Crooked Tree Golf Course, Tucson, AZ

We were paired up on this course with a single guy from Oregon named Seth. Neither of us were familiar with this course and there were no pictures on the scorecard of the hole. The first hole had water and was a dogleg right, which we figured out by watching the people in front of us. The rest of the course was fairly flat and wide open which we enjoyed. The fairways were nice, you just had to stay on them because desert was everywhere else. The greens were very fast which was hard to get used to. There were bathrooms available, no cart girl but there was a turn which was fine for us. The women's tee boxes were a nice advantage for me but they were a little "lumpy" so it was hard to find a flat spot. We enjoyed the course and would golf there again. We didn't eat there because we left right away to drive to our house in San Tan Valley. 

https://www.crookedtreegc.com/index.htm

Quarry Pines Golf Course, Tucson, AZ

What an interesting course - so glad we did it! https://www.playthepines.com/golf

The starter told us "the first nine are kind of flat, but the back 9, well, I'll let you find out for yourselves". And boy did we ever...the front nine was familiar as all golf courses, fairly flat with not too many hazards, a little sand and a little water. We saw roadrunners and desert quail. Then we made the turn...holy moly what a difference, elevations, mountains, desert to hit over and a lot of walking. We were able to golf us a couple and pace of play was good. We did let some "hitters" go through on the back 9 because it was really tough. There is a turn so I never used the bathrooms which were available on both 9's. There was no cart person and we didn't stay at the grill which only had sandwiches. There was a small outdoor area. We decided to eat at Mountain View Golf Course which is more of a country club so we were able to get a meal in a nice outdoor area. We would golf there again BUT the back 9 was very tiring for us.

The Royal at Canadian Lakes

We had expired groupgolfer certificates for Canadian Lakes (https://canadianlakes.org/) so decided to golf there on our way home from Traverse City. I think this is a semi-private course - part of an association. There is also the Pines and the Highlands, both 9 holes. It's quite near Tullymore and St. Ives. The groupgolfer was worth $27 and we paid $21 so it would have been $48 to golf there. On the first nine I though we overpaid...though the course was in good condition, I felt it was "field" like. Pretty wide open, straight forward, no hazard kind of course. The back nine however changed my opinion. I still felt it was a little too much but enjoyed the back much more. They had black, blue, white, white/gold, gold and red tees. Women got a pretty good advantage on most of the holes. There were some challenging par 3's and the par 5's were manageable. We followed a large group but they moved pretty well and there was no one behind us. There was no cart girl but the clubhouse was quite nice and fairly well stocked for the end of the season. There was a bathroom on the first 9 but only a port-a-potty on the back. Would I golf there again? Not for $48...



Finishing hole Par 5

Par 3 "Island" green

Par 4 on back 9

Lynx GC, Otsego, MI

Bought this as a groupgolfer not realizing Otsego was near Kalamazoo, 2 1/2 hours away! But it was a lucky mistake.  This is an older course that was "remodeled" in 2014.  There's a lot of trees but it seems easy to find your ball. There's a lot of sand bunkers in front of greens but they're easy to avoid. There are six holes along the Kalamazoo river but it's easy to avoid the water. The course is not an easy course but it's very enjoyable, especially from the women's tees. The first hole has a large drop off to the green as does the tenth. The par 3s are challenging as are the par 5s, but par is certainly doable. There are some really nice elevations. The greens and tee boxes were in nice shape but they were in the process of aerating the fairways so that was kind of hard. It was mid October and had rained nonstop the day before but we still enjoyed the course. The clubhouse is located next to the 18th green with a really nice balcony. There was no cart girl or bathrooms (other than port-a-potties). We ate at the clubhouse later and had a great hamburger and a great view.  They have a lot of events at the clubhouse, weddings, class reunions, comedy shows, even fall color tour events every weekend! Everyone at the course, from the guy we made the tee time with to the groundskeepers, was very nice. We will definitely go again!

http://lynxgc.com/#home

Rush Lake Hills Golf Course, Pickney, MI

I had purchased a groupgolfer last winter for Rush Lake Hills and finally got there. The course is owned by Henry Ford Hospital and all profits go to cancer research which I think is pretty cool.  The course is older and the facilities reflect that, but the course itself is kept up very well.  The front nine is kind of wide open and the back nine is more scenic and rolling. Hills is the operative word in the title of this course. There were lots of them even on the greens! It was not a hard course but the greens were not easy by any means.  There were very few sand bunkers and water only came into play on a couple holes. There were some nice par 3s and the par 5s were very manageable. There were only three tee boxes and the women's were quite fair. There was no cart person or ranger and play was really slow. They don't pair you up so that might have been part of the problem (although as a general rule I don't like getting paired up).  We didn't get any food on the turn but it was available. No water available that I could see and the only bathrooms were port-a-potties that were quite clean. The employees were beyond nice and thanked us for coming.  It's an hour drive for us but I would play there again, for the cancer research connection alone!

www.rushlakehills.com

Greystone Golf Club, Washington, MI

What a pretty course! We got a groupgolfer.com cert for this course and drove just over an hour to get there. There were a couple outings before us so it was just a bit slow for us. And it had rained quite a bit right before so it was a bit wet. BUT those are my only "complaints". We started on hole 10 and, I think, saw the prettiest holes first. In fact, the say they have "The Best Finish in Michigan Golf" and I  think they might be correct! The last 3 holes go around a quarry, a pretty par 3 and 2 challenging par 4s. The course is quite friendly for women, very playable (5033 yards). Course was in good condition and we saw a lot of guys working on it. The greens were VERY fast which was a challenge. The score card has tips on it for each hole that were quite helpful. I think the course is very reasonably priced. There were two bathrooms on the course. No cart girl but a very nice grille with outdoor seating with a beautiful view of the course.  Would love to come back but it is quite a drive so we'll see.

http://www.golfgreystone.com/

Royal Tee Golf Course, Cape Coral, Fl

We first golf this course in 2016 and have been back a couple times. It's now called Cape Royal Golf Club. There are three 9 holes Queen, King and Prince. There was always a pretty effective starter there and we alternated which course we started on. Play was fairly quick for a Florida course.  The course was well-maintained with water on almost every hole. There are homes on the course and some of the holes can be pretty tight because of it.  We were able to book through golfnow so we got a little cheaper rate and we have golfed as a twosome here which is unusual for Florida.  There was a cart girl and bathrooms. We had a pretty good hamburger after we golfed.  There are 5 sets of tees so the course is good for all level of players. We enjoy the course and that's why we keep going back.

Cape Royal