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Places to play in Michigan?


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Another nice place is the Gull Lake View courses, they have apartments/condos that can be rented by the weekend/week and you have access to 5 18 hole courses.

I grew up in Gull Lake and worked at Stonehedge. The Gull Lake View resort system has villas right on the courses at Gull Lake View which has the East and West courses, 3 miles down the road are the Stonehedge North and South courses. And Gull Lake, the lake, is literally across the street where you can rent boats.

The courses are great, the entire 5 course facility is 4.5 stars Golf Digest. The 5th course is a 20 minute drive away but it's hosted the Michigan Open, among other very big events. Gull Lake View is truly a hidden gem. 2.5 hours away from Chicago. It's like $55 with cart on weekends, a complete steal for this level of golf. The South course is my favorite. Give it a look, it's worth the trip.

Driver - TaylorMade R7 425
3-Wood - Callaway Original Steelhead
Irons - Ben Hogan 3-PW Apex FTX, Rifle 6.5
Wedges - Titleist Vokey 52, 56, and 60
Putter - Scotty 2004 Newport Beach 1.5

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would it really matter... I mean they're playing like 10-12 more rounds that week, including Bay Harbor. Personally I like playing the nicest course in the morning that way afternoon rounds can be geared towards ryder cup matches, gambling, or other fun stuff, and I usually play best on my first 18. I guess it's just a preference thing... either way, none of the courses on his list are "bad" courses.

We're scheduled to play Crooked Tree twice because it's on our package and it's a little bit of a drive down there, with the only other course close being Bay Harbor, which we're already doing. I tend to agree though. I'd rather do something else, but it would almost have to be something on the package, as the guys probably won't agree to shell out more cash.

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I really need to get back to Michigan this summer. I'm originally from around Muskegon and I have a cousin that lives in Kalamazoo. I'd love to get out and play Gull Lake View.

That's one of the great things about Michigan, there are tons of good and great courses to play.

What's in my bag (most of the time)

Exotics 12°, Aldila VS Proto 65S
Exotics CB1 4W, 16.5°, Fujikura Stiff
3DX DC Ironwood 20°, 23°, 26º Hybrids, Proforce V2 Stiff Acer XP905 Pro 6-PW, Dynalite Gold S300Inazone CNC Spin Satin GW 50°/8°, SW 54°/14°, LW 58°/4°Boccieri...

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  • 8 months later...
I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and have played most of my golf there, if you are looking to play some public places that are not part of a resort here are some good places in Detroit area:

Played Shepard's last summer and here are my views:

1. Great course, layout etc. 2. BEWARE of the bunkers; they have large rocks in them. I hit a 6 iron out of a fairway bumper, struck a rock that was burried , and put a nice pea sized chip in the sole of Mizuno MP-14! I was super pissed. 3. Bag drop attendants were absolutely the worse ever. Drove up and the were cleaning off a couple of carts. Had to get out of my car, get my dad's and my bag out of the trunk, leave them at the drop, go park, sign in, and then ask which carts we could use before loading our own bags. Because of that last experience, I will most likely never go back.

In a staff blue  Aerolite III

Razr Hawk 10.5* (BB 63 S)
Orig Steelhead 4W 16.8* (F)
Orig Steelhead 7W 20* (M-10)

 JPX-800 Pro 4-pw (XP S300)

 MP-T Blk Ni 51.06, MP-T Blk Ni 56.14, MP-T Blk Ni 58.10

  Bettinardi BC-1 (34")

TM TP Black

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I second the U of M course - Allister Mackenzie. Great track! Used to play it all the time in college.

In a staff blue  Aerolite III

Razr Hawk 10.5* (BB 63 S)
Orig Steelhead 4W 16.8* (F)
Orig Steelhead 7W 20* (M-10)

 JPX-800 Pro 4-pw (XP S300)

 MP-T Blk Ni 51.06, MP-T Blk Ni 56.14, MP-T Blk Ni 58.10

  Bettinardi BC-1 (34")

TM TP Black

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Just got back from a golfing trip in the Gaylord area, and played Black Lake in Onaway. It is an absolute

Black Lake is a great course and near my parent's cottage, but still my favorite would be:

Lakewood Shores - The Gailes, in Oscoda http://www.lakewoodshores.com/

In a staff blue  Aerolite III

Razr Hawk 10.5* (BB 63 S)
Orig Steelhead 4W 16.8* (F)
Orig Steelhead 7W 20* (M-10)

 JPX-800 Pro 4-pw (XP S300)

 MP-T Blk Ni 51.06, MP-T Blk Ni 56.14, MP-T Blk Ni 58.10

  Bettinardi BC-1 (34")

TM TP Black

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I keep hearing great things about Black Lake. We are going to have to try it out. Hard to imagine it can be better than Arcadia Bluffs. That place is incredible.

Would love to hear from anyone that has played @ Otsego Club, so I'm giving that another bump. Thanks to all. Neat thread.
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I keep hearing great things about Black Lake. We are going to have to try it out. Hard to imagine it can be better than Arcadia Bluffs. That place is incredible.

Black Lake is definitely NOT better than Acadia - no where even near. It's a decent course, usually in great shape but not very memorable in my opinion. I last golfed it when I was an intern in the legal department at the UAW and so I got a discount. I think the standard rate green fees prices are unnecessarily high.

In a staff blue  Aerolite III

Razr Hawk 10.5* (BB 63 S)
Orig Steelhead 4W 16.8* (F)
Orig Steelhead 7W 20* (M-10)

 JPX-800 Pro 4-pw (XP S300)

 MP-T Blk Ni 51.06, MP-T Blk Ni 56.14, MP-T Blk Ni 58.10

  Bettinardi BC-1 (34")

TM TP Black

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I have played the Otsego club. The Tribute course is beautiful. Its back in the mountains and very much like the courses at Treetops, probably a better test of golf. When I played it in 2009, it was in great condition. Loots of good risk/reward holes. I would recommend it to anyone headed to the Gaylord area. They have another course which you can see from the road, that does not look good. Don't be fooled - the tribute course is back in the mountains. Its like a 10 minute ride by golf cart to the first tee from the pro shop!

Other courses I have played in michigan, ranked in order of preference:

1. Bay Harbor
2. Arcadia Bluffs
3. Forest Dunes
4. Black Lake
5. Otsego - Tribute
6. Treetops (Not the Tradition - its boring)
7. Boyne - Heather and Ross

I have also played Garland and the Grand Traverse courses. They are not bad, but I wouldn't go back with all the other great golf in Michigan.
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From a golf pro you must play

Arcadia Bluffs and Forest Dunes. All others you can skip. If you make the trip those are the two that you must play. St. Ives is on the way from one to the other and might be worth the stop. Bay Harbor is nice but overrated.
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  • 1 month later...
Golfweek just announced it's Top 25 pubplic courses for Michigan. Never played it but surprised Bay Harbor is ranked so low....

1. Arcadia Bluffs , Arcadia (m)
2. Greywalls at Marquette GC, Marquette (m)
3. Forest Dunes , Roscommon (m)
4. Tullymore , Stanwood (m)
5. Lakewood Shores Resort (Gailes ), Oscoda (m)
6. Black Forest at Wilderness Valley, Gaylord (m)
7. Black Lake, Onaway (m)
8. Treetops (Rick Smith Signature), Gaylord (m)
9. Belvedere GC, Charlevoix (c)
10. Angel’s Crossing, Vicksburg (m)
11. Eagle Eye GC, East Lansing (m)
12. Bay Harbor (Links/Quarry), Bay Harbor (m)
13. True North, Harbor Springs (m)
14. Sweetgrass, Harris (m)
15. Treetops (Tom Fazio Premier ), Gaylord (m)
16. Orchards GC, Washington Township (m)
17. Arthur Hills GC, Harbor Springs (m)
18. Pilgrim’s Run, Grand Rapids (m)
19. Mines GC, Grand Rapids (m)
20. Heather GC, Harbor Springs (m)

I've bolded the ones I've played
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why am I not seeing Maple Lanes on this list???

In my bag:
MP 57's 4-PW KBS Stiff
Ping G 20 10.5* Stiff
Taylormade V Steel 3 and 5 wood

Bridgestone J33 R Hybrid 21* NV Shaft
Mizuno MP Quad Cut 52* and 56* Spinner Shafts

Scotty Cameron Newport Two TeI3

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Got to play Crystal Downs...something I will probably never get to do again and never forget.

titleist.gif Titleist 910 D3 - Project X 6.0 7C3 Shaft  |  adams.gif Adams XTD Super Hybrid - 15 degrees  
adams.gif Adams Idea Pro A12 Hybrid - 18 degrees 
Adams CB2 - KBS Tour Shafts - 4 - PW
vokey.gif Vokey 54.10 Oil Can  |  vokey.gif Vokey 60.07 Oil Can  |  rife.gif Rife Trinidad - SuperStroke

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Good morning,
I'm looking for a sight to host my biennial week of golf for 12-16 guys from across the country, September 6-12. We've done all the places in the southeast and we're tired of "dodging hurricanes" and playing in swamps. One key requirement is Condos and limited travel times to courses(20 minutes or less for example). We're all pretty serious golfers, we like to play 36 and then retire to the condos for steaks and drinks. I called one of the Michigan golf organizers and they sent me three samples Boyne Mountain, Shanty Creek and Bellaire- Chief/Hawks Eye, Shanty Creek. The distance from major airports is a bummer, but if it's required we can do it.

Can you help us? Are these places worth the effort? Are there better alternatives?

Looking forward to hearing your ideas. Thanks,
Ken
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Good morning,

Hi Ken, this forum is very focused on Northern Michigan and I can tell you it is amazing up there and they are certainly worth the effort. But if travel is something you're concerned with you should look into the Gull Lake View golf courses in Augusta, MI. I am living in California now and have played some of the top courses out here (pasatiempo, harding park, bayonet) as well as FL (too many to name) and the east coast (bethpage) and I promise you they will stand up to just about anything. All 5 courses are Golf Digest 4 stars or better with the South course and Bedford Valley each being 4.5 stars. Bedford has hosted the NCAA Div 3 national championship and the Michigan Open and other PGA events. All 5 courses will test your game. They have great villas at the the East and West courses which are less than 5 miles (5 minutes) from the North and South courses, with Bedford being about a 15-20 minute drive. I worked at these courses growing up and we always had guys coming from all over the Midwest saying it was the best golf for the money. They literally couldn't believe how we weren't charging twice the rates. At these prices, I think you will be hard pressed to find better golf anywhere.

This is the link to their packages, http://www.gulllakeview.com/packages.htm also at the top you'll be able to find all the courses and info you need. Basically in September it's $379 for 4 nights/5days and unlimited golf but you have to pay cart fees of $15/18 holes so add $150 total (36 holes per day 5 days). So you're looking at $530 for 4 nights lodging and golf. I'm sure they could work something out for a longer stay but that is what they have listed on their site. Also about 20 minutes away is Yarrow which was a top 10 new course in 2005 or so, great track but it's not a part of the resort so you'd have to add that to the price. There are other nice courses in the area too, just ask the shop guys and they can direct you. Angels Crossing (on the top 20 list) is about 40 minutes away but most I have heard is that it's not any better than the South or Bedford. Across the street from the courses is a very nice lake (that I grew up on) that has great fishing if you're interested in anything other than golf for a day, also about 20 minutes from the villas is one of the best classic car museums in the country, the Gilmore Car Museum. I know my buds wouldn't want to do any of that on a golf trip but it's nice to know it's there in a pinch. From the Detroit airport they are no more than 2 hours (vs 4+hours north) and 95% of it is on I94 which is the highway the airport is actually on so it's a very simple drive, you could also fly into Grand Rapids and you would be about 30-45 minutes away. Because it's not in the 'mecca' of the Midwest (northern Mich) there will be times you have the entire course to yourself and the villas will be a big community of golfers grilling and partying in the evenings, also there is a rowdy bar that overlooks the bay of the lake directly across the street if you're looking to chase something. When I worked there we had 10-20 groups of 16+golfers coming back every single year. From a guy that has planned plenty of golf trips and played around the country I would say give GLV a strong look. I hope this helps!

Driver - TaylorMade R7 425
3-Wood - Callaway Original Steelhead
Irons - Ben Hogan 3-PW Apex FTX, Rifle 6.5
Wedges - Titleist Vokey 52, 56, and 60
Putter - Scotty 2004 Newport Beach 1.5

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