TimberStone
by Art McCafferty

TimberStone, the newest treasure out of Jerry Matthews' plethora of excellent golf courses, is located in the western part of the Upper Peninsula adjacent to Pine Mountain Resort.

Susie Fox is the golf professional and teams up with Dave VanAuken who is the new superintendent. Both bring expertise and experience to their jobs. Susie was formerly the golf professional of Pine Mountain's executive nine hole course. A graduate of NMU, she played on the Futures Tour for five years, the highlight being that she qualified for the 1993 US Women's Open at Crooked Stick. Dave VanAuken formerly worked at the Broadmoor in Colorado and Kohler's Blackwolf Run.

TimberStone is 6937 yards from the "Forest" tees and 5060 from the "Stone" tees. The course features an alternative spike program, a "Keep Pace" program to make sure everybody gets in their round on time, four sets of tees, cascading pools of water, glorious scenery from the terrain of Pine Mountain, pristine lakes, and a cart path a portion reminiscent of San Francisco's Lombard Street. The par 3, 17th hole offers a set of seven tees, a view of two states and a 215 yard shot that is guaranteed to leave you puzzled on your club selection.

"I had the opportunity to walk some of the course with Jerry Matthews during the construction stage. I was very impressed with the vision that he brought to this property," said Fox. We have a vertical drop of 310 feet on the course, but Jerry designed in such a way that we only have two holes that play up hill. With our many tee placements, the entire family can play."

TimberStone is scheduled to open the front nine in May and the back nine in July. While it will get its share of Wisconsin and Chicago traffic, TimberStone is only 200 miles from the Mackinac Bridge. Give them a call at 906-776-0111.