LOCATION: Take I-69 to U.S. 127, south to Lake Lansing Road, east to Chandler 2.5 miles north ADDRESS: 15101 Chandler Road, Bath, MI 48808 YARDAGE: 5,151/7,308; 5 sets of tees ARCHITECT: Chris Lutzke YEAR OPENED: 2003 PHONE: (888) 411-4295 WEB SITE: www.hawkhollow.com

A LOT CAN BE OWED TO IMAGINATION. TAKE DARRYL KESLER, OWNER OF DL KESLER AND SONS CONSTRUCTION IN LANSING. A BUILDER – A maker of things – by trade, he had a vision to create a golfing complex in East Lansing off Chandler Road. I doubt his original dreams ever fathomed what his vision has gifted the golfer.

Today, Hawk Hollow is headquarters to the Michigan PGA, hosts the Michigan PGA Championship, warrants comparison to some of the finest golf complexes in the world, and has earned him a Michigan Golf Course Owners Association Course of the Year honor.

What’s going on? It began in 1996 when Mr. Kesler acquired a piece of property, hired architect Jerry Matthews, and began moving some earth to create the 18-hole Hawk Hollow. It made Golf Digest’s Best New Public Courses upon arrival. Mr. Kesler was just getting started. Hawk Hollow eventually grew to 27 holes and later came The Falcon, a quality, Scottish-style walking nine on the west side of Chandler Rd. And don’t overlook Little Hawk, one of only a handful of authentic, bentgrass, 18-hole putting courses in the world.

Then there was a conversation he and architect Chris Lutzke must have had about the potato farm that now plays home to one of the top five courses in state, where the Championship is played, where Pete Dye said, “I never imagined this.” He was referencing Eagle Eye, a course he co-designed with Lutzke, who, in spite of an 18-year tenure with Dye’s firm, was a rookie on this project.

On comparing Eagle Eye to his designs, Dye added: “Some of mine are pretty bad. This one is good. It’s got a lot of ambience. It has a great look. This course is good enough for a major championship.”

The tees are balanced and fair, from the blacks (6,908 yards) to the blues (6,444) and the whites (5,928). Thirteen holes feature water, adding up to 41 acres of liquid trouble. Mounds shrouded with thick, wispy grasses gobble up shots that are way off line, but wide fairs offer playability.

Frog-haired bunkers give it an added touch. The dueling par-5s, at No. 9 and No. 18, hug a huge pound, each bending slightly in opposite directions.

And lest we forget, the Signature Hole – the island green at No. 17, a legitimate replica to the famous 17th at the TPC of Sawgrass home of The Players Championship.

The entire Kesler golf complex encompasses nearly two square miles, houses 54-holes of golf, the putting course, two stately clubhouses with banquet and conference facilities, three practice sites, and housing choices ranging from single family to condominium living to estate homes.