Dunham Hills, Hartland, Michigan

This is a small, heavily treed course near Milford.  Most of the holes were "side by side" and therefore a little tight.  Golfers frequently hit the "wrong" fairway.  But there were some really interesting holes also, with hidden water and bunkers.  The fairways were in decent condition and although the greens had already been aerated, they were in fairly good shape also.  Women didn't get too much of an advantage but we didn't really need one because the course was 6291 from the white and 5253 from the red.  The cart girl was very nice and was around frequently, I had a decent bloody mary.   There were port-a-potties but the clubhouse wasn't ever too far away!  We paid $40 which I think was a little too much for this course but senior rates are $27 during the week...still a little high.  Might golf here again, if the price goes down!

http://www.dunhamhills.com/index.html

The Jackal, Brighton, MI

Bought this at groupgolfer.com...well worth it!  When I first drove up, I was a little disappointed...the course was part of a ski slope and looked kind of run down.  But I really liked this course.  Because it was part of the ski area, there were lots of elevations both up & down!  There was also lots of water, sand bunkers, trees and everything else that makes an interesting course.  The pro shop was a little run down but the course was in great condition...fairways were nice and greens were smooth.  Play was a little slow on the back nine because they sent a twosome out ahead of us.  But we really enjoyed the variety and the condition of this course so we will definitely play it again!http://www.jackalgolfclub.com/

Betsie Valley, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville, MI

We stayed at Crystal Mountain on a package deal and golfed both Betsie Valley and Mountain Ridge.  I golfed at Mountain Ridge last year when we stayed at Crystal Mountain and really enjoyed it so I was glad to do that course again.  Betsie Valley was very different from Mountain Ridge.  There weren't the elevations or views that were on the ridge course but it was a very nice, enjoyable course.  There was water on quite a view of the holes on the first nine and a few on the back nine.  The front nine is pretty flat but there are a few holes on the back that have some changes in elevation.  The course was in good condition, with nice greens.   We returned to the clubhouse after 9, unlike Mountain Ridge which had a halfway house.  There was a cart girl but we didn't see her very often, she might have been doing both courses.  We enjoyed our stay here very much.  The bungalow we stayed in was great, although we got stuck with bunk beds, no closet and no bathroom!  At this time of year, one of the restaurants was closed and the outdoor pool closed at 4pm.  The outdoor hot tub was open as well as the indoor pool and spa.

http://www.crystalmountain.com/

Mystic Creek, Milford, MI

http://www.mysticcreekgc.com/?

This golf course is located in Camp Dearborn in Milford.  We had to pay $4 to get into Camp Dearborn which I thought was odd, but we got a $4 "discount ticket" for the next time we golf there.  Wednesday is Ladies Day so I got to play a little cheaper (I got a few dollars off).  It was $49 for the 2 of us as non-residents.  There are three 9 hole courses - The Woods, The Lakes and The Meadows.  We golfed The Woods and The Lakes.  The Woods is a very scenic course with lots of elevations and obviously, trees.  The carts come with their own GPS system which works really well...but it's a little hard to figure out distances to some of the hazards.  The course was in good condition for the most part, though some of the fairways were really wet and a couple were kind of mushy, which might have been because of the rain the day before.  The greens were really, really fast...the fastest I've ever seen.  There were 5 sets of tee boxes and I played the front ones which was still around 5000.  I did lose a lot of balls because there were lots of narrow fairways and my ball would go into the woods and drop down a cliff!  On one of the par 3s, there were a couple of deer who had no fear of us...they just condinued to nibble the tee box as we drove right up to them.

The Lakes course wound around a lake so there was water on every hole.  It still had some holes with nice elevations.  Some of the fairways were pretty wet and not in as nice condition as The Woods.  The greens were still fast. There were two bathrooms that I saw that were in really good condition.  There was a cart girl but we only saw her once - I don't know if it was because she was the only girl on all three courses.  A couple of things I didn't like...I saw no water on the course and with the cart girl not around that didn't work too well.  There were not many ball cleaners, I think I saw 2 the whole day.  There was a nice outdoor area to sit and eat or have a drink but it overlooked the putting green and the driving range, which was a lost opportunity in my mind.  I definitely will golf here again and try The Meadows.  I'd like to golf The Woods again to see if I can do a little better now that I know about the drops offs!

Black Lake, Onaway, MI

 http://www.blacklakegolf.com/

We played this course as part of a Big Four package. It is a UAW owned course that, as it's website states, "blends with the natural terrain". The course has a lot of challenging "terrain", bunkers, trees, rough areas, etc. There's not a lot of water or elevation. The fairways were in good condition, as were the greens. There was a lot of wildlife because it is a very wooded area.  We saw these raccoons climbing on the water station. 

 

Although it was a hard course, I think it was pretty woman friendly.  The tee boxes were well ahead of the mens which made it very playable.  Unfortunately, we were behind a group of about 15 guys who were very slow...they kept watching each other on alot of the par 3s so we waited on most holes...the ranger said "there's nothing we can do about it" which I find hard to believe.  There were a couple of really nice holes but it definitely was not as scenic or in as nice condition as Little Traverse Bay.  I'd definitely golf here again given the opportunity but I won't make it a special trip.

Little Traverse Bay, Traverse City, MI

 

 http://www.ltbaygolf.com/

I had golfed this course several years ago and was very excited to come back.  This time we golfed it as part of a Big Four package, which included golf at Black Lake and a stay at Trout Condominiums.  Little Traverse Bay is a very nice up north course with some beautiful views.  The course is in excellent condition with wide treelined fairways that were well cared for.  The greens were in very nice shape with a lot of undulation.  It's a long course with a lot of elevation and slopes.  The sand bunkers were in good shape also.  The "girls" played a scramble which helped us to stay up on the group ahead of us.  We had Bloody Marys, of course, but they weren't very good...they came from a mix and we doubted there was any vodka in them!  However, I will definitely golf here again, just not order Bloody Marys!

Elmbrook Golf Course, Traverse City

We've golfed here twice now and I enjoyed it much more the second time.  It was a little too crowded the first time we golfed there...and we were confused about which tee boxes to use (I found out on hole 4 that I was using the junior tees!) We saw the course on groupgolfer.com so we paid a great price ($22).  The course starts with a fairly easy dogleg par 4, followed by a short par 3...then it spreads out to a long, wide par 5.  The holes after that become more challenging and there are some nice elevations and a few good views of the bay.  Again we had to wait on most holes but it got a little better on the back 9.  Hole 10 has an interesting quirk...you have to look in a mirror hung on a tree to see if you can tee off (it's a short par 4).  There's a small clubhouse and nowhere to sit and watch golfers, which I think is a missed opportunity on their part.  We will definitely golf here again when we're in the Traverse City area.
http://www.elmbrookgolf.com/

The Loon, Gaylord, MI

I've see this course several times while in the Gaylord area and finally got to golf it. The course was pretty crowded for a Monday - we had to wait on pretty much every hole.  It was a nice course in decent condition but it wasn't really what I consider an "up north" course.  Many of the holes were side by side and we could hear traffic from the roads on most holes.  The fairways were in good shape and the greens were pretty nice also.  There were clean bathrooms on the course (not port-a-potties) which I always appreciate.  The clubhouse was nice.  We got a $5 "hot dog" on the turn which was really a huge polish sausage which we should have split! There was a cart girl who came around frequently.  I would golf here again but wouldn't make a special trip...there are many true "up north" courses in that area.  We booked through golfswing.com so we paid $30/person which was a good price for this course.http://www.loongolfresort.com/

Mountainview, Morgantown, WV

We purchased a groupon for a one night stay at Lakeview Golf Resort in Morgantown, West Virginia.  It included two rounds of golf, one on Mountainview and one on Lakeview, one dinner and one breakfast for $169.  It was well worth it.  The bad thing was quite a few others also thought so and it had to be used by the end of April so the resort (and courses) were jammed.  Everyone was really nice, the resort staff and the folks in the pro shops.  We arrived a day early and were able to get a room for the night.  We golfed Mountainview at noon.  It was quite chilly when we started but warmed up just fine.  We were behind two twosomes who hooked up and a single guy behind us.  The course was on the long side with beautiful views.  It was full and it took 6 hours for us to finish the 18 holes...we waited on every hole, as did everyone else.  But the course was really nice...fairways in decent conditions and most greens really nice.  There was a good cart girl who was around frequently.

We like this course and the resort as well and would have liked to the other course, Lakeview, which was included in our package.  However, the only tee time we could get was 1pm and it was so crowded we knew we wouldn't finish until 8pm and we wanted to start for home after the round.  So we skipped golfing there although we heard a lot about it from some of the golfers from the day before.  I would very much like to go back to Lakeview again when it was less crowded!http://www.lakeviewresort.com/

Meadows Farms, Locust Grove, VA

This course has three 9 hole courses with some unusual holes, the only par 6 in the US, a waterfall hole, an island green, and a hole shaped like a baseball diamond.  We played the course with the par 6 and the one with the island green.  The day we played there were thunderstorms threatening so we decided to play best ball and we did kind of rush through the course.  We really enjoyed it and would love to golf there again.  The clubhouse was small and there was no cart girl.  There were only porta-johns on the course and I didn't use any of them so can't talk about there condition.  There were some really fun holes, par 3s, 4s & 5s.  We each played the par 6 and each got a 9...not bad considering we had to go over water twice!  The course was not crowded, probably considering the weather.  We met the owner who was very nice.  The lady at the counter was rude and didn't really know what she was doing.  They DO NOT give rain checks according to her.  It was priced OK at $39 (but that was the price for 9 and a "replay" which we had to argue to get because of the weather).  The fairways were not in the best condition and the rough was kind of long.  Don't know if it would be better later in the season.  Most of the greens were in good condition though.  Would really like to do this course again when the weather was nicer and we could take our time.  Of course I don't know when we'll be in Virginia again!

http://www.meadowsfarms.com/Golf-Course.aspx

Sea Scape, Nags Head

We were warned that the course was very narrow, surrounded by houses, and that we would lose a lot of balls.  Of course, we were told this where we golfed yesterday!  There were houses on the course but we had lots of room to "swing away".  There were lots of long, tricky par 5s and some really clever par 3s.  The fairways were in bad condition, barely grass but the greens were really nice.  There were two bathrooms on the course and the cart girl was around frequently.  There were a lot of seniors golfing but everyone moved very quickly.  There were a quite a few (4) holes that were cart path only and we couldn't figure out why!  They were not in good condition and no one was working on them!  There was some water, a little sand and some trees...quite a few doglegs.  We enjoyed the course and found it to be just the right amount of difficulty.  Don't know if it was worth $60 though.  Would probably golf there again.

http://www.seascapegolf.com/

The Carolina Club, Grandy, NC

Golfed here Tuesday, April 24th.  Kind of a flat course in decent condition, considering the season hasn't really started here yet.  They were remodeling the "clubhouse" which was quite small and redoing several of the cart paths which made it a little hard to get around.  It was a little cool and really, really windy because we were so close to the ocean.  The course had some really nice holes but most were kind of straight forward. The picture is of an "island" green par 3 which was nice.  The greenskeeper put sand on the greens so they were really fast and kind of hard to get use to.  I lost a lot of balls in the water and woods.  There was one bathroom which was accessible from hole 6 and hole 13 and had a pretty canal next to it.  There was a small cemetary on one of the holes too which was really unusual. There was no cart girl because it was early season but the clubhouse had some sandwiches and hot dogs of course.  Everything was quite expensive, the golf was $50 for golfing after noon.  Would golf here again but hopefully better.

http://www.thecarolinaclub.com/

Plantation Palms, Land O' Lakes, FL

We booked this course through teetimesusa.com as part of a package. In some ways it was your typical Florida course...in a neighborhood, mostly flat, lots of water, but in some ways it was not typical...the fairways were wider, there was more marsh area and a little more elevation than I've seen in most Florida courses. There was no cart girl, but there were lots of bathrooms. The clubhouse was nice with a good balcony to watch golfers on both 9 and 18. The 18th hole was a really challenging par 5 which narrowed down right before a water hazard, right before the green. We both lost our balls in the water and as we watched other golfers come up, most of them did also! The greens were smooth and I made a few long putts and the fairways were in good condition...the sand was really nice too. There was some wind, thank goodness, because it was 80 degrees. The course was very crowded...we were sandwiched between two foursomes and the foursome behind us drove up everytime we were teeing off, which I hate and the foursome in front of us was pretty slow. But I would like to do this course again.

Riverhills, Valrico, FL

We golfed here before, about 3 years ago, and I had really fond memories...but I don't know why! The course winds through a community with not very wide fairways. It was an OK course, fairways OK condition, greens OK condition, etc. They had a cart girl, at least for the first nine. There was a bathroom, conveniently located, and there was a good hot dog at the turn. It was a typical Florida course, mostly flat with some water. The clubhouse was beautiful but there was no place to sit and watch the golfers either going out or coming in, which is what I love to do after I golf! We booked through teetimesusa.com so the price was very reasonable. It was not crowded but very, very windy which really came into play. I've now done this course twice and I think that's enough...