Arcadia Bluffs - Arcadia, MI

[HJJ003]

16 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

The course was beautiful. Nice scenery, well-maintained. But boy, it was painfully slow. I'm just not used to 5 plus hour rounds, waiting for a group who are waiting on a group while the folks behind are waiting on us.

My partner and I were paired up with a father and son who were both single-digits. While it was cool to watch that level of skill, it couldn't have been much fun for them to play with us. Anyway, they were playing from almost 6400 yards so we decided to play from there as well. The extra distance didn't hurt but the greens were by far the most difficult I've ever played - which was exactly what I was hoping for.

@Wally Fairway you were 100% right when you said the course was playable. I agree the fairways are plenty wide enough. (Even so, I still lost a couple of balls today off the tee, but that's just my game.)

The bunkers were tough. I landed in one of them and it took a couple strokes to get out. But really, the greens were the story. While they held every shot I landed onto them, the ball would roll so much. Even uphill putts could get away from you. It was awesome!

Overall, the experience was just ok. The staff couldn't have been any nicer. They were caddies. valets, cart girls, marshals, and employees who's job is was to let you know when the blind fairway was clear. They even had some guy out there dressed in a kilt playing bagpipes. Every one of the employees I encountered treated me like royalty. I took pictures @dennyjones but they don't do the course justice. As beautiful as it was, after a few holes all I really wanted to think about was hitting good shots. After five hours, all I wanted to think about was getting home.

I suppose all that peripheral stuff may not be my cup of tee. I play golf for the challenge and in that way, this course definitely lived up to expectations.

I have been waiting on this post all stinking day lol. Good stuff Jon. Tough course I am sure, but glad you got the challenge out of the greens you were expecting. Stinks about the long round, but that is to be expected at some of these popular destinations. Have a favorite hole? 

Edited June 20, 2018 by HJJ003

[JonMA1]

8 hours ago, HJJ003 said:

Have a favorite hole?

Nothing comes to mind, but all the par 3's were fun. They all required long irons and on one, I had to use a 5w because of the wind coming off the lake. They had those nasty bunkers and heather grass to carry so there wasn't any room for a duff or an offline shot. There were a lot of elevation changes to consider as well. I really enjoyed that and thought I did well on all but one par 3.

[Diddy]

Question re: Arcadia Bluffs/South Course, for those of you who may be familiar...

I'm looking to plan a trip to AB this October, but I'm concerned about the aeration schedule.  I called, and they said the Bluffs Course will be aerated on the 7th and 8th, with the South Course being aerated on the 10th and 11th.  I'm supposed to play on the 13th-15th.  Has anyone had experience with the Bluffs Course, and how quickly the greens recover after aeration?  I'm coming from Pennsylvania, and I don't want the experience to be sullied by unputtable greens.

Also, I've heard horror stories of 5-6 hour rounds at AB.  Given that there will only be about 11 hours of daylight in October, is playing 36 holes in one day too optimistic?

Thanks so much for your comments/input!

Patrick

[KMP]

5-6 Hours is par for Arcadia. Better to go to Kingsley and play it twice. The multiple sets of tees give you an option to change the angles significantly.