South Haven

[bzimmer21]

We are going to South Haven at the end of June and I am looking to bring my clubs for a round.  I am thinking either Harbor Shores or Ravines as both seem to be about a 30 minute drive in opposite directions.  I would be looking to play as a single, early in the morning.  Is one easier to get one or a better course / experience?  Just curious as i have heard good things on both.  THanks

[Go_Blue!]

American Dunes in Grand Haven. 

[postfold]

Can't comment on Harbor Shores as I haven't made it there yet, but Ravines is a nice course.  Palmer design so pretty generous off the tee.  Solid variety of holes, conditions are pretty much always very good, though I have not played it this year.  It can be very busy as it's the nicest course in the Saugatuck/south side of Holland area.  Don't know about difficulty of getting on as a single.

 

If you can't get on either, Hawkshead in South Haven is a good option.

[ten8suited]

You should avoid Harbor Shores like the plague. It is honestly the least fun experience i have playing golf every time i tee it up there. I've played 4 times and each time i manage to enjoy it less than the previous. I would feel this way regardless of the price, but add in the insane greens fees and it's just an extra twist of the knife.

I don't want to get into too much detail about the course, but the shots you are asked to hit to have a chance to score well are just not really doable for most. Missing your shot, even by a little often leaves little to no chance for recovery. The pins are always in difficult to very difficult locations and the last handful of holes are a water wonderland just waiting to snare your every wayward shot.

 

If you feel the need to stand on a dune and look at Lake Michigan with a golf club in your hand (an experience you only get for 1 or 2 shots on the course), bring your big dog with you to nearby Jean Klock park and take a couple practice swings.

[MattSTL88]

On 5/28/2023 at 9:51 AM, ten8suited said:

You should avoid Harbor Shores like the plague. It is honestly the least fun experience i have playing golf every time i tee it up there. I've played 4 times and each time i manage to enjoy it less than the previous. I would feel this way regardless of the price, but add in the insane greens fees and it's just an extra twist of the knife.

I don't want to get into too much detail about the course, but the shots you are asked to hit to have a chance to score well are just not really doable for most. Missing your shot, even by a little often leaves little to no chance for recovery. The pins are always in difficult to very difficult locations and the last handful of holes are a water wonderland just waiting to snare your every wayward shot.

 

If you feel the need to stand on a dune and look at Lake Michigan with a golf club in your hand (an experience you only get for 1 or 2 shots on the course), bring your big dog with you to nearby Jean Klock park and take a couple practice swings.

I actually enjoyed Harbor Shores personally, but there is some truth to this IMO. Very nice conditions, but green complexes have a lot of runoffs/collection areas, as well as some crazy slopes on the greens themselves.

 

I would recommend trying it, but it's not my favorite course I've ever played in terms of layout

[BG5]

I would choose Harbor Shores over anything else within the reasonable distance.  American Dunes would be my second pick but Harbor Shores is tough track that has hosted multiple "Majors"......Easy decision for me 🙂

[gvibes]

Haven't played any of these in a long time.  But Hawkheads is right in South Haven, and I've always liked it.  Arthur Hills.  A pretty dunes-ey golf experience.  Some long green to tee walks if you are walking.  I like the ravines too.  I think of it as more a traditional michigan-ey course, with pretty isolated tree-lined fairways.  In my (dated) view, I don't think you could wrong with either.  My sense is Hawkshead would be getting fewer rounds than Ravines.

 

Haven't played Harbor Shores or American Dunes though.

Edited May 30, 2023 by gvibes

[Jspangler]

On 5/27/2023 at 5:27 PM, bzimmer21 said:

We are going to South Haven at the end of June and I am looking to bring my clubs for a round.  I am thinking either Harbor Shores or Ravines as both seem to be about a 30 minute drive in opposite directions.  I would be looking to play as a single, early in the morning.  Is one easier to get one or a better course / experience?  Just curious as i have heard good things on both.  THanks

Some of these post are pretty tough to get through. 
 

The Ravines an Arnold Palmer course that is a shot makers course. Generous of the tee is stretch. Maybe generous because I’m never hitting driver. But the conditions are always good. The staff has always been meh. My club owns that course and I can play it for $30 and I’ve played it once in the last 2 years if that tells you how I feel about it. 
 

I also do not like Harbor Shores. Like stated above the course is like stupid hard. And I’m a single digit cap that doesn’t mind a challenging golf course. But there are way too many blind tee shots into s*** and super multi-tier greens to have it a fun course. And I have to hit off the worst range mats I’ve ever seen. 
 

Hawkshead is definitely the value course of the 3 and I think it’s the most fun. Definitely a different collection of holes from the dunesy drivable par for to holes cut through the what looks like woods. 
 

American Dunes is good. I havent played it since the year it opened and it left a lot to be desired especially for a course charging $180. I was super excited to play it too because I loved Grand Haven Golf Club which is the course they redesigned into American Dunes. But they especially just cut out 2000 trees and made them waste bunkers. 
 

It’s a bit farther for you but if you message me I can get you out at Muskegon Country Club. Which is an old Donald Ross design. Truthfully it’s one of my favorites in West Michigan. Small greens and tight fairways but the course plays so fair and true. 

[ldchristopher]

I just played Beeches Golf Club on Wednesday and the course was in pretty solid shape, considering the drought Michigan has been dealing with. They’re drenching the course so there were some spots with standing water early in the morning but the greens were excellent. Running pretty quick (in the 10-10.5 range) and very smooth. The greens there are the course’s biggest defense since tee to green it’s long but not overly challenging. Anyway, if you’re looking for a good value round in South Haven that’s well-conditioned I recommend Beeches. Also, kudos to the starter. They had an outing at 9:00 with a “semi-shotgun start” and we had the 7:00 AM tee time. The starter crunched some numbers, had us start on hole 6, and we were able to avoid all the outing groups and finish in well under 3 hours. 

[Leroysettle]

In my opinion Hawkshead is the best public course in South Haven. Beeches is also very good for the money.  If you are member at a country club you can have them call and get you on at Pointe of Woods- in the past you could get on in the afternoon.  If anyone is looking to do a golf trip in the fall you should rent my place which is just off North Beach in South Haven.  Perfect distance to walk to downtown south haven and go to the bars- and only 12 min from Hawkshead.  Hawkshead also has a great restaurant- I suggest the duck.   https://www.vrbo.com/2317525?unitId=2883771

[bzimmer21]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.  I ended up playing Hawkshead and thought it was a great course.  I went out this morning before 8 am as a single and played 18 in a little over 2 hours.  I caught up to a 3 some on the 6th hole (teed off on the back) and they let me play through.  I caught a 2 some of walkers on 18 and they let me play through as well.  On the back (front), i didn't see another group and cruised through.  It was very fun.  Thanks again... I probably wouldn't have played it had I not started this thread. Course was in good shape and the only negative was the wind today.