years and still doesn’t consider the concept to be all that new. While it might be revolutionary for American golfers, it’s not so much that way in Europe.

Many clubs there play their courses backward once a year just for fun. Others, particularly in Scotland, have been played in reverse during the winter months to spread out the wear and tear on divots. Even storied St. Andrews has been played in reverse.

To develop his reverse course in the United States, Doak needed a basically flat piece of property with few trees and an owner who could think outside the box.

Lew Thompson fit that to a tee.

A little history before we get back to the details of the course.

Thompson, who is in the trucking business in Arkansas, also owns The Bridges — a Jack Nicklaus design in Colorado. His only other venture into golf came in this little town of about 8,000.

The Loop has become the companion course to the well-received Forest Dunes layout, which was designed by Tom Weiskopf and opened in 1998.

Forest Dunes opened as a private club in a gated community. With just six homes available, the original owner opted to sell it to the Michigan Carpenters union Pension Fund in 2002, and Thompson stepped in to purchase the 1,325-acre property in 2011.

The Forest Dunes course was built on just 500 of those acres, so Thompson had plenty of land to consider other options and upgrades. The need for more lodging was immediately evident, and the 14-room Lake AuSable Lodge was added near the Adirondack-style clubhouse.

While Forest Dunes consistently was ranked as one of the very best courses in golf-rich Michigan, having only one layout on the property wasn’t enough to bring in enough visitors.

That’s when Thompson and Doak eventually connected. Thompson wanted something that would stand alone for his second course, something very unlike Forest Dunes. Doak certainly gave it to him.

Thompson and some friends were the first to play The Loop, on June 27, 2016. A member-guest event shortly thereafter served as an informal grand opening for what Forest Dunes is billing as its “Preview Season.”

A more elaborate grand opening is likely in the spring of 2017.

To get a feel for what The Loop is like, it’s first important to know what it doesn’t have.

The Loop is built on 200 acres, less than half that used for the Forest Dunes layout, and water is not a factor anywhere. While there are no lakes, ponds or streams, there are 41 and bunkers and 40 grass bunkers.

The greens are big and undulating; their average size is 6,500 square feet with the biggest at 8,600 and smallest at 5,000. The fairways are generous, and you can play out of most of the rough areas.

Some early players felt there was a big disparity in difficulty between the Black and Red versions. One of my colleagues showed a 20-stroke difference in his scores between the layouts.

That wasn’t evident in my visit. I found the Black to be 3 strokes easier than the Red, even though one round was played on an extraordinarily windy day and the other wasn’t. My partner had an 11-stroke difference but played all 36 holes with the same ball.

Clearly links style, The Loop is triggering other developments at Forest Dunes. Two villas opened in the spring and two more will be available next spring. Ninety-five beds are available for guests now, and that number will increase to 125 in 2017. The addition of a par-3 course also is under consideration.

Well-known instructor Rick Smith opened a teaching facility at Forest Dunes this year and predicted that “it’ll be the most talked about golf destination in the country over the next five to 10 years.”

There’s no arguing that.

• For more golf news, visit lenziehmongolf.com. Len can be contacted by email at lenziehm@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZiehmLen and check out his posts at Facebook.com/lenziehmongolf.