Waterfront Golf Community Continues to Bring Transformative Growth to Region
BENTON HARBOR, MI – Harbor Shores Resort, Southwest Michigan’s premier golf destination and the catalyst for a dramatic community-wide transformation, has selected national golf agency Kevin Frisch PR to manage its golf public relations.
Kevin Frisch PR will develop and implement media and marketing strategies to promote the Harbor Shores Golf Club’s celebrated Jack Nicklaus Signature design (every-other-year host of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship) and the stylish 92-room Inn at Harbor Shores which overlooks the St. Joseph River. The agency will also share the story of the revitalizing financial and cultural impact this 550-acre resort and residential development is having along the shores of Lake Michigan in Benton Harbor.
The opening of Harbor Shores Golf Club in 2010 signaled a monumental turning point in Benton Harbor’s history. The 6,852-yard, par-71 championship golf course is the centerpiece of a $500 million development on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Paw Paw River that was designed to help resurrect a community once reliant on a disappearing manufacturing-based economy. The city’s ensuing transformation into a desirable residential, tourism, recreational, arts and business destination has been nothing short of miraculous and inspirational. Today, Harbor Shores is one of the region’s best places to live, work and play. The resort development brings jobs, pride and a discerning class of travelers to its thriving, lifestyle-focused community.
“Through a culmination of like-minded individuals and the benevolence of locally-based Whirlpool Corporation, Harbor Shores has developed into one of Midwest’s most attractive and vibrant resort communities with a world-class golf vacation experience,” says Joshua Doxtator, general manager. “Kevin Frisch PR has helped bring business and acclaim to some of the finest golf properties in the country and we’re proud to have them share our story and help a larger audience discover Harbor Shores.”
When a golf course has hosted a major, visitors arrive on the first tee with elevated expectations. The inspired layout at Harbor Shores, built improbably on a site that housed abandoned auto parts factories and a massive dump site, delivers beauty, challenge and strategy at every turn. The course, which Jack Nicklaus has tabbed as one of his 18 favorite designs of all time, runs over four remarkably diverse terrains in a spectacular topographical setting. The beginning holes, 1-6, are in the Inland terrain. Holes 7, 8, and 9 wind along a dramatic exposed dunes-scape with awe-inspiring views of Lake Michigan. Holes 10 through 13 play through woodlands terrain and wind through rolling hills, ravines and a hardwood forest. The finishing holes, 14 through 18, border the Paw Paw River, Ox Creek and its wetlands. It’s like playing through the best terrains Michigan golf has to offer, all in one round.
“Harbor Shores has had an amazing first decade, but I think it’s clear the development and Benton Harbor’s greatest days are ahead,” says Kevin Frisch, owner of Kevin Frisch PR. “Having grown up just north of this region along the lake, I have a deep appreciation for what Harbor Shores’ success means to the surrounding community as well as what a first-class golf destination it’s become. I’m excited to be a part of this community’s next chapter.”
Harbor Shores Golf Club is also home to the Grille at Harbor Shores, a world-class practice facility and academy and the First Tee of Benton Harbor headquarters, which serves more than 1,000 area junior golfers.
Harbor Shores Golf Club has hosted the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 and will host the event in 2020, 2022 and 2024. In 2020, Ken Tanigawa will be defending his title at Harbor Shores, having claimed a one-shot victory over Scott McCarron earlier this year. Past KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship winners at Harbor Shores include Roger Chapman, Colin Montgomerie, Rocco Mediate and Paul Broadhurst.
The Inn at Harbor Shores, a 92-room luxury hotel on the St. Joseph River, features 14 luxury suites, two top-floor condominiums and a rooftop meeting space. A selection of dining options (including Plank’s Tavern on the Water, Torch & Tapas and Rise & Vine), a full-service spa, indoor and outdoor pools, fitness center, state-of-the-art meeting rooms and wedding venues for up to 300 guests. Next to the Inn, guests and locals may enjoy a 100-slip deep-water marina that can accommodate boats up to 90 feet long.
Real estate is flourishing within Harbor Shores. With five breathtaking beaches, towering dunes and panoramic views of Lake Michigan, Harbor Shores stands apart among residential communities and showcases a half dozen enclaves with unique floorplans and lifestyle-driven amenities.
Harbor Shores Resort sits just 90 minutes east of Chicago, three hours west of Detroit and three hours north of Indianapolis, making it a convenient weekend getaway destination and an ideal location for team building events, weddings and more.
About Harbor Shores Resort Harbor Shores Resort is a $500 million golf and resort destination in Southwest Michigan, created to spur economic investment in the area, and is one of Lake Michigan’s premier beach, golf and waterfront community, just 90 minutes east of Chicago in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan. After decades of decay, Benton Harbor transformed an abandoned, contaminated 570-acre industrial corridor into Harbor Shores. The project, spurred by financial assistance from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, included creating trails and public access to Lake Michigan for tourists and local residents. The property is now a beacon for golfers and outdoors enthusiasts from Chicago and across the Midwest.
The community’s central amenity is the 18-hole, public Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, which every other year hosts the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship The challenging course winds through a variety of terrain including wetlands, riverside and hardwood forest and offers stunning views of Lake Michigan from lakeside holes.
The 550-acre residential, golf, recreational and waterfront community features a full calendar of events and world-class amenities, including a marina village and riverwalk, town center with restaurants and shops, health and fitness center, deepwater marina, with a four-star hotel and spa, miles of recreational trails and rivers, and acres of parks and green space. Visit www.harborshoresresort.com.
About Kevin Frisch PR
For more than two decades, Kevin Frisch, has been an industry leader in golf and resort public relations and marketing. Through Kevin Frisch PR, the cutting-edge agency has exposed millions of consumers to brands through effective media strategies for the golf, travel, lifestyle and sports industries, including golf courses, golf resort destinations, golf products and technology, golf real estate, state tourism bureaus, golf academies, and sports franchises. Additionally, Kevin Frisch PR is an industry consultant on golf operations, business development, course rating strategies and providing professional golf, lifestyle, architectural, and sports photography. Its growing base of clients includes Boyne Resorts, Forest Dunes, State of Michigan, French Lick Resort, Island Resort & Casino, Horseshoe Bay Resort, Harbor Shores, Gull Lake View, Mistwood Golf Club, Belvedere, TGA Premier Sports, V1 Sports, and NextLinks to name a few. Visit www.kevinfrischpr.com.
