Planning for Grosse Ile’s course began during 1918–19, when Detroit businessman John H. Kelsey advanced funds to commission Donald Ross to design and build a new course on roughly 290 acres at the island’s center. The club’s own historical account records Ross’s engagement and identifies contractor/superintendent William Connellan as general superintendent of construction. Because the low-lying site would not reliably grow turf on its native base, the builders mixed and spread approximately 12,000 cubic yards of cinders with 4,000 yards of sand and 4,000 yards of loam to create a constructed rootzone—work that extended the build into a two-year project. The first nine holes opened in 1920; the second nine followed in 1921, at which point the pre-existing Grosse Ile Country Club merged with the new golf course to form the present club.
From the outset, the course was notable for irrigated fairways; club records describe it as “the third course in the United States to have watered fairways,” and contemporary regional histories repeat the claim. While independent, primary corroboration (e.g., invoices or minutes specifying the irrigation contract) would strengthen this point, the consistent appearance of the claim in club and association sources indicates that comprehensive irrigation was a defining characteristic of the new course.
The original Ross routing remains the basis of play today. A clubhouse fire in 1947 led to rebuilding and a renumbering of holes; to accommodate the new clubhouse setting and property adjustments, the sequence was changed, leaving five holes and the clubhouse north of Bellevue Road and thirteen holes to the south. Sources also note that Ross planned a nine-hole addition west of Meridian Road that was never built, a reminder that the architect’s ambitions for the property extended beyond the current 18.
Unique Design Characteristics
The course occupies gently rolling, largely treeless (in Ross’s day) ground articulated by two shallow valleys running north–south. Ross’s routing repeatedly plays across these swales, using elevation change and valley floors to stage approach shots into pronounced green sites. Modern observers highlight “plateau” greens with fronts that reject timid approaches, particularly at the 9th and 10th, whose fronting grades were later raised to keep up with ball-roll on faster greens. The mid-course valley sequence at the 5th through 7th is often cited: the 5th approaches an elevated target that sheds shots, the 6th is a short hole with a front that collects, and the 7th is a long dogleg playing up and out, demanding placement before a stern approach—three consecutive holes that demonstrate how Ross used small height differences to force precise angles rather than brute length.
South of Bellevue, the 10th occupies a platform above the valley floor—the green’s back-to-front pitch sets up the classic Grosse Ile demand to land approaches on the correct shelf. The 14th is another valley-inflected hole in which positional tee play determines whether the uphill approach can hold. The finisher is distinctive: a long par-3 (commonly listed around 235–241 yards from the back) into a raised target that, in a single swing, summarizes the course’s recurring theme of exacting carries into perched greens.
Greens and surrounds today still present the club’s signature questions—front-to-back tilts, edges that repel, and bunkers sited to guard the optimal angles across valley floors. Although the precise shapes of many bunkers evolved over the twentieth century, recent work has focused on restoring hazards to positions and visuals consistent with the Ross scheme reviewed through historical documentation.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s Michigan portfolio, Grosse Ile is significant as a fully engineered construction on otherwise marginal island soils, a project that demanded manufactured growing media and (unusually for the early 1920s) irrigated fairways. This blend of engineered base and natural valley landforms produced a course whose strategy derives from elevation and green platforms rather than dramatic dunes or ravines—an instructive example of Ross designing interest on modest ground. The club’s role in state and regional competition deepened its profile: it hosted the Western Amateur in 1968 (played at 6,701 yards, par 71) and the Michigan Amateur in 2004, in addition to longstanding club competitions such as its Invitational, inaugurated in 1937 to support course upkeep.
A further historical thread—requiring more archival examination—concerns whether Wilfrid E. Reid contributed “bunkers only” to the Ross design in the early 1920s. Reid’s family website asserts such involvement, and Michigan PGA histories discuss Reid’s association with Connellan on multiple projects in the period. Until dated plans or club minutes confirming a formal appointment surface, any description of Reid’s on-site role at Grosse Ile should be presented as a claim rather than settled fact.
Current Condition / Integrity
The bones of Ross’s routing remain—sources explicitly state that the original path of play survives, even if the order of holes changed after the 1947 clubhouse fire. Over time, greens gained speed and some fronts—most notably at the 9th and 10th—were built up to maintain playable pinnable surfaces, a common mid-century response at classic courses. Recent renovation efforts have emphasized recapturing Ross’s bunker aesthetics and strategic placements: in 2021–22 the club completed a bunker program under the master plan of architect Garrett Wasson in collaboration with Albanese & Lutzke, guided by original Ross drawings held by the club. Reports from that work describe bringing hazards “back to original form” while improving drainage and maintenance profiles.
Tournament yardage has changed with maintenance standards and tee evolution. Contemporary public listings present a back-tee yardage of 6,828 yards, par 71, with multiple tee options; by contrast, the 1968 Western Amateur listed 6,701 yards, par 71. Today’s facility mix includes a clubhouse with dining and social amenities, tennis and swimming, and a caddie program revived in recent years; public directories and tee-time portals also indicate a driving range and practice greens. As with many private clubs, daily-fee information is not published, but the membership category pages confirm the club’s private status.
Citations and Uncertainty
Two items merit explicit caution. First, a number of modern sources repeat that the club’s irrigated fairways made it the “third” such course in the United States; while both club and association sources publish the claim, primary documentation—such as vendor contracts, board minutes, or trade-press reports—would allow a firmer statement. Second, the 2004 Michigan Amateur champion is listed by the Golf Association of Michigan as Jeff Cuzzort; one university news release misstates the first name and spelling. For directory purposes, the state association’s tournament ledger is treated here as authoritative.
Sources & Notes
Grosse Ile G&CC – Club History. “History | Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club.” Details Ross’s engagement, Connellan’s role, soil-capping quantities, irrigation claim, and opening chronology (first nine 1920; second nine 1921; merger).
Top100GolfCourses – Grosse Ile profile (Sean Arble). Notes the two north–south valleys; plateau greens; raised fronts at 9 and 10; original routing retained; 1947 fire prompting renumbering; land sale west of Meridian; unbuilt Ross nine; hole-specific character (5–7, 10, 14) and long par-3 18th. Also conveys present clubhouse/holes split by Bellevue Road.
Western Golf Association – Western Amateur Record Book. Confirms the 1968 Western Amateur at Grosse Ile (course listed at 6,701 yards, par 71).
Golf Association of Michigan – Feature and Tournament Ledger. Article summarizing Grosse Ile’s history and tournament hosting; official “Tournament History” page listing Jeff Cuzzort as 2004 Michigan Amateur champion at Grosse Ile.
Grosse Ile G&CC – Caddie Program pages. Documents active caddie program and Evans Scholars affiliation, with recent revitalization note.
Wasson Golf – Project page. Describes a Master Plan prepared for Grosse Ile, study of original Ross drawings, and completion of a bunker renovation in 2022 with Albanese & Lutzke, aimed at returning hazards to original form. (Designer’s site; corroborates restoration scope but not a full plan set.)
Michigan PGA Centennial / Reid family site. Context for Wilfrid E. Reid’s Michigan work and an unverified claim that Reid designed “bunkers only” for the Ross course at Grosse Ile. Treated as a claim pending primary confirmation (dated drawings, invoices, or board minutes).