PHOTOS: Forest Dunes’ new 10-hole course is short and sweet

Forest Dunes, located in Roscommon, Mich., and one of GOLF’s Top 100 Resorts in North America, is ready to debut another attraction to its already loaded lineup: a 10-hole short course.

On August 1st, the 1,135-yard Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns-designed Short Course, which was built and grassed in just 81 days. will welcome its first guests. The course is intended to be unintimidating, and entertain players of all ages, with short, strategic holes ranging from 65 to 150 yards in length.

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So how to you make a course interesting and fun when length is limited? You get creative on the greens. The Short Course’s greens are specifically designed to funnel balls toward hole locations, making hole-in-ones a greater possibility. Slopes and banks are also employed to encourage a ground game, as opposed to requiring every ball to fly in the air. Some greens even resemble catcher’s mitts or tabletops.

Flip-flops and eightsomes will be welcome, and adding to the fun-factor is the fact that holes 1 and 10 are visible from the pavilion, Forest Dunes’ self-described social hub. Think lively music, drinks, and an opportunity to showcase your skills to an ever-present gallery.

“When you come to Forest Dunes, we want you to have a good time,” Forest Dunes owner Lew Thompson said in a press release. And with such a strong and diverse course offering on hand (the Short Course joins existing layouts Forest Dunes, designed by Tom Weiskopf, reversible Tom Doak layout The Loop, and the 18-hole, two-acre Hilltop Putting Course), it sounds like mission accomplished.