Eldorado

$41 (cart included), played on Thursday, August 2020 at 10:00 AM

I've been driving by this course for the last 20 years and finally decided to stop in and see if it's as good as it looks from the road.........It Is !!!

Designed by Bob Meyer and opened for play in 1996, Eldorado has been a "Must Play" when traveling through the Cadillac area. It was built in a rolling wooded marsh area and offers many forced carries to slight dogleg designed fairways. Even though the fairways have generous landing areas, marsh and woodlands are waiting close by for those stray shots. Having five (5) tee selections you can pick a number between Steel 7,134yds / 72.8 / 137 and down to Comfort 5,018yds / 68.4 / 115 on this Par 36/36 challenging layout.

I basically mixed up the yardage between Power (6,698yds) and Chrome (6,087yds) tees to play 6,347yds / 69.2 / 123 because of some 420 yds Par 4's that I didn't need to beat myself up playing. Conditions were a little wet due to yesterday's rain but drained good and only had a handful of holes, cart path only. I was very impressed by the care the fairways and greens are given by players and maintenance personnel alike. Pot marks on the greens were almost non-existence and healed very nicely. Even though all but five (5) are laid out side-by-side, there is a thick wooded or marsh separation that keeps players apart.

I though the Front 9 starting out with a Hcp 1 hole on the #1 a 405yd Par 4 would be tough, but it played very friendly with the two (2) forced carries. The #3 a 216-95yd Par 3 is all carry across a pond covering the front of the green. The #5 is a 436-295yd Par 4 Hcp 7 that has a forced carry tee (150yd) to a tight neck (Pond RH side) about 150yds from the elevated green. Watch your driving distance on #6 to the marsh as this 528-416yd Par 5 Hcp 5 has a narrow landing 100yds from the elevated green also. The #9 a 381-280yd Par 4 that has a wide fairway leading to shared green for #18, very nice setup.

The Back 9 starts out with a friendly straightaway 551-413yd Par 5 to a LH offset elevated green that adds to the challenge. The #11 is a 426-292yd Par 4 with a very narrow fairway that has a 180yd pond tee carry. There is a marsh hidden down the LH side to catch those errant shots. The #13 is another 443-295yd Par 4 that starts out with a narrow driving chute to a tree-lined fairway. The #15 a 433-315yd Hcp 2 hole has a generous landing area but stay to the RH side to shorten your 2nd shot over the marsh to the tree guarded green. The #18 is one tough 487-320yd Par 4 to finish on with a pond catching ANYTHING short of the green on this Hcp 4 hole.

This was one great course that was worth the wait to play and should put it on your list if you're in the area. I ended up shooting 38/41 w/ 34putts in 2hrs and 45 minutes and look forward to returning soon.

Guest (cart included), played on Saturday, June 2010 at 8am

Our group plays this once a year. I look foreward to getting up to Caddilac to play.