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USA Today
19-05-2025
- USA Today
This Michigan golf course feels like a time warp back to Jurassic era
This Michigan golf course feels like a time warp back to Jurassic era It looks like no terrain you have ever seen before on a golf course — like you've been transported into an Ansel Adams landscape portrait. That's the grounds of Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with Lake Superior shimmering in the distance. The aptly named Greywalls was sculpted out of breathtaking, tumbling land featuring granite walls and outcrops scattered throughout the fairways and greens — it feels straight out of the Jurassic era. It makes for a gnarly one-of-a-kind ride through the wilderness, with stunning views and elevation changes, never-seen-before fairway impediments and numerous holes that would qualify as the signature on most courses. More: Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play 2024: Top 100 U.S. public-access layouts, ranked Greywalls was created by Saginaw native Mike DeVries — who, a few years earlier, completed the acclaimed private Kingsley Club in Grand Traverse County — after Marquette Golf Club saw its original 1929 course, The Heritage, being overrun. DeVries, who earned his Masters in landscape architecture in 1994 from Michigan, has created well-regarded courses in west Michigan, including Pierson's Pilgrim's Run, Grand Rapids' The Mines and Hamilton's Diamond Springs. Greywalls, opened in 2005, continually ranks inside the top 50 public-access courses in America, as judged by Golfweek: It was No. 40 nationally in 2024, and No. 2 in Michigan. How DeVries had the vision to carve out Greywalls from a rugged forest is jaw-dropping, both to the architectural expert and the untrained eye. Right away, you know you're in for something different. The par-5 first hole tees from a high point to boldly sloping turf with rock outcroppings on each side. The par-4 second fairway has severe peaks and valleys as it winds and tumbles to a green site sticking out of the forest. The par-4 fourth features a giant mound of fairway on the left with a small patch of moss and fescue on top of another jutting rock that drops off to a valley of fairway on the right. The green is protected on the left by a giant overgrown rock wall standing a few stories high. The sixth might be the best of them all: a rare uphill par-3. But, boy, is it intimidating, hitting over a rock outcropping with a green sitting on a plateau surrounded by more rock. I'm surely one of thousands to bang it off the rock face guarding the right side of the green. And the par-4 seventh? Don't even get me started on that extreme roller coaster of a fairway with random jagged rocks splattered across it. Just making it through the hole with the same ball you teed off with — and without a sprained ankle — is an accomplishment. The par-4 11th makes you feel like you're on the only golf hole in the world, beautifully framed by bunkers crisscrossing the fairway from every angle with the dense forest behind the green. \Virtually every hole offers something unique, including tightly mown areas around the fast greens, which allow imaginative ways to get the ball rolling toward the cup. It's a design feature not seen enough at most courses. The journey ends on the downhill par-5 18th with a tee shot down a chute framed by more rock outcroppings, with Lake Superior beckoning beyond the horizon. Greywalls has earned even more positive publicity over the past few years from two leaders of new-age golf media platforms. The website Fried Egg Golf spotlighted the course and featured a short video on No. 7 among its "Great Golf Holes" series. "Mike DeVries created one of the most memorable holes in golf simply by letting the jaw-dropping terrain be the star," Fried Egg founder Andy Johnson says in the clip. No Laying Up played its final match of its "Tourist Sauce (Michigan)" series in 2021, showcasing the entire course intertwined with commentary from DeVries. Greywalls is the type of experience where, after you finish the round, you have to take a seat to talk through and digest the nigh-indescribable nature of what you just witnessed. And though you might need a day to recover, you want to get out and play it again to see what kind of breaks you might get the second time around. It is a course every golfer from below the Mackinac Bridge should try to play at least once, and more than worth the half-day drive from southeast Michigan. Marlowe Alter is an assistant sports editor at the Detroit Free Press and a spraying golf aficionado. You can reach him by email: malter@
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Greywalls golf course in Marquette feels like a time warp back to Jurassic era
It looks like no terrain you have ever seen before on a golf course — like you've been transported into an Ansel Adams landscape portrait. That's the grounds of Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with Lake Superior shimmering in the distance. Advertisement The aptly named Greywalls was sculpted out of breathtaking, tumbling land featuring granite walls and outcrops scattered throughout the fairways and greens — it feels straight out of the Jurassic era. It makes for a gnarly one-of-a-kind ride through the wilderness, with stunning views and elevation changes, never-seen-before fairway impediments and numerous holes that would qualify as the signature on most courses. Greywalls was created by Saginaw native Mike DeVries — who a few years earlier completed the acclaimed private Kingsley Club in Grand Traverse County — after Marquette Golf Club saw its original 1929 course, The Heritage, being overrun. DeVries, who earned his Masters in landscape architecture in 1994 from Michigan, has created well-regarded courses in west Michigan, including Pierson's Pilgrim's Run, Grand Rapids' The Mines and Hamilton's Diamond Springs. Advertisement Greywalls, opened in 2005, continually ranks inside the top 50 public-access courses in America, as judged by Golfweek: It was No. 40 nationally in 2024, and No. 2 in Michigan. How DeVries had the vision to carve out Greywalls from a rugged forest is jaw-dropping, both to the architectural expert and the untrained eye. Right away, you know you're in for something different. IN THE LOWER PENINSULA ... Nightmare green at Eagle Crest causes chaos at national championship The par-5 first hole tees from a high point to boldly sloping turf with rock outcroppings on each side. The par-4 second fairway has severe peaks and valleys as it winds and tumbles to a green site sticking out of the forest. A look from the bounding par-4 second fairway to the green at Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Marquette, Michigan near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, June 26, 2024. The par-4 fourth features a giant mound of fairway on the left with a small patch of moss and fescue on top of another jutting rock that drops off to a valley of fairway on the right. The green is protected on the left by a giant overgrown rock wall standing a few stories high. A rock wall closely guards the left side of the par-4 fourth green at Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Marquette, Michigan near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, June 26, 2024. The sixth might be the best of them all: a rare uphill par-3. But, boy, is it intimidating, hitting over a rock outcropping with a green sitting on a plateau surrounded by more rock. I'm surely one of thousands to bang it off the rock face guarding the right side of the green. The famed uphill par-3 sixth hole at Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Marquette, Michigan near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, June 26, 2024. And the par-4 seventh? Don't even get me started on that extreme roller coaster of a fairway with random jagged rocks splattered across it. Just making it through the hole with the same ball you teed off with — and without a sprained ankle — is an accomplishment. The par-4 seventh hole at Greywalls tees off from a high point on top of rock and features a cliff bisecting the middle of the fairway at Marquette Golf Club in Marquette, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula, June 26, 2024. Lake Superior is seen in the distance. The par-4 11th makes you feel like you're on the only golf hole in the world, beautifully framed by bunkers crisscrossing the fairway from every angle with the dense forest behind the green. View from the tee on the par-4 11th hole at Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Marquette, Michigan near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, June 26, 2024. Virtually every hole offers something unique, including tightly mown areas around the fast greens, which allow imaginative ways to get the ball rolling toward the cup. It's a design feature not seen enough at most courses. Advertisement The journey ends on the downhill par-5 18th with a tee shot down a chute framed by more rock outcroppings, with Lake Superior beckoning beyond the horizon. The view from the 18th green looking back up to the fairway at Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club in Marquette, Michigan near Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, June 26, 2024. Greywalls has earned even more positive publicity over the past few years from two leaders of new-age golf media platforms. The website Fried Egg Golf spotlighted the course and featured a short video on No. 7 among its "Great Golf Holes" series. "Mike DeVries created one of the most memorable holes in golf simply by letting the jaw-dropping terrain be the star," Fried Egg founder Andy Johnson says in the clip. No Laying Up played its final match of its "Tourist Sauce (Michigan)" series in 2021 showcasing the entire course intertwined with commentary from DeVries. Greywalls is the type of experience where after you finish the round, you have to take a seat to talk through and digest the nigh-indescribable nature of what you just witnessed. Advertisement TRENDING: 5 public golf courses in Michigan I can't wait to play for first time in 2025 And though you might need a day to recover, you want to get out and play it again to see what kind of breaks you might get the second time around. It is a course every golfer from below the Mackinac Bridge should try to play at least once, and more than worth the half-day drive from southeast Michigan. Marlowe Alter is an assistant sports editor at the Detroit Free Press and a spraying golf aficionado. You can reach him by email: malter@ Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress). Advertisement Stay connected and stay informed. Become a Detroit Free Press subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Greywalls golf course in Michigan's Upper Peninsula lives up to hype
Montreal Gazette
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Drimonis: There's nothing like Montreal in the spring
Montreal's great spring thaw is glorious. I love this city around the clock, and there's no denying summer is when Montreal outdoes itself in sexy razzle-dazzle. But I most love being here for the first signs of spring. I suspect this thrill may be unique to winter cities. Those places that get buried under snow, grey skies and frigid weather for what always feels a little too long. I have lived in spots where seasons seem almost interchangeable. Those folks enjoy spring, too — but not like this. One needs the brutality and symbolic death of winter to be reborn every spring. In Montreal, when April and May come along, it seems we collectively lose our minds a little. We spill out onto balconies and sidewalks to soak up the sun. We have brunch outside still in our coats. Some of us start wearing shorts even before all the snow is melted. I love when those first buds appear on trees, and the hard earth is replaced with that first soft carpet of grass. When the first crocuses, daffodils, tulips and dandelions appear in bright bursts of colour. By the time the magnolia trees start blossoming, I'm practically giddy. I walk around in a happy trance, snapping pictures and close-ups of those thick velvety pink and white petals like I'm Ansel Adams on assignment. I can't get enough of it all. No one describes the city's spring thaw — the primal and sexual awakening — like Montreal's favourite poet. 'In Montreal spring is like an autopsy,' writes Leonard Cohen in Beautiful Losers. 'Everyone wants to see the inside of the frozen mammoth. Girls rip off their sleeves and the flesh is sweet and white, like wood under green bark. From the streets a sexual manifesto rises like an inflating tire, 'the winter has not killed us again!'' Cohen wrote this on the Greek island of Hydra — where he ran away to escape the harshness of Canadian winters. Spring is short in Montreal. It barely lasts a few weeks. Then it's full-blown summer with the heat and humidity that comes along with it. But for those few glorious weeks, everything bursts back to life. The earth smells differently. White trilliums bloom in Angrignon Park and ferns delicately unfurl. The Lachine Canal fills with happy people sunbathing, biking, in-line skating, walking tiny dogs or pushing strollers with chubby babies. Hammocks come out of storage, swaying in the warm wind. Everyone looks deliriously happy to be alive. It's all so quick, spontaneous and ephemeral, making it all the more precious. Neighbourhood terrasses materialize overnight. Suddenly we see neighbours and friends we haven't seen in months. Picnic blankets, bottles of wine and guitars appear like magic in parks. Grills are lit and the unmistakable aroma of charcoal fills the air. People line up for the first ice cream cone of the season. We gather under an open sky to once again celebrate birthdays, weekends or just the joy of living in a city with so many green spaces. There's a childish eagerness to it all. Only people who experience all four seasons get to be giddy like this. People with around-the-year warm weather eventually take it for granted. It's human nature not to value what you don't have to work for. And we have to work for this joy. Every single winter. 'For the next six months, this city shines,' my friend told me as we walked the trails on a beautiful spring day. He was furiously recording chirping birds on his phone app, trying to determine the various species. Six months might be wishful thinking, but like I said, people are intense this time of year. So revel in it. Soak up spring. Love it like only a Montrealer can.
Wall Street Journal
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Botanical Revolutions' Review: To Paint the Lily
Holland's talented 17th-century painters are partly to blame for the madness of Tulipmania: Their delicate depictions of the flowers, compiled in catalogs (or tulpenboeks) and shipped across Europe, inspired some speculators who then drove the prices of rare tulip bulbs to absurd levels. The red-marbled watercolor petals of 'Two Tulips' (above, ca. 1637, by an anonymous artist) might have prompted a Dutchman to drop thousands of guilders on the exotic flowers, enough at that time to buy a mansion. His investment eventually wilted, but interest in such paintings helped the Dutch art market bloom. In 'Botanical Revolutions: How Plants Changed the Course of Art,' Giovanni Aloi offers a rich bouquet of vegetal art, including a 16th-century Aztec manuscript illustrating medical herbs and Ansel Adams's ghostly photograph 'Redwoods, Bull Creek Flat, Northern California' (ca. 1960). Even weeds prove historic, as in Albrecht Dürer's meticulous 1503 watercolor 'The Great Piece of Turf.' Plants have also long provided artmaking material for artists. Some 50,000 years ago, humans crushed red berries and painted water lilies onto cave walls in modern-day Australia. Johannes Vermeer relied on dye from rubia tinctorum to add blush to his subject's cheeks in 'The Girl With a Wine Glass' (ca. 1659). Sixteenth-century Venetian craftsmen mastered a process of stretching woven hemp into paintable canvases, which made art more portable and later enabled the plein-air work of artists such as Claude Monet—who declared his Giverny garden his 'greatest masterpiece.' Mr. Aloi, who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, drops in colorful anecdotes at opportune moments, explaining how tall grasses inspired Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie-style architecture; and how monstera leaves birthed Henri Matisse's cutouts, as in the joyous 'La Gerbe' (1953). The text is occasionally spoiled by dour soliloquies on the West's 'false guise of purity' or life's 'all-pervading sense of meaninglessness'—but no rose is without its thorn.
