I have been a pen pal of Chris Wilczynski since last winter. Chris is a Senior Design Associate working for my favorite golf course architect, Arthur Hills. When Chris found out my wife and I were coming to Michigan in June, he invited us to stop by the Art Hills office in Toledo, Ohio to meet him and play a round at their company course, The Legacy, which Art Hills designed. It's located just across the state line in southern Michigan.
It's obvious that Mr. Hills is concerned more about golf courses than fancy offices because his company uses an old house with several trailers parked out back as their offices. Chris was in the 1st trailer on the right. When he opened the door at my knock, there stood a young man I figured was Chris and an old man I recognized immediately. It was my idol Arthur Hills! By the time we had reached Toledo, my wife and I had already played two nice golf courses and would play eight more great ones after this meeting. But the highlight of this trip was that moment when I shook hands with Arthur Hills.
I had my list of 34 Art Hills courses played to date, so we stood there discussing how well I did at Hawkshead (81) and how poorly at his course on Hilton Head (100). I'm sure I talked too much during the 1/2 hour we stood there, but I'm also sure he left knowing he had just met a real fan. Art Hills is a really nice man and not at all the sadistic bastard I sometimes call him on certain tee boxes or around certain green complexes that he has designed.
After Art left Chris tried to explain to us what they do to design and document the design of a golf course. I'm afraid I was still too pumped up to pay much attention. I was also nervous about playing golf with Chris, who I assumed would be a single digit handicap. I calmed down after we started golfing and I realized that golf course designers are working guys and Chris only gets to play once or twice a month.
Chris is working the job I wish I could have had when I was 30 years old and I'm living the life he wants to live, if someone would give him enough money to quit working. I think it's a pretty good arrangement. He'll keep designing and building great golf courses and I'll keep playing them! In fact, we played so many great golf courses on this trip, I better get to naming them before the sun sets on us.
We started at the Gene Bates designed Yankee Trace (www.yankeetrace.org). It is located in Centerville, Ohio, just south of Dayton. We had driven through rain all morning to get there so we felt fortunate to get to play. The course is flat with many bunkers and water that effects 11 holes. The course was well drained with Bermuda fairways, bluegrass rough and large bent grass greens. The greens had been slit cut aerated but it didn't hurt me much as I shot 82 and beat the wife 5 & 3.
After golf we drove north of Dayton to Sidney, Ohio, so we could eat again at a favorite restaurant called Michael Anthony's. If you're traveling I-75 in Ohio, it's a recommended stop. This time I had a smoked, planked, grilled fillet of Copper River (Alaska) Salmon. It's a 4 star restaurant located in the lobby of a Days Inn!
On Thursday we played my 35th Art Hills course, Stone Ridge in Bowling Green, Ohio. It's another subdivision course where Art magically takes the houses out of play. The course only gets 2 1/2 stars from Golf Digest and only charged me $29 to play. It’s the best $29 course I ever played. This course was better designed and in better condition than Quail Chase in Louisville, Kentucky, which somehow gets 4 starts in Golf Digest. I'm beginning to lose confidence in Golf Digest.
Stone Ridge has bent grass fairways and greens, but the greens were hard and did not hold well. Moe played at 6600 yards and did not score well (91) so Joyce had her only win of the trip. She did it by beating me on #18. It's a beautiful 400-yard cape hole with water all down the left side. I hit my second shot 190 yards over the water to the green but then 3 putted to lose the match.
After golf we drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take my daughter and Joe to the Gandy Dancer; a big 4 star restaurant. It was a nice prelude to meeting Mr. Hills on Friday.
After meeting Arthur Hills and Chris Wilczynski on Friday and then spending the weekend with my daughter in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it was time to move north for some truly awesome Northern Michigan golf courses.
Red Hawk Golf Club (www.redhawkgolf.net) was designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 1999. It matches the best I've ever played. The course is cut out of the northern Michigan piney woods so that on each hole you are completely isolated. The course condition was excellent in every area. We played on a beautiful Monday with about 4 other groups, so it was like we owned a truly awesome golf course. After golf at Red Hawk you can have lunch or dinner in the Falco Rosso restaurant in the clubhouse. It's not 4 stars bit 3 stars is plenty good in the backwoods of Northeastern Michigan.
The next day we drove on up the shore to Oscoda and played The Gailes course at Lakewood Shores Resort (www.lakewoodshores.com). They have 3 courses at the resort and most people were not playing The Gailes. It didn't take me too many holes to figure out why. The Gailes is a Scottish Links style course. That means it is nothing at all like Nevel Meade in Louisville, Kentucky. The links in Scotland are built on the rolling sandy scrubland near the sea. The Gailes is built on rolling sandy scrub near the lake. It averaged 6 pot bunkers per hole (none of which could be seen from the tee box which was rarely elevated). It had a creek meandering through the course that I found at least twice and they even had several sod faced bunkers. We actually watched two young Scots working on one during our round. I believe The Gailes is a pretty authentic Scottish Links style course. At least my 94 helped me decide not to go to Scotland, and also to understand why the pros are seldom under par at the British Open. The Gailes is definitely a 4 star course in good condition; it's just not my cup of tea. In Oscoda we ate at Tait's Bill of Fare and recommend it highly.
Our next great course was Elk Ridge (www.elkridgegolf.com) in Atlanta, Michigan. The Honey Baked Ham people own it and they have a bunker on the par 3 10th hole shaped like a pig. They also serve great ham sandwiches in the clubhouse.
The course layout by Jerry Matthews is cut through deep woods and ever bit as spectacular as Red Hawk. Elk Ridge loses the contest on the greens. The greens at Red Hawk were perfect (fast and smooth), whereas at Elk Ridge they had too much poa annua and were not smooth. Elk Ridge is like a super model with pimples. Of course I may be bitter because I putted poorly and shot a 92.
Thursday we went on up the road to Onaway and played Black Lake. Black Lake was built by the United Auto Workers as part of a large resort/training center. Rees Jones designed the course which opened in 2000, and the UAW spared no expense in creating a magnificent golf facility. We may be paying these guys too much, but after playing their course I'm trying to become a retired auto worker so I can save $30 a round.
I believe Black Lake and Red Hawk tie Dancing Rabbit in Mississippi for the best I've played. I just can't separate courses that are excellent in every way.
Joyce and I also played better at Black Lake. Moe had one birdie and shot 81 while Joyce had only two really bad holes and finished at 108. I would not have had 81 from the tips at 7046 yards. The only trouble at Black Lake is the swarm of maintenance workers. We actually saw more workers than fellow golfers.
On Friday we drove back down into civilization and nothing was as much fun. We were 2 hours early for our tee time at Arthur Hill's new course North of Detroit called Shepherd's Hollow. They have 27 holes but it was a very busy Friday. It was a 5-hour round, which leaves Moe in a bad mood. Actually the course was great. It was in great condition and had some very unique holes which Moe handled fairly well to shoot an 82. If I hadn't just played such great courses I'm sure this one would stick out more.
Coming home we played two other courses that I must mention.
Blackthorn (www.blackthorngolf.com) is a Michael Hurdzan 1994 design just North of South Bend, Indiana. We played on Fathers Day Sunday with fathers John and Jerry and we played at 5,960 yards so as not to hurt ourselves. I've seen the course described as a links style, but that's not even close by anyones definition. The good doctor did use some waste areas and long grasses in a few places to give a little different look, and he has 3 short par 4's in the mix along with 4 par 5's over 500 yards long. It's a nice course.
On our last day out we stopped just North of Indianapolis to try the 1998 Tim Liddy designed Trophy Club. Tim designed Sultan's Run and I detected similarities. He likes 90-degree doglegs, and doesn't mind uphill shots to greens. He also had several holes with alternate paths to the hole. The course was mostly open with 100's of sand bunkers and a creek. It was a true test of golf we played when we were thinking too much about getting home. Moe had 93 and Joyce 121.
If you love golf you really need to go up to northern Michigan in the summer. I know that we'll go back again. There are just so many courses and so little time!