Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

Mostly pleasant drive to Frankenmuth. Given that I kvetched about the roads in Michigan, I guess I have to give MDOT a shout out for the wonderful new pavement on I-69 from Port Huron to Flint. Nice not having your fillings knocked loose. 

 

Of course that all came crashing down once I turned north on I-475. Literally. I have a plastic storage bin on the bunk above the driver. In 18 months on the road it's been sitting up there nicely. A couple of miles on I-475 I heard a crash, and turned to see the bin on the floor, along with dozens of vitamins and supplements that I had in a pill organizer in the bin. Oy. 

 

Apple Mountain tomorrow, and The Fortress on Thursday. Looks like there's a chance for a passing shower tomorrow morning. Probably going to have to don the rain gear. 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

The Fortress is a compact course, shoehorned into smallish area. It's pretty fun and an easy walk! 

[Argonne69]

Booked Bucks Run and PohlCat for this weekend. Memorial Day is a travel day. 

 

Booked Dream, Nightmare, and The Loop Black for next week. Unfortunately Dream and Nightmare are both riding only. What's with these Michigan courses? Worse than Florida. 

 

At Dream I'll run into league play at the turn, as they shotgun off the back at 9 am. Oh well. No quick round that day. 

 

At least The Loop allows walking. 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Looks like there's a few decent breweries in the tri city area, but their hours don't quite work for my day job. With a healthy selection of Belgians, I decided to venture north this afternoon to Tri-City Brewing Company in Bay City. 40 taps with a very nice selection, including a number of my favorites, i.e. dubbel, tripel, strong, RIS. 

 

 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Lol. What a joke. Apple Mountain? More like Apple Mound. Dreary day with cloudy skies, cool temps, and 20 to 30 mph winds. Another course with a mandatory cart policy, even though I was the first out with nobody around. 

 

If the course didn't have a little bunny hill with ski lift it would be entirely forgettable. Most of the layout is your stock housing development course. Mix of parkland, prairie, and a little wetland. Other than the two holes that tee off on the hill, it's basically flat. The mounding did help a bit. A handful of ponds bring a little danger, along with a few native areas. Bunkering was quite good, especially around the greens. No real left/right movement. 

 

There were a couple of tough tee shots, but most of the fairways were fairly wide open. Minor misses could be played from the rough, but you might have an uneven lie on the mounds. Approaches were tough due to the bunkers. Greens were benign, so up and downs and putting were rather straightforward unless you found yourself having to flop one over a bunker. 

 

Other than the par 3 5th, the par 3s were boring. The 5th had an elevated tee on the bunny hill, and a pond guarding the front of the green. 5s were decent. The 18th was a very good risk/reward hole with water in front. The 12th had a tough layup with a forced carry over a waste area. Short 4s were mixed. The 3rd was fun with a shallow green tucked behind a pond. 

 

Conditions were soft, but playable. It rained a few days ago, and the course was still quite wet. Rough was cut to a good height. Bunkers needed a grooming. Greens were rolling nicely at close to 10. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6347 yds (71.3/134). Should have played a combo. Stiff winds and soft fairways added a ton of yards. One birdie and ten bogies. Not much fun hitting woods and mid irons all round. Highlight of the round was the fox that ran out in front of me on the 5th hole. Saw me, barked, and made a big loop back into the trees. Lol. Don't think I've ever heard a fox bark. Unfortunately it moved so fast I couldn't get a pic. 

 

Apple Mound gets 4 cows. A couple of interesting holes, but too many cookie cutter ones. Definitely misleading with the name. $64 for a weekday round was overpriced. Decent, but this one can be skipped. 

 

[Argonne69]

Apple Mountain, Freeland, MI 

 

 

 

Very nice view from the elevated 6th tee 

 

 

 

 

Go or no-go on the 18th 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zj5hacyqp1afnzh/AABQ3cLyhyzPfL2KHt7sSz0ra?dl=0

 

[So_Cal]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:28 AM, Argonne69 said:

Booked Bucks Run and PohlCat for this weekend. Memorial Day is a travel day. 

 

Booked Dream, Nightmare, and The Loop Black for next week. Unfortunately Dream and Nightmare are both riding only. What's with these Michigan courses? Worse than Florida. 

 

At Dream I'll run into league play at the turn, as they shotgun off the back at 9 am. Oh well. No quick round that day. 

 

At least The Loop allows walking. 

 

The Loop is supposedly polarizing.  If it’s anywhere near as firm and fast as I’ve heard it sounds like a blast.  Have fun. 

[tlknight]

1 hour ago, So_Cal said:

The Loop is supposedly polarizing.  If it’s anywhere near as firm and fast as I’ve heard it sounds like a blast.  Have fun. 

I played The Loop both ways and think it’s a cool idea. But I walked away thinking “no good shot goes unpunished”. 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, So_Cal said:

The Loop is supposedly polarizing.  If it’s anywhere near as firm and fast as I’ve heard it sounds like a blast.  Have fun. 

 

I played the Red Loop in 2021. Looking forward to seeing it from the other direction. 

 

[Argonne69]

Beautiful morning. Cold and breezy, but not as bad as yesterday. The sunshine felt great. The Fortress today. Beautiful parkland/prairie style layout. Dick Nugent design. He has a number of layouts in Illinois, including Harborside International. Gentle rolling hills with some wonderful mounding along the sides of the fairways. Trees helped frame many of the holes, but the native areas were the biggest hazard. Bunkering was moderate but effective. Water on a few holes, including the signature par 3 17th. Other than the dogleg par 5 18th, it was a little too much back and forth. 

 

Very generous off the tee other than the two short 4s on the closing stretch. The rough was fairly thick, but not particularly wide, so you might get away with a minor miss. A big miss might find an adjacent fairway, but more likely it was a lost ball in the fescue. Approaches were a mixed bag. A few well guarded greens, but many had plenty of room to run a ball up. Up and downs were tricky due to the thick rough and mounding around the greens. Putting was moderately challenging. Greens had a good amount of contouring and tiers, but it wasn't overdone. 

 

Other than the 12th, the par 3s were very good. Forced carries on a pair, including the 17th with a big rock wall. 5s were a bit of a letdown. The 6th was reachable, but no real risk. Short 4s were fun with tight fairways and trouble left. 

 

Conditions were excellent all around. Lush fairways. Thick rough. Sandy bunkers. Firm greens rolling at least 10, and closer to 11 as they dried out late in the round. 

 

Played the Maroon tees at 6271 yds (71.4/139). The slope has to be due to the high potential for lost balls in the fescue. One of the better rounds of late off the tee, bit one unwelcome snap hook into the pond on the 13th was costly. Couldn't quite dial in the speed and break on the greens. Four bogies and a double. Highlight of the day was my trusty 9 wood. The holes playing into the wind were tough, but I still managed GIRs with a handful of low runners. 

 

I'll give this one 5 cows. Could be convinced to award six. Beautiful looking course, but needs a good risk/reward 5, and a few sweepers or doglegs. $60 was a little pricey for a weekday round, but not crazy high. Wouldn't get bored playing here regularly, and it's definitely worth a visit. 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

The Fortress, Frankenmuth, MI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jzmpz2igausu1sl/AAC_l4IdFLK0ssLk50z_Md9pa?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Nice to not have to drive miles upon miles to play golf and enjoy a brew. Frankenmuth Brewery has 18 taps with a very nice Belgian Tripel. Their Belgian Quad is on deck. 

 

 

 

[Argonne69]

I guess it wouldn't be a trip to Frankenmuth without a stop at Zehnder's. Bit of an establishmemt in town. Not the best fried chicken I've ever had, but certainly in the top 10. Quite the experience. The staff wearing tradional Bavarian garb is nice. 'Love the lederhosen. 

 

The fried chicken was very moist and tasty. Don't often comment on mashed potatoes and stuffing, but both were way above average. The potatoes must have been whipped in an industrial blender. Lol. The coleslaw was probably the 2nd best slaw I've had, only trailing the slaw at Carson's Ribs in Chicago. Buttered noodles were very good. 

 

Was planning to have a slice of cheesecake, but I'm stuffed. After sitting on my backside for 5 weeks, I have to watch the waistline. Lol. Definitely worth a visit, and only a couple of blocks from Frankenmuth Brewery and The Fortress. Nice way to finish the day. 

 

 

Gawd, I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at the pastries in the bakery. 

 

 

Lol. OK, I couldn't resist. I'll eat the carrot cake and brownie cheesecake tomorrow. At least that's what I'm telling myself. 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

I updates my course list/rankings. Yesterday was round #350 on the journey. Heck of a roadtrip. 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sxo4bvkpv6g5dl8/ArgsCourseRatings.csv?dl=0

 

[Abh159]

20 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

I updates my course list/rankings. Yesterday was round #350 on the journey. Heck of a roadtrip. 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sxo4bvkpv6g5dl8/ArgsCourseRatings.csv?dl=0

 

 

Handful of 8's and one 9 in Kiawah. At least I think just one. It wouldn't let me sort so I may have missed it if there was another 9.

 

Do you think you'll ever play a 10, or is that more or less unobtainable? Meaning nothing will ever be "perfect".

[Argonne69]

5 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

 

Handful of 8's and one 9 in Kiawah. At least I think just one. It wouldn't let me sort so I may have missed it if there was another 9.

 

Do you think you'll ever play a 10, or is that more or less unobtainable? Meaning nothing will ever be "perfect".

 

I don't think there's a 10, but I dream about it. Probably Augusta National. Pebble Beach was my favorite course, and I'd rate it a 9. Always a few changes that could make it better. 

 

[buckI]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

I guess it wouldn't be a trip to Frankenmuth without a stop at Zehnder's. Bit of an establishmemt in town. Not the best fried chicken I've ever had, but certainly in the top 10. Quite the experience. The staff wearing tradional Bavarian garb is nice. 'Love the lederhosen. 

 

The fried chicken was very moist and tasty. Don't often comment on mashed potatoes and stuffing, but both were way above average. The potatoes must have been whipped in an industrial blender. Lol. The coleslaw was probably the 2nd best slaw I've had, only trailing the slaw at Carson's Ribs in Chicago. Buttered noodles were very good. 

 

Was planning to have a slice of cheesecake, but I'm stuffed. After sitting on my backside for 5 weeks, I have to watch the waistline. Lol. Definitely worth a visit, and only a couple of blocks from Frankenmuth Brewery and The Fortress. Nice way to finish the day. 

 

 

Gawd, I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at the pastries in the bakery. 

 

 

Lol. OK, I couldn't resist. I'll eat the carrot cake and brownie cheesecake tomorrow. At least that's what I'm telling myself. 

 

 

That is the most khaki looking plate of food I have ever seen!😁. Looks like some of the Uniqlo outfits Adam Scott was wearing last year!

[stevopagolf]

On 5/24/2023 at 12:12 PM, Argonne69 said:

Lol. What a joke. Apple Mountain? More like Apple Mound. Dreary day with cloudy skies, cool temps, and 20 to 30 mph winds. Another course with a mandatory cart policy, even though I was the first out with nobody around. 

 

If the course didn't have a little bunny hill with ski lift it would be entirely forgettable. Most of the layout is your stock housing development course. Mix of parkland, prairie, and a little wetland. Other than the two holes that tee off on the hill, it's basically flat. The mounding did help a bit. A handful of ponds bring a little danger, along with a few native areas. Bunkering was quite good, especially around the greens. No real left/right movement. 

 

There were a couple of tough tee shots, but most of the fairways were fairly wide open. Minor misses could be played from the rough, but you might have an uneven lie on the mounds. Approaches were tough due to the bunkers. Greens were benign, so up and downs and putting were rather straightforward unless you found yourself having to flop one over a bunker. 

 

Other than the par 3 5th, the par 3s were boring. The 5th had an elevated tee on the bunny hill, and a pond guarding the front of the green. 5s were decent. The 18th was a very good risk/reward hole with water in front. The 12th had a tough layup with a forced carry over a waste area. Short 4s were mixed. The 3rd was fun with a shallow green tucked behind a pond. 

 

Conditions were soft, but playable. It rained a few days ago, and the course was still quite wet. Rough was cut to a good height. Bunkers needed a grooming. Greens were rolling nicely at close to 10. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6347 yds (71.3/134). Should have played a combo. Stiff winds and soft fairways added a ton of yards. One birdie and ten bogies. Not much fun hitting woods and mid irons all round. Highlight of the round was the fox that ran out in front of me on the 5th hole. Saw me, barked, and made a big loop back into the trees. Lol. Don't think I've ever heard a fox bark. Unfortunately it moved so fast I couldn't get a pic. 

 

Apple Mound gets 4 cows. A couple of interesting holes, but too many cookie cutter ones. Definitely misleading with the name. $64 for a weekday round was overpriced. Decent, but this one can be skipped. 

 

Michigan is very flat for the most part.  Apple Mound!  Northville Hills looks at Mount Trashmore, highest point in the area on the back 9.  Literally, a former dump!

[Argonne69]

Uneventful drive to Clare, MI. I'm ~20 minutes north of Bucks Run and PohlCat GC. Middle of nowhere actually. Going to take a drive into Clare to check out Four Leaf Brewing. 

 

I booked a round at The Bear next Saturday in Traverse City, and A-Ga-Ming Sundance the following Monday. Any other courses in the TB area worth playing on the Sunday? I'll be up in the Petoskey area after that, so don't need anything north of TB. Interlochen? Manitou Passage? Sugar Loaf? Bahle Farms? Any of the other course at Grand Traverse Resort? 

 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I stopped in and played The Nightmare on my way up North a few years back. It was decent enough. So much golf to play in Northern Michigan!

 

I really enjoyed The Fortress when I played there.

Edited May 26, 2023 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[Argonne69]

22 minutes ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

I stopped in and played The Nightmare on my way up North a few years back. It was decent enough. So much golf to play in Northern Michigan!

 

I really enjoyed The Fortress when I played there.

 

I'll be at Dream on Tuesday, and Nightmare on Wednesday. 

 

[Argonne69]

Four Leaf Brewing in Clare. Small brewery with 12 taps, but can't complain when there's a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and a Tripel. 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Argonne69

[Jose c.]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 Interlochen? Manitou Passage? Sugar Loaf? Bahle Farms? Any of the other course at Grand Traverse Resort? 

 

 

Always enjoyed1. manitou passage  and 2.bahle farms in that order.

[Argonne69]

Gorgeous morning on a gorgeous course. It's days like this that make the journey worthwhile. Chilly at the start of the round, but it warmed very quickly. Nice to be the only one out on the course with the wildlife. Well, I guess the maintenance crew counts. Lol. 

 

Bucks Run today. Fantastic blend of parkland and wetlands layout. There's a small lake behind the clubhouse that comes into play on four holes, including the tough 9th and 18th. Minor elevation changes. Plenty of native areas. Bunkering was solid. Water on a few holes in addition to the ones on the lake. Left/right movement on several holes. 

 

Relatively tough off the tee with a number of narrow fairways, forced carries, and lateral water. Not a lot of rough on the holes, so even minor misses could be trouble. Wild was a definite no-no. Approaches were mixed. A few benign ones, but also some really scary ones. The par 4 2nd and 9th had greens tucked behind the water. The long 18th was a beast. A solid drive left 200 to the green protected in front by the lake. I chickened out and layed up. Up and downs were moderately difficult. Elevated greens with decent mounding resulted in a few iffy lies. Greens had some very nice contouring. Nothing crazy, but it requires attention 

 

Par 3s were very good with forced carries on each. Wish there wasn't two short ones, though. 5s were good, but no risk/reward on the approaches. The 6th was reachable in two if you could hit the very narrow fairway, otherwise you were playing from the expansive right rough. The 15th was a risk/reward hole off the tee. Carry the wetlands at 250 yds and the green was reachable. Lay short and it was a benign three shot hole. Short 4s were meh. A couple of doglegs that rewarded working the ball around the corner, but little risk. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways lush. Rough thick, but cut to a good height. Bunkers freshly groomed with heavy, wet sand. Greens were firm and rolling at least 10 

 

Player the White tees at 6366 yds (71.3/139). I can see the high slope, as there's little room for errant shots. Driver was spot on, irons were decent, but the wedges just didn't give me good looks. Five bogies. Highlight was seeing a buck 30 yds away. He looked at me, but when I went to grab my phone he took off. 

 

BR gets a strong 6 cows. Beautiful piece of property, but I'd like to see a long par 3, a risk/reward 5, and a little danger on the short 4s. $110 is really getting up there in price. Yeah, it's a holiday weekend, but that's moving into a whole new price range. I have a feeling I'm going to have to get used to it as I approach northern Michigan in the coming weeks. In any case, definitely worth a visit. 

 

Oh, what's with the empty parking lot? Finished my round at 10:40 am on a beautiful holiday weekend, and there were maybe a dozen vehicles in the parking lot. The course so far off the beaten path, or just too pricey for the locals? 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Bucks Run GC, Mt Pleasant, MI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 18th is a beast, especially from the tips at 475 yds 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b6dnp2u58tpo0fg/AADPH7pNC6p4whGV2TxlAJg6a?dl=0

 

[So_Cal]

On 5/26/2023 at 10:43 AM, Argonne69 said:

Uneventful drive to Clare, MI. I'm ~20 minutes north of Bucks Run and PohlCat GC. Middle of nowhere actually. Going to take a drive into Clare to check out Four Leaf Brewing. 

 

I booked a round at The Bear next Saturday in Traverse City, and A-Ga-Ming Sundance the following Monday. Any other courses in the TB area worth playing on the Sunday? I'll be up in the Petoskey area after that, so don't need anything north of TB. Interlochen? Manitou Passage? Sugar Loaf? Bahle Farms? Any of the other course at Grand Traverse Resort? 

 

 

I agree with what Jose said.  Can someone get you on Kingsley?  It really is good.  Obviously the Arcadia Bluffs courses are good but a bit further away. 

[Argonne69]

37 minutes ago, So_Cal said:

I agree with what Jose said.  Can someone get you on Kingsley?  It really is good.  Obviously the Arcadia Bluffs courses are good but a bit further away. 

 

Would love to play Kingsley if someone could get me on. 

 

I've played both courses at Arcadia. Bluffs is special. Didn't care for the South course. 

 

[postfold]

5 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Oh, what's with the empty parking lot? Finished my round at 10:40 am on a beautiful holiday weekend, and there were maybe a dozen vehicles in the parking lot. The course so far off the beaten path, or just too pricey for the locals? 

 

I think you answered your own question.  $110 is steep in Michigan for a locals course and I don't think Bucks Run is really a destination even though it is quite nice.

[Dancin]

5 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Would love to play Kingsley if someone could get me on.

 

Just a warning that unaccompanied at Kingsley is $375. I would only do it if someone can get you on accompanied.

[Argonne69]

Another simply gorgeous morning, but unfortunately it was spent zooming around on an easily walkable, empty golf course. Michigan used to be one of my favorite golfing destinations, but like Florida, it's quickly falling down the rankings. Pfffttt. 

 

PohlCat GC today. It ain't no Bucks Run. Another hybrid parkland/prairie layout. The prairie style holes are fairly mundane, but the parkland holes are quite narrow and challenging. A couple of sweepers help mix it up, but just a little too much straightaway for my tastes. Bunkering was light. Water on roughly half the holes. A couple of holes had some minor elevation change, but most of the course is a pancake. Mounding was light. 

 

Mixed bag off the tee. The prairie holes were very generous. Fire away. The parkland holes were very tight with a couple of short forced carries. Even minority misses were penal as the low cut rough was doing little to stop balls from heading into the trees. Big misses were deadly. Approaches were also mixed. There were a couple of well defended greens, including a couple with water in front, but many were wide open. Up and downs were no problem. Same with putting. Greens were fairly benign. 

 

The first three par 3s were meh. The 17th looked great with a forced carry over a creek, but it was short. Three of the par 5s were simply long and boring. The short 16th was an interesting risk/reward hole off the tee. 230 to carry the wetlands, allowing the green to be reached in two. Lay up short and it's a 3 shot hole. Adding to the fun was a cluster of three large pine trees in the middle of the fairway at the 150 marker. Short 4s were boring. The 15th was tough because it was so narrow. 

 

Conditions were mixed. Fairways were lush, but wet from a heavy watering. Rough was very low. Bunkers had plenty of sand, but it was wet and needed serious grooming. Big holiday weekend and it doesn't look like they've been grommed in a week. Greens looked good, but only rolled 9 at most. Lastly, if you're going to have GPS on the carts, maybe try having the pin positions somewhere close to correct. 

 

Played the White tees at 6258 yds (71.1/133). Almost a repeat of yesterday. Solid day ballstriking, but no real good looks at birdie. Six bogies. No real highlights. Was in a foul mood all round due to the cart policy. 

 

4 cows here. At $95, I'd easily spend the extra $15 and play Bucks Run down the road 9 out of 10 times. A few interesting holes, but not enough at that price point to warrant a 2nd visit. The final four holes are quite good, but the prairie holes are real snoozers. If you're in the area for a few days, then it may be worth a weekday play, but otherwise hit Bucks.