Anchorage looks amazing. Glad you were able to get that one in.
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Was very fortunate to play Camargo yesterday afternoon & again today. Obviously a really great course, one of if not the best set of par 3’s I’ve ever seen. The greens were massive & fast with tons of break so the flat stick is key. It tips out at 6600 yards and is actually quite scorable, especially with how firm it is out there right now.
Hole 7 with the hidden bunkers was one of my favorites and there’s not a single bad hole on the property. This is the first Raynor course I’ve played & I definitely want to play more now. Cannot get over how nice the weather was both days, hard to believe its October!
2nd nicest course I’ve puked and rallied at this year for those keeping track.
Hole 1 Approach
Hole 2 Undulating Fairway
Hole 3 Tee - Drivable
Hole 4 Approach - 1 handicap and I hit it to 2ft
Hole 5 - Eden
Hole 6 Approach
Hole 7 Approach
Hole 7 Hidden Bunkers
Hole 7 Green
Hole 9 Approach
Hole 11 - Short
Hole 15 - Redan
Hole 17 Massive Green - I had a 51 yard putt & 3 putted today
Hole 18 Tee
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Oh baby… Camargo is on my list.
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And you didn’t even share any pictures of the road hole!
There’s a picture of 17
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Damn. You’re right. In my head it was #8 for some reason. My bad!
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This is where I mentioned yesterday during our round for us to add to a trip
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Just returned from a Northern Michigan golf weekend with my brother and cousin. A few quick non-golf points/observations
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I know we got lucky but the weather was unbelievable. 75 degrees, zero humidity. Just an absolute pleasure to be here and be outside all weekend this late in the season.
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Everyone we encountered was so kind and hospitable. The upper Midwest has the nicest people you will find anywhere
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I’m immediately eyeing a vacation with my family to Lake Michigan next year during the summer. The vibes seem off the charts
Now for the golf:
- Friday Round 1: The Loop
My goodness this place is firm and fast. I wasn’t prepared for the battle I’d be fighting just to keep approach shots on the green. Watching my drives run for miles (somehow always into bunker) absolutely rocked. I loved the concept, I’m so glad it exists, but man did I get beat up out there. It felt like I was trying to punch above my weight class as a mid-to-high cap out there.
- Friday Round 2: Forest Dunes
I went from walking the Loop in the morning sun to sitting in a cart and playing the plush and perfectly manicured Forest Dunes in the afternoon. The conditioning felt as close to perfect as I’ll ever see, and the golf shots were fun too. For me I think the juxtaposition was the best part playing 36 out there, just two completely different golf courses.
- Saturday Round 3: Belvedere
All the hype around Belvedere is 100% deserved. I loved every second of it, and could play it weekly for the rest of my life. A true gem I’ll be thinking about for a while. I’m still trying to figure out how you’re supposed to play 16 successfully with where the pin was cut on the right side of the green. But again, that question might be for better golfers than myself.
- Sunday Round 4: Pilgrim’s Run
I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I was floored at how good PR is and how much fun I had out there. So many shots I’d step up to and say “man I’m so excited to hit this”. It just felt comfortable and peaceful, the perfect way to end a trip right before flying out.
Such a fun weekend with all bangers. I appreciate everyone here that chimed in with advice and recommendations when I asked earlier this year. I can’t wait to get back to Michigan.
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The Loop is just too much fun. Playing it both ways is a cool experience for sure.
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All time heater and I’m extremely jealous! To steal a question from the recent pod about Sand Valley, how would you split 10 rounds between them?
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First of all, in the interest of full disclosure:
Marion was through a Boston Golf and Social event.
TCC was through a member invite (very lucky to get this one).
ECC was the Golfer’s Journal outing.
Splitting 10 rounds is a HARD choice. All 3 of them were similar in that their greens were HUMMING and that made them play difficult.
If you’re asking me without any other considerations, I would go 4 at TCC, 4 at Essex, and 2 at Marion. The 9-hole factor for Marion knocks it down a bit, and TCC and Essex are just so good. Some might say why equal rounds at TCC and Essex, but I have a borderline obsession with the back 9 at Essex, I think it’s the best back 9 in the state.
All of that said…if I want to carry a half set and drink a beer on a late summer day? More rounds at Marion. If you add in the entire experience, easily more rounds at TCC. I drank Fernandos and watched the end of the 1 PM NFL games in the locker room with the member, which was sick. If I got Essex on a day where the pins were a bit easier and I was hitting it better (which was the opposite of yesterday), Essex goes up.
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What’s your opinion on TGJ events? Played in a TFE one last year which was great, well-run, etc. and was eyeing the future events for TGJ next year
I’ve been to 5 TGJ events, and I think they are extremely well run.
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I played Marion on the way down to Kittansett when I was there for a week of TFE fun and it really blew me away. (I mean, not as much as Essex, Kittansett and Boston Golf did, but still.)
Every hole at Marion has something (sometimes several things) going on. I think there’s a decent chance that Thomas wasn’t sure he was ever going to design any other course so he was just jamming in every idea he had.
Also, you can be told that you’re playing over old stone walls but nothing quite prepared me for #3. There’s at least a big gap on that one, but I’m 6’5" and the wall was bigger than me. Probably a good 7 or 8 feet? From the tee could barely see the top of the flag on the left side of the green. I was expecting like a little knee or waist high wall (maybe like the mound that runs across the 5th fairway). That stone walls are for real and not on short holes!
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#3 and #9 are interesting because the walls come almost all the way up to the greens and you have to fly the ball all the way there, versus #8 which looks like the same case but then you get up to the green and discover you had a decent amount of space between the wall and the green.
Have done TFE and TGJ events. I think they are both pretty similar.
I will say that on the days where they play more than 18, the approaches differ slightly. I have played Essex with both companies (can you tell I love that place?). The extra 9 with TFE was alternate shot and it counted towards the scores for the day. The extra 9 with TGJ yesterday was basically “yeah, just play 9 more holes from where you ended the first 18.” I’m not saying one is better than the other, it’s just different.
When I did the TFE Essex event (both of the TFE events I have done FWIW) it was 36 holes with the afternoon round being alt shot.
I can understand some people don’t like that, but it doesn’t both me. I’m doing those events to see the golf course. i get to play it fully once and then see it again in different light and with different tee and hole locations where I am at least hitting half the shots. That’s a cool experience. The alt shot also goes quicker and keeps the cost down. From talking with Will, courses are basically charging per shot (expected number of shots for a group to take whether playing foursomes or fourball) so if you do 27 holes playing your own ball or 36 with the last round alt shot you are probably paying the course for the same number of shots, then everything else is what the organizer is paying for food, tee gifts, expenses, profit, etc. I’d rather be out there all day but YMMV.
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