Dunes Club

Few courses in the Midwest carry the mystique of Dunes Club. Designed by Tom Doak and opened in 1994, it sits in the dune country of southwestern Michigan just steps from Lake Michigan — a private, invitation-only club that ranks consistently among the top courses in the United States and is broadly considered one of Doak's defining early works. The routing moves through and over sand dunes covered in fescue grasses, with Lake Michigan occasionally visible through the pines, and the natural landforms do the heavy lifting throughout. It plays firm, fast, and unforgiving in the way links-influenced American courses aspire to, rewarding creative shot-making over raw distance.

New Buffalo is the first Michigan town travelers reach after crossing from Indiana or Illinois, making the Dunes Club a kind of gateway to the state's celebrated golf corridor. The surrounding Harbor Country region draws Chicago-area visitors year-round.

For those fortunate enough to receive an invitation, Dunes Club represents one of American golf's most coveted and singular experiences — quiet, unhurried, and rooted entirely in the landscape it inhabits.