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

Faulkwood Shores, Howell, MI

http://faulkwoodshoresgolf.com/

We used groupgolfer.com on this course.  It was a mostly flat, meadowy course, however, it did have some interesting holes.  The front nine was kind of wide open, but the back nine was more wooded.  Not in pristine condition but not bad either. The greens were in good condition.  It wasn't too crowded either so we enjoyed playing here.  Would play again but not make a special trip.

Adare Golf Club, Adare, Ireland

We couldn't go to Ireland and not golf...but it was hard for us to do it even though we stayed at two golf clubs!  It was much colder in Ireland than we had anticipated...in the 40s for the most part AND it rained every day - not always long and hard but every day.  It was finally nice enough one afternoon so we were able to get out but only for a couple hours because all their clubs were going to be rented out at 2:00 pm.  So we were able to do 9 holes.  It was still pretty cold but at least the sun was shining!  This golf course was nice but nothing really special, except for the views of the castle of course!

We drove by "the old course" later and that looked interesting with holes next to a cemetary and an old ruined castle. 


When we drove to the Cliffs of Moher we did see a golf course along the Atlantic which looked a lot more like we expected "an Irish golf course" to look like...links style with a lot of hills and ocean views.  Of course that day it was quite cold and rainy but there were still people golfing!  I think they're more used to that weather than we were.  I wish we had more time to actually golf more, but at least we were able to say we golfed in Ireland!

 

Mirimichi, Millington, TN

Mirimichi is the Justin Timberlake Golf Course.  It is the only certified environmentally "green" golf course in the United States.  It's a links style course with 5 tee boxes, 5000+ yards from the forward tees.  The fairways are pretty wide open and fairly straight for the most part.  BUT there is lots and lots and lots of sand bunkers, rolling hills, water and even hidden hazards like streams.  The carts are equipped with GPS which came in very handy.  Because we were there in February, there were not as many hazards as there would be in the summer.  The water was down and the grasses were too.  But it was cart path only so we had a lot of walking because the fairways were so wide and rolling.  The forward tees give women a nice advantage, on some holes it made the greens almost driveable!  There were four par 3's, as usual, but all were really nice with a little bit of challenge to them.  Shown below is hole 11, The Wall.

There were two bathrooms on the course.  There's an area at the end of holes 9 and 18 that, in the summer, would be staffed and stocked.  It was a really nice patio area with a bar and barbecue and really nice area to sit and watch almost all the holes.  But because it was still winter, we had to drive back to the clubhouse for a hot dog.  The clubhouse is really nice with a performance and learning center and small outdoor seating area.  They don't serve wine, though, which I didn't like and because the outdoor patio wasn't open, there was no where for us to sit and watch golfers which I love to do.  There is a nice driving range, balls are included in the price of golf, and a putting green.  There's also a 9 hole, par 35, executive course which we didn't even see.  The cost for weekday golf is $65/weekend is $80 in the winter, not sure what the summer rates will be.  There were not a lot of golfers on the course.  We were behind a twosome who were taking there time, as were we.  We let a twosome who seemed to be in a hurry, golf through.  But other than them, we didn't see anyone else on the course, even though we knew there were others out there.  We will try to come back in the fall some year so we can see the course in it's full glory.

Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Nashville, TN

This is the nicest public course in Nashville.  A little pricey, perhaps, at $64 (including tax) winter rates, however, we really liked this course and would love to golf here when it's green.  Because of the rain, it was cart path only.  The fairways are quite wide and because it was cart path only, it took a long time for us to golf.  The greens were in really nice condition because they cover them with tarp every night.  The greens were really hard to judge and I couldn't figure them out until the back nine.  There were some really nice holes including a par 4 with an island green (picture below) and a couple par 3's that you had to go over water or swamp.  It was a true links style course but because it was the winter, we didn't have to contend with a lot of long grasses.  The carts are equipped with gps so you get a real accurate picture of the shots you need to hit.  There's a golf institute, driving range, putting green, very nice pro shop and clubhouse.

Bathrooms were located conveniently on the course.  We ate in the clubhouse after golf.  Food was good but my complaint is that we were unable to see any holes from the clubhouse.  We could see golfers tee off at hole 10 but that's about it.  There was a nice outdoor seating area but I don't know if you'd be able to see anything from there.  We'd definitely golf here again when we're in the area.
www.gaylordsprings.com

Hole 4 with island green

Hole 13 over water