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/