$16 (cart included), played on Wednesday, February 2023 at 9:00 AM
With today's sunny but windy 50-degree weather, Mark P and I decided to travel 20 miles south and play a little golf. The owners leave the course open throughout the winter with an "On your Honor" type of play. (Owner lives on the course) There's a drop box for money ($15 9w/cart or $20 18 w/cart) and cart keys in the box. If carts aren't allowed, walking is FREE.
Surprisingly, the course was in very good shape, with the greens a little shaggy and fairways still cut short from its Fall mowing. I last played here six (6) years ago, and the newer Back 9 (1998) fairways/rough were a bit spotty on grass. That is not the case now, as it's filled in nicely and fully wherever you land. With the 20-35mph warm winds today, we tested ALL the possible landing areas.
This is a rolling course with scattered treelines to define fairways with good separation, so errant balls are fine. They had four (4) tee markers (Blue, White, Gold, Red), but the scorecard shows two (2) White @ 6,019yds and Red @ 5,200yds for a Par 35/36 layout.
The Front 9 starts with a 330yd Par 4 with your 200-220yd tee shot landing in a valley and shooting uphill to a blind tipped forward green, so stay short. The #3 is an O.B. left side, straight 518yd Hcp 4 Par 5 with a blind 2nd shot, green favors the RH side of the fairway. The #4 is a short but narrow treelined 391 yds Par 4 with wind funneling in your face, adding 30-40 yards to the hole. The #7 Par five at 495 yards plays uphill into the SW wind, so work on those "Stinger" shots. The #9 uphill Par three at 186 yards has the tipped green you want to hit short on, no matter where the pin is.
The Back 9 starts with a 404yd Par 4 that has you hitting into a hill (275 to top, no roll) and a blind 2nd shot to the green. The #11 is a downhill 337 yards with a creek crossing at 245 yards, so watch your tee carry. The #12 is another uphill Par five at 548 yards and also plays into the SW prevailing winds for its Hcp 1 rating. The #15 is a downhill/uphill 347 yds Par 4, pond RH side with the blind green 60' above the 100yd marker, with a very steep front. The #16 is a big downhill 195yd Par 3 with a hidden pond (from the #15 pond) protecting the complete front of the green that you can't see from the tee box. The #17 is a question mark "?" shaped 477 yds Par 5 with water covering the entire LH side and back of the green, so stay to the right side. The #18 may be short at 279yds but play for the 100yd marker (flat area) and add 1-3 clubs for elevation and the SW wind you can't feel.
We struggled with the gusting winds all morning, with me shooting 44/44 w/32putts and Mark 44/48 w/40putts. It was just great to be playing Michigan Golf in February.
$16 (cart included), played on Thursday, October 2015 at 1:34 PM
Drive by this course every time I travel US 223 to Ohio area. Great little local built course playing 6,019 yds / Par 71 that is straight forward layout with the back 9 playing 3,146yds being the better layout. AM traffic is mostly Devils Lakes vacationers leaving the 1-2pm tee times open and fast moving. Paid $18 for 18w/cart shooting 39/43 w/38putts as I wasn't putting very good that day. Fairways on the back 9 have some bad spots, but with a little tickle and you're good to go. Greens were surprisingly true and fast that day (been dry) and rolled / held very good. Worth playing if staying in the area or driving by but don't make a special trip. This is warm-up for the "Grande Golf Club" in Vandercook Lake, MI is 15 miles north up 127 and is #1 course in Jackson County.