On the Kalamazoo Township website, alongside the parks of Stoud, Rynbrandt, Jenks & Grand Pre, Lakewood, and Academy, you’ll find another piece of land that doesn’t quite fit under the category of “Township Parks” – a unique piece of land nestled in the middle of the Westwood Neighborhood. In the Township of Kalamazoo, you’ll find five parks and one piece of township-owned property that stands apart from the others.

A golf course.

Grand Prairie Golf Course today

If you’re a non-golfer living in the area, chances are that you’ve driven down Grand Prairie Road with little thought as to who owns that golf course located on the 35 acres between Drake and Nichols Road. If you are a golfer and live in the area, perhaps you’ve enjoyed the pristine fairways and greens, or you’ve taken a lesson or two from the two golf pros overseeing the course. Either way, you’ve probably given even less thought about the history of this unique golf course, but there’s an interesting story to how this nine-hole executive golf course came to be and the important role it plays for the neighboring homes.

And how it almost all came crashing down in 1990 due to a 16-year-old.

HAMMOND GOLF CENTER

Hammond Golf Center Architect Rendering from 1962. On display at the GPGC clubhouse

Since 1881, the Hammond Family has been an important and constant force in the Kalamazoo area, erecting a 150,000 square foot manufacturing plant that specializes in metal grinding and printing equipment. Hammond Machinery designs and manufactures a wide range of technical and robotic equipment and applications.

It all started with William Custer (W.C.) Hammond. Starting as a General Manager with the William E. Hill Company in downtown Kalamazoo, W.C. Hammond was the driving force in leading the company to cutting-edge technology before buying the company in 1928 and building the Hammond Machinery plant on Douglas Avenue, where it still stands today, now called Hammond Roto Finish.    

According to the late Jack Moss, a journalist who functioned as the sports editor for many years with the Kalamazoo Gazette, W.C. Hammond was 53 years old when he discovered the game of golf. Thirty years later, at the age of 81, and with the help of local professionals and contractors, and golf architect William James Spear from St. Charles, Illinois, Hammond decided to jump into the business of owning a golf course, an endeavor that he admitted didn’t turn a profit for many years.

Grand Prairie Golf Course Grand Opening Announcement. 1963

While the working title for the course as it was being designed was Hammond Golf Center, it was officially changed to Grand Prairie Golf Club before its grand opening on July 8, 1963. (The name consistently jumps back and forth between that and Grand Prairie Golf Course throughout many articles written at that time.) In a personal note added to the grand opening announcement, Hammond explains in a PS, “If you sense the atmosphere of a private country club, that’s intended and explains the name, GRAND PRAIRIE GOLF CLUB.” The fee for a round of golf on that opening day was one dollar. Today, a round of golf is eleven dollars for an adult, which is still a deal. 

At that time, this par-30 golf course was managed by the husband-and-wife team, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Danforth, both golf pros who also provided lessons at the course. (Writer’s note: It pains me that I cannot find the first name of the wife, where all articles refer to her as “Mrs. Herbert Danforth.”) Twenty-five years later, Grand Prairie celebrated its anniversary in 1981, and at that time, management had changed hands to Bud Mason. Meanwhile, W.C. Hammond had passed away three years earlier, leaving the business and Grand Prairie Golf Course in the hands of his estate.

Hammond Machinery (Now, Hammond Roto Finish) is still family-owned and currently overseen in part by W.C. Hammond’s grandson Rob Hammond, who currently serves as President and Chairman of the company. He admits that while growing up he remained connected to the family business, but his interests didn’t extend to the golf course his grandfather had built just three miles from the family headquarters. With little interest from family members, it was decided to put the course up for sale in 1981. Panic hit the residents living in the vicinity of the golf course as word spread that the land would be purchased by developers looking to change the landscape to a housing development. The people of Westwood acted quickly, campaigning against the move and they rallied to keep the course intact, convincing the Township of Kalamazoo, with help from grants from the state and federal government, to purchase the property.    

And in 1981, with help from a grass-roots effort, the Township of Kalamazoo was the new owner of… a golf course.

GRAND PRAIRIE GOLF COURSE

The course continued to flourish under the ownership of the Township of Kalamazoo until that fateful day on October 10, 1990, when a 16-year-old got into a bit of trouble.

Leaves were beginning to change, and Keith Hertz, a resident of the Westwood Neighborhood and volunteer firefighter was passing time enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table at the Westwood Fire Department on that cool afternoon when the alarms sounded, telling him and his friends at the fire station that their services were needed. As he geared up and jumped into the Ladder Truck, his comrades followed in the fire engine as they made their way to the fire which happened to be just down the road at Grand Prairie Golf Course. By the time they arrived on the scene, they found the golf shop ablaze, with flames shooting out of the broken windows.

Grand Prairie Golf Course Clubhouse fire. 1990

Soon after, as water cascaded onto the rooftop of the shop, Keith stayed close to the hydrant as onlookers in cars crawled by, gawking at the fire, which had now engulfed the entire shop. As Keith attended to his duties, he noticed a teenage boy watching intently as the water hit the fire, resulting in a satisfying sizzle as the flames slowly backed away. Expecting the boy to eventually leave, Keith found it interesting when, instead, the boy continued watching, enthralled with the activity buzzing around him. Curious, Keith approached the Fire Marshall who had arrived on the scene to survey the situation, letting him know that perhaps the boy could help with information on the cause of the fire. With Keith’s suggestion, the Fire Marshall spoke with the boy, and when confronted with his actions, it didn’t take long before the boy confessed that he did have information prevalent to the situation. And yes, he had indeed broken into the clubhouse and started several fires within—fires that could have sparked the beginning of the end for this exceptional golf course owned by Kalamazoo Township.   

Except the people of Westwood were used to challenges and they had other ideas.

While the overall structure of the clubhouse still stood, it was gutted and beyond repair, prompting the township to offer up the building to the Westwood Fire Department as a training exercise. In turn, the firefighters burned the building to the ground, allowing the township to save money on having to demolish the building themselves.

Westwood Fire Department – training session and photo opportunity. 1990

Only days later, the township Board of Trustees met to discuss rebuilding the clubhouse. With an estimated $79,000 insurance settlement, they voted to rebuild. At this point, the township also addressed the fact that they were ill-equipped for managing a golf course and overwhelmed in running the business. At this meeting, they voted to consider moving to external management of the golf course, a vote that was met with a positive response, and the search began for the right team.

With the departure of the current golf pro running the course, the question remained as to how the course would continue after the fire, and who should operate it. It was then that the Township Supervisor Phyllis Cleveland approached Jim Roschek, who was at that time busy running the City of Kalamazoo Municipal Golf Courses. Together with fellow golf pro Heidi Krum, Roschek agreed to take over operations of the course in January of 1991, and the partnership of KRUMRO Inc. was established. Along with this partnership, the clubhouse and Grand Prairie Golf Course found new life.

Grand Prairie Golf Course also continued the unique tradition of having a female head golf pro on the premises.  Having worked with Roschek at Milham Golf Course, Heidi Krum had the distinction of being only the third woman to be elected to the Michigan PGA. With her move to Grand Prairie Golf Course, she served as the head golf pro until her untimely death in 2003 at the age of 41.  

TODAY

PGA Golf Pro Jim Roschek

Today, the course is still run by Jim Roschek, along with his wife Ann Marie, who stepped into the role of Head Golf Pro and Manager in 2003 where she has assisted countless golfers with their swing on the golf range while also managing the business side of the operation. Ann Marie soon took on even greater duties at Grand Prairie in 2007 when Jim was elected to serve as President and CEO of the Municipal Golf Association of San Antonio Texas. After several successful years, Jim returned to his roots in Kalamazoo in 2020 where both husband and wife continue to work as a power couple.

Golf Pro Ann Marie Roschek enjoying a little golf with her grandchildren.

The Roscheks are celebrating 33 years of managing the course. Both Roscheks continue to pour their heart and soul into providing the area with the finest golfing experience on an executive golf course. While the partnership between the township and the Roscheks is unique, the move to external management has benefited the township and the community as the course continues to cater to a wide range of golf enthusiasts and families, from those who are picking up clubs for the first time to the more serious golfer who wants to get in a quick nine. Grand Prairie Golf Course is also the home for the popular GPGC Junior Program, where Ann Marie believes they are growing golfers organically. Many positive online reviews point out the course’s immaculate fairways and greens, reflective of being on par with many of the top-rated courses in the area.

Remember Keith Herst, the firefighter who was there for the course when it needed him most on the fateful day in 1990? Coincidentally, at that time during his tenure of being a volunteer firefighter with the Westwood Fire Department, his day job was overseeing the mechanics at the Kalamazoo Country Club Golf Course. Now, in his retirement years, Herst is anything but idle, currently lending his talents and expertise as the Chief Mechanic & Technician at Grand Prairie Golf Course.    

Grand Prairie Golf Course.

With the Roscheks at the helm, and their partnership with the Township of Kalamazoo continuing today, the residents of Westwood can rest assured that their golf experience at Grand Prairie Golf Course will continue to be fun and exceptional, to be shared with families and friends for years to come.  

Heidi McCrary is the author of the novel, Chasing North Star, available locally and online wherever books are sold. She considers herself lucky to live alongside Grand Prairie Golf Course, where she works during the summer months as she also works on her game, mired in being a hopelessly mediocre golfer.

Heidi McCrary