Point O'Woods Golf & Country Club
Designed by Robert Trent Jones
History
The story of Point O’Woods begins in 1958, when a group of Kalamazoo and southwest Michigan businessmen set out to build something the region lacked: a private retreat serious enough to draw national attention, yet rooted firmly in local ownership. They turned to Robert Trent Jones, already the most sought-after architect in America, to give their vision form on a stretch of Benton Charter Township land near the shores of Lake Michigan.
Jones was in the middle of his defining era — the years when he was reshaping championship golf across the country with long, demanding layouts built to test the modern professional. At Point O’Woods, he brought that same ambition to bear, designing a course meant to hold up under tournament scrutiny rather than simply serve as a members’ amenity. The club’s founders understood what they were commissioning: a course built with national competition in mind from its very first routing.
That intention bore out. Point O’Woods went on to host the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship in 1980 and welcomed the Western Amateur multiple times over the decades, cementing its reputation as a proving ground for elite amateur talent. The club has guarded its private character closely since 1958, resisting the kind of public exposure many Jones courses eventually embraced, and in doing so has preserved both its exclusivity and the integrity of the original design.
Playing Notes
Bring your full bag and expect to use most of it — Point O'Woods asks for both length and touch, with tree-lined corridors that put a premium on keeping the ball in play off the tee. The terrain rolls enough to affect stance and lie on approach shots, so practice your uneven-ground swings before you arrive. Greens here tend to run true but firm up as the day warms, meaning morning tee times give you a softer target while afternoon rounds require more calculated landing spots on approach. Wind can be a factor depending on the day and time of year in this part of southwest Michigan, so check conditions and club accordingly, especially on holes that open up away from the tree lines. Walking is possible for those who want it, but carts are readily available and many golfers opt for one given the distances between certain greens and tees. Pack extra balls if you're prone to missing fairways — the rough and surrounding woods are unforgiving to shots that stray too far off line, and course management around trouble spots matters more than trying to overpower any single hole.