If your mission was to build Mount Rushmore, 21st century American golf, aimed at celebrating the most influential figures in the competition, who would you choose?
Tiger Woods is sure.
But the other must not be a travel professional. It would be a pioneering course developer who faces industry conferences and transforms entertainment games through flying.
USGA will be with you. However, instead of erecting a monument for Mike Keizer, the association chose to award him the highest honor. In Sunday’s announcement, Keizer, 79, was appointed as the recipient of its 2025 Bobby Jones Award, which recognizes those who embody roles, sportsmanship and respect for games represented under their namesake.
“What inspired us toward Mike was his love for the pure and kindness of the game, his investments open to the public, his motivation to promote casual golf and his joy when playing – and those firm commitments never wavered.” “We thank him for the examples he set, which drove the thinking across the industry.”
Like the Bobby Jones Award, which has been awarded every year since 1955, Keizer’s connection to golf reflects on a path. Born in East Aurura, NY in 1945, he picked up the game as a kid, played most of his time and played on the golf team at Amherst College. Next was the service of the U.S. Navy, followed by a successful career in Chicago, co-founder of the recycled greeting card business.
His love for golf has been burning all the time. He has no place to enjoy it better than the British Isles and Ireland. As Keizer, who has been told many times over the years, he often marvels at the differences that shot on classic links like Ballybunion or Royal Dornoch in the 1980s was made with the same typical scores as typical overworld, tree-shaded American resorts. The latter’s experience frustrated him. The former made him want to go back more.
In 1989, Keizer inspired a part of his own passion for the game with his original and solid form, his own Dunes Club, a 9-hole layout on Michigan’s lakefront land that he didn’t want to see what the apartment consumed. Inspired by the Golden Age design tenet, the Dune Club is respected by those who see it. But this is not a household name. Neither Keizer is.
Of course, this changed as Bandon Dunes opened. Bandon is destined to be out of control, which is obvious in recalling. It’s no surprise that skeptics abound in the early stages: There are no spas, no bars and whiskey bars on a walk along the Oregon coast, and it’s everything the American golf market doesn’t have.
The rest is a long history. Bandon’s ripple effect swept across the country and overseas, causing huge land courses in the region’s land courses on the beaches of Wisconsin, New Zealand, New Zealand and beyond. Many of these projects carry Keizer’s personal imprint; others are obvious products of his influence.
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Josh Sens
In announcing the announcement, USGA praised Keizer for combining his work with a commitment to give back. Keizer is the founder of the Lytle Scholar and Athlete, founder of his high school alma mater, Scholar and Athlete, who was founded in memory of former classmates and teammates, and is also a generous supporter of the Evans Scholar Foundation, which helps high school ages get college scholarships. Net proceeds from Bandon Dunes’ 3-pin road courses are donated to the environment and community programs.
Keizer often mentions Sand Hills developer Dick Youngscap, a Nebraska course that is an early example of what is known today as “destination golf.” But unlike Dunes, Keizer’s project is another reflection of his belief since Dunes Clubs are open to the public.
“If you build something special,” Keizer said, “you want the public to play it.”
Suitably, Bandon Dunes has formed a relationship with USGA, requiring the resort to host 13 USGA titles over the next 24 years, including Walker Cup, The Curtis Cup, and American amateurs, and later this year, American women amateurs.
The Bobby Jones Award will be officially awarded to Keizer during the U.S. Open Week in Pittsburgh this summer.
Josh Sens
Golf.comEdit
Josh Sens is a golf, food and travel writer who has been a golf magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes to all the golf platforms. His work is concentrated in the best sports roles in the United States. He is also a co-author of Sammy Hagar, and we also had fun: Cooking and Party Manuals.
