U-M Hires Bloomfield Hills Firm to Promote Celebration of Golf Courses

(ANN ARBOR, Mich.) - With Radrick Farms Golf Course marking its 50th anniversary this season, the University of Michigan has retained Resort & Golf Marketing (R&GM) of Bloomfield Hills to publicize the celebratory events as well as the storied history of that championship layout.

Dave Richards, the principal of R&GM, has been a fixture in the state’s golf industry, promoting and advising resorts, golf clubs and developers for the past 30 years. Respected for its marketing and brand positioning initiatives, R&GM has been involved in more than 150 golf course projects, many of them from conception to grand opening.

“With his experience with the media, and his personal relationships with major figures in golf in the state and around the country, Dave brings a unique perspective to our efforts to celebrate this remarkable milestone for our golf course,” said Corbin Todd, Director of University of Michigan Golf Courses. “His relationships with key players in the history of golf in the state of Michigan and his experience working with golf course architects made it only natural that we reached out to Dave for assistance.”

Richards said as a diehard Wolverine football fan, working with the university’s golf program is a unique and distinct pleasure.

“There is a lot of history of the development of modern golf tied into the story of Radrick Farms that has never been told,” Richards said.  “You start with Pete Dye who designed the course 50 years ago. It was the first 18-hole course Pete did before he went on to become one of the most influential golf architects of all-time, with 100 courses in the U.S. and around the world.”

Richards pointed out that Dye’s influence on golf was not limited to creating a vast number of courses that rank in "Golf Digest's" Top 100 in the world. Dye also spawned world-class architects, like former associates Tom Doak, Bill Coore, Bill Newcomb and his sons, Perry and P.B. Dye. Many greats got their start working for Pete over the years.

Some of Richards' work for the University will also involve publicizing the restoration of the University of Michigan Golf Course, designed by another legendary architect, Alister MacKenzie. Like Dye, though generations earlier, MacKenzie’s designs are among the most famous in the world, including Augusta National in Georgia, Crystal Downs in Frankfort, Michigan, and the West course at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

Mike DeVries, who previously completed a master plan and restoration of the Meadow Club, MacKenzie’s first 18 holes in the U.S., has created a master plan for a restoration of the historic U-M Golf Course. This work is on-going and keeps true to the MacKenzie design and provides continuous improvement for today's golfer.