Detailed description of Centennial Acres
Centennial Acres is a Public, 27 hole golf course facility located 30 minutes west of Lansing, in Sunfield, Michigan. Centenial Acres has three 9-hole golf courses. These courses can be combined in pairs to form three different 18 hole course challenges. The nine-hole courses are The Sunrise Course, The Midday Course, and The Sunset Course.
The Sunrise and Midday Course at Cenennial Acres opened in 1979. The Sunset Course at Cenennial Acres opened in 1999. The courses were designed by Warner Bowen.
The Midday nine and the new Sunset nine are intertwined, so be sure to keep an eye on the signs pointing to the next tees. The Sunrise nine is located across Dow Road
The gently-rolling terrain of the courses includes plush, undulating greens. The fairways are defined by a light cut of rough and lined by trees. Water hazards are strategically-placed throughout and provide a pleasing aesthetic. Aside from two holes on the new Sunset nine, there are absolutely no greenside bunkers.
Only three or four holes have fairway bunkers, the main obstacles are the trees and water. None of the nines are overly long, measuring 3,397 (Sunrise), 3,292 (Midday), and 3,120 (Sunset) from the tips. Each nine consists of at least one long (or longish) par 3, one 400 yard par 4, and par 5s that all reach over 500 yards (some well over 500 yards).
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$21 (cart included), played on Tuesday, October 2020 at 8:45 AM
I found this 1979 Warner Bowen designed course 70 miles away. I hadn't previously played Centennial, but I liked his Benona Shores course that I played in August 2020. Being that Benona Shores was only 4,380yds / Par 60, I wanted to try this longer design at 6,674yds and a Par 36/36.
With the three (3) courses here (Sunrise, Midday, Sunset) they had the 18 hole loop today playing hilly Midday (3,282yds) first and then rolling Sunrise (3,392yds) for a Par 36/36 layout. The Sunset course plays shorter (3,153yds / Par 35) but shares the same terrain as the hilly Midday layout.
Starting out on the Midday #1 is a dogleg right 380yd Par 3 with a trap on the inside corner with 220yd drive to see the uphill green from the tips. Next is #2 a downhill 205yd Par 3 with center short being safe. The #4 is a 515yd Hcp 2 Par 5 that needs a 2nd shot draw to stay left-side fairway to have a clear 3rd shot. The #5 414yd Par 4 has a wide-open fairway to attack this Hcp 3 raised green. This #6 Par 4 at 379yds has a nice downhill tee shot followed by an uphill 2nd shot. The #7 is their Hcp 1 Par 4 at 367yds because of the tight dogleg left that you NEED to draw your tee or through the corner (180yds) you will go. Conditions from tee to green today were very good with full smooth fairways and greens (7-8 roll) to match. Tree-lined fairways will greet you on almost every hole with yardage blocks in the middle of the fairway. Finishing up on a 541yd Par 5 play friendly if you clear the creek (190yd carry) and on 2nd shot, stay to the left side of the fairway.
The Back 9 Sunrise course #1 is a 382yd Par 4 with a 200 drive putting you on the backside of a hill for that 2nd shot and don't miss the green long. The #2 is a slight uphill 204yd Par 3 and short is very safe. The #3 is a straightaway 545yd Par 5, four (4) fairway traps with a small hilltop green and O.B. if you miss long by 10yds. The #4 is a 392yd dogleg right that has a large hidden pond on the inside corner but a 200yd drive along the edge leaves 130yd 2nd shot. The #5 is a large green Par 3 but ponds right and trees left frame this hole. The Hcp 2 hole #6 is a 517yd Par 5 that must be played 2nd shot to the left side of the corner to see the green. The #8 is just a long 436yd Hcp 1 Par 4 hole with a slight bend and trees on both sides. Finishing up #9 with a straightaway 377yd Par 4 with two (2) large trees narrowing your 2nd shot to the uphill green. Staying to the left side of this fairway allows you a clear shot but watch out for the fairway trap. Enjoyed being first off and shooting 38/39 w/ 31putts in 2hrs and 15 minutes on this cool October morning with mostly great conditions.
Leaves are a Michigan Fall golfer's biggest handicap but they did a very good job keeping them back far enough that makes most golfer happy.