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A Quest to Play the Top 100 Public Golf Courses in the United States
A Quest to Play the Top 100 Public Golf Courses
2008 CONTINUED
5/17 - Red Hawk Golf Course
66th ranked - East Tawas, MI
By the time we arrive, the wind has stopped and it’s about 10 degrees warmer. YES … that’s what I’m talking about!!!
Although Red Hawk was allegedly the lowest rated course on this trip (66th), it deserves an equal ranking with its Michigan counterparts. After driving for miles on what seemed like flat farm land, this is one hilly course. It’s an Arthur Hill designed number that wraps itself through numerous elevation changes. The par-3 third hole is awesome as it drops more than 60-feet from the tee to the green. It’s being added to our KILLER PAR-3 list.
Skins and Wolf were the games of the day and all were lively. Speaking of animals, this course should be registered as a wildlife sanctuary since ducks, geese, fox, raccoons, and deer roam the grounds like they own it. And I guess … technically … they do! It was great afternoon until the clouds broke loose with three or four holes of rain. But it cleared up just as quickly. Hey, who pissed off Mother Nature? Is this a test or something?
We ate dinner in the clubhouse before returning to our Lakewood Shores condos. Mike received 13 offers to cut his food for him. He suggests that we all jump in one of the lakes at the course.
Our group is already beginning to tire after playing 63-holes of golf in the past 36-hours. Most of us struggled to stay awake to watch the NASCAR All-Star Race. The ear plugs are in.
5/18 - Black Lake Golf Club
25th ranked -Onaway, MI
There is nothing worse on a golf trip than waking up to the sound of rain. This isn’t supposed to be happening! Golfest 2008 was intentionally scheduled a week later than normal to minimize the chances of bad weather. According to the Weather Channel, it was 72 degrees last week. Today it’s raining!
Breakfast was followed by a 100-mile jaunt north to the United Auto Workers (UAW) owned Black Lake Golf Club. I have never seen so many barns in my entire life. We discover that Black Lake is in the middle of nowhere - literally. Our GPS systems are even having "issues." … Man, is it cold! The good news is that it stopped raining, but the skies still look very threatening. "Hey Jeffrey ..., want to buy a pair of pants for $300?"
Our four vehicles double the amount of cars in the parking lot. I am not sure if that is a good sign? When we inquire if we are the only people dumb enough to golf when its 45 degrees outside, the Pro Shop personnel inform us they only fill 20% of their tee times. Black Lake truly does have "middle of nowhere" syndrome.
The nearest population-base is 45 minutes away and they are in desperate need of an on-site hotel to make it a golf destination, rather than a rest stop. In fact, if you’ve got $8M lying around, this place could be yours. Then make sure you call Tom Bodett. I heard he has some hook-ups with a hotel chain.
It’s obvious that Black Lake takes pride in their top 100 ranking. They have a Golf Digest pegboard and a variety of framed articles on their course in their clubhouse. Due to the threat of colder weather and the great staff and service, we ring the register big time. Just about everyone bought weather resistant gloves for both hands … plus long sleeve shirts, beanies, and in Mark Suzda’s case … a full-blown winter jacket.
It begins to sprinkle on us we take photographs on the first tee box. Then it stops, then starts a little later, then stops. But it doesn’t really matter, because it’s a sensational track. There is wildlife everywhere!
Just to go on record, so a claim of favortism is not filed, Kasey Scheidenlein and Spanky Hayes did get revenge on the pair of Jim’s (Allen and Dee) for their 2007 Pinehurst spanking. They pummeled us with a rout at Black Lake. …
We are now off on a 50-mile drive to the population-base of Petoskey and Bay Harbor Resort. If this place looks half as good as the brochure, we are in great shape. … As luck would have it, this place rocks as our amenities included three-story-three-bedroom condos right on Lake Michigan. And when I say "right on Lake Michigan," I mean like 20-feet away.
The resort restaurant can’t seat a group of 14 hungry golfers on short notice. So we quickly go to plan "B" and soon discover that we have some great options at our fingertips. We load up and head to the nearby Odawa Indian Casino. Can you say "all-you-can-eat buffet?" We can and did! After a casino-profit killing multi-plate meal, most of us roamed the casino floor in search of revenue-enhancement opportunities. Mark Suzda & I get enhanced with more than a grand.
5/19/08 - Bay Harbor Golf Club (27-holes)
35th ranked - Bay Harbor, MI
A huge breakfast was served up at the Bay Harbor Hotel. Most of the conversations center on how hard the wind is gusting off the lake and the projected wind chill factor. The pro shop later informs us that it is 39 degrees and the wind is gusting at about 20 mph. Coincidentally, their classy pro shop stocks a nice selection of warm clothes. Hey, does anybody notice that we are the only people here?
On tap are 27-holes of golf, including a scramble tournament this afternoon. We are playing the rated Links-Quarry combo this morning and the views are absolutely awesome. So good in fact that it took some of the sting off of the cold. Three-quarter swings were the norm as all of us were layered up to combat the cold. We quickly formed a strategic alliance with Mary-Jo, the Bay Harbor cart girl. She was tipped well to stay close with warmth enhancing coffee, hot chocolate, bloody Mary’s and Vodka cranberries. She did a great job.
The Links nine was right on Lake Michigan and the Quarry nine was inland. The Quarry is awesome with the fairways cut like your favorite baseball stadium. The longer we played, the warmer it got, and the more money Mary Jo made. The course was kind to some (Decker-85, Hayes-86, and Mike Rittner-87) and downright ruthless on others (Art Taylor-118 and Joe Arellanes-122).
The clubhouse served up a satisfying lunch before our tourney on the Preserve nine. The wind shirts finally had a chance to come off and we absorbed the sun on the tee box like tacky tourists in Maui.
The three-nine hole courses at Bay Harbor are all unique and have their own different personality. (Jim Dee describes it best in this course review). Craig Decker, Jeffrey Adkins and Mike Rittner pocketed the tourney money at four-under par.
A round or five of cocktails in the bar afterwards accurately determined that Bay Harbor experience rated as one of our best ever. Jeffrey is feeling no pain. That ... (MORE)
66th ranked - East Tawas, MI
By the time we arrive, the wind has stopped and it’s about 10 degrees warmer. YES … that’s what I’m talking about!!!
Although Red Hawk was allegedly the lowest rated course on this trip (66th), it deserves an equal ranking with its Michigan counterparts. After driving for miles on what seemed like flat farm land, this is one hilly course. It’s an Arthur Hill designed number that wraps itself through numerous elevation changes. The par-3 third hole is awesome as it drops more than 60-feet from the tee to the green. It’s being added to our KILLER PAR-3 list.Skins and Wolf were the games of the day and all were lively. Speaking of animals, this course should be registered as a wildlife sanctuary since ducks, geese, fox, raccoons, and deer roam the grounds like they own it. And I guess … technically … they do! It was great afternoon until the clouds broke loose with three or four holes of rain. But it cleared up just as quickly. Hey, who pissed off Mother Nature? Is this a test or something?
We ate dinner in the clubhouse before returning to our Lakewood Shores condos. Mike received 13 offers to cut his food for him. He suggests that we all jump in one of the lakes at the course.
Our group is already beginning to tire after playing 63-holes of golf in the past 36-hours. Most of us struggled to stay awake to watch the NASCAR All-Star Race. The ear plugs are in.
5/18 - Black Lake Golf Club
25th ranked -Onaway, MI
There is nothing worse on a golf trip than waking up to the sound of rain. This isn’t supposed to be happening! Golfest 2008 was intentionally scheduled a week later than normal to minimize the chances of bad weather. According to the Weather Channel, it was 72 degrees last week. Today it’s raining!
Breakfast was followed by a 100-mile jaunt north to the United Auto Workers (UAW) owned Black Lake Golf Club. I have never seen so many barns in my entire life. We discover that Black Lake is in the middle of nowhere - literally. Our GPS systems are even having "issues." … Man, is it cold! The good news is that it stopped raining, but the skies still look very threatening. "Hey Jeffrey ..., want to buy a pair of pants for $300?"
Our four vehicles double the amount of cars in the parking lot. I am not sure if that is a good sign? When we inquire if we are the only people dumb enough to golf when its 45 degrees outside, the Pro Shop personnel inform us they only fill 20% of their tee times. Black Lake truly does have "middle of nowhere" syndrome.
The nearest population-base is 45 minutes away and they are in desperate need of an on-site hotel to make it a golf destination, rather than a rest stop. In fact, if you’ve got $8M lying around, this place could be yours. Then make sure you call Tom Bodett. I heard he has some hook-ups with a hotel chain.
It’s obvious that Black Lake takes pride in their top 100 ranking. They have a Golf Digest pegboard and a variety of framed articles on their course in their clubhouse. Due to the threat of colder weather and the great staff and service, we ring the register big time. Just about everyone bought weather resistant gloves for both hands … plus long sleeve shirts, beanies, and in Mark Suzda’s case … a full-blown winter jacket.It begins to sprinkle on us we take photographs on the first tee box. Then it stops, then starts a little later, then stops. But it doesn’t really matter, because it’s a sensational track. There is wildlife everywhere!
Just to go on record, so a claim of favortism is not filed, Kasey Scheidenlein and Spanky Hayes did get revenge on the pair of Jim’s (Allen and Dee) for their 2007 Pinehurst spanking. They pummeled us with a rout at Black Lake. …
We are now off on a 50-mile drive to the population-base of Petoskey and Bay Harbor Resort. If this place looks half as good as the brochure, we are in great shape. … As luck would have it, this place rocks as our amenities included three-story-three-bedroom condos right on Lake Michigan. And when I say "right on Lake Michigan," I mean like 20-feet away.
The resort restaurant can’t seat a group of 14 hungry golfers on short notice. So we quickly go to plan "B" and soon discover that we have some great options at our fingertips. We load up and head to the nearby Odawa Indian Casino. Can you say "all-you-can-eat buffet?" We can and did! After a casino-profit killing multi-plate meal, most of us roamed the casino floor in search of revenue-enhancement opportunities. Mark Suzda & I get enhanced with more than a grand.
5/19/08 - Bay Harbor Golf Club (27-holes)
35th ranked - Bay Harbor, MI
A huge breakfast was served up at the Bay Harbor Hotel. Most of the conversations center on how hard the wind is gusting off the lake and the projected wind chill factor. The pro shop later informs us that it is 39 degrees and the wind is gusting at about 20 mph. Coincidentally, their classy pro shop stocks a nice selection of warm clothes. Hey, does anybody notice that we are the only people here?
On tap are 27-holes of golf, including a scramble tournament this afternoon. We are playing the rated Links-Quarry combo this morning and the views are absolutely awesome. So good in fact that it took some of the sting off of the cold. Three-quarter swings were the norm as all of us were layered up to combat the cold. We quickly formed a strategic alliance with Mary-Jo, the Bay Harbor cart girl. She was tipped well to stay close with warmth enhancing coffee, hot chocolate, bloody Mary’s and Vodka cranberries. She did a great job.The Links nine was right on Lake Michigan and the Quarry nine was inland. The Quarry is awesome with the fairways cut like your favorite baseball stadium. The longer we played, the warmer it got, and the more money Mary Jo made. The course was kind to some (Decker-85, Hayes-86, and Mike Rittner-87) and downright ruthless on others (Art Taylor-118 and Joe Arellanes-122).
The clubhouse served up a satisfying lunch before our tourney on the Preserve nine. The wind shirts finally had a chance to come off and we absorbed the sun on the tee box like tacky tourists in Maui.
The three-nine hole courses at Bay Harbor are all unique and have their own different personality. (Jim Dee describes it best in this course review). Craig Decker, Jeffrey Adkins and Mike Rittner pocketed the tourney money at four-under par.
A round or five of cocktails in the bar afterwards accurately determined that Bay Harbor experience rated as one of our best ever. Jeffrey is feeling no pain. That ... (MORE)
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