The Loop - Red Course - Forest Dunes - June 10

[BG5]

Had a chance to play The Loop at Forest Dunes and it's an absolute blast. It's unique, rustic and it's unlike any other Northern Michigan course that I have played.

 

Leave your ego at the door because it's a tough test of golf but it's also fair. I had 2 birdies on the front and two triples so that can tell you a lot.

 

The game of golf is changing as we speak. Wider fairways - no rough - fast and firm conditions - using your putter from 50 feet off the green and The Loop is a perfect example of this style of golf that is being brought back to life. It's about bump and running and your not gonna drop a 7 iron from 150 and get it to spin back. The Loop , Stoatin Brae, Streamsong , Sand Valley, Bandon Dunes are all pretty much the same style in terms of course conditions.

 

The Loop in my opinion is top 5 in the State of public tracks. I like it better than most private tracks. It's not a pretty golf course and it's not meant to be. It's brown, wide open, and there are not tight tree lined fairways. I am pretty sure they will mow the fairway every two- three days which is perfectly fine. The greens were outstanding and rolled darn near as good as Forest Dunes. To me it has grown in great and it will only get better. It well never even be close to the condition of Forest Dunes but that's what makes it fun. The approach shots were very fair and most of the time there were not bunkers guarding the green with the exception of a few holes. Your approach shots should be low punch shots. I hit a punch all day and was clubbing down 15-20 yards and rolled my ball up pin high quite a few times.

 

The walk was very easy on the red and we walked it in 3 hours and 15 mins. Not a lot of hills on the red. I was told the black is a lot tougher of a walk.

 

The pics below are all par 3's.

 

Word of advice..... tee it forward especially on this track. The closer the better. Hole 12 was the only green I felt was silly. Very narrow green with steep runoff on both sides. Nearly impossible to get the ball to stay with a back pin placement.

 

Other than that Doak's greens were impressive and he toned it down from courses like Lost Dunes and Black Forest, and Streamsong. The best Doak green complexes that I have played are at the Loop.

 

The issue that Forest Dunes will face is most people don't want to walk. There were 6 groups all day on this course while Forest Dunes was packed. Eventually they will have to all cars (maybe maintenance path only) because they are losing a lot of business. I also think they need to drop price to $75 prime time and $50 if your replaying That day. I paid $115 and I was fine with that but I think most people will say it's a bit too much cash.

 

I plan to play the Black next week. The Loop is a must play and if you don't like brown courses that require bump and run shots stick to Forest Dunes. The Loop is awesome and I personally would rather play it than the majority of Northern Michigan tracks.

[BG5]

First par 3 on front of red course. Pics don't do any of these holes justice

[BG5]

2nd par 3 on front of red. Birdied it ?

[BG5]

2nd par 3 on back on red course

[BG5]

The Loop is different, it’s rugged, it’s not a country club.... it will kick your butt...... but you will have a blast and Forest Dunes is now an elite destination that all hardcore golfers need to experience

[TadWPJ]

I played the Loop Black yesterday. It's a fun track but over hyped like the original course. It has 100 yard fairways that are basically 60 yards effectively with the firmness which is great. It lacks strategy off the tee for a preferred angle in. I'm looking forward to playing Stoatin Brae. Was going to play over at Lakewood Shores, but couldn't do 36 so opted for Loop.

 

Playing it makes me appreciate how awesome Greywalls is. I'd rather play Champion Hills (Beuhlah, MI) for a better experience. I'm glade FD gets lots of play, keeps Belvedere and other gems I love less crowded.

[Openwater22]

Playing Black routing today. Played both routings twice last year and not nearly as impressed as BG5. Will be open minded and try to accept what it is.

[BG5]

OW,

 

Would love to hear back how the conditioning has changed or not changed from last year. Would also like to hear as to which you prefer more the Black or Red. Hit em straight!

[knickerbocker]

It would be great if Stoatin Brae was designed in way that allowed you to play run up shots.

 

Loop seems interesting. I will give it a shot someday.

[John Kreese]

Played Red and Black last year - absolutely loved The Loop! Should come as no surprise that I'm a huge links golf fan.

[chickenpotpie]

It would be great if Stoatin Brae was designed in way that allowed you to play run up shots.

 

Loop seems interesting. I will give it a shot someday.

 

Agree 100% about SB. Not sure why every green is a table.

[MI517]

Played it each of the last 3 years, from the preview through a few weeks back. Doesn’t really impress me, but when I go up to FD I’ll still spend one of my 3 rounds on it for the difference in experience.

[TadWPJ]

It would be great if Stoatin Brae was designed in way that allowed you to play run up shots.

 

Loop seems interesting. I will give it a shot someday.

 

Knick,

 

The day I played the Loop, they had rain in the morning. It was firm, but according to the Keeper I played with it is much firmer and you have to land the ball short, many of the approaches had some mounds that would lead to poor quirk imo if you had to land it short of the green. Is that what you are saying about Stoatin? Or that they are too elevated? Or something else?

[knickerbocker]

Most greens at Stoatin are elevated - as CPP said, they are like table tops. Haven’t played there recently, so maybe it is better.

[SilverBullets]

Playing Black routing today. Played both routings twice last year and not nearly as impressed as BG5. Will be open minded and try to accept what it is.

 

I played both routings on back to back days and had a lot of fun, enjoyed playing them, but like you, I wasn't nearly as impressed. I thought they are very fun to play, it's a great track and design but it didn't check the box on being a great golf course for me. Going into it, I had read a lot about how playing it in both directions feels like you are playing 2 different golf courses and really does offer you 3 courses at the FD complex. I walked away feeling like I had just played the course backwards. It didn't leave me feeling like I played 2 different golf courses. I think it's a really concept and I commend Doak for designing greens which are approachable from 2 directions and hiding bunkers so when you play it one way you really don't see the other direction's bunkers.. but it still didn't really feel like I was playing the course in 2 different directions.

 

I actually thought the course was fairly easy. As long as you are comfortable with playing lower, running shots, I didn't think the course provided a lot of teeth. Really wide fairways, firm and fast conditions, but not enough overall distance to protect itself. You can kind of make your way around the course playing long irons and fairway woods off the tee and throw up a good number.

 

Don't get me wrong though, overall, I really enjoyed the course and think it's a cool concept. I absolutely will play it again when I'm at FD. I just don't think it cracks the top 5, maybe even top 10, public tracks in Northern Mi.

[BG5]

That’s the great thing about Golf and ratings. Everyone has a different taste and absolutely nothing wrong with that.

 

I think with courses like Stoatin Brae and The Loop you either love them or hate them.

 

I will have a chance to play the Black course next week so it will be interesting to see if I feel like I played a different course or the red course backwards.

 

 

[BG5]

OW,

 

What were your thoughts the second time around? Have conditions improved a lot since last year or is it just a little bit better?

[TadWPJ]

BMW,

 

I understand what you are saying. I'm more excited to play Stoatin Brae, it's a lot less hyped and the land looks more interesting with more strategic lines off the tee. When you are doing a reversible course the Archie has to make too many sacrifices for it to be great. It's good, just not great. There are no bunkers to hit by off the tee in which one gains a better angle into the green. One can get the same firm and fast and better experience at mom and pops like Champion Hills (non hyped) and it irritates me how these gems get over looked. Many Downs members think highly of it. Where I disagree with you is resistance to scoring doesn't make a great course, especially with today's tech. Lastly it's a great for the resort in the middle of nowhere to get 2 courses for 1, it's just that every course doesn't need to be great or over hyped.

[Openwater22]

OW,

 

What were your thoughts the second time around? Have conditions improved a lot since last year or is it just a little bit better?

 

After another loop, on The Loop, my opinion is unchanged. It's just ok. Not great, not bad. And I get why some will feel it's really good, can certainly respect that.

My 2 biggest issues; 1. The green complexes. Doak had a difficult task to make them fair and interesting from 2 directions, and he didn't pull it off. They have a certain sameness in look and feel and can be overly penal. Case in point, I had a wedge shot I wanted too hit 80 yds. Perfect lie, perfect distance for me to hit a 3/4 54*. I hit it pure, controlled trajectory, high spin. The strike was so good the ball traveled 85 yds instead of 80. Result, it caught the false front from the other direction and now I'm faced with another 80 yd shot. I get this same scenario could be played out on many courses. My issue with The Loop is, can happen 18 times.

 

2. The 1st time I played The Loop, 5 holes in, my playing partner and I looked at each other and literally said at the same time. " I feel like I've played the same hole 5 times, just from a different distance". Paid close attention to this on Monday, and my opinion hasn't changed. Like the green complexes, there is a sameness to the look and playability of all 18 holes. This sameness is more prevalent on the Black routing than the Red.

 

Condition wise, leaps and bounds better than last year. Which is no surprise, the grounds crew at FD do an impeccable job.

[SilverBullets]

BMW,

 

I understand what you are saying. I'm more excited to play Stoatin Brae, it's a lot less hyped and the land looks more interesting with more strategic lines off the tee. When you are doing a reversible course the Archie has to make too many sacrifices for it to be great. It's good, just not great. There are no bunkers to hit by off the tee in which one gains a better angle into the green. One can get the same firm and fast and better experience at mom and pops like Champion Hills (non hyped) and it irritates me how these gems get over looked. Many Downs members think highly of it. Where I disagree with you is resistance to scoring doesn't make a great course, especially with today's tech. Lastly it's a great for the resort in the middle of nowhere to get 2 courses for 1, it's just that every course doesn't need to be great or over hyped.

 

I agree. I mean they were able to add another good course, which can be played by guest twice and not be the exact same course, to a place which has one great track. It absolutely makes Forest Dunes a much more attractive place for a golf trip. I love FD and I love Northern Michigan. But it's hard for someone traveling from say Ohio or Indiana or Chicago or wherever to justify all that travel to play just one course. It typically means getting to FD, playing there and driving to another great course/s. With the option to play '3' courses, it really makes Forest Dunes a much more attractive option as a place to stay and make your base for a long weekend golf trip.

 

And like I said, I will absolutely play it again. It's not that I didn't like it or thought it was a bad course. I just wasn't really floored with it. If I have 3 rounds of golf to play to Forest dunes, I am playing FD twice and The Loop once. And I absolutely love FD so saying I wouldn't play FD all 3 times means I did enjoy the Loop. I played The Loop during the preview play so I didn't comment on the conditioning. I'm sure it's 100x better than it was back then.. and even then, other than being like playing on concrete, it really wasn't in bad shape at all. The staff out there is world class.

[swizbeatz]

Is the walk really any easier in one direction than the other? I didn’t notice that.

 

I’m ok with needing to run shots up, I couldn’t how sometimes it took off as expected and other times a wedge shot would stick. As a + it was extremely hard to score with the inconsistencies which made me not like it very much.