Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor has officially celebrated the opening of its new Wee Course, a roughly five-acre golf course for beginners that anyone can now use.
Supporters of the Wee Course project gathered at the attraction on Graham Avenue Monday to hold the ribbon cutting with golf great and Wee Course designer Colin Montgomerie on hand.
The Wee Course was the brainchild of retired Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig, who looked at small golf courses designed for beginners in Europe and thought one should be offered locally. He reached out to PGA Champion Montgomerie about making the idea a reality.
Montgomerie said at Monday’s event that the Wee Course is about giving everyone, especially fledgling golfers, a chance to learn the game.
“Who knows where the next Tiger Woods is from? Or Rory McIlroy, or Scottie ut without opportunity, those people aren’t found,” Montgomerie said.
Montgomerie also praised the quality of the Wee Course, noting its holes were built according to the same specifications as the main Harbor Shores course, only smaller.
Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Managing Director Chris Cook told us it’s been fun to see the Wee Course come together.
“What’s really fun, though, is when we see parents and children and grandparents and children and golfers of all ages out here enjoying it,” Cook said.
Whirlpool Foundation President Pam Klyn told us from the beginning, backers of the Wee Course wanted it to be about kids and families, and that’s what they’ve been seeing.
“I think one of the most important things is for people to understand this is open to the public, so please come and enjoy,” Klyn said. “It’s open during the day, it’s open in the evening. Come relax by the fire pits, let your kids putt, go out and play on the short course. It’s a ton of fun for everyone.”
Klyn stressed it took the support of individual donors and corporate sponsors to make the Wee Course possible.
Montgomerie spent Monday at Harbor Shores, playing the course, walking it with guests and media, and playing alongside local youngsters from the area’s PGA Junior League and First Tee Benton Harbor programs. He aced the third and the fifth holes as he walked with the media, talking about his vision and the ideas he incorporated into the course’s design.
“It was rather strange,” Montgomerie said. “We walked the first couple of holes and decided to hit a few shots. I grabbed one of Mr. Fettig’s clubs –a chipper — and figured I’d give it a try from about 60 yards. Somehow it found the hole. Then, incredibly, I did it again on the very next hole we played. Two hole-in-ones in the same day. It’s just unbelievable. When I arrived, there had been 51 aces recorded on this course. Now there are 53.”
Harbor Shores says the Wee Course is open to the public and is the latest addition to its growing collection of golf experiences. It says the five-acre, nine-hole pitch-and-putt course encourages fun and imagination for players of all levels while remaining approachable for beginners, all in a relaxed environment that can be completed in under an hour.
