Here’s a shameless plug for my buddy’s group he’s starting over in GR. They’re doing a meetup at Pilgrims Run on Thursday (sick!!!)
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Going to have to add that to the bucket list!
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Played Bahle farms on Leelanau peninsula this morning. Very aggressive elevation changes on at least half the holes, not walkable. Too narrow off the tee for my taste, quite a few blind shots, very wet & soft. On the good side, nice staff and very photogenic. Not a bad spot, but there are better options in the area.
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Played Pilgrim’s Run back in July. Course is #fun. Lots of great golf holes, par 3’s are great, par 4’s are outstanding and the par 5’s are something else. Had a great time playing with a few locals, would definitely play again. Finishing hole is outstanding, drivable par 4, downhill with a great green. Easily one of my favorites in Michigan, can’t rave about it enough.
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Pilgrims is so criminally underrated - last time I played I only paid $45…
I hate that 18th hole personally, but I’ve never laid up and always make double+, so I think it’s more on me than the course haha
Don’t miss short right on 18. All sorts of trouble. Great risk vs reward decision.
That layup is a tough shot…It almost seems better to just launch it. I also doubled the last time I played it. I still think it is a fun hole.
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I’m playing Rackham for the 1st time tomorrow, what should I expect?
I played Rackham for the first time this spring so I might not have the most insight to provide. We played at the end of that 20 day stretch of rainy days in May so the course was water logged (as many in the area were). I’m hoping to get out again this fall.
Course is relatively straight forward. The rough was pretty short, so it plays wide. Complexity comes from the green complexes. Greens have a lot of slope; they weren’t fast, but they rolled true. Land is mostly flat, but the greens are built up without heavy collars, so missed approaches would roll off.
I was advised that it would be slow, but our foursome walked in about 4.5 hours on a Saturday with a noon tee time. We were worried as we came up to the course because groups were lined up on the first tee, but I think that’s just a result of the practice green being right there and there not being a driving range or anything else to do pre-round.
Have fun.
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Rackham is great! Mega vibey. If you’e into that kind of stuff, the clubhouse is absolutely beautiful architecturally and done by Albert Kahn.
The front nine is meh. They had to do a lot of rerouting from the original Donald Ross design. Also err on the side of less club off the tee on holes 2,3,4,6 as you are not making par if you are not in the fairway. Definitely some interesting green complexes.
The back nine rules and is mostly original Ross. A couple of the holes border the Zoo which is pretty dope.
I definitely suggest walking.
The only reason I played 18 rather than 36 there on my single visit to the GRR metro area in 2016 was that I got rained out of round 2. Just such fun.
Agree with all of this. Front 9 is kind of a mess because they had to shift some holes over to make room for the express way. Kind of causes holes 2-6 to be a shooting gallery if there’s other groups on them. They kept most of the original green complexes though. Back is largely untouched and really awesome.
front 9 is doglegged to death, really spoils the vibe of the start. 7-18 are 12 original, pretty much untouched holes. the greens (original greens have never been rebuilt) still have their charm and character. back 9 par 3s are classic Ross, EXTRA STOUT.
its fascinating what Doug Melton (32 year super at Shenandoah) has done in the 12-18 months hes been the super there, ive been playing Rackham since i was a teen and its easily the best its been this year. Last time i was there he was grinding away and i made a point to introduce myself and ended up talking to him for 10-15 mins about the place, really good guy hope he continues to help it along it as best as he can
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also for Metro Detroiters, i highly recommend taking a day and crossing the boarder to check out Roseland Golf and Curling Club. Its like 10 mins across the border in Windsor, had the opportunity to check that out, fortunate to check out Essex Country Club (that was really really solid) as well. Roseland was a lovely restored Ross, basically what i hope Rackham can become over the next couple years with some TLC. Exchange rate is super friendly right now (was $33USD to walk) and they also had what looked like a simple but fun par 3 track.
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Course recommendations in Kalamazoo area? Need to pick up a gift card as wedding gift for a round for two
I’ve heard Stoatin Brae is really cool. It’s a Renaissance Design (Doak’s crew) and 25 mins from town. I’d also consider Diamond Springs which is 45 mins north.
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I ditto on the Stoatin Brea recommendation. Might also look into Gull Lake View resort. They have four or five different course north east of kzoo. Milham Park is great for a muni. I haven’t played it but angels crossing in Vicksburg looks like a pretty sick track.
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I enjoyed Angels Crossing on the two trips I made there in 2015. It would be a tough walk, but a good day out.
Has anyone done the putting course at Journeyman distillery in three oaks? Thinking about incorporating it into a buddies trip next summer, seems like a great spot to kick things off on the way over from Chicago