Construction of a new nine-hole golf course, designed by Paul Albanese, is nearing completion at Island Resort & Casino in Harris, Michigan.

Albanese has already designed two layouts for the resort: Sweetgrass in 2009 and Sage Run in 2019. The new Cedar course (Kishke in Potawatomi) is being built on land adjacent to the front nine of Sage Run and will play around 3,600 yards. For Cedar’s holes, Albanese has been inspired by the Golden Age of golf course architecture.

“The land at Sweetgrass was pretty flat, and at Sage Run, it was quite bold with a large and steep drumlin running through it,” said Albanese. “This land for Cedar is truly a combination of both; gently rolling with some very nice landforms. We often call Sweetgrass a white wine and Sage Run a red – so I guess Cedar would be a rosé.”

The architect has routed holes around a ridge on the western side of the site. That ridge defines the strategy of the first, fourth and ninth holes, with its elevated position providing long-range views across the property.

Construction of the new nine-hole Cedar course is under way (Photo: Albanese & Lutzke)

“The second hole has a Cardinal bunker – inspired by hole three at Prestwick – as a focal point,” said Albanese. “With the bunker being so long, golfers of various abilities will have to ‘deal’ with different sections of the Cardinal.

“At the fifth, we utilised the Eden concept, from hole eleven on the Old course at St Andrews, as our inspiration. The lower handicappers will be able to get to the green with a long iron or hybrid while the mid-to-high handicap players, who may not be able to hit the ball as long, will be able to hit to the right of the green and use a ‘ramp’ we created to funnel balls to the putting surface.

“On the sixth, we have a version of Alister MacKenzie’s Boomerang green that bends around a bunkered hill, à la the seventh at Crystal Downs. Top players may actually chip off the lower or higher sections of the green to get to the others side, while the rest will be putting and making use of the bank turn that allows putts to flow from one section to the other.”

Albanese’s decision to incorporate many Golden Age features in his Cedar course was to provide people in this area of Michigan the opportunity to play designs they may not get a chance to. These Golden Age concepts include Levan, Short, Bottle, Church Pews, Punchbowl and a Juniper green as found on the sixth at Augusta.

The grow-in of Cedar will start in September with the course expected to open in early 2026.

Paul Albanese’s plan for The Respite, a multi-green complex where players can practice par-three and approach shots (Image: Albanese & Lutzke)

The architect has also designed The Respite, a multi-green complex located in an area between Cedar’s ninth hole and Sage Run’s first and second holes. This complex will offer players the opportunity to practice par-three and approach shots in various directions.