THE CLUB
High Pointe Golf Club is the rebirth of legendary golf architect Tom Doak’s first design as a private national golf club in the Summer paradise of Northern Michigan.
While we take our inspiration from some of golf's greatest clubs, we have a simple goal - High Pointe will be the high point of golf.
Great clubs have great members. Our members share a love for the greatest game, a respect for its traditions, and a uniquely high golf IQ.
High Pointe Golf Club is invitation-based. Our selective membership process ensures the need for only one rule – be, at all times, respectful to other members, their guests, our staff and the traditions of the game. We intend to have members bound together by a shared love for the greatest game and a purposeful emphasis on exceptionally high “Golf IQ.”
For more information, please complete our Declaration of Membership Interest Statement.
THE STORY OF THE HIGH POINTE LOGO
Some of the most prestigious logos in golf aren’t great designs, but they convey elite status as they are synonymous with the iconic club they signify. Rooted in history and significance, we aspire to have a logo that becomes as highly regarded as our beloved High Pointe. Tom Doak, who first saw this land in 1986, land which he would transform into the first course he designed has said, “High Pointe was the start of something big, something different.” And so our story unfolds. On a warm morning in early May 2022, my first visit to the property, Tom and I walked High Pointe’s land together, discussing routing options. After walking the original holes, 10-15, we trudged east, eventually reaching the top of a ridge. Unbeknownst to us, as we discussed this location as the clubhouse site, a photo was taken capturing us near a perished object, a tree which stood tall even after its demise. That moment would yield the inspiration for our logo.
High Pointe’s logo has two components. They tell the story of what High Pointe was, and what High Pointe will be. The perished tree pays homage to High Pointe’s first existence, legendary golf course architect Tom Doak’s very first masterpiece. We found it standing guard over “the valley of golf” in the place where our clubhouse will reside, with west facing terraces perfectly positioned to appreciate Northern Michigan’s magnificent sunsets. In preparing to preserve this icon, we discovered it to be a Red Oak, which we loosely translate as Re-Doak. Our tree shall be a reminder of High Pointe’s history and a respectful nod to everything that has come before us.
The other integral part of our logo represents the reincarnation of this sacred land. Shining high above the icon is a uniquely shaped, high-pointed star. A star symbolizes renewal and shines for millions of years. High Pointe will shine bright long beyond our years. Like MacKenzie, Colt, MacDonald, Tillinghast, and Dye; Tom Doak’s creations are spectacular and promise to stand the test of time. Our star is also a reminder of our simple goal - High Pointe will be the high point of golf.
When Tom first began work on High Pointe in the 80’s, he was 26. When we broke ground on its re-birth, he had just turned 62. Tom has come full circle. Our logo often adds a ring which encircles our tree and star, bringing it all together, symbolic of Tom’s return to where it all began. Our club colors are red, white and blue - in honor of the Stars and Stripes and all it represents. We have tremendous respect for those who have served our country, especially those who have fought and died defending our freedom. With this in mind, our member logo is exclusively red, white and blue. May God Bless America.
-Rod Trump, Founder and Chairman
HISTORY
High Pointe Golf Club was the first golf course Tom Doak designed. In 1987, at 26 years old, Tom began construction including shaping all 18 greens himself - something he hasn’t done since. High Pointe opened in 1989 as a daily fee course. Shortly thereafter it enjoyed widespread acclaim- being ranked as high as #79 on GOLF Magazine’s list of Top 100 Courses in the United States.
High Pointe was the first expression of Doak’s brand of minimalism. The characteristics introduced here now span the globe from Pacific Dunes to Tara Iti, Ballyneal to St. Patrick’s Links. Hallmarks of Doak’s style include reliance on the land’s topography to dictate the routing as well as the individual nature and movement of each hole. High Pointe was a masterpiece ahead of its time. Tom loved this place and has called Traverse City home ever since. Unfortunately High Pointe closed after the 2008 season, one of many casualties of an economic slump that hit the golf industry especially hard. A few years later the front nine was bulldozed to make way for a hop farm. Fortunately, much of the back nine has remained untouched, awaiting the return of golf.
A new chapter has begun at the once lost property. The old back nine as well as a new parcel of adjacent land has been acquired. Most importantly, Tom is onboard to restore his original work and create 12 new holes. The reimagined course will fuse the spark of a young genius with the hand of an old master, who now, at 62, boasts seven courses among the world’s top 100 courses.
A second act for the first-born of one of the game’s greatest designers in the town he calls home.
“No golf course architect gets to restore their own work, much less their first design.”
-Tom Doak
Tom Doak has created a reincarnated and reimagined edition of his first solo design. A place where he shaped all eighteen greens himself and has said of his work, "It's Pacific Dunes without the Ocean."
Golf Club Atlas' Ran Morrissett has said of the original holes 10-15, “to this day, perhaps one of the best 6-hole stretches of golf Tom has ever built." And the 13th green has been called, “The single best green built in America in the past sixty years.” These acclaimed holes have all been restored. The new land, in shape and composition, is contiguous to and much like the superb original backside. Nestled against state forestland on two sides, the sandy soil and the gentle tumble of the land are perfect for great golf.
Construction is well underway with half of the fairways and all of the greens seeded and growing. We have made tremendous progress this summer, with Tom being on site much more than a typical course construction project. Our team is made up of some of the best in the world at building golf courses and the final product is no longer speculative. We have built a world class golf course.
