High Pointe Golf Club, renowned golf architect Tom Doak’s first 18-hole design, has been sold and will be repurposed as a commercial hops farm.
According to The Traverse Ticker, the 535-acre property owned by the Hayden family in Traverse City, Mich. has sold to MI Local Hops as part of a larger group of investments managed by Local Investments. The company reportedly plans to plant hops on 200 acres this spring.
“Our intent with MI Local Hops is to create a business that supports the economy and the creation of jobs and opportunity in Michigan,” Local Investments principal Keith Stelter told the Traverse Ticker.
Doak’s 1989 design is critically acclaimed, earning a spot on GOLF Magazine’s list of Top 100 Courses in the United States. It officially closed up shop in 2008 amidst the recession.
“My first born turns to alcohol. It’s a pun… my son is fine,” Doak wrote in a post on Golf Club Atlas. “However I just read that the land for High Pointe has been sold to a brewery company to be their hops farm. Drinks are on me!”
Terms of the sale have not been disclosed.