American Dunes Golf Club

Overview: American Dunes Golf Club is a public Jack Nicklaus Signature course in Grand Haven, Michigan, built through sandy coastal terrain near Lake Michigan. The official Nicklaus Design record lists par 72 and 7,213 yards. The course mixes open dunes, native vegetation, wooded corridors and strategically placed bunkers, creating a route that changes scale as it moves across the property. Some holes open into broad sand-and-grass spaces, while others use trees and shaped ground to narrow the visual target. The result is a contemporary course with a clear natural identity and a strong connection between landscape, strategy and the club's military-service mission.

History: American Dunes opened in 2021 after Grand Haven Golf Club was transformed through a project led by Jack Nicklaus in collaboration with Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, founder of Folds of Honor. The redesign retained the sandy character of the site while reshaping the course into a tribute to military service and the families supported by the foundation. Nicklaus Design describes the finished layout as a par-72 course with 30 strategically placed bunkers, rolling fairways and open dunes. The course is therefore both a golf project and a fundraising institution, with its operating mission tied directly to educational scholarships.

Did You Know? American Dunes was built on the site of the former Grand Haven Golf Club, turning an established local course into a new Nicklaus Signature layout. The club's annual profits support Folds of Honor scholarships for families of fallen or disabled military personnel.