The Quest

[3_Jack_Par]

Houghton Lake, MI

Had a chance to play the Quest , which is near Houghton Lake, and is owned by a group including WRX member openwater32 (aka, Jeff), who was nice enough to handle setting us up with our tee time. My group of 8 was on the way up for an outing at Boyne Highlands, and we wanted to play on the way up on Friday. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't super cooperative, and we had to deal with some rain for about half the round, but it was nothing compared to the downpour we played in on Sunday at Boyne.

As for the course, Jeff had warned me that the greens had been in pretty rough shape when they bought the place and they weren't all the way recovered, but that proved to be an unnecessary warning, as they seemed to be in pretty good shape. Jeff plays at Forest Dunes all the time, so his perception of green quality may be a bit skewed. The putting surfaces at The Quest were a bit above average for a public course in Michigan. They were a little slow compared to the other courses we played on the weekend, but not shaggy, and certainly nothing to complain about.

As for the rest of the course, we found it to be pretty enjoyable. The first hole is quite a challenge -- an longish par 4, requiring a very accurate tee shot, especially for your first shot of the day. After that, the rest of the front 9 was pretty open -- not a lot of trouble to be found. The back 9 toughens up considerably. You'd better bring your A game on the tee box, or you'll be punching out from the woods a lot. Fortunately, I figured out my problem that had me spraying it on the front, and was able to keep it in play. I also found out that they use quality sand. Even wet, it was very playable -- I didn't find this to be the case at Boyne.

All in all, it was a good challenge, and a great value. In addition to the $29 green fee (no sure if Jeff hooked us up, as we'd been expecting to pay the $34 weekend rate, so if so, thanks!) Food and beverage prices were also quite reasonable, which was brought in sharp contrast to getting bent over at Boyne ($6 for a hot dog? Are you kidding me?!). I also bumped into Jeff at the turn, which I hadn't been expecting. Sorry I wasn't able to chat longer. Thanks a lot for setting us up!

[birdieboy52]

Nice review. Did you happen to see the polar bears on the ice flows during the spring melt in the upper lower peninsula ?

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='birdieboy52' date='08 June 2010 - 03:25 PM' timestamp='1276025119' post='2495455']
Nice review. Did you happen to see the polar bears on the ice flows during the spring melt in the upper lower peninsula ?
[/quote]

Hell, during the outing a few weeks ago at Forest Dunes, it was damn near 90 degrees. It's been a warm spring here.

[Openwater22]

TigerJr,
Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed The Quest. Yeah, my benchmark may be a bit high for greens quality. But you never hear anyone walk off a course and compliment the rough. LOL

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='openwater32' date='10 June 2010 - 08:54 AM' timestamp='1276174452' post='2500315']
TigerJr,
Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed The Quest. Yeah, my benchmark may be a bit high for greens quality. But you never hear anyone walk off a course and compliment the rough. LOL
[/quote]

I spend so little time in the rough that I usually don't notice...

[Openwater22]

TigerJr,

Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed The Quest. Yeah, my benchmark may be a bit high for greens quality. But you never hear anyone walk off a course and compliment the rough. LOL

 

I spend so little time in the rough that I usually don't notice...

 

 

And when you do find the rough, it's after a 300+ yard launching. LOL

[mrfitz]

I live over in Interlochen. I called over to inquire about playing the Quest and was told carts are required.

[Openwater22]

[quote name='mrfitz' date='18 June 2010 - 02:15 PM' timestamp='1276884942' post='2517872']
I live over in Interlochen. I called over to inquire about playing the Quest and was told carts are required.
[/quote]
Not true. Walking is allowed, n fact encourged.

[mrfitz]

Good to hear, it had been a couple years since I looked into playing there. The girl who took my call told me they never had anyone ask to walk. I don't mind riding, but I prefer a walk.

[golfortennis]

I tried to find the website for the course, and the link my google search gave just comes up with one of those "domain name for sale" with 50 options type. Is there a website?

[Pepperturbo]

[quote name='Tiger Jr.' date='08 June 2010 - 12:27 PM' timestamp='1276021648' post='2495301']
Had a chance to play the Quest , which is near Houghton Lake, and is owned by a group including WRX member openwater32 (aka, Jeff), who was nice enough to handle setting us up with our tee time. My group of 8 was on the way up for an outing at Boyne Highlands, and we wanted to play on the way up on Friday. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't super cooperative, and we had to deal with some rain for about half the round, but it was nothing compared to the downpour we played in on Sunday at Boyne.

[/quote]

Sorry this is OT a bit... When I saw Houghton Lake it brought back memories. As a kid during the summer we use to go fishing on Houghton, and during the winter we'd ice fish and cut a hockey rink and play. Also a relative had a cabin nearby so when deer season opened we'd hunt not far away. Thanks for the memories. I haven't been in that part of the state in years.

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='Pepperturbo' date='26 June 2010 - 10:06 AM' timestamp='1277561217' post='2537603']
[quote name='Tiger Jr.' date='08 June 2010 - 12:27 PM' timestamp='1276021648' post='2495301']
Had a chance to play the Quest , which is near Houghton Lake, and is owned by a group including WRX member openwater32 (aka, Jeff), who was nice enough to handle setting us up with our tee time. My group of 8 was on the way up for an outing at Boyne Highlands, and we wanted to play on the way up on Friday. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't super cooperative, and we had to deal with some rain for about half the round, but it was nothing compared to the downpour we played in on Sunday at Boyne.

[/quote]

Sorry this is OT a bit... When I saw Houghton Lake it brought back memories. As a kid during the summer we use to go fishing on Houghton, and during the winter we'd ice fish and cut a hockey rink and play. Also a relative had a cabin nearby so when deer season opened we'd hunt not far away. Thanks for the memories. I haven't been in that part of the state in years.
[/quote]

My family rented a cabin on the lake for a week every year from when I was about 5-12. We used to do a lot of fishing and swimming, and just had an overall great time. I remember the place we stayed had the old-school lawn darts, which basically involved throwing spears through the air. We used to throw them as high as we could -- it's amazing no one ever got impaled. We stopped going after we started getting really into golf, in favor of Gaylord, so it's been 20+ years since I've been back, but still have some great childhood memories of the times we spent there. It was the beginning of my love affair with the northern part of the state.

[Openwater22]

Sorry about the website issue. The previous owner owns the domain name which has expired. They cannot remember the p.i.n. or password or whatever is required for us to renew it. We are working thru the issue and will be back up soon.