Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine have named Forest Dunes’ new innovative 18-hole reversible course – The Loop, designed by Tom Doak of Renaissance Golf Design, as the Best New Public Course and the Best New U.S. Course You Can Play, respectively.
The Loop joins Tiger Woods-designed Bluejack National, as the big winner in the private club category in each publication. They both have something in common according to Ron Whitten, Golf Digest’s Architecture Editor: “Fun and playability” and “they represent the trend that many architects are embracing: build for the masses, not the elite players.”
The annual lists and stories regarding the best new courses can be found in the December/January issue of Golf Digest and the January issue of GOLF Magazine.
Doak’s team overcame the northern Michigan weather to complete all 18 holes in a single summer. “I could just drive over from Traverse City in the morning, tinker with two different greens the same day, and still get home to sleep in my own bed,” smiled Doak.
The new 18-holes function as 36. “Without ever posing the sensation of playing the wrong way down a fairway,” according to Whitten and Golf Digest, which rated and recognized the best new course as one 36-hole experience. Golfers play Black-clockwise and Red-counter clockwise. GOLF Magazine also praised the design by comparing it to a hit song with “one heckuva hook.”
The Loop, with its revolutionary reversible design, is a walking only experience featuring the option of professional caddies. The two different layouts alternate directions on a daily basis and allow golfers a unique experience.
