YOUR GUIDE to the Top 10 public golf courses in Michigan
number 10 is a golf course that fits everything I just said It is a affordable place with an incredible story It’s called Champion Hill Uh this golf course is up in uh I think it’s Benzy uh Michigan It’s a uh $49 to walk peak season It’s got some unbelievable land Uh as you see here in the pictures the uh the land rivals nearby Crystal Downs and that’s really what makes Crystal Downs on top of the McKenzie design spectacular is the land Uh amazing backstory here A Christmas tree farmer his name’s Lee Stone uh decided he wanted to get into the golf business He wasn’t a golfer and he built uh a course just down the road that the family still owns called Pineoft Worth playing Would have been number 11 on this list Um and the way he figured out how to design a golf course is he followed McKenzie’s 13 principles So he like used the 13 principles was a relatively inexperienced golfer and built two really good golf courses There’s a uh there’s basically you could do a day rate where you can play both of them for a discounted rate but it’s $49 to walk peak season We’ll go just down the road Uh Wolf River Golf Park uh is number nine This is a uh uh a golf course that got renovated It used to be Bare Lakes Highlands Now it’s called Wolf River Golf Park And it is an incredible story The superintendent Steven Beal effectively renovated this golf course on his own Uh he uh redid all the greens all the bunkers It’s an incredible plot of land It’s you know it’s right on by Bear Lake really close to Arcadia Bluffs really close to Champion Hill This is like you could pair these together to make like a great value golf trip but really interesting greens really cool bunkering and great land There’s f it’s fesky fairways so you get this really nice firm playing conditions even if it’s been raining Uh number eight we’re going to go to the Kalamazoo area and we’re going to go to Stoen Bray This was designed by uh Renaissance Golf Team which are are the associates of Tom Do So you know the guys that have built all of Tom Do’s courses through the years Uh and they built a a really nice public golf course Uh this this one tends to be about $150 but it’s really worth it I mean you’re getting some world class uh architects that worked on this golf course and built this the best shapers in the world Really great greens and the piece of land is is pretty nice So that’s my number eight We’re going to move to number seven here Uh Arcadia Bluff South Course This is not the one that’s right on the water that you’ll hear a lot of uh you know hoopla about and uh obviously phenomenal views over there Not really my cup of a tea uh in terms of design but I do agree that it’s a golf course you should go see The south course across the road was inspired by like the architecture of Chicago Golf and Shoreacres It was designed to be a Dana Fry’s interpretation of Rainer and McDonald They did a really good job this really neat architecture that you rarely see in the public space and the turf team there keeps it very firm and very fast My recommendation for people that are looking for a value go play this at like 4 pm They have a super twilight rate rate out there and you can play you know in Northern Michigan this time of year till 10:00 p.m So you could go tee off at 4 be done at 8:00 p.m out there because it it kind of slows down out there and then go watch the sunset at the Arcadia Bluffs Clubhouse You know that’s going to you know the golf golf’s going to be barely cheaper than the cocktails uh on the deck watching the sunset But but the uh but it it is a awesome experience Uh number six we’ll go to Pilgrim’s Run Now this is part three of the next four are part of a what I think is like one of the greatest weekend value golf trips in the world Pilgrim’s Run is about an hour north of Grand Rapids It is a Mike Dere design All three of these courses in the Grand Rapids area are Mike Dere designs They are phenomenal golf courses um and really good value Uh why I love this golf trip is you can center yourself in Grand Rapids Grand Rapids has a ton of breweries It has minor league baseball team It is a perfect place to just hang out for a weekend and then you drive up play here Uh the next course on our list is the Mines which is only five minutes and it’s number five Five minutes from downtown Grand Rapids Another Mike Deere design This is kind of part of that threecourse trip And uh it is built on an old gypsum mine So this uh this golf course is as you can see there right on the right on the mine Uh is really cool It’s a weird property but it’s just basically like uh mining spoils So you get a lot of like kind of like crazy landforms and they have a lot of great greens Another great value And again it’s 5 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids Like it’s it’s like just easy to get to It’s one of those you have a late night at the brewery have a couple beers and you stumble out of bed and you’re there Um number four we’re going to go back to Northern Michigan Charavoy one of the be most delightful small lake towns in Northern Michigan And we’re going to go to Belvadier This golf course was designed by Willie Watson Uh William Watson I think I I numerous people have told me he hated the name Willie Can you believe that Doesn’t like the name Willie I like Willie I like I know you like going by William but this is a uh this is a semi-private golf course Really historic place They used to host the Michigan AM for like 40 straight years Some of the coolest green complexes you’re going to encounter in all of golf Um you know William Watson underrated golf architect built some really great golf courses White Bear Yach Club uh Arinda in in San Francisco He was the original architect of Olympic Club Um so very cool golf course Number three this is one of my favorite golf courses in uh in all of golf I uh I always say like you know there’s certain golf courses that uh serve the best you know $12 hamburger C it’s like a restaurant that serves a great $12 hamburger This is a $60 golf course It’s a Mike Deere design It’s part of that uh Grand Rapids trip It’s called Diamond Springs Uh the conditions are you know they are they are designed they are for affordable golf So you have one cut of grass It is uh some awesome green complexes and as you can see in these photos it has kind of like this ravine that’s super dramatic that cuts through part of the property Uh you get some like really thrilling shots Uh it reminds me somewhat of uh of Shore Acres a golf course in the Chicago area that has a lot of uh lot of love That’s like a top 30 golf course in the country with the way that ravine bisects the property and the holes play along over it and uh and and in it I think that’s a golf course that could be a top 100 course if they had a bigger maintenance budget but then it would not be affordable and uh and available for everybody for a good rate So So that golf course is is tremendous We’re getting to number two We’re leaving the main part of the state We’re going to the upper upper peninsula This is number one in the upper peninsula the up It is uh one of the most spectacularly beautiful places in the country that very few people go Um in Marquette Michigan uh I’m going to Greywalls and this is another Mike Deereh course He’s done a tremendous job building golf in in Northern Michigan This is one of the most visually stunning golf courses in in all of golf I would say that probably of public golf courses this is a top 10 visually stunning unique place There’s granite rock outcroppings throughout the property where you’re like hitting it from up into a rock outcropping and there’s a green there You’re playing down Uh there’s a like kind of back part of the land that’s just the sandy highlands It’s just basically a convergence of crazy ge geological uh land forms and they built golf on it Uh if you’re looking for like a cool place to unplug for a while go to Marquette because you drive five minutes out out of town your cell phone doesn’t work and it is beautiful right on Lake Superior So Grey Walls uh worth a trek worth a visit And then my favorite my number one the reversible golf course at Forest Loop Uh this is a brilliant design It is uh you should not just play this one time you should try and go around it as often as you possibly could can I think that’s the bootleger course there the short course at at Forest Dunes that’s on the screen Uh but the uh the loop it’s a Tom Dope design Uh and really like if you haven’t been to Scotland but you are interested in going to Scotland want to know what it’s like to play in Scotland in terms of turf conditions the way the ball bounces and moves and reacts this is the closest thing uh to Scotland that you’re going to get That sand valley those are probably like the two places I think that have the best turf conditions in the world Uh and the loop is a place where you have to think about where you’re landing shots Do you land it before in front of the greens Uh this is a tremendous tremendous golf course that to me like every time I go play it I love it
Andy Johnson breaks down his list on the Eye on Golf with the Shotgun Start.
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