Skyland Lakes, Fancy Gap, VA

We golfed here on the way to Myrtle Beach. We were attracted to this course because it was located on the Blue Ridge Highway and we thought there would be a lot of elevations.  There were quite a few.  The course was unusual with a large number of blind shots.  It was mostly a short and choppy course with a couple long, open par 5s.  On one of the holes, the tee box was to the right of the green of the previous hole, which could have been dangerous!  But some of the fairways were really tight, protected by trees.  Very little sand on the course but lots of trees and quite a bit of water.  The first hole had water and was a dogleg so it was pretty challenging.  The course wasn't crowded which we enjoyed.  It was in decent condition considering the time of year with very fast greens.  No cart girl, two nice bathrooms on the course.  There were fairway villas and a hotel.  The course and hotel is for sale for $185,000, which seems like a really good price.  My husband loved this course and we will definitely golf here again if were in the area.
Skyland Lakes Golf Club

10/27/14...golfed here again on our way to Myrtle Beach.  Still a lot of blind shots and choppy holes...because of the leaves, we lost many balls.  Because it was a beautiful day, it was more crowded than last year but pace of play was great (except we kept looking for our lost balls!)

Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

http://www.notlgolf.com/

Course number 2 on our Canada trip this is advertised as the oldest course in North America however, according to wikipedia, the Royal Montreal Golf Club is the oldest in Canada and North America.  This is a 9 hole course located right on Lake Ontario.  The day we played was very cold and we started Hole 1 in pouring rain.  However it soon cleared up and warmed up a little.  The course is a little hard to follow because it is so old but it is very woman friendly because it's so short.  There are no elevation changes and little water but there are some trees and bunkers.  There is also a historic fort located on the course which we explored and liked very much.

Whirlpool Golf Course, Ontario, Canada

We golfed here on our "Matilda" outing.  It is one of the Niagara Park Commission courses and is part of the Niagara Golf Trail.  We enjoyed this course very much.  It was a little crowded when we began but spread out by the back nine.  A lot of the holes on the front nine had narrow fairways line with trees.  Hole 2 is their signature hole (par 4) which runs along the road and has a nice pond on the right of the green... that was one of the prettiest holes.  There were back to back par 5's which is a little challenging.  The back nine fairways were more wide open but still tree lined.  Hole 14 is pretty par 3 with water in front of the tee box, and trees and sand on the right of the green.  It's next to the botanical gardens.  Hole 18 has an elevated green right in front of the restaurant so you have an audience on your approach shot.  There was no bathroom on the course but port-a-potties.  There was a turn and a cart girl.  However, things were quite expensive and they ran out of ice! The pro shop had everything on sale for 40% off - we had a field day!  Really enjoyed this course!

Whirlpool Golf Course

Mulberry Hills Golf Course, Oxford Charter Township

We bought 2 for $30 at the golf show and it was well worth it.  It was quite a drive (about an hour) to get to the course.  It's a family owned course that was opened 50 years ago.  We liked this course a lot...everyone was very friendly and the course was in good condition.  It was a challenging course with some side by side holes, some wooded areas and a little elevation. The greens were very fast and in good shape. The course had an "up north" feel on the back nine, which were much more wide open than the front nine.  No bathrooms on the course...just port-a-potties which were in good shape.  The cart girl was very accessible.  There was a "turn" however we didn't buy any food at the clubhouse.  The pro shop and clubhouse were pretty old and could use a little modernization.  We will definitely golf here again.

 http://www.mulberryhills.com/

 

 

 

Pierce Lake Golf Course

We tried this course because we got a good deal at livingsocial.com.  It's a Washtenaw County course.  The course is described on it's website as links on the first 9 and woods on the back 9, which is generally true although there are many trees on the whole course and lots of marshy, reedy areas.  We started on the back 9 which was more chopped up with marsh or reeds so a lot of strategy was involved.  We lost many, many balls.  The front nine was much more open...still reedy areas but more open.  There was a lot of water and wildlife on this course also. 

https://www.piercelakegolf.com/

Chemung Hills, Howell

http://www.chemunghills.com/

We bought this from groupgolfer.com and made the BIG mistage of going on a Sunday.  There was a shower and a graduation party in the clubhouse so the clubhouse was closed for the day and there was no parking! We were behind a foursome who said they understood "golf ready" but definitely didn't...they weren't very good or very polite.  But at least the foursome behind us, who were very good, were understanding about the situation.  Which leads to another complaint...no rangers driving around to keep play moving.  But now to the course...it was not a great course but it was pretty interesting.  It's not called Chemung Hills for nothing...there were lots of hills!  The fairways were in pretty fair condition and the greens were nice, but most were pretty challenging.  There was a decent amount of variety - water, sand and trees.  The course was very women friendly as far as placement of the women's tees.  However some of them were on the fairway and I really don't like that.  The last hole was a really interesting par 3 which we all enjoyed.

The cart girl was around quite a bit.  There was a half way house which wasn't open and a bathroom, which I didn't try.  There were several port-a-potties also which I didn't try either.  We didn't have any food...there really wasn't time - the foursome was right behind us and we didn't want to lose our place.  It was a five hour round, which we really aren't use to!  However, I will try the course again but not on a weekend.

The Legend, Shanty Creek, Bellaire, MI

We had previously golfed at Cedar River and Schuss in Shanty Creek and enjoyed both those courses.  This was our first time golfing The Legend, but I hope not our last.  This was the most expensive of their courses but we were able to get a great deal at ezteetimes.com.  When we started the day it was cold and rainy but luckily we had my golf cart cover which helped a lot.  The weather got much nicer on the back 9.  The course is very, very nice.  It has beautiful views, nice fairways and greens like carpets.  It was very challenging with long fairways, trees, lots of water and bunkers.  Because it was early in the season, there was no cart girl.  Also there was no turn but there was a nice bathroom.  Would definitely do this course next time I'm up north but will definitely book through ezteetimes or golfhub to get a better price!
http://www.shantycreek.com/summer/the_legend.php