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Fortune Bay Resort and Casino, Tower, Minnesota Brauer's
Fortune Bay Among Top Ten Best New Places to Play |
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Brauer's Fortune Bay Among Top Ten Best New Places to PlayTOWER, Minn. (Feb. 3, 2005) ‹ No sooner had
Golf Digest named golf course architect Jeffrey D. Brauer's The
Quarry at Giants Ridge the Best New The back-to-back honors are no surprise to Minnesotans, who first experienced a Brauer design when Giants Ridge opened The Legends Course, which was immediately rated by Golf Digest as one of Top Ten Best New Upscale Public Courses in the nation in 1998 and Best Public Course in Minnesota in 1999. When Minnesota's Iron Range Resources Agency (IRRA), which is developing Giants Ridge to turn 2,000 acres of old sand and gravel quarry into productive land, witnessed the success of The Legends Course, it engaged Brauer "to outdo himself" with the Quarry Course. Soon thereafter, the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, who operate Fortune Bay Resort Casino, also brought Brauer on board to weave his magic on their property some 20 miles away from Giants Ridge. Construction was ongoing at both courses at the same time, with The Wilderness lagging a bit behind. While he labored to weave The Quarry through spoils, piles and pits, the challenge was 180 degrees different at The Wilderness. Brauer said he had "some of the prettiest land in Minnesota, fronting on the prettiest lake in Minnesota," Lake Vermilion, at this site. The bow on this present-of-a-property was tens of tons of granite that was blasted to make way for fairways. The granite rock, flashing white in the sunlight, adds an aesthetic edge that, along with Brauer's dynamic design, sets the course apart. Since 1984 Jeffrey D. Brauer and his firm, GolfScapes, have designed more than 48 golf courses, while renovating nearly 100. Several of his courses have merited national recognition, in Golf Digest¹s Best New Course Competition and other magazines. In 2004, The Quarry at Giants Ridge was the winner in the Upscale Public category, and his total renovation and rerouting of Indian Creek's Creeks Course placed 7th among Affordable Public Courses. Several others were rated among the Best New Courses of the Year, including: The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, Iowa, in 2003; The Legends at Giants Ridge in 1998; Canterberry Golf Course in Parker, Colo., in 1997; and Avocet Course at Wild Wing Plantation in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in 1994. Also, Champions Country Club is rated 5th in Texas;
TangleRidge Golf Club is 12th in Texas; and Colbert Hills Golf Club
at Kansas State is the cornerstone golf course for The First Tee
program as well as the first collaboration between the PGA of America
and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Brauer served
as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects during
its 50th anniversary year in 1995-96. << Wadsworth To Work With Brauer On Fortune Bay CourseTOWER, Minn. (August 17, 2001) - Gary Donald, chairman of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, has awarded the bid to construct its 18-hole Jeffrey D. Brauer-designed golf course at Fortune Bay Resort Casino to Wadsworth Golf Construction Co., one of the premier course builders in the world. Brent Wadsworth pioneered the field of golf course construction when he started Wadsworth Golf some 30 years ago. At that time there were no companies specializing in course building. Now, the name Wadsworth is synonymous with the profession. The Fortune Bay project will be a renewed collaboration for Wadsworth and Brauer's Golf Scapes, who have worked together on such highly rated tracks as TangleRidge Golf Club in Grand Prairie, Stallion Mountain Country Club in Las Vegas and the Fox River Executive Course in Sheraton, Ill. "When I was apprenticing in 1977," Brauer said, "we got a job with Wadsworth and they were central to my education. Brauer used the bidding process to balance need for quality and cost-control. "Fortune Bay is going to be a top-notch golf course, but we need to watch the balance sheet, so we kept the bid list short," he said. "That helped us 'value-engineer' the project at the start of the bid to keep the cost lower than otherwise. We let the bidders tell us what their biggest problems were. Then we used their advice to balance the need for quality with that for cost-control. " Wadsworth will work with both Boise Forte Construction, a small earth-moving company owned by the tribe, as well as through the Tribal Employment Rights Office to supply laborers. Fortune Bay officials anticipate construction of the $6.9-million course to get under way by September, to be complete next year and open in 2003. The entire project, including clubhouse, maintenance building, equipment, professional fees and other development costs, will be approximately $10.8 million. Fortune Bay Resort sits on a large peninsula
and contains 1 mile of shoreline along 40-mile-long Lake Vermillion.
The casino has been in operation since 1986. The resort opened in
1996. Encompassed on the grounds are a hotel and conference center,
a marina, an RV park, nature trails, and a cultural heritage center.
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What's In A Name? In the Case of the Wilderness At Fortune Bay, It's More DescriptiveTOWER, Minn. (January 8, 2002) - It's more descriptive and in tune with the character of the site, so Fortune Bay Resort Casino has named its new golf course The Wilderness at Fortune Bay. The course, designed by Jeffrey D. Brauer of Golf Scapes, Inc. of Arlington, Texas, and owned and operated by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, is under construction despite the winter season, pressing hard to open as early as possible. Brauer came up with The Wilderness name during one of his many trips over the property to discover the best routing. "I saw bear, deer, moose, an eagle, and even a timberwolf out there," he said. "The name jumped out at me, and as it turned out, the marketing theme the resort had recently adopted was "We put the wild in wilderness." So it was a natural fit." Meanwhile, a crew from Wadsworth Golf Construction of Plainfield, Ill., is hard at work digging a four-acre irrigation lake and will remain on site until the frost line gets too deep or the snow too high, according to Mike Miller, general superintendent for the builder. The lake, Brauer said, will look like an inlet of adjacent Lake Vermillion, often proclaimed the prettiest lake in Minnesota and which provides dramatic hazard for the 13th hole. The irrigation lake does not actually connect to Lake Vermillion, as Brauer and Bois Forte have committed to collecting and filtering all golf course runoff before it exits the course. But it will not only serve as the irrigation supply but as an integral part of the design of the 12th hole - a par-3 with an island green. Meanwhile, Miller said a major portion of earth has been moved on five holes and some other work done on three more. Wadsworth hopes to bring a full contingent back on site by May 1 and to finish most of the 18-hole course by the fall. "It's already starting to look like a golf course," said Brauer. "I was given the charge of designing a popular, yet challenging course for resort guests, which can be a delicate balance. I felt the natural beauty would be the major draw, of course, but also sought to create rustic and perhaps quirky features that are not likely to be duplicated elsewhere on different topography." Brauer has called the property "some of the prettiest land in Minnesota," with dramatic granite rock outcroppings, and carefully designed long distance vistas of Lake Vermilion and its inlets. Fortune Bay casino has been in operation since 1986. The resort opened in 1996, featuring a hotel and conference center, marina, RV park and nature trails. A 12,000-square-foot cultural heritage center, focusing on the Bois Forte Tribe, opened in 2001. Brauer was engaged to design The Wilderness because he has received acclaim from Minnesota to Texas for his highly ranked public golf courses. "Jeff has proven that he knows how to fit a golf course to the land, especially on a difficult site, which results in affordable construction," said Andy Datko, director of planning at Fortune Bay. "His work at the first course at [nearby] Giants Ridge, also a rocky site, confirmed his ability." "We can't move much of the rock underlying The Wilderness," said Brauer, "so we have to design around it. On at least four holes, there will be two distinct routes for certain shots - over the rocks or around them." Many credit Brauer's Giants Ridge Golf Course with creating a new summer tourism market in Minnesota's Iron Range with quality golf. "According to tourism officials, many thought we could not get golf traffic from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to come here," said Mike Gentile, development director for Minnesota's Iron Range Resource and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). "In fact, over 90 percent of the play at Giant's Ridge comes from 100 miles away. Brauer built an affordable course that sets the new standard for resort quality, and does it for an affordable fee. Our golfers have fun and get great value. "Let's face facts: Very few people will pay more than they have to for an equal or lesser product." Gentile, whose resort is adding a second Brauer-designed course, said he expects the same results at The Wilderness and looks forward to "the synergy all the Brauer courses will create." "It's simple to create a fine public or resort course with the same challenge and beauty as the best private courses," said Brauer, "as long as you think hard work is simple. Fitting a course to the land takes work, lots of it, but pays off in a lower budget, and more affordable golf at any price point." Statistics bear this out, he said. While Giants Ridge sets the standard in Minnesota, not losing play last year when most courses did, this is not unique for Brauer courses. In Myrtle Beach, his Avocet at Wild Wing Plantation ranks in the Top 10 in popularity of the hundred resort courses in that area. His Cowboys Golf Course, which opened last April, has already captured a lion's share of the corporate outing business in Dallas. The cost basis of that "lay-of-the-land" design allows its owners, including Jerry Jones, to add many premium service items, like including food, range balls and lessons in an all-inclusive price. Bois Forte officials are banking on Brauer
spinning his magic here as well. "The Wilderness golf course
is another beautiful addition to our business portfolio. We anticipate
an increase in guest traffic, which will benefit the entire area economy,"
said Gary Donald, chairman of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. << |
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Fortune Bay Golf Course to Proceed TOWER, Minnesota (June 14, 2001) - The Bois Forte Reservation Tribal Council has given its final approval to move forward with construction of a $10.8-million 18-hole championship golf course at Fortune Bay Resort Casino outside Tower. Gary Donald, chairman of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, said the planning for the Jeffrey D. Brauer-designed course began many years ago with the original master plan for Fortune Bay Resort Casino. "This project is another step in our efforts to regain economic self-sufficiency for our people," he said. "This golf course will compliment the resort at Fortune Bay, and allow us to attract visitors from a wider region. Many of those visitors will spend time in northeastern Minnesota, benefitting the Bois Forte Reservation and our neighboring communities and businesses. This golf course will help complete our vision of becoming the premier resort in northeastern Minnesota." Construction is expected to begin later this summer, with the course opening in the summer of 2003 as a daily-fee, public facility. The course will be situated on approximately 250 acres adjacent to Fortune Bay - much of it on a rocky ridge, with views of Lake Vermilion. It will have several sets of tee boxes, allowing players of all skill levels an opportunity for a challenging round of golf. It will be walkable, making it eligible for sanctioned tournament play. Lake Vermilion is considered one of the most scenic lakes in North America, and supports a vibrant and growing tourism economy. Tens of thousands of tourists from throughout the country and the world visit the area each year. This project will compliment and benefit from this strong tourism market. Fortune Bay plans to participate in the "Wild North Golf Alliance," a cooperative marketing organization that includes 12 golf courses in northeastern Minnesota and the Minnesota Office of Tourism. This organization promotes this region as a golfing destination, helping to bring more tourism dollars into the area. Donald indicated that substantial planning went into assuring the golf course is designed and operated in an environmentally friendly manner - for which Brauer, the course architect, is well known. The Band is working with the Army Corp of Engineers on a wetland permit since approximately 14 acres of wetlands will be impacted. Those impacts are addressed through an environmental assessment and wetlands mitigation plan prepared by the Band's environmental specialists. The Band plans to apply for status as an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary System. Only one other course in Minnesota currently has this certification, which requires that the course be designed with environmental considerations receiving high priority, and that it be managed with best management practices (BMPs) to preserve and protect the environment. Brauer, of Arlington, Texas, has designed several award-winning courses around the country, and is best known in Minnesota for his Giants Ridge Golf & Ski Resort in Biwabik. Giants Ridge superintendent Dave Solga won the national Environmental Steward Award for Resorts this spring from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Fortune Bay's course will cost $7.5 million to build. The clubhouse, maintenance building, equipment, professional fees, and other development costs will bring the total project budget to approximately $10.8 million. The Reservation is negotiating a Project Labor Agreement with the local building trades unions to ensure that this project is built using union and tribal labor. The course will be operated as a daily-fee
course, open to the public. Construction is expected to begin later
this summer, with opening in the summer of 2003.
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TOWER, Minn. (December 8, 2000) - Fortune Bay Resort Casino, owned and operated by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, has hired Jeffrey D. Brauer of Golf Scapes, Inc. as the designer for its proposed 18-hole championship golf course here. "We are very excited to hire someone of Mr. Brauer's caliber to design the course at Fortune Bay," said Gary Gotchnik, chairman of the board for Bois Forte Enterprises. "Having Jeffrey as part of our development team confirms our commitment to making this a first-class golf course." Brauer has already earned acclaim and name recognition in Minnesota, turning hundreds of acres of former iron ore mines and sand and gravel quarries into the state's highest-ranked public course at Giants Ridge in nearby Biwabik. When it opened in 1997, Giants Ridge finished 8th in Golf Digest's Best New Upscale Public Course, and it is widely considered Minnesota's most successful resort course. This success led Minnesota's Iron Range Resource and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) to hire the Arlington, Texas-based Brauer to design a second course near Giants Ridge, so he is familiar with the territory. The proposed golf course would be located on land adjacent to the casino, and Brauer predicts that the high drama of his course will correlate with the drama taking place in the casino. "I am emphasizing 'gambling' holes, while giving the golfer a good chance to, in this case, 'beat the designer,' " Brauer said. "This course will have some unique holes, and will definitely be very fun to play." "Fortunately, I have lots to work with - some of the prettiest land in Minnesota, fronting on the prettiest lake in Minnesota, and with dramatic granite rock outcroppings, which I hope to feature in the design," Brauer added. "Also, at least one hole will border on Lake Vermilion and the lake will be visible from several holes." Preliminary planning and conceptual design work is scheduled to be completed this winter. Course construction could begin as early as next summer. Final approval is still needed by the Bois Forte Reservation Tribal Council. Public comment forms mailed to members of the Band show a 3-to-1 favorable response for the project. Fortune Bay Planning Director Andy Datko said the Bois Forte Band intends to accomplish two things with the golf course: add diversity to the resort, making it a family vacation getaway; and expand its amenities for business meetings. Datko said the Tribe hopes to open the course in 2003. The casino has been in operation since 1986. The resort opened in 1996, featuring a hotel and conference center, marina, RV park and nature trails. A 12,000-square-foot cultural heritage center, focusing on the Bois Forte Tribe, is currently under construction, which will open in June 2001. Brauer and Golf Scapes have designed
40 golf courses and remodeled 80. Canterberry Golf Course in Parker,
Colo., and Giants Ridge are rated among the best affordable public
courses in the United States, while his Avocet Course at Wild Wing
Plantation in Myrtle Beach, S.C., was a Golf Digest best new course
winner, Champions Country Club is rated 5th in Nebraska and TangleRidge
Golf Club is 12th in Texas. President of the American Society of Golf
Course Architects during its 50th anniversary year in 1995-96, Brauer
also designed Colbert Hills Golf Club at Kansas State, which opened
in June 2000 as the cornerstone golf course for The First Tee program
as well as the first collaboration between the PGA of America and
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. << |
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Wadsworth to Work with Brauer on Fortune Bay Course TOWER, Minn. (August 17, 2001) - Gary Donald, chairman of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, has awarded the bid to construct its 18-hole Jeffrey D. Brauer-designed golf course at Fortune Bay Resort Casino to Wadsworth Golf Construction Co., one of the premier course builders in the world. Brent Wadsworth pioneered the field of golf course construction when he started Wadsworth Golf some 30 years ago. At that time there were no companies specializing in course building. Now, the name Wadsworth is synonymous with the profession. The Fortune Bay project will be a renewed collaboration for Wadsworth and Brauer's Golf Scapes, who have worked together on such highly rated tracks as TangleRidge Golf Club in Grand Prairie, Stallion Mountain Country Club in Las Vegas and the Fox River Executive Course in Sheraton, Ill. "When I was apprenticing in 1977," Brauer said, "we got a job with Wadsworth and they were central to my education. Brauer used the bidding process to balance need for quality and cost-control. "Fortune Bay is going to be a top-notch golf course, but we need to watch the balance sheet, so we kept the bid list short," he said. "That helped us 'value-engineer' the project at the start of the bid to keep the cost lower than otherwise. We let the bidders tell us what their biggest problems were. Then we used their advice to balance the need for quality with that for cost-control. " Wadsworth will work with both Boise Forte Construction, a small earth-moving company owned by the tribe, as well as through the Tribal Employment Rights Office to supply laborers. Fortune Bay officials anticipate construction of the $6.9-million course to get under way by September, to be complete next year and open in 2003. The entire project, including clubhouse, maintenance building, equipment, professional fees and other development costs, will be approximately $10.8 million. Fortune Bay Resort sits on a large peninsula and contains 1 mile of shoreline along 40-mile-long Lake Vermillion. The casino has been in operation since 1986. The resort opened in 1996. Encompassed on the grounds are a hotel and conference center, a marina, an RV park, nature trails, and a cultural heritage center. << |
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Golf Course News, Development Aug. 2001 Tower, Minn. - The Bois Forte Reservation
Tribal Council has given final approval to move forward with construction
of a $7.5 million, 18-hole championship golf course at Fortune Bay
Resort Casino, located here on the banks of picturesque Lake Vermillion. 'WILD NORTH GOLF ALLIANCE' The course will be situated on approximately
250 acres adjacent to Fortune Bay, much of it on a rocky ridge with
views of Lake Vermillion. It will have several sets of tee boxes,
allowing players of all skill levelsan opportunity for a challengeing
round of golf. It also will be walkable, making it eligible for sanctioned
tournament play. WETLANDS IMPACT Donald, chariman of the tribal group,
said that substantial planning went into assuring the golf course
is designed and operated in an environmentally friendly manner. - A United Publication Fortune Bay in Minnesota: The Bois Forte Reservation Tribal Council has given final approval for construction of a $10.8-million 18-hole golf course at Fortune Bay Resort Casino outside Tower, Minn. Construction on the Jeffrey D. Brauer-designed course is expected to begin later this summer, with the course opening in the summer of 2003 as a daily-fee facility. The course will have several sets of
tee boxes to accommodate players of all skill levels. It will be walkable,
making it eligible for sanctioned tournament play. <<
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