Travel Michigan Golf

Gateway - By Jim Heil

Denny Spencer admits the site of Gateway Golf Club initially left him scratching his head. The property, situated just a mile north of Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus, didn't have any of the natural features that golf course architects like to incorporate in their designs. Many of the trees had been removed, and the land was as flat as one could imagine.

With a championship layout becoming the drawing card for a residential development of 600-plus homes, Spencer essentially started with a blank palette when Jerry Matthews' Natural Course Design was hired to create something out of nothing.

"A lot of times what'll happen is when you have a certain budget, you just simply can't move a lot of material around," said Spencer, who is the vice president of Matthews' firm. "On a site like this one, it takes a lot more soil movement and I think a little bit more creativity to try to create features that at least have the appearance of being natural."

Spearheaded by developer Resco Inc., the project was built on some 420 acres of land acquired from a local hospital, initiating a housing boom that Romulus hasn't seen in 30 years. An estimated half million yards of earth was moved to creat fairway contours, green complexes and retention ponds at Gateway. Subtle elevation changes from tee to green help break up the flatness and define target areas. The end result might become one of the urban wonders of the Midwest, considering the scarcity of available land for new golf courses in America's cities. Gateway's front nine is scheduled to open for public play on June 15, with the back nine expected to follow on Aug. 1.

"We were actually mowing nine holes before we closed down for the winter, so we're in great shape for the spring," said Resco's David Hyde. This isn't the first time Resco has teamed up with Matthews. The Lansing architect and Plymouth's Ray Hearn were hired to design Twin Lakes Golf Club in Rochester Hills, which was ranked among the "Top Ten Courses You Can Play" by Golf Magazine in 1997. Like Twin Lakes, the greens at Gateway are getting much of the attention.

"If I were to point out one feature that I think will stand out on this golf course, I think the green sites are quite interesting," said Spencer, a former Senior PGA pro. "We really worked hard at making each one of them a separate character." The greens average in excess of 8,000 square feet. The mounds framing them gently bleed down onto the putting surface, accent the changing contours and help golfers block out distractions surrounding the golf course.

"I really like highly defined targets," Spencer said. "They speak to the golfer that this is what the golf course is demanding of you." Gateway's design had to satisfy the Wayne County drain commissioner, so 13 storm-water retention ponds were built around the course. The ponds release the water into the municipal sewer system periodically so that it isn't overtaxed.

"From our standpoint, they're aesthetically pleasing but they really don't create much of a golf feature," said Spencer, making the exception of an island green on one hole. Gateway has been fortunate to have owners willing to pay for the materials needed to build something special on a flat site, and a contractor (MJC Golf) talented enough to pull it off, Spencer said.

Hyde expects the par-72 course to measure close to 6,700 yards from the back tees and have a slope rating in the low 130s. Ninety-five percent of the homes, ranging from condominiums to single-family dwellings priced from $150,000 to $225,000, will front either a hole or a pond, Hyde added.

Spencer struggled when asked if he has a favorite hole at Gateway. "I like it all--it's like trying to choose between your children," he said. "I think it's going to be a nice, fair, well-defined place to play."

Green fees are expected to run around $50 at peak times and $30 off-season.

Call 734-721-4100.