New upon initial glance

Golf course architect Chris Wilczynski, ASGCA, of C.W. Golf Architecture has returned to Forest Lake Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for the club’s first significant golf course renovation in recent years. Wilczynski has been consulting for the club since 2012.

The front entrance of the golf course known as the “Top of Hill” will get a major facelift this fall. The project features a new driving range grass tee with artificial mats, a new 7,500 square feet practice putting green, new tee complex on No. 1 and a newly located green for No. 6, an uphill, demanding par 4. The work at Forest Lake also includes rebuilding and repositioning all fairway and greenside bunkers on Nos. 9-18, which was proposed on Wilczynski’s 2012 master plan to improve aesthetics, functionality and playability.

The Top of Hill plans were designed by Wilczynski and approved by club membership in 2022. MacCurrach Golf Construction of Jacksonville, Florida, was hired to execute the renovation project and Michael Kuhn & Associates is responsible for the irrigation design work. Forest Lake golf course superintendent Ryan Moore will manage the day-to-day project activities. 

“I was contacted by the club in 2021 to develop an updated plan for the Top of Hill, which is essentially the first impression of the club and the entrance to the golf course,” Wilczynski said. “The opportunity to make this footprint more functional by expanding the practice areas, improving the circulation, and enhancing the aesthetics and ‘sense of place’ will give the club a more inviting and elevated feel from the moment you arrive.

“The bunker work at holes 9-18 will also considerably improve the playing experience. We’ve envisioned these enhancements for some time, and we’re excited to finally be breaking ground.”

The Forest Lake course, known for its quaint, rolling layout on 125 acres was originally designed in 1926 by William Diddel, a founding ASGCA member who was elected president of the organization in 1954.

The course will remain open on the back nine for limited play as the bunker improvements evolve. Construction is expected to conclude at the end of November.