Michigan Golf

[MikeDawg]

Hello all, We are going to American Dunes, and Arcadia bluffs south course. Unfortunately the north course is booked up. Any suggestions for another course to play in that area? 

[BG5]

Kingsley Club...its private and expensive but its so worth it 🙂

[AzSuperHack76]

4 hours ago, BG5 said:

Kingsley Club...its private and expensive but its so worth it 🙂

Have you had any luck getting on? I heard covid put an end to outside play last year. 

[knickerbocker]

15 hours ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Have you had any luck getting on? I heard covid put an end to outside play last year. 

 

They are allowing play again this year from what I understand.  Best thing to do is call and ask.  they generally are more open to guests on weekdays.

 

Other options would be Hemlock or Manistee National between AD and ABSC.

You might be able to get on Muskegon CC.  They just changed ownership. 

[dobesbsoon]

The US-31 corridor has a bunch of public courses that are decent. Heading north from AD you have Oak Ridge, Chase Hammond, Old Channel Trail, Thoroughbred at DoubleJJ, Grand View, Oceana, Colonial, and up to Ludington you have Hemlock.  
 

Depending on timing, any of these would be a decent, middle of the road quality-wise, rounds of golf.  I’d highly recommend Hemlock, one of my favorites. 
 

If you are staying at AB, there are other nearby options and Champion Hill is frequently recommended.  
 

The other comments above are also valid. Private clubs are available if you have contacts or a home course to call for you.  

[tjblue]

Poor man's arcadia bluffs----Manistee Golf & Country Club

 

[AzSuperHack76]

21 hours ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Have you had any luck getting on? I heard covid put an end to outside play last year. 

Thank you! 

[postfold]

On 6/9/2021 at 10:49 AM, dobesbsoon said:

The US-31 corridor has a bunch of public courses that are decent. Heading north from AD you have Oak Ridge, Chase Hammond, Old Channel Trail, Thoroughbred at DoubleJJ, Grand View, Oceana, Colonial, and up to Ludington you have Hemlock.  
 

Depending on timing, any of these would be a decent, middle of the road quality-wise, rounds of golf.  I’d highly recommend Hemlock, one of my favorites. 
 

If you are staying at AB, there are other nearby options and Champion Hill is frequently recommended.  
 

The other comments above are also valid. Private clubs are available if you have contacts or a home course to call for you.  

 

Hemlock would be the pick of this litter and it's not close.

 

I enjoy Chase Hammond and OCT but they're definitely not anything special.  Not fond of Oak Ridge, Thoroughbred is a nice design with dodgy conditioning (though I haven't played it yet this year), Grand View was in poor shape, Oceana is an oddball - have they finished their renovations?, Colonial meh.

 

I haven't played the Manistee courses so cannot comment on those.

[knickerbocker]

53 minutes ago, postfold said:

 

Hemlock would be the pick of this litter and it's not close.

 

I enjoy Chase Hammond and OCT but they're definitely not anything special.  Not fond of Oak Ridge, Thoroughbred is a nice design with dodgy conditioning (though I haven't played it yet this year), Grand View was in poor shape, Oceana is an oddball - have they finished their renovations?, Colonial meh.

 

I haven't played the Manistee courses so cannot comment on those.

 

Agreed that Hemlock is best of the bunch.  

[MikeDawg]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[AzSuperHack76]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:24 AM, knickerbocker said:

 

They are allowing play again this year from what I understand.  Best thing to do is call and ask.  they generally are more open to guests on weekdays.

 

Other options would be Hemlock or Manistee National between AD and ABSC.

You might be able to get on Muskegon CC.  They just changed ownership. 

Juts spoke with someone at Kingsley, no outside play, the person on the phone stated it’s 100% private now. 
 

Bummed…..

[buckI]

On 6/8/2021 at 2:24 PM, BG5 said:

Kingsley Club...its private and expensive but its so worth it 🙂

What are your favorite aspects of the course and when you say expensive is it in the Pebble, Spyglass, etc range or can you provide an estimate?

[putterboy75]

Hi everyone, I drove up to Glen Arbor for the 4th weekend and will be here for about a week. I've played most places in the area all the way up to Belvedere in Charlevoix & as far down as Arcadia (but not Manistee G&CC as recommended here, it's high on the list when next in that area)...

 

Anyone interested in a game sometime? I play to a 5 and happy to travel if you've got a specific spot in mind.

 

Also, for what it's worth, my fiance and I were trying to decide where to play on our drive up earlier today and decided to call Kingsley to see if they'd allow unaccompanied guest play for us to walk this afternoon. We planned to play last summer and they seemed happy to allow us a round with a caddie of course, but I think they've tightened it up this year and the golf shop responded similar to @AzSuperHack76 above.  We decided to spend 4 hours at Arcadia Bluffs practice area instead. It was a nice time and would recommend for anyone in the area wanting a good range session.

 

Happy to offer any recommendations on some lesser known spots too. Happy 4th to all!

[wseitz]

Kingsley allows very little unaccompanied play these days.  Membership is way up.  It's gotten some good publicity, and it's a phenomenal experience, so they're making sure the members are taken care of.

Edited July 4, 2021 by wseitz

[putterboy75]

4 hours ago, wseitz said:

Kingsley allows very little unaccompanied play these days.  Membership is way up.  It's gotten some good publicity, and it's a phenomenal experience, so they're making sure the members are taken care of.

 

Can't blame them one bit.

I played A-ga-Ming's Sundance Course yesterday. This was my second time here and I didn't give it enough credit the first time. Very walkable and picturesque, hard to beat for $50 later in the day. Greens were a little on the bumpier side but it seemed like they'd gotten a lot of rain recently so it was playing soft. I'd recommend if in the area, also wasn't busy at all which always helps.

[BG5]

On 6/22/2021 at 9:42 PM, buckI said:

What are your favorite aspects of the course and when you say expensive is it in the Pebble, Spyglass, etc range or can you provide an estimate?

kingsley has the best turf in Michigan and it plays fast and firm like Bandon, Sand Valley and The Loop.  The course is a par 71 and the front 9 has 3 par threes and is maybe the best nine hole stretch in all of Michigan.  The course is remote , in the middle of nowhere and has a few elevated tee shots that are spectacular 

 

I just love the holes… reminds me of Bandon and the Supt. Dan Lucas is an all world supt 

 

it used to be $75 unlimited golf with member for the day.  I’m guessing it’s prob $250-$350 including caddie fees but sounds like they may be tightening up things at Kingsley