Thoroughbred Course, Double Jj Ranch, Rothbury

This supposed to be one of the most woman friendly courses in the state, according to the girl who set up this trip. I'm not sure about that but we did like this course. It was very hilly, very picturesque, and a lot of fun. There wasn't much water or sand but there were lots of hazards. We all lost lots of balls and there was poison ivy so we weren't looking for them. The par 3's were all really accessible, the par 4's and 5's were challenging. The greens were in good shape and pretty fast. There was a cart girl Sunday and her bloody marys were good but only pickles in them. There was no cart girl on Monday. There was a turn and the food was really good - had a brat on Sunday and a hamburger on Monday. No one had anything bad to say about the food. Especially like the finishing hole which we could see from the tee box at a 90 degree angle over a lake...that green was under our room's balcony. (In the picture, the green...then across the lake, the tee box.) The hole had lots of angled fairways with dips, downhill, sand, marsh, rocks, water, etc.

Thornapple Pointe, Grand Rapids

Only golfed the first nine here but really enjoyed it...very pretty course. There was an outing in front of us so we got kind of backed up and folks were right behind us. The course was in good condition, there was some elevation, and it was pretty wide open - not many trees. The carts were equipped with a gps system which worked really well. There was a good cart girl but the bloody mary she made was awful - do not order one! There was no turn, so I'm glad we ate lunch before we left. The food was OK, nothing special but the service was good. There was a nice bathroom/hallway house with a pop machine in a really picturesque stop near a river that ran along part of the course.  Would definitely like to come here again!

Inkster Valley

Golfed here in another outing. Again, there were very few women. This is a hard course for women, I think. There was a lot of marshland we had to hit over - or try to hit over. It was a long course with a lot of twists and turns so strategy was involved. There were some nice elevations also which I like. Not too much water or sand. The course was very pretty though and I would like to try it again.

Gateway Golf Club, Romulus

This is a new course (about 4 or 5 years old) that I've been wanting to try. Didn't really enjoy golfing here - mostly because it was just too crowded! We let a couple of guys go in front of us and they were really slow. There was a threesome behind us who kept driving up on us when we were teeing off...a little too friendly! The course was OK...really links style and mostly flat. I guess I should golf here again to see if what it's really like...I was just too distracted by the stop and go pace to enjoy it. I know one thing I liked was even though there were homes around the course, they weren't too close so there was no chance of hitting them or anyone in their yard!

Links of Novi

Really picturesque links style course...a little tight and on the smaller side. Very reasonably priced - $22 senior rates. The women's tee boxes were awful...hard to find a flat spot. The greens and fairways were OK. For $22, would try it again. It was a shorter course, so a little more woman friendly. There was no cart girl but there was a turn so that was OK.

Twin Lakes, Oakland MI

Golfed here in the UAW outing. Lots of guys...in fact, we were the only female team! So of course, we won longest drive, closest to the pin, etc! The course is nice...not really women friendly...kind of hard for us. But we did enjoy the course - it was picturesque and in nice condition. Kind of an up north course...not a lot of sand and not a lot of water, but lots of trees. Some of the fairways were kind of close to others...we were almost hit twice - once we were on a green and a ball landed just off the green from a different hole and once we were on our tee box and it came over from the left and landed right behind us. But I would like to try this course again.

Mountain Ridge, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville, MI

There are two courses at the Crystal Mountain Resort... Mountain Ridge and Betsie Faire. We stayed off of the Betsie Faire, which is more rolling hills and water, and golfed at Mountain Ridge, which is more trees and more trees. Cons of the course: no starter...they put another couple with us (without telling us) so they kind of got our tee time because we let them go (we were experiencing technical difficulties and didn't want to golf with others). The couple turned out to be really good so we had no issues with them but for the first 9 there was a group of women in front of them (a little slow), four men in front of them (one of whom hadn't golfed in 5 years) and then a really slow foursome who we caught up with on the back 9. Another con no turn or half way house and no one told us...we would have taken more water or a cooler out with us. The cart girl was around once on the front nine (early on) and once on the back nine. The water in coolers on the course stunk...sulfur...undrinkable. Pros...the course was set up so we spread out quite quickly, and was in good condition with nice greens and fairways and good tee boxes. Lots and lots of port-a-potties which were really clean. We really enjoyed a lot of the holes...between 16 and 17 there was a long drive upwards with a little scenic rest stop. Crystal Mountain Resort was really nice...very big but condensed so you could walk most places. We stayed in Pinehurst condos...asked for golf course view, but didn't get it. Really small patios...room was small but adequate. We ate at the pro shop where the nice restaurant is...it's small but the food was excellent. Because this is a spa, you could get healthy, tasty food. We ate breakfast at the Wild Tomato which was really good also. Pool area looked really nice. When I go back, I'll stay in the cottages by the pool...or if I'm with a group, the mountainside townhouses!