All Things Michigan Golf....the Mulligan (MOD EDIT: NO POLITICS, NO COVID-19, NO ECONOMICS)

[ryan84]

Forest Akers added top tracer to their heated range bays. Medium bucket is 10 bucks which I thought is a little high but the real time ball flight was awesome, and it was pretty accurate for me too.

[3_Jack_Par]

I'm working on trying to plan our annual trip for 8 guys in August, and after not finding a lot of options I love in northern Michigan, I'm looking into some options on the west side of the state. I've never played Harbor Shores, and their website is super annoying in that it doesn't have rates anywhere that I can find them. Does anyone happen to know approximately what their peak season rate is? We'd probably be looking to play at around 1PM on a Friday, if that matters.

Same question for Macatawa Legends, if anyone knows (weekend rate -- that would probably be on Saturday).

 

Any other courses anyone would recommend near Holland/GR?

[Openwater22]

I have a 10.5* G400 Max with 4 shafts:

Stock Alta 55 stiff at stock length

Stock Alta 55 stiff playing at 45"

Ping Tour 65 stiff @ 45"

Fuji Atoms Tour Spec ble 6S @ 45"

Headed to BST soon. U heard it here first if anybody wants dibs.

 

Hi OW. Have a question for you. I have the Max with the 10.5 Alta stiff and I was considering the Tour 65 at 45". How do you think they perform differently? I was fit last year at MoG but my swing has changed quite a bit (lessons etc). The stock shaft is spinning pretty high right now.

Tour 65 spins less and launches a touch lower than Alta. No trackman numbers to be exact, just the eyeball test. My opinion is the Tour 65 is a very solid offering by Ping. Only criticism might be it's not the best feeling shaft.

[smit1761]

I'm working on trying to plan our annual trip for 8 guys in August, and after not finding a lot of options I love in northern Michigan, I'm looking into some options on the west side of the state. I've never played Harbor Shores, and their website is super annoying in that it doesn't have rates anywhere that I can find them. Does anyone happen to know approximately what their peak season rate is? We'd probably be looking to play at around 1PM on a Friday, if that matters.

Same question for Macatawa Legends, if anyone knows (weekend rate -- that would probably be on Saturday).

 

Any other courses anyone would recommend near Holland/GR?

 

I think Macatawa runs about $75-85 a round on the weekends?

 

And have never played Diamond Springs but always been told it is a solid track.

 

If you are able to go north of GR a bit Pilgrim’s Run is phenomenal but a little out of the way along with Cedar Chase GC.

[3_Jack_Par]

I'm working on trying to plan our annual trip for 8 guys in August, and after not finding a lot of options I love in northern Michigan, I'm looking into some options on the west side of the state. I've never played Harbor Shores, and their website is super annoying in that it doesn't have rates anywhere that I can find them. Does anyone happen to know approximately what their peak season rate is? We'd probably be looking to play at around 1PM on a Friday, if that matters.

Same question for Macatawa Legends, if anyone knows (weekend rate -- that would probably be on Saturday).

 

Any other courses anyone would recommend near Holland/GR?

 

I think Macatawa runs about $75-85 a round on the weekends?

 

And have never played Diamond Springs but always been told it is a solid track.

 

If you are able to go north of GR a bit Pilgrim’s Run is phenomenal but a little out of the way along with Cedar Chase GC.

I’ve heard good things about Diamond Springs, but it’s alcohol-free, so that’s a no go for this group

[chickenpotpie]

We did the west coast thing 2 years ago, coming from mostly central Michigan or Detroit. Thursday PM we did Eagle eye as a central starting point, Friday we played Hawkshead and Beeches. Saturday was 36 at HS, and Sunday we did 18 at Stoatin Brae.

 

We have some cheap guys in our group so 36 at Harbor Shores cost more than we wanted, north of $150 total in late September. Stoatin Brae was a steal given it was new but 3/4 of our guys hated it. The Friday rounds were fun, mostly because we could get our drink on and not worry about blowing it on a course we paid a lot to play.

 

There’s a thread somewhere on here where I asked for advice. Knickerbocker and others gave some great tips.

[Amarsuperstar]

I'm working on trying to plan our annual trip for 8 guys in August, and after not finding a lot of options I love in northern Michigan, I'm looking into some options on the west side of the state. I've never played Harbor Shores, and their website is super annoying in that it doesn't have rates anywhere that I can find them. Does anyone happen to know approximately what their peak season rate is? We'd probably be looking to play at around 1PM on a Friday, if that matters.

Same question for Macatawa Legends, if anyone knows (weekend rate -- that would probably be on Saturday).

 

Any other courses anyone would recommend near Holland/GR?

 

I think Macatawa runs about $75-85 a round on the weekends?

 

And have never played Diamond Springs but always been told it is a solid track.

 

If you are able to go north of GR a bit Pilgrim’s Run is phenomenal but a little out of the way along with Cedar Chase GC.

I’ve heard good things about Diamond Springs, but it’s alcohol-free, so that’s a no go for this group

 

I've never had an issue there with a bottle in the bag and a cup full of ice. Mac Legends is decidedly average. Are you staying in Holland or GR?

 

Grand Haven GC and Clearbrook are small, tight courses that are very popular, especially for seniors. The Ravines is Diamond Springs without the great architectural touches - still a good course. Outside of Diamond Springs, GR and north is better than the Lakeshore. In GR I think Thornapple Pointe is the best - long, wide fairways, interesting routing, reasonable price. The Mines is worthy. Kaufman is a blast and cheap. GVSU Meadows course is not my cuppa but it's well liked. North, you have the legendary Pilgrims Run and the luxurious Tullymore.

 

If you go private, Wuskowhan, Cascade CC, and Egypt Valley are all worth it. If you're the type that wants the sternest challenge you're welcome to join me at Thousand Oaks, but frankly I would rate it middle of the pack relative to the other courses I've mentioned - it's just the hardest.

 

 

Aside from that, I'm 9 weeks out from 4 bone spurs and microfracture surgery on my ankle. Going stir crazy. Finally decided what equipment moves I'm ready to make this off-season:

 

Moving in from -

08 TM RAC TP MB Smoke, Vokey 52 to match

Scotty Buttonback

V steel 13 FW Tour head

Nike Vapor Pro Combo's

 

 

In 12 years of ho'ing I've never owned a set of Mizzy irons, so that crime needs answering for. Something in the MP line or the JPX900 Tours. Getting my Vapor Fly Pro refinished by Labworx in their matte black.

 

 

Switching the wedge setup from 52-56-60 to 54-60. Anyone have any experience dropping a wedge? What about adding a 64? Any models worthy of a hard look?

[3_Jack_Par]

We did the west coast thing 2 years ago, coming from mostly central Michigan or Detroit. Thursday PM we did Eagle eye as a central starting point, Friday we played Hawkshead and Beeches. Saturday was 36 at HS, and Sunday we did 18 at Stoatin Brae.

 

We have some cheap guys in our group so 36 at Harbor Shores cost more than we wanted, north of $150 total in late September. Stoatin Brae was a steal given it was new but 3/4 of our guys hated it. The Friday rounds were fun, mostly because we could get our drink on and not worry about blowing it on a course we paid a lot to play.

 

There’s a thread somewhere on here where I asked for advice. Knickerbocker and others gave some great tips.

Thanks for the heads-up. I often forget there are other threads in this forum!

[3_Jack_Par]

 

I've never had an issue there with a bottle in the bag and a cup full of ice. Mac Legends is decidedly average. Are you staying in Holland or GR?

 

Grand Haven GC and Clearbrook are small, tight courses that are very popular, especially for seniors. The Ravines is Diamond Springs without the great architectural touches - still a good course. Outside of Diamond Springs, GR and north is better than the Lakeshore. In GR I think Thornapple Pointe is the best - long, wide fairways, interesting routing, reasonable price. The Mines is worthy. Kaufman is a blast and cheap. GVSU Meadows course is not my cuppa but it's well liked. North, you have the legendary Pilgrims Run and the luxurious Tullymore.

 

If you go private, Wuskowhan, Cascade CC, and Egypt Valley are all worth it. If you're the type that wants the sternest challenge you're welcome to join me at Thousand Oaks, but frankly I would rate it middle of the pack relative to the other courses I've mentioned - it's just the hardest.

Since this is a whole weekend trip, I don't want to have any issues where we'd be going against course policies and risking getting thrown off the course (even if that's unlikely)

The house we're looking at is near Holland, so it makes it fairly convenient for the Ravines and Macatawa. No private connections, and this group is mostly double digit handicaps, and somewhat budget conscious, so I'm generally aiming to go with courses that won't break the bank, but I would like to have one round that's a bit of a splurge, which is what Harbor Shores would be. I've never played there, and I don't play much golf over on that side of the state, so this is a good opportunity to do so.

Switching the wedge setup from 52-56-60 to 54-60. Anyone have any experience dropping a wedge? What about adding a 64? Any models worthy of a hard look?

I moved a long time ago from 52-56-60 to 53-58, and I've rarely missed the extra wedge. I've always had a primary club that I use for most shots around the greens -- previously it was the 56, and now it's the 58. The 60 was a club that I was never super confident with on full swings, and I didn't use it a ton around the greens, unless I was really short-sided, so for me, it wasn't all that useful a lot of the time. The 58 gives me plenty of loft for most shots, and the grind I have on it makes it easy to open up and hit flops when I need to, and dropping that wedge opens a spot for another club on the top end of the bag. The big question I think you have to ask yourself when it comes to deciding how many wedges to carry is are you comfortable adjusting to hitting in-between distances with your wedges, especially less than full shots with your shortest wedge, or do you like to hit full shots all the time? I am pretty good at controlling distance by adjusting the length of my swing and choking down on the club -- I've spent time on a Trackman figuring out how far I hit it with my PW-53-58 with half-3/4-full swings, and how choking down affects those distances, so I have a good reference for how far it's going to go when I play each of those shots.

All that said, I have found that there are some courses I play where the extra long club isn't all that useful and an extra high-lofted wedge can be more of a benefit, so last year I picked up a 62 degree Vokey, and I'll sometimes put that in and take out my 3 wood or driving iron. I need to practice with it more, and I'm actually planning to go back and do the wedge distance thing on Trackman in early March to re-check my yardages (they got longer last year) and to get numbers with the 62, because I didn't have that when I did it originally. Our home course for Publinx is Washtenaw GC, and that's a course that's a good example where the extra wedge is useful. There's no tee shots on that course where it's better to hit 3 wood instead of a driving iron or 5 wood (my other option in that slot), and the greens are relatively small and quick, and I always seem to short side myself a couple times each round, so having a club to hit high soft shots around the greens is a lot more valuable than the extra club at the top end of the bag.

[swizbeatz]

My favorite 64’s lately have been the taylor made hi toe and the vokey special release T grind. Not something many people would carry all the time as 3 Jack mentioned.

[3_Jack_Par]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

[O.D.underpar]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

 

Lol. 3 days ago you said your bag was set for the year.

 

I guess you were like “I lying” eh? Or more like Illini. Lol. How do you lose to them?

[3_Jack_Par]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

 

Lol. 3 days ago you said your bag was set for the year.

 

I guess you were like "I lying" eh? Or more like Illini. Lol. How do you lose to them?

I'm dumb and delusional. This shouldn't be news to anyone. I found it for a decent price for head only, and I figure I can sell it easily if it turns out it's not for me. I have a lesson scheduled for early March where I'm going to re-check my wedge distances, and that'll give me a chance to do a quick comparison.

 

Spartan hoops is in a tailspin since they found out Langford is done for the year. It's a bummer, because they looked really good for a while.

[knickerbocker]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

 

Hahahahaha!!

 

I picked up an Epic SZ head to test out as well. Trying to figure out what shaft to start with. Maybe AD-BB

[3_Jack_Par]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

 

Hahahahaha!!

 

I picked up an Epic SZ head to test out as well. Trying to figure out what shaft to start with. Maybe AD-BB

Original Epic SZ or the Flash?

[knickerbocker]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

 

Hahahahaha!!

 

I picked up an Epic SZ head to test out as well. Trying to figure out what shaft to start with. Maybe AD-BB

Original Epic SZ or the Flash?

 

Original Epic SZ.

[3_Jack_Par]

Lol, I'm a sick individual -- just picked up a Flash SZ head to test.

 

Hahahahaha!!

 

I picked up an Epic SZ head to test out as well. Trying to figure out what shaft to start with. Maybe AD-BB

Original Epic SZ or the Flash?

 

Original Epic SZ.

It's a great head. I don't know why I'm even messing around with the new one. Looks like it might get here in time for me to take it to California, though.

[1puttTUT]

Just got a meeting with MOG apparel buyer for tmrw. Super pumped!

[Amarsuperstar]

Since this is a whole weekend trip, I don't want to have any issues where we'd be going against course policies and risking getting thrown off the course (even if that's unlikely)

The house we're looking at is near Holland, so it makes it fairly convenient for the Ravines and Macatawa. No private connections, and this group is mostly double digit handicaps, and somewhat budget conscious, so I'm generally aiming to go with courses that won't break the bank, but I would like to have one round that's a bit of a splurge, which is what Harbor Shores would be. I've never played there, and I don't play much golf over on that side of the state, so this is a good opportunity to do so.

 

Fair. Ravines, Mac Legends, and Thornapple are all owned by the same company so if you're going to hit all three I would recommend giving them a call to see if you can get a package deal put together. Let me know if you want some drink or food recommendations.

 

Thanks for the wedge insight. I really think I'm going to test out 54-58-64 this summer. I don't mind the odd gap at the end because I'm not hitting anything lower than 54 with a real swing. I think I can gain some consistency having the 58 as my primary around the greens instead of the 60 and saving the 64 for the specialty shots.

[3_Jack_Par]

Fair. Ravines, Mac Legends, and Thornapple are all owned by the same company so if you're going to hit all three I would recommend giving them a call to see if you can get a package deal put together. Let me know if you want some drink or food recommendations.

The house I was looking at in Holland didn't work out, but we found one in the Battle Creek area, just down the road from Stonehedge, it appears. At the moment, we're playing Angels Crossing, Stonehedge South/North, and the Medalist. It's possible we'll switch out AC for something else, but I think this sounds like a pretty decent itinerary. I've never played AC or the Medalist, and it's probably been a decade since I played either Stonehedge course.

[knickerbocker]

The Medalist is tough, but fun. I enjoy it.

[Blockfader]

Fair. Ravines, Mac Legends, and Thornapple are all owned by the same company so if you're going to hit all three I would recommend giving them a call to see if you can get a package deal put together. Let me know if you want some drink or food recommendations.

The house I was looking at in Holland didn't work out, but we found one in the Battle Creek area, just down the road from Stonehedge, it appears. At the moment, we're playing Angels Crossing, Stonehedge South/North, and the Medalist. It's possible we'll switch out AC for something else, but I think this sounds like a pretty decent itinerary. I've never played AC or the Medalist, and it's probably been a decade since I played either Stonehedge course.

 

Angels crossing is a pretty fun layout, some of the biggest greens you will play. Hopefully they’ve got it in better condition this year, as I didn’t hear the best things last year. Love Stonehedge north, the 6/6/6 set up is tons of fun. And to reiterate Knickerboxer, the medalist is a great course but also very challenging. Seems like you guys have a good trip set up. Yarrow would have been the perfect addition, RIP

[Openwater22]

Just got a meeting with MOG apparel buyer for tmrw. Super pumped!

U moonlighting? Shssssssss, secret safe with me.

BTW, put a cold air intake and superchipped my 2018 Wrangler, anything to pay attention to?

[1puttTUT]

Just got a meeting with MOG apparel buyer for tmrw. Super pumped!

U moonlighting? Shssssssss, secret safe with me.

BTW, put a cold air intake and superchipped my 2018 Wrangler, anything to pay attention to?

 

I doubt it, but I'm an 8-speed only guy. I can ask around.

[Openwater22]

Just got a meeting with MOG apparel buyer for tmrw. Super pumped!

U moonlighting? Shssssssss, secret safe with me.

BTW, put a cold air intake and superchipped my 2018 Wrangler, anything to pay attention to?

 

I doubt it, but I'm an 8-speed only guy. I can ask around.

Sooooo, is my 2018 Gr. Cherokee SRT something u worked on?

[1puttTUT]

Just got a meeting with MOG apparel buyer for tmrw. Super pumped!

U moonlighting? Shssssssss, secret safe with me.

BTW, put a cold air intake and superchipped my 2018 Wrangler, anything to pay attention to?

 

I doubt it, but I'm an 8-speed only guy. I can ask around.

Sooooo, is my 2018 Gr. Cherokee SRT something u worked on?

 

No, but I know the guy who did. I worked on the 3.6L and 5.7L grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango 2014-now. Working on a Durango super track pack atm. SRT wheels, tires, brakes, exhaust, suspension, 5.7L engine. Pretty sweet package actually. Had that and the next gen grand Cherokee out in AZ all last week.

[1puttTUT]

MOG meeting went really well...stay tuned ?

[jcorna01]

Speaking of Miles of Golf...anyone going to the demo day tomorrow?

[Openwater22]

Hit the Ping 410 Plus outdoors, 75* temp, on trackman yesterday. Nothing special here. Feel wise, a step back from the G400, how much of the feel thing is shaft related is tough to determine, none of the OEM demo vans that have passed thru here have GD IZ. Hit it with stock Alta, Ping Tour, Tensei orange in 2 weights. Performance wise, 410 and Orange 60 was close to 400/IZ, but did not beat it. And to repeat, feel wasn't even close. The increased adjustability is a plus, but not enough to switch, and that's saying a lot from this Ho'!

[ThatKyle]

Did anyone hit up the West MI Golf Show this weekend? Trying to get a line on what type of deals the big resorts were offering this year for planning a couple group trips this summer. Specifically looking for anything Tulymore, Crystal Mtn and Shanty Creek has going on.