Mike DeVries

No Laying Up, Episode 494: Mike DeVries

In their current season of Tourist Sauce, the team from No Laying Up played multiple courses throughout the state of Michigan including Pilgrim’s Run, Greywalls, Kingsley, and more! Mike got the chance to talk more in depth about his courses and his background in design with Soly.

Listen to the full episode here.

The Best Architect You've (Probably) Never Heard Of

Tony Dear wrote a fantastic article about Mike in the LINKS 2020 Summer issue.

Unless you’re in his home state or halfway around the world, you’ve probably never seen a DeVries design. The 56-year-old Michigander’s best work (so far) is at private clubs that don’t seek publicity. But his last major project—Cape Wickham, which opened five years ago on the shores of King Island, Australia—is the 21st best course on the planet (and rising) according to Golf Digest. Were it in the U.S. or UK, his name would be cropping up in the same conversations as Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, Tom Doak, and Gil Hanse.

It should be. DeVries is that good.

Thanks, Tony!

Read the rest of the article here

LINKS Golf Podcast Episode 55: Mike DeVries

“On this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast, Digital Editor Al Lunsford is joined by internationally acclaimed golf architect Mike DeVries, who is featured in the Summer 2020 issue of LINKS Magazine. DeVries talks about growing up in Michigan and working at Alister MacKenzie’s Crystal Downs, his crown jewel at Cape Wickham in Australia (ranked 21st in Golf Digest’s World Top 100), lessons learned from Tom Doak, and his “boots-on-the-ground” approach to course design.”

Listen here

The long-term effects of COVID-19 on golf in the U.S.

Mike wrote an article for Golf Course Architecture about the effects of COVID-19 on golf in the U.S.

During these most challenging of times, golf in America has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in many ways. Numerous states have forbidden the playing of the game while others have allowed it to continue albeit with restrictions that ensure that social distancing protocols are followed. How will this impact the golf industry and what are the post-pandemic expectations for players and administrators alike?

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Golf's Truly Hidden Gems

Mike shared his favorite “hidden gem” with Links Magazine, Belvedere Golf Club.

Belvedere Golf Club is a William Watson design in Northern Michigan from the mid-1920s. It occupies old rolling farmland and touches on forest in a few spots. The layout features excellent putting contours and wide variety throughout the course, including some wildly undulating surfaces (Nos. 6, 9, 11, 13, 18) as well as subtler greens that are perched on a plateau or hillside (Nos. 4 and 16). There are many outstanding holes and the interest is in the shots required and the recovery shot options when you miscalculate a shot. The charm of the course is evident in the quaintness of a small pro shop and simple clubhouse (members only). The hospitality of the club is genuine and warrants a visit by any golfer who seeks what is good in the game.

Check out the article for more hidden gems.

Southwest Michigan golf: Grand Rapids, Calder and the golf course as interactive sculpture

Tim Gavrich of Golf Advisor wrote a lovely article about Mike’s Grand Rapids area courses.

Golf courses are sculptures we are allowed to interact with. Like plain, mostly decorative sculptures, mediocre golf courses don't hold our attention for very long. But when they are assembled by someone with deeper intent - someone like Calder, like DeVries - they tend to linger a bit in our memories, and make us want to return to experience them again. All three of these golf courses function on that more sophisticated level, such that any golfer with an interest in how an imaginative course can elevate the experience of playing the game would do well to visit Grand Rapids.

Thanks, Tim! Check out the rest of the article for a more in-depth look at Pilgrim’s Run, the Mines, and Diamond Springs.

PRESS RELEASE: Bloomfield Hills Country Club – Course Restoration

Bloomfield Hills Country Club (“BHCC”) of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan has formally committed to the restoration of its golf course. Originally laid out by Harry Colt in 1913, it is the last remaining one in the United States to have been designed by him alone.

A long-term plan has been developed by Mike DeVries of DeVries Designs, Inc. and Frank Pont of Infinite Variety Golf Design (“IVGD”) which will provide the key framework for the delivery of a structured and faithful restoration. This is the first project to be undertaken by this Trans-Atlantic partnership of two of the world’s most renowned golf architects, both of whom are proven experts in the restoration of classic golf courses.

LaBar Golf Renovations will be the on-site contractor working closely with Mike DeVries throughout the project with Frank Pont providing regular insight. Work will commence in 2020.

Bunkering will be restored to an early vintage Colt style and edge margins of the putting surfaces will be reclaimed in order to enhance the topography’s beauty and provide the golfer with more options when undertaking recovery shots around the green. Dan Billette, BHCC’s Golf Course Manager, re-grassed the greens several years ago with Pure Distinction. This process will continue throughout the reclaimed areas. Additionally, the course’s irrigation system will be wholly updated, ensuring that its infrastructure is well positioned to satisfy the club’s needs well into the future.

A redesign of the 3rd and 4th holes will allow a lost and challenging par three to be reinstated. Colt originally designed the 3rd as a long par four and the 4th as a long par three. However, during the Depression, these holes were changed to become a mid-length par four and a short par four respectively. The new 3rd will be a 255-yard downhill par three. The 4th will become a long par four of 440 yards. This combination will restore the balance of holes throughout the routing and provide golfers with more varied shot-making opportunities.

The driving range will be also redeveloped. It will be widened in order to enhance visibility and provide more teeing space. A new practice putting green will integrate with the 1st hole’s teeing ground, providing more room for events and enhancing movement around the recently renovated clubhouse. The porch balcony will provide a dramatic vista across a new joint fairway which will be shared by the par five 1st and 18th holes, rolling away from the clubhouse as a continuous swath of closely mown ground interspersed with bunkers.

BHCC’s Colt course has a very special place in the annals of golf architecture in North America. 2021 will herald it shining anew, its classic features restored, its agronomy improved in preparation for its next century of golf.

About Mike DeVries & DeVries Designs:
Mike apprenticed with golf architect Tom Doak before attending the University of Michigan where he earned his Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. Following a stint as an on-site design coordinator with architect Tom Fazio, he has designed six new courses and consulted to numerous clubs with regard to their course renovations.

DeVries Designs’ restoration projects have included Meadow Club in Fairfax, California (designed by Alister MacKenzie and Robert Hunter in 1927) and Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York (designed by Donald Ross in 1901). Its most noteworthy new design is Cape Wickham Links in Tasmania, Australia, currently ranked #24 in the world by Golf Digest magazine.

About Frank Pont & IVGD:
Having earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, Frank studied golf course architecture at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, where he studied the works of Harry Colt and Tom Simpson. Subsequently, he undertook apprenticeships working with architect David McLay Kidd in Ireland and Hawaii.

IVGD is currently advising seven of the top fifty courses in Golf World magazine’s most recent rankings for Continental Europe. Its Colt restoration projects include Utrecht De Pan (designed by Harry Colt in 1929 and now ranked #2 in Europe) and Royal Hague (designed by Harry Colt and Charles Alison in 1938 and ranked #5). The company has or is currently providing advisory services to 26 clubs with Colt designed courses.

About LaBar Golf :
LaBar Golf is a high-end golf course construction and renovation company based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Founded by Rich LaBar in 2012, the company operates primarily in the Northeast region, and recently expanded nationally for select projects across the United States. The company touts an expert management team with over 100 years combined experience and outstanding labor crews. With an exceptional track record for timeliness, thoroughness, and dedication, LaBar Golf brings an unparalleled level of excellence to every project. Among LaBar Golf's client portfolio are some of the most prestigious golf courses in the country, such as: Winged Foot Golf Club, Merion Golf Club, Shoal Creek, Omaha Country Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Sunningdale Country Club (DeVries Designs) and Siwanoy Country Club (DeVries Designs).  

For more information, please contact:
DeVries Designs (Traverse City): Mike DeVries +1(231) 633 9495, mike@devriesdesigns.com
IVGD (London): Edward Cartwright, +44 7785 227922, edcartwri@gmail.com

Grade “A” Architecture Marquette Golf Club

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“The upper peninsula of Michigan is often not thought of like a golf destination of the highest order but for those intrepid souls opting to venture a visit to the 36-hole complex at Marquette Golf Club is well worth the effort.Most notably, the Greywalls Course is a rollicking golf adventure capturing your attention right from the outset.”

Read the rest of the article.