WILLIAMSBURG, Mich. – Tom Doak was a newcomer as a solo golf architect when he planted his first flags in the ground near Traverse City at High Pointe Golf Club, which opened in 1989. Now he’s finding help from another industry newcomer in bringing much of the course back from the dead.
Just 26 years old when he built High Pointe, Doak spent 60-plus hours a week shaping the layout that climbed a hill through dense trees. To this day – after dozens of courses built, several of them among the most highly regarded in the world – High Pointe’s greens were the only of his putting surfaces he shaped entirely by himself.
The following decades weren’t kind to High Pointe, which despite having achieved a relatively high level of acclaim was shuttered by its former owners after the 2008 season. It was less a statement on the design and more a sign of troubled financial times and a lack of interest by the owners. Doak had moved on to bigger and better projects, establishing himself as one of the best modern golf architects. But the Michigan resident always maintained a soft spot for his first layout, the front nine of which was converted into a hop farm.
And while High Pointe failed as a daily-fee business, interest in the layout never ceased. Fans of architecture often speculated on a resurrection of Doak’s first course. There were still holes on the ground.
Enter Rod Trump – no relation to the former President, a question asked so frequently that Rod clears things up early in conversation. An investor who has found success largely in tech sectors, Trump wanted to buy a golf course and get into a new business he believes he will love. Aside from working capital, he has provided a seemingly boundless reservoir of enthusiasm after partnering with Doak to revive High Pointe as an elite national private club.
“Anybody that’s a fan of golf architecture who’s heard of this story, becomes instantly captivated by it,” Trump said. “I think Tom has … I don’t want to call it a cult-like following, but people who like Tom, they love Tom. He is exceptionally authentic, and he is who he is.
“I guess we’re all dreamers in a way. The more I got into it, the deeper I went. It has proved to be an even more compelling story than I believed it would be.”