Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1345880
We at GOLF NOW! Chicago and other members of local and national media were fortunate to get a sneak peek at this spectacular golf course, clubhouse and pro shop in the latter part of last September, along with Sponsors and Donors, and Folds of Honor Recipients and their Families. It was a surreal two-day experience playing this fantastic course, as well as the special opportunity in meeting and talking with Dan Rooney and Jack Nicklaus during the hour- long press conference outside the clubhouse on the golf course. American Dunes is scheduled to open to the public on May 3, 2021. Reservations for tee times started availability as of December 15, 2020. Rates for 18 holes will be $150 during the summer, and $100 in October. Rates for 9 holes will be $100 during the summer, and $75 in October after 3 p.m. (1500 hrs. EST). Active military and veterans will pay $100 for 18 holes during the summer, and $75 in October. Active military and veterans can play 9 holes in the summer after 3 p.m. (1500 hrs. EST) for $75, and 9 holes in October after 3 p.m. (1500 hrs. EST) for $50. For more information and to book your tee time reservations, visit americandunesgolfclub.com or call 616-842-4040. Our heritage, our f reedom, and daily reminders of those who fought for our f reedom will be visible throughout the golf course. For example, at 1300 hours, 1 p.m. every day, the golf course will pause. Taps will be played across the course, and a bell will toll 13 times, in honor of the 13 folds that bring a folded American flag to its shape. "The whole place will really shut down for a couple of minutes," Rooney said. Each hole at American Dunes will celebrate a Folds of Honor recipient and one of Mr. Nicklaus' 18 major championships. According to General Manager, Doug Bell, "Parts of the golf course are so wide open that you will feel like you're at Arcadia Bluffs or Erin Hills in some spots. You can see forever… with golf being played on nine different holes. There are two different features for the course. You leave the clubhouse and you're in a flat, parkland setting—somewhat of a 'soft start' to the course. Then, you get dunes for the next 16 holes. By the time you hit the 4th hole the cameras will come out and the 'wow' factor will set in." On top of the course sits a Squadron bar and a 16-room lodge called, "The Camp At American Dunes" that features 12 staterooms on the upper level and four suites. The Camp is located near the clubhouse patio and firepits are available each evening. "Our restaurant-bar is insane. We've literally replicated a fighter squadron bar," Rooney said. "The drafts of Anheuser-Busch products actually come out of an Aim-9 missile behind the bar, stuff people have never seen in their life. You go to drink a hand-cramping cold Budweiser while sitting in ejection seats."