Has anyone played Stoatin Brae recently? I have heard that conditioning there isn’t what it should be and this morning I checked their tee sheet and it’s wide open and all tee times are over 50% discounted, which makes me think things aren’t going great.
Saw some pictures on an IG story a few weeks ago and it seemed to be in good shape? at 50% discount… I might have to go see for myself.
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So I’m an idiot. I didn’t realize you had to filter by course, so the $40 tee times are for another Gull Lake course. That being said, Stoatin is still 50% off.
This is what it looks like today through next Thursday. Next Friday discounts are only 40%
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If there’s that big of a discount even over the weekend then there might be something recent that happened, but one of my friends was there two Saturdays ago. He said the condition of the course was fantastic and he liked it but thought it was a tad overpriced - the discounts should make it well worth it then. He was paired with a member who confirmed in the last few years they’ve been slowing the fairways and greens down to speed up pace of play, which stinks.
I played it in 2019 and I loved it but if they’ve softened it up since then, then the only major danger would be the tall native grasses as the course isn’t particularly long (when I say tall native grass I mean waist height, lost ball). When it was firm, there was danger for a mediocre shot all over the place, it was definitely designed to be played firm and fast.
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I could be convinced to go see as well… it is my favorite course so far I’ve ever played.
@jawnnypage and I played last year. It was the first time for me, second or third for him. I really enjoyed the course and would def. go back. def. worth $70. the back 9 at Stoatin plays much easier than the first. i lost control of my swing and broke up with my driver on the back 9 and only played a 3hy off the tee and 3/4 swing iron shots and shot like 3 over. might just need to start doing that all the time TBH.
we were kind of suprirsed by the course and slope rating. We played bedford valley in the morning from the whites (~6000) 69.3/135 and Stoatin brae from the greens (6271) at 69.2/119. Going one tee back at Bedford moves the slope to 136. Really must be that back 9.
Stoatin seems more difficult to me, but was suprised to see such a low course rating.
Is Macatawa semi- or fully private club? And any thoughts on Pigeon Creek and Meadows Club at GVSU? Thinking of adding a round to my week next week and these seem to be decent options closest to Grand Haven. Thanks!
As a GVSU alum I’m a fan of the meadows. Would recommend.
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But would also just say drive a little bit more down M45 and hit the mines
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I thought about that but it would be adding almost an hour more to my morning with the extra travel time and it’s the morning of my fiancée’s bday… would you say Mines is much better than those other courses?
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yeah, fair point. i’ll let @etrackp and @EdgettJ_4 weigh in as they are my local contacts, i only lived there temporarily and it was…a while ago.
IMO, yes. Mines is much better than GVSU or Piegeon Creek. After playing there last year for the first time and what it cost, it made me frustrated that there’s nothing like that over here in Metro Detroit. Not to say there aren’t good courses over here, but the ones that hit that price point don’t bring what the Mines brings.
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Macatawa went full private last year, unfortunately.
I just played the Meadows last week and it was in good shape! The long native grass is killer right now. I cannot speak to pigeon. I would recommend the Meadows.
Price wise the Mines and the Meadows are comparable, I think. The mines is cool and should definitely be on a bucket list, but idk if it’s an extra hours drives worth of cool.
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I guess it depends on what you are looking for.
If you want more bang for your buck you will need to drive a bit from Grand Haven. The Ravines and The Mines are both 40 minute drives from GH. The Meadows being the closest at 30 minutes. I would rank them, Meadows, Mines, then Ravines. Then there is Diamond Springs which is about 50 minutes from GH.
If you just want to get out and golf, the closest course to Grand Haven outside of American Dunes would be Terra Verde in Nunica. Its a nice enough course to get your golf fix with. They have some decent challenging holes but nothing that will knock your socks off.
Pigeon is about the same. A lot of folks I golf with really like it. For me it was always just ok and falls in line with being worth golfing for the sake of golfing. Its wide open with very little trees. Easy to get around. They do not sell booze if that makes a difference.
Stonegate in Twin Lake is also a good option. I would say its a little better than Pigeon and Terra Verde. Only 25 minutes from Grand Haven. Also Chase Hammond is close enough to Grand Haven.
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I’m playing American Dunes on the 5th and Diamond Springs on the 7th, was just debating whether to add a solo tee time on the 6th to take advantage of my week off. I may just sleep in and take it easy but the itch to play somewhere new is always there.
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Well you definitely have some options near GH that are worth scratching that itch. If it was me, I would check out Stonegate or Terra Verde to do that.
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I don’t know about Stonegate but I have played Terra Verde numerous times including a scramble last weekend. I would agree that if you looking to get out somewhere and play just to play Terra Verde is a decent option 10 minutes from GH.
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Stonegate is very enjoyable, definitely a step up from terra verde, and I’m a terra verde fan lol
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I was stunned by the CR and specifically the slope at Stoatin Brae. I suppose if it’s playing super slow it’s short enough to account for the CR as it’s a par 70 I believe, but the slope - it’s so easy to lose balls in that long stuff and with it playing fast I didn’t think there was any way it should’ve been that low. I may have been biased as I shot 80 which at the time was my low and wanted it to be better for the index than it was lol
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Macatawa is fully private as of this year.
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What up coach!