Pete and Alice did it with exaggerated shapes, slopes, and sizes, wooden walls, and native grasses. Doak adds that Dye had to be very creative for much of his career, noting there are features at the predominantly flat Golf Club in Ohio that are actually very simple, but extremely effective. - On-campus F&B options are solid and, again, affordable. Stoatin Brae at Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort in Augusta, Michigan, USA | GolfPass Home / Courses / USA / Michigan / Augusta Stoatin Brae at Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort 4.4 122 Reviews Rating Snapshot About Reviews Content, Offers and more Rating Snapshot All Time Last 6 Months Last 12 Months Rating Index 4.4 122 Reviews 5 Stars 76 Stoatin Brae has taken Michigan's Gull Lake View to a higher level If you're a competitive golfer in Michigan, chances are you've played it. Besides the slower than normal green speeds, the only shortcomings voiced were the severity of grasses outside the rough line. Augusta, 2.7 AUGUSTA, Mich. - Where might you expect to meet the owner of an expansive golf resort where you were staying? Excellent value golf that doesn't sacrifice the quality, craft breweries and local flavor make G.R. Stoatin Brae - Layout and Map | Michigan PGA Stoatin Brae - Gull Lake View Golf Club & Resort. The course is a par 71 that plays 6,742 yards from the tips and offers five par threes. There are plenty of green side knolls and rolling mounds that redirect the ball around the greens, sometimes for the best - and sometimes to your scores detriment. I chalk this popularity up to the value proposition, the low-fuss feel of the resort and the ready availability of craft beer at the courses. Current. Golfers at the Gull Lake View Resort in southwest Michigan, US, can now get a sneak preview of the clubs new Stoatin Brae course, which has opened for limited play. To save this word, you'll need to log in. Playing Stoatin Brae and The Hills of Lenawee Tom Fazio did it remarkably well at Shadow Creek, but for every Shadow Creek there are a hundred courses where the transformation of the land detracted from the golf., Mike DeVries, whose short but impressive list of designs includes the highly-acclaimed Kingsley Club in Michigan, and Cape Wickham in Australia, says hes been fortunate with the quality of sites hes been given but does recall one flat property with poor soils where he had to employ a different approach. On this note, let me quote Master Doak as to the essence of minimalism: Its objective is simply to route as many holes as possible whose main features already exist in the landscape, and accent their strategies without over killing the number of hazards.. The 8th is the best hole on Stoatin Brae's front nine: a very short par 4 with a superb, tiny pedestal green. The Stoatin Brae course is the sixth to open at Gull Lake View. But once we sorted out the routing and realized all 18 holes would fit in nicely, we all felt relieved, said Iverson. Stoatin Brae highlights Southwest Michigan's Gull Lake View Resort Stoatin Brae is slated to be a par 71 playing over 6,800 yards from the tips. Stoatin Brae Golf Club near Augusta is a famously beautiful golf course it was the National Golf Course of the Year in 2021 and the view from the tee box of the par-4 15th hole shows off . Stoatin Brae Stoatin Brae About. Part of Stoatin Brae can now be played as twelve-hole loop, ahead of the course's full opening next year. 374. Read reviews of the Gull Lake View courses. Beau Hanson manages the course as the Golf Professional. Hear a word and type it out. The site at Stoatin Brae, though perfectly pleasant with some ground movement in the northern third, was nothing like Cape Kidnappers, Old Macdonald, or other dramatic Renaissance sites. Designed by Renaissance Golf Design, the Stoatin Brae golf course opened in 2017. The Renaissance Golf Design team did a superb job of handling Stoatin Brae's choppier terrain, siting the tee and green of the par-3 11th at high points. Around every turn is a pretty vista and/or a compelling golf shot, be it for a bogey player or scratch handicapper. Featureless sites require intelligent bunkering and angles, wide fairways, creative green designs, imaginative routings, and memorable shot values.. Add a tournament here. Gull Lake View's Cottages are a newer, more upscale (but still affordable) accommodations option. Often overlooked in favor of points north - Traverse City, Harbor Springs, Boyne, Mackinac Island and others - the southwestern part of the state offers its own slate of interesting golf destinations. photo: Ran Morrissett . Tee Times How about beside the 11th tee of one of the resorts six golf courses, wearing overalls and a Michigan State Spartans-logoed green polo shirt, holding a shovel, smoothing freshly-laid cart path asphalt? The stretch in the middle of the course - just after your round of drinks in the Hobbit-hole-esque halfway house - is a funhouse of golf. The 16th at Stoatin Brae is a reachable par 5 with austere but strategically important bunkering affecting every shot. 10 must-visit golf destinations in Midwest | Golfweek 14th hole . Today, the new Stoatin Brae golf course at Gull Lake View in southwest Michigan takes this concept to heart. This is too good of a site to keep for just a select group. There are many handsome holes found at Stoatin Brae. Golf Courses, Kalamazoo, MI A boardroom or executive offices? Because Doak himself was not personally involved in the job, the family saved a considerable sum in design fees while receiving the full attention of not one but four talented architects. COMMONGROUND - 4th HOLE - PAR 4 - 424 YARDS. Info; Leaderboard; Highlights; Tee Times; Course; There are many handsome holes found at Stoatin Brae. 15579 E. Augusta Drive. A number of our regular guests have already visited the course and given us some real positive comments, said Jon Scott of the Scott family, who have owned and operated the Gull Lake View Resort for three generations. Suffice it to say that the place is set up perfectly for budget-conscious buddy trips. Renaissance used it for a course in Montana and it proved to be a great success. Part of Stoatin Brae can now be played as twelve-hole loop, ahead of the courses full opening next year. Stoatin Brae named National Golf Course of the Year - Battle Creek Enquirer There were no big-name golf course architects called in to build the golf courses; no Tom Fazio, no Pete Dye, no Ron Garl. The course plays 6,667 yards from the tips with a course rating of 71.5 and a slope of 122. Several rugged bunkers guard the green.Although the majority of Gull Lake Views guests come from Detroit, Chicago, and Toledo, its not uncommon to meet golfers from Cincinnati, and Wisconsin, and Canada while youre there. Darl used to be the superintendent at nearby Gull Lake Country Club and the couple also owned the Gull Lake Motel. I think that is what elevates his courses over others where an attempt was made to recreate a landscape, Iverson says. Applebrook Golf Club - Layout and Map | Michigan PGA For more information, vist www.gulllakeview.com, TOPICS: Courses and Travel, Golf Tags: Don Iverson, Gull Lake View, Jon Scott, Kalamazoo golf, links golf, Michigan golf, new golf course in Michigan, Renaissance Golf Design, Stoatin Brae, Terry Moore, Tom Doak, A member of the Golf Writers Association of America, Terry Moore was the founding editor of Michigan Golfer for 18 years and is now a regular columnist and travel writer for it and several other golf websites. Across it, they draped a charming, walkable course that reminds not of the great links of the British Isles, but rather a trio of American heartland originals: Sand Hills in Nebraska, Prairie Dunes in Kansas and Erin Hills in Wisconsin. No local tournaments listed for this course. Our intrepid journalists report in from the world's best golf destinations. How do you take humdrum land, and turn it into a memorable golf course without moving millions of yards of earth, and spending tens of millions of dollars? Stoatin Brae - Layout and Map | Course Database More. Website: gulllakeview.com. There are few courses that allow players the experience to play the shots that we played around the course during that round. The new course has been built on the site of a former apple orchard, which has been stripped of trees and replanted with prairie grasses. 6 Reviews #6 of 7 things to do in Augusta Outdoor Activities, Golf Courses 15579 E Augusta Dr, Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort, Augusta, MI 49012-9628 Save H3309QCjohnb 2 Hackers course Review of Stoatin Brae Reviewed May 30, 2022 Exclusive investigative reporting that fights for the truth, exposes corruption and gives voice to the voiceless all across Michigan. Bill Johnson, Gull Lake View's Vice President, has spent more than 30 years working alongside the Scotts. As one of the lead designers for the course, Eric Iverson said the property was love at first sight. In a recent interview with me, Iverson said he was absolutely taken by the property even before I got out of the car. Seeing 150 aces of land with few trees and with gently sloping terrain meant many built-in advantages for designing a golf course. Input Score Designed by Renaissance Golf Design, the Stoatin Brae golf course opened in 2017. Director of Golf Dean Kolstad came to the resort after a professional hockey career and has worked there for 26 years. These links cost you nothing, but earn GolfBlogger a few cents per purchase to help this site continue. 2023. Stoatin Brae - Golf Club Atlas After a brief pause at a halfway house appropriately named The Bunker, because it's built underground into a hillside, the land gets a bit more exciting, a bit choppier. All rights reserved. Learn a new word every day. We need more courses like Stoatin Brae - ones that crank the fun factor up to 11 and remind you of why you started golfing to begin with. A trio of female sports stars share their perspectives on the growth of women's sports thanks to efforts by the USGA and others. The Kingsley Club; Arcadia South; The Loop; The Old Course at Indianwood. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! Learn more about our use of cookies:Cookie Policy, Royal Liverpool (Hoylake): Flat Out Great, 6 Great Public Golf Courses Around Cleveland, How Bobby Jones Won His First U.S. Open a Century Ago, Panther National: Justin Thomas Dishes on Golf Design and His New Course, The Value of Variety in Golf Course Design, Los Angeles Country Club: Ready For Its Close-Up. Upon inspection, a few things were immediately evident. This building has its own putting green out back - perfect for beers and betting. He explained what he was trying to accomplish and forwarded a topography map. But maybe it should be because Augusta, Michigan is home to one of the largest golf resorts in the country: Gull Lake View Golf Resort. Huge greens, large bunkers, and fairways lined with mighty oaks. #2. The soil on the former apple orchard was heavy, the views fairly tame and, save for those undulations from the 10th to the 15th, there was little change in elevation. Golf Advisor senior writer Tim Gavrich recently spent some time in southwestern Michigan. The resorts homegrown ingenuity doesn't stop there. And 5 other takeaways from Day 1 of The Open at Royal Liverpool, 2023 Open Championship field: Heres whos playing at Royal Liverpool, 2023 Genesis Scottish Open: How to watch, TV schedule, streaming, tee times, Meet the new GOLF Top 100 Teachers of America, TaylorMade celebrates history with 2023 British Open gear collection. Stoatin Brae is one my favorite courses in the state. Stoatin Brae - Michigan's New Course from Renaissance Design I would compare it to Arcadia South or The Loop at Forest Dunes in that respect. GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine are published by EB GOLF MEDIA LLC, a division of 8AM GOLF, This major champ is our long-shot pick at Royal Liverpool: 2023 Open Championship odds, A controversial hole? This is where the course most resembles the Kettle Moraine-bound Erin Hills. All rights reserved. Tim Gavrich/Golf Advisor 2 of 9 The par-3 2nd at Stoatin Brae is long, but the gathering slopes around the green make the hole play friendlier than it looks on the scorecard. Stoatin Brae is one my favorite courses in the state. Hence, the course features all of Doaks celebrated minimalist design elements. . It is among the five largest golf resorts in the country. Book Tee Times Look at any top-ranked course - especially one built in the last half-century - and you will see Slopes in the 130s, 140s and, occasionally, 150s. Learn how. Stoatin Brae at Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort Stoatin Brae is a links-style course that floods your eyes with miles-long views. The Scotts sold the motel to get the funds to build their first course, Gull Lake View West, which opened in 1965. but rather the visual impact of the settings. Doak echoes Hurdzan saying getting into top-100 lists isnt necessarily about quality of design. That pivotal decision was reached after Scotts visit to Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Two shortish par 4s (10 and 15) and two shortish par 3s (11 and 14) represent some of the course's best birdie opportunities in spite of the choppier ground, before a three-hole sprint to the clubhouse - two par fives sandwiched around a par 3 - to finish. Stoatin Brae | Courses | Golf Digest