Hey guys - it was great meeting so many of you this past weekend.
My in-laws just bought a house in St. Joe and are moving in at the beginning of June. I will spend a pretty good amount of time there this summer, especially in July/August.
What courses do I need to hit within 30-45 minutes of St. Joe? Also, I plan to play Stoatin Brae and the Warren Course at ND around 4th of July, so if anyone wants to join let me know and we can plan something!
In Lansing I think that Woodside in underappreciated as a quick 12 hole course that is always in great shape and actually has some wild green complexes. In Gaylord I believe that Michaywe deserves more credit as a fun and playable layout that is overshadowed by nearby resorts. While it’s a bit of a drive from Gaylord, it’s worth playing the Donald Ross 9 hole course in Elk Rapids as well.
Golf club of cold water is a pretty good round if you’re strapped and hidden valley is purdy good too.
Anyone up for playing Diamond Springs next week?
Lake Michigan Hills, Hawkshead, Beeches, Harbor Shores (at least once), Blackthorn, Warren.
slightly outside of 45 mins, but Diamond Springs.
On your way in stop here for some putting practice and pick up some bottles - Welter's Folly Putting Green — Journeyman Distillery
About an hours drive is Angels Crossings in Vicksburg, MI is an awesome course. Definitely worth checking out.
Another course that would be an hour or so would be Lynx Golf Club in Otsego. Probably not worth a solo trip but if you could combine it with a Diamond Springs it would be a solid trip.
Totally agree on Michaywe Pines. I host an outing in Gaylord every summer and the Pines is always in the rotation. Doesn’t have the elevation/views of Treetops, but it has a great laid back, up north vibe. Fun course, well maintained, reasonably priced.
To the woke architecture squad, the South course has big whiffs of Chicago Golf so it’s bound to score high.
The course itself is super-fun and as challenging as you need to make it. A great day at Arcadia would be morning on the South and then twilight on Bluffs with the sun set and bag pipes followed by dinner at the club house.
you’re not wrong. me and three buddies did a fall trip last year. south in the am, bluffs in the afternoon but only got to 15 before it became much darker than our cameras made it appear. We stayed at Crystal the night before and the 4.5 hour home to Metro Detroit was BRUTAL but it was still one of the most fun days of golf i’ve ever had.
It was my first time playing either and I was more excited for the south than the bluffs but had a wonderful time at both.
@chaptodd mentioned it, but I really like Beeches in south haven, it’s about 30min north from St Joseph. Referencing Chicago, you’ll get some whiffs of Stonewall Orchard or Prairie Landing, for half the price of course.
My brother lives on Woodside. Cool little track.
Maybe it changes based on conditioning but I would put South over Forest Dunes and Arcadia Bluffs. It is a pretty close race with the Bluffs but the front 9 on the South is probably the best 9 on the list.
Already stated but I’ll reiterate the below.
Warren
Blackthorn
Angels Crossing
If you’re gonna go to Warren, throw in 9 at Burke as well.
And find a way to get on to Lost Dunes…
…and Dunes Club
Was the Treetops invite a little ambitious? I figured it was probably something not too many people would jump into blind.
I’ll leave the offer up through the weekend, otherwise I think we’ll just drop one of the foursomes. Perhaps I’ll get to play with some of you guys this year and it might make more sense in 2022.
I was born and raised in West Michigan, wanted to play Dunes Club my whole life, moved away 8 years ago having never played it, and found out that you can literally call the course, don’t be a weirdo, say you’d love to play the course sometime, and they’ll let you know when you can come out. It only works if you don’t have a hard schedule to play it and have some flexibility but that route works apparently. Have to pay a guest & caddie fee too (but that’s a given at most private courses).
If you’re in that area, I think a trip to Journeyman Distillery is mandatory. I’ve been trying to get out there for awhile.
I wrote a hand written letter addressed to Mike Kisser in December and I have a tee time in August. You just have to pay a greens fee and employ a caddy.
Wish I had done that when I lived there. Now the odds of being able to play it when I’m visiting for a week are next to none.
Anyone in the Grand Rapids area looking to get a round in during the afternoon this week?