LinksMag | Golf Courses | The Signature at Treetops


Modern Classics: The Signature at Treetops Lured back to his home state by a ground-floor opportunity, golf Renaissance man Rick Smith has stamped his imprint on Treetops Resort
By John Companiotte Rick Smith is known as one of golf’s leading swing doctors. Turns out, Smith is equally as curious to learn as he is inspired to teach. He acquired a world-class education on golf course design from two of the tops in the business, Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Tom Fazio, whose work at Northern Michigan’s Treetops Resort prefaced Smith’s dazzling Signature course there. Smith got involved with Treetops in 1986 after bumping into Jones, whose Houston Country Club layout was being renovated while Smith was working at nearby River Oaks. Harry Melling, the late Detroit auto executive who developed the four-season resort, asked Smith to become the director of golf. Melling then turned to him for the resort’s next course. Smith found a sprawling tract rife with significant elevation changes and soaring views. “It was the kind of ground that would be dramatic off the tee,” he says. “I asked people coming up from the southern part of the state, ‘What are your favorite holes on the Jones course?’ And they were always the ones that had great views [from the tee].” After studying his favorite courses—Royal County Down, Pine Valley, Merion and Baltusrol among them—Smith opted for the less-is-more, land-dictates-design approach. Not that his minimalist philosophy meant less work: Smith would lead his crew of shapers into the countryside, scouring the land for hours on end, envisioning potential golf holes and detailing his ideas. He ultimately revised the routing a dozen times before settling on one that made best use of the elevation changes. Smith’s diligence paid off with the 1993 debut of the Signature. The visual appeal is dramatic, beginning with the elevated tee on the 467-yard 3rd. The entire hole is displayed before the golfer, with the right side guarded by a pond and the left side bordered by thick stands of hardwoods and pines that seem to extend for miles beyond. Bunkers here, as throughout much of the course, are surrounded by deep fescue, a feature that lends a pleasant Scottish links look but is most un-pleasant to play from. Smith’s goal was to make putting surfaces large enough for the average golfer to find with relative ease, yet still require precise iron approaches in exchange for makeable putts. Other player-friendly characteristics here include generous landing areas in the fairways and, despite the elevation changes, mostly level lies. Still, the par-70, 6,653-yard course carries a hefty 140 Slope Rating. “I think the higher handicapper should have the same thrill the better player enjoys when he flies it 275 yards over a bunker,” says Smith. “So I say, ‘Let’s make it great for everybody.’ I have bunkers 100 yards out from the tee. Somebody will hit it past that bunker and say, ‘That felt good. That was a great drive.’ That’s the fun of the game.”

Modern Classics:
The Signature at Treetops
Lured back to his home state by a ground-floor opportunity, golf Renaissance man Rick Smith has stamped his imprint on Treetops Resort

By John Companiotte

Rick Smith is known as one of golf’s leading swing doctors. Turns out, Smith is equally as curious to learn as he is inspired to teach. He acquired a world-class education on golf course design from two of the tops in the business, Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Tom Fazio, whose work at Northern Michigan’s Treetops Resort prefaced Smith’s dazzling Signature course there.

Smith got involved with Treetops in 1986 after bumping into Jones, whose Houston Country Club layout was being renovated while Smith was working at nearby River Oaks. Harry Melling, the late Detroit auto executive who developed the four-season resort, asked Smith to become the director of golf. Melling then turned to him for the resort’s next course.

Smith found a sprawling tract rife with significant elevation changes and soaring views. “It was the kind of ground that would be dramatic off the tee,” he says. “I asked people coming up from the southern part of the state, ‘What are your favorite holes on the Jones course?’ And they were always the ones that had great views [from the tee].”

After studying his favorite courses—Royal County Down, Pine Valley, Merion and Baltusrol among them—Smith opted for the less-is-more, land-dictates-design approach. Not that his minimalist philosophy meant less work: Smith would lead his crew of shapers into the countryside, scouring the land for hours on end, envisioning potential golf holes and detailing his ideas. He ultimately revised the routing a dozen times before settling on one that made best use of the elevation changes.

Smith’s diligence paid off with the 1993 debut of the Signature. The visual appeal is dramatic, beginning with the elevated tee on the 467-yard 3rd. The entire hole is displayed before the golfer, with the right side guarded by a pond and the left side bordered by thick stands of hardwoods and pines that seem to extend for miles beyond. Bunkers here, as throughout much of the course, are surrounded by deep fescue, a feature that lends a pleasant Scottish links look but is most un-pleasant to play from.

Smith’s goal was to make putting surfaces large enough for the average golfer to find with relative ease, yet still require precise iron approaches in exchange for makeable putts. Other player-friendly characteristics here include generous landing areas in the fairways and, despite the elevation changes, mostly level lies. Still, the par-70, 6,653-yard course carries a hefty 140 Slope Rating.

“I think the higher handicapper should have the same thrill the better player enjoys when he flies it 275 yards over a bunker,” says Smith. “So I say, ‘Let’s make it great for everybody.’ I have bunkers 100 yards out from the tee. Somebody will hit it past that bunker and say, ‘That felt good. That was a great drive.’ That’s the fun of the game.”