THE MISTWOOD GOLF DOME has been open for the winter season and is ready to have you come by for some indoor practice on Toptracer. So if you need to practice, get a lesson, or fit for new clubs. Visit Mistwoodgolfdome.com or call (630)-739-7600. The golf dome is located on Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook and is home to McWethy’s Sportsbar.
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Work has started at Boyne Resorts in Northern Michigan, with the addition of a new large putting green, and 9-hole par-3 course designed by architect Ray Hearn.
THE NEXT PAR-3 COURSE
Northern Michigan’s Boyne Resort in Harbor Springs has announced the building of it’s tenth course, “Doon Brae”.
Doon Brae will be a 9-hole par-3 course designed by Holland Michigan’s architect and Evans Scholar Ray Hearn.
Boyne will additionally add a 1.5 acre Himalayan style putting green. The Doon Brae course will open for play in summer of 2024. But there is no official opening date scheduled so far.
Boyne Resorts Doon Brae Par-3 Course by Ray Hearn, opening summer of 2024.
“So as far as I know, this is the first modern golf course ever built on a ski hill,” said Bernie Friedrich. Director of Golf Course Renovations and Development at Boyne Resorts. “But what excites me the most is how beautiful and different it is. There are three or four stacked wall bunkers. Instead of using tee boxes, we’ll have just one marker on each hole and let guests play wherever they want.”
“The greens are inspired by some of the great ones from around the world. They’re not copies of any specific greens, but they look different and they are big. We also sodded all the fairways, which will be well maintained and surrounded by some tall fescue for that whisper look and feel. It’s going to be quite stunning. There’s a lot of excitement about short courses. We want to keep people excited about golf and wanting to play. So if playing 18 or 36 holes is not enough on any day, this gives golfers another option.”
Architect Ray Hearn has worked at Mistwood, Midlothian and Flossmoor in the Chicago area.
The name Doon Brae where Doon means going down into a valley, and Brae means the steep bank on, or a hillside in Scottish, it’s fitting as the routing of the course is on the site of a former Cuff Links nine hole par-3 course set along the hillside that doubles as a ski slope during the winter months.
“Working with Stephen Kircher and Bernie Friedrich on this project has been really exciting,” said Hearn. Who has been inspired by his many overseas trips to Scotland and Ireland and particular Royal County Down. So Hearn’s favorite part of the project was creatively designed green complexes.
“Drawing inspiration from the British Isles allowed us to create some scaled down versions of famous template greens highlighted by The Short at National Golf Links. Other green templates include Eden, Punch Bowl, Redan, Reverse Redan, Volcano, Steep Slope, Postage Stamp and Biarritz.”
So even with the course being routed on a ski hill, Hearn made sure he minimalized the uphill walking. Doon Brae will play 993 yards from the back tees and 678 yards from the front tees. Holes will range from 57 yards to 134 yards, the longer holes will have more bunkers and be played from strategic angles.
Hearn says,” I wanted to create something fun without being a difficult walk. But we considered families that would bring their kids out to play. But the routing runs this way, No.1 is a level hole, No.2 is uphill, No.3 is downhill, No.4 is uphill, with 5-6 & 7 are mostly sidehill, and 8 and 9 plying downhill.”
So for more information please visit BoyneGolf.com.