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.”
