Michigan - Help me choose a path (buddies trip)

[macteago]

Have an upcoming trip Aug 24 - 28.  First 1/4 of trip is only 8 guys with another 8 joining 3rd day of the trip.  I would say majority of handicaps are between 2-12.  With a few in the 16-20 arena.  

I have friends flying in from all over into Grand Rapids Wed morning:

I have a number of reservations made but trying to determine what would be the most enjoyable experience so will cancel / release a few of them soon as we finalize on path.  

Option A: pick everyone up and drive to Arcadia Bluffs (we have the 4pm twilight time).  Unsure if we will get around by dark (9:20ish) after hearing of 3 hour back 9 rounds, chewed up greens in other trip reports.  We have lodging on property and would play Arcadia South Thursday morning, drive to Roscommon and play Dunes in the afternoon and stay on property Friday nights as the other group meets up with us and have option to play Loop the next morning or skip the loop and hit Belvedere or Tribute, we are staying in Gaylord remainder of trip.  

Biggest con to this choice is it adds some significant drive time (2-3 hours) versus just playing around GR area on Wed and driving up to Dunes directly. 

Option B:  Play 18/36 at Pilgrims Run then head up to Forest Dunes direct (could potentially play Bootleggers at 7pm).  Play Loop / Dunes next day.  Biggest plus here is we reduce drive time and get in an extra round for the same cost.

Remainder of the trip we have a house in Gaylord and currently have tee times on Treetops (Friday night Threetops), Saturday Masterpiece / Signature.  Sunday we have the option to either play Premiere or hit Pilgrims Run if we end up doing Option A on way back to airport before evening flights home.  

 

For Friday we have options to play 18/36 at a combo of Belvedere, Tribute or Michaywe Pines.  Really looking for ranking of these three options there.  Really want to play Belvedere but drive (50 minutes each way) i'm worried about adding on drive time.

All opinions / recommendations appreciated.    

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by macteago

[cassel191919]

13 hours ago, macteago said:

Have an upcoming trip Aug 24 - 28.  First 1/4 of trip is only 8 guys with another 8 joining 3rd day of the trip.  I would say majority of handicaps are between 2-12.  With a few in the 16-20 arena.  

I have friends flying in from all over into Grand Rapids Wed morning:

I have a number of reservations made but trying to determine what would be the most enjoyable experience so will cancel / release a few of them soon as we finalize on path.  

Option A: pick everyone up and drive to Arcadia Bluffs (we have the 4pm twilight time).  Unsure if we will get around by dark (9:20ish) after hearing of 3 hour back 9 rounds, chewed up greens in other trip reports.  We have lodging on property and would play Arcadia South Thursday morning, drive to Roscommon and play Dunes in the afternoon and stay on property Friday nights as the other group meets up with us and have option to play Loop the next morning or skip the loop and hit Belvedere or Tribute, we are staying in Gaylord remainder of trip.  

Biggest con to this choice is it adds some significant drive time (2-3 hours) versus just playing around GR area on Wed and driving up to Dunes directly. 

Option B:  Play 18/36 at Pilgrims Run then head up to Forest Dunes direct (could potentially play Bootleggers at 7pm).  Play Loop / Dunes next day.  Biggest plus here is we reduce drive time and get in an extra round for the same cost.

Remainder of the trip we have a house in Gaylord and currently have tee times on Treetops (Friday night Threetops), Saturday Masterpiece / Signature.  Sunday we have the option to either play Premiere or hit Pilgrims Run if we end up doing Option A on way back to airport before evening flights home.  

 

For Friday we have options to play 18/36 at a combo of Belvedere, Tribute or Michaywe Pines.  Really looking for ranking of these three options there.  Really want to play Belvedere but drive (50 minutes each way) i'm worried about adding on drive time.

All opinions / recommendations appreciated.    

 

I was at Arcadia a few weeks ago and the greens were fine and rolling very well. I think both A and B are great and you can't go wrong with either, but I prefer Arcadia I personally think the south is one of the best out there period. It is firm, fast, and just a different style of golf. Also make sure you play Belvedere, it is a must play with a ton of variety. If you were doing 36 I would mix in the tribute that is just a fun course with a lot of elevation change and was in really good shape in late June.

[N8dogg2669]

I'd go option B. Last year we did a similar trip, but we are coming from metro Detroit so we went the opposite route. We hit Forest Dunes, stayed the night and then hit the Loop, then drove to Arcadia and we had an amazing AirBnB that is literally on the other side of the road down the 3rd, 4th, and 5th holes of the course. You can hear the bag pipes and see the water from the deck. It was an unexpected surprise on how good the place was. We woke up the next day and played South in the morning and then had an afternoon tee time on Bluffs. We took a caddie for both rounds and it made it that much better. Ask for Tye Love if you get a caddie. We were teeing off on 18 when the 7pm bag piper started playing. Can't lie, gave me goosebumps. We then drank a couple cocktails in the Adirondack chairs and had an 830pm dinner reservation on the patio. Had a filet, drinks, and watched the sun set. It was an absolute story book day. In the morning we drove down to American Dunes and played there. And we all decided to just head home from there as we had put in some serious golf and drinking. As good as that trip was, this year we are just going to Treetops in 2 weeks and playing Otsego on the way there, and then staying onsite and playing 3 of the Treetops course and the Par 3 course a couple times. The travel last year was alot by time we were all done. Either way, I think you guys have a good trip planned. Enjoy

[mckennwa]

If you’ve never been, go to Arcadia. It’s worth the drive. I was there a few weeks ago, greens were nice, with only a bit of recent sand left slowing them a tad. The course is tremendous and the views make it over the top. You will likely finish, as usual pace is 5 hrs.  At worst you’ll play the best holes, 10-13, at sunset and maybe finish the last one or two in the twilight.
 

Spend the rest of the evening having dinner and drinks there, lodging is hard to come by there, so take advantage. 
 

The only downside is, by playing Arcadia first  the rest of the courses will not be the same. I like to make Arcadia the end of my trips for this reason. Also, skip the South. It’s too new, flat and gimmicky on the front 9.  
 

if you go option B, consider Tullymore over Pilgirms. 

[kalamazoo]

Absolutely nobody will be disappointed by Option A, in my opinion. Also, sometimes the drive time is nice on trips like these...a chance to nap or sober up lol.

The risk with Treetops is course conditions. I guess it all depends on if you're going for making golf memories or quality time memories. If golf-specific memories, go Option A.

[postfold]

20 hours ago, mckennwa said:

if you go option B, consider Tullymore over Pilgirms. 

 

I'd choose Pilgrims 9 times out of 10 over Tullymore, but that's just my opinion.

[knickerbocker]

23 hours ago, postfold said:

 

I'd choose Pilgrims 9 times out of 10 over Tullymore, but that's just my opinion.

 

I 100% agree.  

[eagle2838]

IMO it would be a mistake to skip Arcadia Bluffs. It is a beautiful property with really unique, great golf. Also just a nice place to spend some time. 

Although I prefer the Forest Dunes course to The Loop, I also think it would be a big mistake to leave without playing The Loop if you're already staying on property. It's fun. 

 

[macteago]

Really appreciate the input, made us all realize adding drive time to hit Arcadia will be worth it especially as many of these guys may never make it up to northern Michigan again as from long distances out.  
 

Heading up Tuesday hitting Pilgrims on the drive up then staying 2 nights at Arcadia playing South and Bluffs.  Second leg we are hitting Forest Dunes (staying on property) playing Dunes, Loop and Boot then finishing up at TreeTops/Tribute.  I would say the latter half of a trip will be far more lax in having some drinks, competition play with different formats etc.. so course conditions will be less important later in trip.  More important to not have any driving in last 2-3 days.    

May try and hit Champion Hill, Cedar River or Belvedere (bit more out of way) on drive over to Dunes from Bluffs on Thursday.  

Will certainly update in 3 weeks when we are on trip.  

[VNutz]

With a variety of skill and general golf knowledge levels, nobody in the group will be disappointed in Arcadia, it's just that beautiful in the right spots. I like the addition of Pilgrims, that's one of my favorite courses around. Doesn't have the flash of Arcadia, but there are some really fun holes in there, and you feel alone most of the time. I've not played Cedar or Belvedere, but I highly recommend Champion Hill, it's a true hidden gem type course. Some guys might be underwhelmed, but there are some really cool subtleties about the course that are great for all levels of play. Enjoy the trip!

[D^2]

On 8/1/2022 at 12:22 PM, VNutz said:

With a variety of skill and general golf knowledge levels, nobody in the group will be disappointed in Arcadia, it's just that beautiful in the right spots. I like the addition of Pilgrims, that's one of my favorite courses around. Doesn't have the flash of Arcadia, but there are some really fun holes in there, and you feel alone most of the time. I've not played Cedar or Belvedere, but I highly recommend Champion Hill, it's a true hidden gem type course. Some guys might be underwhelmed, but there are some really cool subtleties about the course that are great for all levels of play. Enjoy the trip!

 

+1 

 

My buddy has played most of the high end courses in the US and really enjoyed Champion Hill. Belvedere is worth the extra drive.