One of the top private golf clubs in Michigan is growing.
Kingsley Club, located just south of Traverse City, is building a second 18-hole championship golf course and a new clubhouse, club officials announced Wednesday. The plans have long been rumored and are now official.
The new 18-hole course, to be designed by Bill Coore and World Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw, is scheduled to open in late 2028 or early 2029. The course will be the first Michigan course in Crenshaw’s vast portfolio.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a very special course in a region renowned for superb golf,” said David McDonald, president of Fort Worth, Texas-based Escalante Golf, which owns Kingsley Club. “With this land and Bill and Ben’s expertise, we believe Kingsley Club will soon offer one of the game’s most fun and architecturally compelling 36-hole golf experiences.”
Kingsley Club opened its original 18-hole course, designed by renowned architect Mike DeVries, in 2001, and has been considered one of Michigan’s golf gems, landing on one rankings list after another. But unlike many private clubs, Kingsley long has prided itself as a minimalist golf destination — it has a modest clubhouse (a retrofitted construction trailer), it’s located on a dirt road, and there are no tee times, only approximate starting times. There’s even complimentary Jameson hidden on the 18th tee box.
There’s nothing modest about the imminent expansion, however. This is a $40 million project that included the purchase of 520 acres, where the new course will sit, due southeast of the current course. Tree-clearing began earlier this year, as Coore and Crenshaw plan a par-72 course that will stretch as long as 7,200 yards.
Ground has also been broken on a new clubhouse, which will feature 4,000 square feet of indoor space and 850 square feet of covered patio space, and is scheduled to open in spring 2027.
“This project is about evolution, not change,” Justin Mack, Kingsley Club general manager, said in a statement. “We’re committed to honoring what has always made Kingsley unique while thoughtfully investing in its future.”
Kingsley Club, with its limited (and undisclosed) membership, was founded by Ed Walker and the late Art Preston, friends and colleagues who had done oil and gas projects together for decades before turning their attention to the golf business. Escalante purchased Kingsley Club in 2022; the company owns and operates more than two dozen courses in the United States.
Kingsley Club is the No. 3-ranked private golf course in Michigan, according to the 2026 rankings released this week by Golfweek, behind Crystal Downs (No. 1) and Oakland Hills South (No. 2).
The Kingsley Club expansion is the latest sign of strength for Michigan’s booming golf industry, and follows last year’s announcement that Forest Dunes in Roscommon is building a private course, Skyfall, set to open in 2028.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: One of Michigan’s top golf clubs is building second course, clubhouse
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
