Michigan State's Forest Akers Golf Courses
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Forest Akers West Golf Course on the campus of Michigan State University ranks as one of the best collegiate facilities in the country.
The course underwent a $1 million renovation in 1992 by former Spartan golfer Arthur Hills of Arthur Hills and Associates. The renovation included all new bunkers, 18 new tees (from Blue Grass to Bent Grass), new fairway grass (Blue Grass to Rye Grass), seven new greens and an additional 300 yards.
Michigan States head mens golf coach and golf course manager, Ken Horvath, said that the course is something not only MSU should be proud of, but the community as well.
"Forest Akers Golf Course is not only an asset to Michigan State University, but the Lansing area as well," Horvath said. "The West course is the finest championship course in Lansing and the only one over 7,000 yards. With Arthur Hills redesigning, it has become a bigger asset to Michigan State."
Since opening in 1958, Forest Akers has hosted many fine collegiate and amateur tournaments and has come to be known as one of the top championship courses in the Midwest.
"Our goal is to get an NCAA Championship in the not-too-distant future," Horvath said.
Recently the course, event management and MSU personnel all received the highest compliments after hosting the 1994 NCAA Womens Regional, the 1997 Womens Big Ten Championship and the 1998 Big Ten Mens Golf Championship.
The land for the par-72 (36-36) course was donated to Michigan State by alumnus Forest Akers of Detroit, with the provision that the course also serve as an arboretum. Most of Michigans native trees and a wide variety of shrubs are grown throughout the course and are arranged to create a unique setting for the game of golf. Forest Akers may be the only course in the country recognized as an arboretum. Grand Rapids architect W. Bruce Matthews designed the original layout for Forest Akers West Course.
Owned and operated solely by Michigan State University, Forest Akers West and its sister course, Forest Akers East, offer the finest facilities for the avid golfer. The East side boasts the new state-of-the-art Golf Center (see below), mid-Michigans premier practice facility.
Both courses offer full-service golf shops, while the west side also has lockerroom facilities. The courses and the Golf Center are open to MSU students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as the general public.
MSU Practice Center:
The MSU Golf Center, located at Forest Akers East Course, is mid-Michigans premier golf practice facility. The $1.2 million state-of-the-art facility opened in May, 1997, to rave reviews and steady crowds. The center includes a three-acre bentgrass practice tee, a separate teaching tee, practice bunkers, target greens and a 20,000 square foot putting green.
MSUs Golf Center, combined with Forest Akers East and West Courses, offer dynamic and diversified golf instruction for all ability levels. The Center is a great benefit for the Spartan mens and womens golf teams, and serves as a major attraction in recruiting top high school golfers to the MSU program.
"The Golf Center will benefit our recruiting efforts, and should make an immense difference in our short game," MSU womens head coach Stacy Slobodnik said. "The practice bunkers and putting green allow us to structure those aspects of the game into our daily practice schedule on a more consistent basis."
The facility also features color-coded yardage markers indicating the distance from your tee to each of the six target greens on the range. There is also a tee area set aside exclusively for the use of the Spartan mens and womens golf teams.
"No one in the Big Ten, and maybe no school in the country, has a facility like ours now," head mens golf coach and Forest Akers course manager Ken Harvath said. "This is a big asset to the program, and to the community."
