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Saint John’s Resort ready to open and unveil The Cardinal golf course facility

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Saint John’s Resort ready to open and unveil The Cardinal golf course facility

The unveiling of the first high-end, newly constructed public 18-hole layout in southeast Michigan in more than 20 years has an opening day set. And it’s nearly here already.

Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth Township announced it will officially open its new golf facilities to the public Saturday, all part of its $50 million renovation of the hotel and resort. It was bought in 2021 by the nonprofit Pulte Family Charitable Foundation.

The highlight is the resort’s new 18-hole “championship” course named The Cardinal, designed by renowned Holland-based architect Ray Hearn. There is also a walking seven-hole, par-3 course affectionately named The Little Cardinal, and an 18-hole Cardinal Putting Course (CPC).

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“It has been over a year in the making, and everything has been meticulously maintained for the past six months,” Stan Witko, executive director of golf for Saint John’s Resort, said Wednesday in a statement. “This new championship golf course, combined with the short course and putting course, creates the perfect golf entertainment venue for golfers of all abilities, golf groups, and families to enjoy together. The facility serves as a foundation for building a passion for the game, offering a welcoming entry point into the world of golf. On top of that, 100 percent of the profits from the resort, including golf, goes to charity.”

Hearn already has numerous acclaimed southeast Michigan golf courses in his design portfolio over 28 years, including Moose Ridge (South Lyon), The Majestic (Hartland) and The Grande (Jackson).

He explained his vision for The Cardinal to the Free Press last August, after converting the facility from an uneven 27-hole layout.

“The land’s incredible,” said Hearn, who learned under World Golf Hall of Fame architect Pete Dye. “For southeast Michigan, the glacier did its job here. The valleys, the drumlin-like hillsides and then you have your flat areas.”

Hearn has followed a more recent common theme in renovation and new construction of golf courses: Instead of instituting thick rough around all greens, he has replaced some areas with short grass to give golfers different shot choices — similar to both Oakland Hills’ recently renovated South Course and Pinehurst, which just finished hosting an epic U.S. Open.

Hearn wants the player who missed the green to have to think: Do I want to chip it, lob it or putt this?

“The more you play at Saint John’s, the more you’ll recognize balls can feed in, and the tiny spines that go on some of the greens,” Hearn said.

The Cardinal has five sets of tees playing from 4,758 yards from the forward tees to 7,002 yards from the back tees on a par-72 layout. There are consecutive par-5s on each nine (Nos. 4-5 and 11-12), rarely seen on golf courses.

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The Cardinal also expects to deliver a unique experience. Golfers will have their names and hometown announced on the first tee — just like on the PGA Tour, but with a bonus comparable to batting for the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park: They’ll have their choice of walk-up music. And pace of play is top of mind, with tee times spaced out.

“This is an elite-level course in terms of how it’s going to be kept, manicured … what we offer is different from other public courses,” Witko told the Free Press last summer. “We aren’t just a high-end public course. We’re a high-end course that is at a really gorgeous resort with a ton of gorgeous space around and the ability to do things that other courses maybe can’t or won’t try out and do. So we’re going to have a unique first-class experience from when you step on the course till when you leave it.”

Cost for nonmembers is $150 for a standard round Monday-Thursday and includes access to the range, and $175 Friday-Sunday. A local resident rate will drop the price to $90 Monday-Thursday and $110 Friday-Sunday. Twilight rates drop pricing, as does a Twilight Club membership.

Resort guests see a price of $100 Monday-Thursday and $125 Friday-Sunday, with range access included.

The Cardinal Club membership is $7,000 for an individual and includes unlimited play on The Cardinal, resort benefits, complimentary range balls and member-only leagues and competitions.

Find more info at saintjohnsresort.com/memberships.

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The Little Cardinal and Cardinal Putting Course

The Little Cardinal’s seven holes across 7½ acres are a fun tribute to famed golf architects, with each hole named after an iconic designer, including Seth Raynor, C.B. Macdonald, Donald Ross and Old Tom Morris. Hearn gives golfers a taste of some of their famous green templates, such as the Alps, Biarritz, Postage Stamp, Punchbowl and Redan.

Yardage ranges from 44 to 112 on holes, and the course will use what it says are “innovative synthetic turf tee boxes with a shock-absorbing rubber foundation replicating natural grass tees” to provide a better forgiving surface for hitting.

The 18-hole CPC, adjacent to Carl’s Golfland along Five Mile Road, is set on two acres around a small pond. Hearn said inspiration was drawn from two famous putting courses: The Himalayas at St. Andrews in Scotland and Thistle Dhu at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

The Shorty Club will allow membership access to both The Little Cardinal and CPC. Nonmembers can play the par-3 course for $20 Monday-Thursday and $25 Friday-Sunday.

The grounds also has a rebranded steakhouse, and will debut a new watering hole named Doyles Irish Pub, a new underground Wine Grotto and new clubhouse.

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