Jack Nicklaus’ renovation of the former Grand Haven Golf Club in Michigan is nearly complete and the property will soon reopen as American Dunes Golf Club near the eastern shores of Lake Michigan.
All profits from the course will be donated to Folds of Honor, a foundation started by U.S. Air Force Reserves Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney, who still flies F-16 fighter planes and who is the driving force behind American Dunes, In 2019, the foundation awarded approximately $22 million in educational scholarships to more than 4,500 students.
Construction on American Dunes began in March 2019 after Grand Haven closed in 2018. Nicklaus has completed the total renovation of the formerly tight and treelined course, and the new course offers wide fairways with what is described as an historic look and feel. The new course is a par 72 playing up to 7,213 yards.
“Nobody will be disappointed when they come play this course. … But what they’re going to tell their friends about is not simply the golf story,” Rooney told Golfweek. “It’s the experience we created at American Dunes that is unlike anything else in the world. I always go back to the term reverent, and it’s so reverent.”