Metro Detroit Area Golfers (NO COVID-19, POLITICS)

[Dino81]

19 hours ago, golfortennis said:

Going to be playing Shepherd's Hollow in a few weeks.  I've been advised their range is closed that day for maintenance.  Anyone know of a range nearby that would be open early enough to allow for a decent hit and to get to SH for an 8:40 tee time? 

 

Depending on where you're coming from, you could swing by Fieldstone. They're typically open fairly early and right off I-75

[golfortennis]

1 hour ago, Dino81 said:

 

Depending on where you're coming from, you could swing by Fieldstone. They're typically open fairly early and right off I-75

 

I thought they might end up being an option.  Thanks for the cnofirmation.

[golfortennis]

Thanks to @Dino81 for the Fieldstone recommendation for warm up, that worked out real well.

 

Played Shepherd's Hollow on Wednesday, all 27.  Conditions were really good, except the greens were a touch slow.  Wonder if they kept them a little long to deal with the heat.  Otherwise, the only complaints were with the players who had gone through first.  Fix the damn ball marks and rake the bloody bunkers!!  It's not hard. 

 

But what a course to be able to play for about $90 for all 27.   

[flushem]

Can you guys kindly tell me top 3 courses I must play at in metro Detroit area?  I have one day to play in mid Sept.    

[Curmudg3on]

41 minutes ago, flushem said:

Can you guys kindly tell me top 3 courses I must play at in metro Detroit area?  I have one day to play in mid Sept.    

 

Shepherd's Hollow, Westwynd, and Greystone in that order.

[flushem]

24 minutes ago, Curmudg3on said:

 

Shepherd's Hollow, Westwynd, and Greystone in that order.

All the courses mentioned are bit far from Novi, where I stay at.  Any courses to recommend in Novi/SL area?
 

[Curmudg3on]

Mystic Creek in Milford, Kensington Metro Park, and Huron Meadows Metro Park.   These are good but not to the level of the previous courses listed.  

 

Check out Lyon Oaks and Fox Hills

Edited July 25, 2023 by Curmudg3on

[Fellaheen51]

12 hours ago, flushem said:

All the courses mentioned are bit far from Novi, where I stay at.  Any courses to recommend in Novi/SL area?
 

 

How many rounds are you wanting to play?  

 

Lyon Oaks is a splendid course.  Top pick.  I'd play it 2x if you're looking to get in 36.  Links of Novi and Northville Hills for two other options.  

[Moo]

Play Lyon Oaks in the morning and then play Moose Ridge in the afternoon.  Lyon Oaks is an outstanding Arthur Hills design and it's fantastic condition and the greens are very good.  Moose Ridge is an interesting and unusual design by Raymond Hearn (former protege/employee of Jerry Mathews).  Both are close to Novi and are in the Top 10 public courses in Metro Detroit.

 

 

[ten8suited]

15 hours ago, flushem said:

Can you guys kindly tell me top 3 courses I must play at in metro Detroit area?  I have one day to play in mid Sept.    

Westwynd wouldn't be worth playing if you were staying down the street, just my opinion. There are a lot of good public courses on the west side. I've only played Lyon Oaks once, but people on this forum seem to love it. It's fine imo. Moose Ridge has kind of a cool ambiance thing going but is hard AF and not my style of golf. Salem Hills is on a decent piece of property and is a very reasonable price (somebody should tell the superintendent to use about 1/3 of the water they are currently using). Ann Arbor is about 25 min from Novi, but has a couple of great options in Leslie Park and Washtenaw. LP is a gem, it's on a super unique piece of property (esp holes 4-9), the rates are a steal and it has a very cool vibe. Washtenaw is one of the oldest courses in the state, it used to be private for >100 years so it doesn't get a ton of play and the ownership is doing an historic renovation with tree removal, green expansion (squared off edges) and improving the mowing lines.

 

Just my two cents

[Jose c.]

2nd for Leslie park,huntmore in Brighton is a solid choice.

[flushem]

wow.  Thanx for all your responses.  I am a business traveler trying to squeeze a round on the day of departure (late pm flight out). 

It seems like Lyon Oaks is everyone's favorite.  My home course, Black Gold is another Arthur Hill's master piece in southern California built between hills and houses.  

I do not think I have time to drive down to Ann Arbor.  Anyways, I am looking forward to this opportunity as this is my first round in Midwest.  Of course, I do hope that weather will cooperate.

[flushem]

I have to rent clubs, and per Lyon Oaks, their rental clubs are questionable.   Urgh.

How is Tanglewood?  It is one of the network courses that my club belongs to.  

[gripandrip]

4 minutes ago, flushem said:

I have to rent clubs, and per Lyon Oaks, their rental clubs are questionable.   Urgh.

How is Tanglewood?  It is one of the network courses that my club belongs to.  

Tangle wood is a decent option. Haven’t played it in a while, usually in decent shape and decent layout

 

 

[Curmudg3on]

8 hours ago, flushem said:

I have to rent clubs, and per Lyon Oaks, their rental clubs are questionable.   Urgh.

How is Tanglewood?  It is one of the network courses that my club belongs to.  

 

I've played Tanglewood twice.   They have 3 9's.   The last time I played there was over 3 years ago but I remember it being in very good shape.  

[flushem]

I ended up driving extra and played at Shepherd's Hollow.  Good recommendation.  The extra drive was well worth it.  

I must say you guys are blessed with sheer beauty of the nature unlike my home club surrounded by homes and dry desert like greens.   I felt like I was in Carolina/Georgia buried in tall trees.  One gripe was their "premium" clubs were 10 years old Titleist clubs.  

[El Gringo]

On 9/15/2023 at 7:06 PM, flushem said:

I ended up driving extra and played at Shepherd's Hollow.  Good recommendation.  The extra drive was well worth it.  

I must say you guys are blessed with sheer beauty of the nature unlike my home club surrounded by homes and dry desert like greens.   I felt like I was in Carolina/Georgia buried in tall trees.  One gripe was their "premium" clubs were 10 years old Titleist clubs.  

When next in Novi looking for a game consider the UofM Blue course. Comfortably the best publicly accessible course within 30-40 minutes of Novi. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by El Gringo

[3_Jack_Par]

Some interesting stuff happening at St. John's in Plymouth. The new course sounds pretty cool. I could do without some of the stuff like walk-up music and announcing your name on the first tee, but it sounds like they are putting together a nice facility. I have lived on this side of town for about 20 years, mostly in Canton, but I moved to Plymouth last year, and despite it being very conveniently located, I've always thought that it was way overpriced for what it was, and I had only played 18 of the holes one time the whole time I've lived here. I have said many times the same thing that Ray Hearn says in this article that they had a piece of land where they could have put 18 good holes, but chose to cram in 27 instead. Re-doing it to make it 18 holes, with the short course and putting course to go along with it sounds like a major improvement. I might even look into doing the membership.

 

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/golf/2023/09/13/saint-johns-resort-golf-course-plymouth-the-cardinal/70727011007/

[Moo]

8 hours ago, 3_Jack_Par said:

Some interesting stuff happening at St. John's in Plymouth. The new course sounds pretty cool. I could do without some of the stuff like walk-up music and announcing your name on the first tee, but it sounds like they are putting together a nice facility. I have lived on this side of town for about 20 years, mostly in Canton, but I moved to Plymouth last year, and despite it being very conveniently located, I've always thought that it was way overpriced for what it was, and I had only played 18 of the holes one time the whole time I've lived here. I have said many times the same thing that Ray Hearn says in this article that they had a piece of land where they could have put 18 good holes, but chose to cram in 27 instead. Re-doing it to make it 18 holes, with the short course and putting course to go along with it sounds like a major improvement. I might even look into doing the membership.

 

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/golf/2023/09/13/saint-johns-resort-golf-course-plymouth-the-cardinal/70727011007/

 

My match play partner got to tour it last week and said it's awesome.  He has a buddy that works there, so he is probably going to get to play it before the official open. 

 

It's going to be a bit expensive, even during the week, but I'll pay it a couple of times a season if it lives up to the hype (which appears likely).

 

 

[3_Jack_Par]

On 9/19/2023 at 8:26 PM, Moo said:

 

My match play partner got to tour it last week and said it's awesome.  He has a buddy that works there, so he is probably going to get to play it before the official open. 

 

It's going to be a bit expensive, even during the week, but I'll pay it a couple of times a season if it lives up to the hype (which appears likely).

 

 

It's definitely on the pricier side for public courses in the area. It does look like there is a significant discount for Plymouth and Northville residents, which brings the price down to where I would definitely play it a few times a year if it's as nice as it sounds. And the annual membership looks to be a pretty good value compared to private clubs in the area, especially with no initiation fee. It's definitely something I'm going to consider. One of the big reasons I haven't joined a club before now (in addition to cost) is that there's really nothing closer than 20-25 minutes from my house, and I don't think I'd play enough to make it worthwhile, but if we're talking 5 minutes, even being able to pop over to get in some practice or to play the short course if I have an hour or so, would be a nice option, too.

 

I sent an email and a membership inquiry through their website last week (a few days apart), but haven't heard anything back yet. I wonder if they're still sorting some things out about how that whole thing is going to work?

Edited September 25, 2023 by 3_Jack_Par

[3_Jack_Par]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:27 AM, 3_Jack_Par said:

I sent an email and a membership inquiry through their website last week (a few days apart), but haven't heard anything back yet. I wonder if they're still sorting some things out about how that whole thing is going to work?

I did hear back from them a couple days ago, and I have an appointment to go for a tour of the course and facilities on Monday. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

[njspence]

19 hours ago, 3_Jack_Par said:

I did hear back from them a couple days ago, and I have an appointment to go for a tour of the course and facilities on Monday. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Let us know how that goes, wife and I are about 5 min away and have seen all the construction going on for awhile now. 
 

 

 

[Moo]

19 hours ago, 3_Jack_Par said:

I did hear back from them a couple days ago, and I have an appointment to go for a tour of the course and facilities on Monday. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Groovy.  Take some photos, if it's allowed. 

 

Hopefully, you'll get offered a complimentary round.

[3_Jack_Par]

I think it's just a tour of the course and facilities, though I'll have my clubs in the car on the off chance that's an option😄

[Moo]

1 hour ago, 3_Jack_Par said:

I think it's just a tour of the course and facilities, though I'll have my clubs in the car on the off chance that's an option😄

Sorry, what I meant was if you show true interest in a membership, usually they will arrange for you to play the course before you join. 

[3_Jack_Par]

The course is beautiful. I think it really is a step above any of the other public courses in the area, and it compares favorably with a lot of the private clubs I've played around town.  It looks like it would be a great place to make my home course. I still need to really figure out if the numbers make sense to become a member, or if it'll be better to just take advantage of the resident rates a couple times a year. It looks like it will be pretty challenging, so playing there regularly, would probably make for a handicap that travels well.

 

[SnowbirdTom]

Braving the cool morning to get out with a local buddy for 18 at Springfield Oaks and my last round in Michigan for 2023. Time to retire south for warm winter golf!  Still trying to convince myself to join a small local CC down there.

 

Played the new TM combo set yesterday and they’re keepers.  4/5 P770s and 6-pw P7MCs. Kept the Mizuno woods in the bag along with the Callaway hybrids.  Couldn’t find anything better and not for a lack of trying many different options.

[Moo]

The Mighty Lyon Oaks closes on Sunday, Nov 5th.  Weather looks good for tomorrow.

 

Get that last round in and break the course record (64).

 

 

[3_Jack_Par]

On 11/4/2023 at 11:53 AM, Moo said:

The Mighty Lyon Oaks closes on Sunday, Nov 5th.  Weather looks good for tomorrow.

 

Get that last round in and break the course record (64).

 

 

I played there a couple weeks ago for the first time in a couple of years, and the course was in really good shape for late October. I didn't break the course record, but played pretty well for as infrequently as I've been getting out late in the season. It was probably the first time I've managed to not have a huge disaster on at least one of the the two consecutive short par 4s on the second nine.

[Moo]

23 hours ago, 3_Jack_Par said:

I played there a couple weeks ago for the first time in a couple of years, and the course was in really good shape for late October. I didn't break the course record, but played pretty well for as infrequently as I've been getting out late in the season. It was probably the first time I've managed to not have a huge disaster on at least one of the the two consecutive short par 4s on the second nine.

The course is incredibly green for this late in the season.  The course record has stood for 19 years now (if I recall correctly).

 

The short par 4s on the back are 14 and 15.  14 is my favorite hole on the course.  15 is a different story, as I believe it is a much more difficult hole.  15 requires a good tee shot and the approach is more difficult than most due to the shape of the green.  That green likes to throw them off the back and a bounce near the front often end up short or left (and then rolls into the devil grass).  It's a great hole, but it has all the hallmarks of a great short par 4.  I honestly believe there is not a single bad hole at Lyon Oaks. 

 

Glad you got out there to play it.  It opens in 145 days. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Moo