American Dunes - The church that Jack built

jaz29 · August 15, 2023

For any of you that love golf as I do and/or if you are patriotic, you will love American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. American Dunes, Formerly the Grand Haven CC, was redesigned by Jack Nicklaus to memorialize the birthplace of the Folds of Honor. It is referred to as the "Church that Jack Built". Their mission is to raise awareness and funding for families of our fallen and disabled veterans.

The Experience: After dropping off your bag at the bag drop and park your vehicle, you walk through the Memorial. They purposely made this the only way to enter/exit the golf course so that all understand the true meaning of American Dunes. This Memorial has a great quote from Jack Nicklaus at its entrance and then you walk through a memorial, which honors fallen members of our military during their service of our country.

Once you walk through the memorial, you enter the back patio of the CAVU Fighter Squadron Bar and then you can start to take in the golf course. When entering the CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited) bar, you will visually see how this is a fighter pilot hangout. The bar has photos and items from a number of military aircraft.https://americandunesgolfclub.com/cavu-bar/#

We walked through the CAVU bar to the pro shop to pay for our round. My wife, son and I played. The cost was $185 per adult and $105 for a teenager. After paying for our round, we were given an American Dunes Challenge coin, which is a nice keepsake. https://www.aviatorgear.com/v-43-history-of-the-challenge-coin.aspx

You were now paired up with your clubs that were already waiting on you (Red, White or Blue)cart. We were met again by an attendant that explained the well equipped carts' features. These included, blue tooth speaker system, Navigation, ball and club cleaner, cooler and sand for divots. There is a full driving range and two large practice putting greens to prepare for the round.

As we pulled up to the tee box, we were again greeted and thanked for us playing there. He explained the unique things about the course. There are single colored folded flag markers, showing the tee locations. You were allowed 2 club lengths (no closer to the hole) from the single tee marker. Each hole also had a 2 plaques as you pulled up to the tee box area. 1 sharing the story of a Folds of Honor recipient and another sharing 1 of Jack Nicklaus' 18 Majors. The course has 2 types of sand areas that were explained by the starter. Traditional sand bunkers were marked clearly with a blue stake. These are to be played per the USGA rules of golf. They also had unmanaged sand areas, which we were told to lift, rake and place before hitting our shot. He also gave each of us a nickel and were told to hold onto it for one of their traditions (keep reading).

There are multiple tee boxes. Jet (7213 yards), Valor (6701), Freedom (6131), Honor (5573) and Bear (4772). The back tee areas were closed as to prepare for a NCAA tournament being hosted by Michigan State (Being shown on the Golf Channel) Labor Day weekend. As you drove through the course, it is very typical of the west side of Michigan with its sandy texture. It looks similar to Pinehurst Resort in NC. My son and I played the Freedom tees, which as an 11 handicap, kept my driver in the bag most of the day. The course is extremely manicured in all areas. Sand and heather occupies all rough areas. There was very little "rough" bordering the fairways before getting into the native grasses and sand. There was water on a few holes, but you could easily play around it. My son is a high handicapper, but had no trouble finding his balls that were hit in other areas. My wife (high handicapper) played the Bear tees (red) and found the course very enjoyable. As you drove through the course, there were a few times, that a story was told by a Folds of honor family or Jack himself about a veteran via the GPS screen. Lunch could be ordered via the screen and made ready for you at the turn. We made it a point to read all of the tee plaques to honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. We also enjoyed the details about each of Jack Nicklaus's Majors. There was a shack at the far end of the course, where flyboys and girls could use the restroom, get ice and water during your round. As you approached the 18 tee box, you see a large white cross and learn why we were given the nickel. You are asked to throw a nickel in the grass, tradition at the gravesite of fallen fighter pilots.

Some key things to note prior to making your tee times, Reveille is played each morning at 0700, Taps are played at 1300 in remembrance of those that have fallen, Retreat is at 17:30.

We made a last minute tee time, so we were unable to experience any of that, which I could tell would be very special. Every staff member was amazing and gracious for our attendance

https://americandunesgolfclub.com/#