True North, Harbor Springs, MI

[JNewsted]

Recently rated #8 in Michigan by Golf Digest

I played True North this past weekend. Never had a high motivation to play it, I mean I knew it was highly regarded, there were just more courses in the area that I wanted to play more. Plus, it's pretty pricey in the summer. BUUUT, I enjoy playing nice courses and this weekend they had a very good rate, so as I was coming back from the UP, I decided to give it a go.

My perception of it before playing was that it looked very difficult. The pictures I saw showed lush green trees overhanging a tight golf course, made me think that mis-hits were very unforgiving. Not entirely desireable to me. Here's a couple pics, with comments to follow:

#1 is a shorter par 5, some signature Jim Engh bunkering out front...

#2, long par 4 to a blind approach, leaving you a long shot (3 wood for me that day) into a wild green. Delightful pin position...


#2 green, very picturesque


#3, a long par 3, a large green with lots of crazy places to put a pin

#4, medium length par 4 up the hill. Avoid the central bunker and you get a somewhat blind shot to a small, circular, flat-ish green.


#5, par 3. Grab a mid iron to this long green


#6, par 4. Find a good place in the fairway or you have an awkward angle into the green.


#7, par 5. Hard hole. Blind shot going down the hill, seperated by rough. A small green, itll be an awkward wedge into this one.




Back to back par 5's with #8, except this one goes wayyy up hill. Find the fairway and you still have a long iron or wood just to set up another long shot. Big bunker in front and kind of an bowl-like green. I went Driver-3w, 6 iron to about 15'. Maybe my best hole all day. No bird, dammit.




#9, mid length par 4 to a half-island green.


#10, par 3. Lots of contours on this, a narrow landing area. A good shot is required. I could see big numbers here.


#11 is a cool hole. Downhill to a little valley, somewhat blind. Its short, so you might roll a driver in the water if you dont hit a little cut. A finesse shot into the shallow green.



#12 is a par 5. Three pot bunkers dot the landing area. Avoid those and you can have a decent rip at the green.

#13, another mid length par 3. Diagonal green and a slight dropoff from the tee.


#14 is a somewhat blind tee shot into this par 4. Bomb away since the fairway is rather large. The hard shot is the approach to this sunken, narrow green. A good opportunity to run it into the green, though neither side is a good miss.


#15 is a drivable par 4. Hit pretty much whatever you want into a big, but slightly blind fairway. Pitch up for your birdie or easy par.


#16, the last par 3. Actually, you play right over a road, but you'd never know until you cross it. Very tiered green.


#17, par 4. Easy driving hole, rather easy shot into a big, wide green. I hit a horrible 9 iron into the green, I had a look at my lowest round ever until I bogeyed this sucker. Quite an average hole.


#18. From average to awesome. A split fairway par 5 with one way being a significant harder tee shot, but a great advantage to get home in two. Hit a decent sized hook to get to the left fairway, and you might have a mid iron into the green. Hit right and you have to place your second shot to the far corner of the hole, just to have about a 90° turn left into the green. I hit the left fairway and put a 3 wood into the front bunker, unable to get up and down for my birdie...

Green area


Clubhouse



Comments:
The greens were the smoothest I've played this year, quite a feat considering there's courses in this area of MI that have yet to open. They'll be a blast when they start rolling. One thing I appreciated, since this is a very hard golf course (at least the front) was the occasional modesty of the greens. At times where it is hard to reach the green, there's usually an accessable pin position waiting. On some of the shorter holes, the greens really start to move. That makes for some good variety. I like the way some trees were left standing in a few fairways. Only a couple on the course (6 fw, 7 tee, 8 fw), but its a fair, but challanging obstacle.

Criticisms:
A bit unbalanced. From the backs (~7000yds) the front plays 3800 and the back 3200. (6400yds from the next set, 3500/2900) The front is extremely hard and demanding, then the back is pretty much driver/short iron. I dont recall any lack of space on the back 9. I think it could have been made longer. I hit 6 iron into the last three par 3's. Obviously pin position affected that a little bit, but I could use a bit more variation there. Another thing I noticed was that the bunkering, while elegant and beautiful from aerial photography, its not something you get an exceptional view of while walking the course. Check my shots of #9, 10, 17. There's big bunkers there, you just can't get a great look...

Overall this course was not what I expected. Much better. This is somewhere I'd take my crew to play again, especially when the trees are greened up or in the fall. My memories of Engh's Tullymore aren't strong enough for me to make a real comparison. I wouldnt put True North in my top 10 in Michigan, especially when Greywalls, Kingsley Club rated below it, and the Otsego Club-Tribute not even on the Golf Digest list. (who cares about these lists anyway!) This is a very good course and worthy of all the recent accolades. PLAY IT! I suppose another favorable thing for me was the nice score that I put up, a tidy little 78. Hitting 11 fws and 13 greens does that for ya.

ps, this was also the 100th different course in Michigan that Ive played.

[golfnut7]

Great review and pics! I will have to play that course. 100 different courses played in Michigan, Im jealous.

[joekloo]

JNewsted - what are your top 10 - I am looking to plan my trip this year.

 

Joe

[odshot68]

I will give my top 10(some great courses in Lower Michigan):

1. Crystal Downs

2. Oakland Hills

3. Lost Dunes

4. Dunes Club

5. Forest Dunes

6. Arcadia

7. Kingsley Club

8. Eagle Eye

9. Pilgrim's Run

10. Tullymore

[odshot68]

Public Tracks:

1. Forest Dunes

2. Arcadia

3. Eagle Eye

4. Pilgrim's Run

5. Tullymore

6. Angel's Crossing

7. Thousand Oaks

[JNewsted]

Top 10 in Michigan for me (* for private):

 

1- Greywalls

2- Crystal Downs*

3- Kingsley Club*

4- Oakland Hills*

5- Otsego Club Tribute

6- Arcadia Bluffs

7- Forest Dunes

8- The Grande

9- Dearborn CC*

10- Timberstone

 

It gets fuzzy after about 8th or 9th, but I'll add these in the next tier:

 

Eagle Eye, True North, Univ of Michigan*, Grosse Ile G&CC*, Tullymore, Red Hawk, Gailes, Elk Ridge, Treetops Premier

 

Yet to play Lost Dunes, Point O Woods and some of the other big names on the west side of MI, Indianwood, Franklin Hills, Barton Hills, Red Run and some of the older country clubs in the Detroit area, and also Sweetgrass and Wild Bluff in the UP.

 

 

Hope that helps a bit...

[golfortennis]

I've played Thousand Oaks and the U of M course, and I would have to add Shepherd's Hollow. The latest rating I saw had i even with Thousand Oaks, but frankly I like it a little better myself. U of M has a different look to it that I absolutely just love, but it is different, so I am torn as to which course I would rate higher.

[Cameron Carter]

has anybody played Sweetgrass (up in the U.P., heard its nice but would like to hear a few more opinions. btw Greywalls and Timberstone are great courses but yet so different.

[JNewsted]

has anybody played Sweetgrass (up in the U.P., heard its nice but would like to hear a few more opinions. btw Greywalls and Timberstone are great courses but yet so different.

 

 

Im DYING to get to Sweetgrass. I think I actually fell asleep in its parking lot on the way to Marquette- before I even knew Sweetgrass even existed.

 

The pro up at Greywalls says its a great course, and also that theyre doing a TON of "3 course" packages with Greywalls/Sweetgrass/Timberstone.

 

I'll be playing it in the next few weeks since I get up to MQT a couple times a year. Don't worry, I'll have pics.

[noahwein]

I'm assuming you've never played the regulation course at the Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe?