 21st century finds itself as one of the three oldest golf courses in the state, with modern owners and a fresh, but familiar vision for the future.
Owners Dave Kendall, Nick Ma and Steve Davis are committed to improving and restoring the course to its glory days when it hosted major tournaments such as the Michigan Amateur and Michigan Open.
Kendall, a distinguished golf instructor and Michigan Golf Hall of Famer, often says that “if you come back to Washtenaw just once a year, my goal is that each time you’ll say it is better than it used to be.”
Course improvements are guided by a master plan created by award-winning Michigan golf architect Ray Hearn, and the longtime friends share a vision of a course with a “golden age look and feel.”
Hearn describes Washtenaw Golf Club as “a Rembrandt painting that has been in the attic for a little too long. It had a couple of layers of dust on it when Dave and his partners bought it, and all we are trying to do is remove the dust.”
Much of that “dust” was in the form of trees. As many as 20 percent of the trees at Washtenaw have been strategically removed both to improve lines of play and to aid the growth of grass on tee boxes, fairways and greens.
Washtenaw showcased its evolving golden age design on June 26 when the club hosted its annual Folds of Honor outing. The charity event helps to provide scholarships to the children and spouses of our nations’ deceased or disabled service members.
World Golf Hall of Famer Dennis Walters was the outing’s headliner. Walters, who was paralyzed in a golf accident in 1974 at age 24, plays from a custom swivel-seat golf cart. He was unable to perform his renowned golf show because of torrential rains during the outing, but Walters still held court and answered questions from the outing participants.
In his usual inspirational manner, Walters challenged his audience to do something in their lives that they perhaps thought was impossible.
Walters lives by his own words. At age 73, he is soon on his way to compete in the USGA’s 2nd annual Adaptive Open at Pinehurst Golf and Country Club. He noted that until last year’s Adaptive Open, he had not played competitive golf in more than 40 years, but felt he had to participate because of its historic significance.
In his remarks after the event, Kendall was visibly moved by the support of the Washtenaw Golf Club community for the Folds of Honor charity outing. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support,” Kendall said. “The Folds of Honors families feel the passing of their family member 365 five days a year, and I know it is not too much to ask for us to come together one day a year to support them by playing golf.”
Longtime players – many of whom participated in the Folds of Honor outing – note that many holes have been transformed from restrictive tunnels of trees to a more open look with room for thoughtfulness and creativity.
Tree removal also has restored the value of some unused portions of holes. The par four 16th once required a straight tee shot down the middle, followed by a short iron over a pond to the green. A 100-yard stretch of fairway to the left of the pond was never used and really didn’t make much sense. Once trees on the left were removed, however, that fairway came back into play. Now a tee shot can cut the corner, roll down and onto that fairway segment, leaving a short pitch to the green – or yet another option to the green for those who cannot clear the water.
On the 8th hole – a short par 4 with a savage green perched on a hillside 25 feet above the fairway – tree removal has brought a fairway bunker back into play. Previously, shots had to be played right of that bunker to avoid hitting trees. Players can now challenge the bunker to get a shorter shot into the green.
An early aerial photograph of the course suggests that many of Washtenaw’s greens were rectangular (rather than rounded), so Hearn is working with Superintendent Mark Pappas to return the greens to their original, unusual shapes. Some of that involves closely mapping out the old aerial photograph; core samples also are taken to find the sharp edges of the original greens.
New tee boxes were introduced in late 2022. There is a new forward tee box on the 1st, and new rear tees on the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th holes. Others are forthcoming.
Hearn says the plan calls for the restoration of some old lost bunkers, eliminating a few current ones that “don’t make sense” and reshaping others to fit with the character of the golden age of golf architecture.
Kendall notes that the response from annual members, public players and league golfers has been very positive. The restoration of Washtenaw Golf Club to its golden age design is a long-term effort, but regulars who observe closely can see the changes from week to week.
I have personally experienced it often.
You can read more work from John at: www.golfblogger.com
