"I love that country up there. We'd go for two weeks, then three, and then a month. I went up every summer through college."
Tom Watson – Hall of Fame Golfer, who grew up vacationing with his family at nearby Walloon Lake.
Belvedere’s history begins back in 1925, when members of the Charlevoix Summer Resort Association decided their existing social club needed a golf course. The members called on Scotsman Willie Watson, who was working across town as head pro of the Chicago Club.
Watson’s resume included working on such great layouts like Interlachen in Minneapolis, Harding Park, and the Olympic Club in San Francisco, host of the 2012 United States Open. At Belvedere he used five teams of horses and 150 men to build 18 holes through a pair of valley’s dissected by Marion Center Rd. just south of town.
Watson’s layout, at 6,713 yards with fast fescue fairways, isn’t long by modern standards. The greatest examination comes around the greens, which are full of subtle, undulations, ridges and slopes that fall off to chipping areas.
Opened in 1927, the course soon became a respected tournament venue, most notably as a regular host of the Michigan Amateur—39 times in all. Beginning in 1963, Belvedere hosted the Amateur for 26 consecutive years.
In 2003 the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) brought the Amateur back to Belvedere, along with dozens of past champions and finalists. Almost to a man, they recalled the event as their favorite week of the year, thanks to the classic golf course and the charms of "Charlevoix the Beautiful," with its petunia-lined streets and downtown drawbridge, which offers passage from Lake Michigan onto tiny Round Lake and, farther on, 56 miles of shoreline along Lake Charlevoix. The 40th Amateur will return to Belvedere in 2014.
The legendary Chuck Kocsis, one of the greatest amateur golfers in Michigan history and former Ryder Cup member, won the first Michigan Amateur held at Belvedere Golf Club in 1930 at the young age of 17. He went on to win the prestigious event a record five more times (1933, 1934, 1937, 1948, and 1951) and still today holds the course record 64.
Other great champions who have won the event on these historic grounds include Glenn Johnson, five-time champion (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1961). Pete Green won the event four times over a span of four decades (1969, 1979, 1986, and 1996). He is also the oldest winner of the championship at age 55.
Elite players winning multiple championships include Melvin “Bud” Stevens and Steve Maddalena, who both won three times. PGA Tour player Dan Pohl and top Michigan amateur Randy Lewis (2011 United States Mid AM Champion) each took home the trophy two times.
From 1929 - 1934, Belvedere Golf Club also played host to the legends of the game from golf’s golden era as the Great Lakes Open came to northern Michigan. Historic golf figures Walter Hagen and Tommy Armour battled for the championship.
In addition to Hagen and Armour, Belvedere hosted other iconic golf figures such as Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith, Leo Diegel, Denny Shute, Jock Hutchison, and Sam Snead. Sarazen was a huge fan of Belvedere, especially the short challenging 16th hole, which he recommended to many of his golfing friends to come and experience. This included US Open champion and former CBS golf commentator Ken Venturi, who made the venture up to Bevedere in 1990 during the Ameritect Senior Open being played in Traverse City.
One popular frequent summer guest of the historic layout was the legendary Tom Watson, who grew up vacationing with his family at nearby Walloon Lake. “I love that country up there,” says the five-time British Open champion. “We’d go for two weeks, then three and then a month. I went up every summer through college.”
Each summer, Belvedere hosts an event that directly takes golfers back to the golden age of golf. The Hickory Open is a historical event for golf aficionados to experience and play the game with early 20th century golf clubs with wooden shafts and leather-wrapped grips. Golfers participating in the Hickory Open are also encouraged to look the part, with knickers, plus fours, dress shirts and ties straight from the golden era of golf.
Legendary Michigan golf writer Jack Berry put it this way: "Belvedere had a cachet like Pebble Beach, home of the California Amateur. Each June Belvedere was Michigan's golf capital."
This 87-year-old institution is pure northern Michigan history. But to summer residents heading north to escape the heat of Midwestern and Southern locales, along with vacationers, and golfing aficionados who return to the summer golf capital each season, it’s the kind of place that captures the spirit of the game and never lets go.
