Patti Engineering Insight

I have had the pleasure of playing Oakhurst more than any other course as we joined there in 2002. The Club has many families with young kids. Children can play (and are encouraged to play) the course with their parents as long as pace of play is kept up. The summer swim program is fantastic as my daughter has participated the past 5 years (And if you allow me to boast a little, she was the 2007 11-12 year old league champ in the freestyle!).

As recently as 2006 was ranked in the top 25 courses in the State of Michigan. It was designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 1998. It plays 7,041 from the back tees. With 6 different sets of tees you can choose how difficult you want to make the course (this is great for me, as the clients I take out there vary greatly in skill level). On 10 out of 18 holes you must carry a hazard at some point, but there is usually a good bit of room to spray your drives. The course is tough but fair.

Hole 7 is the club’s signature hole, but my personal favorite is number 17. I could not find a good picture of 17, so I had to use Google Earth to get a satellite view. 17 is a LONG par 4 which follows the shortest par-4 on the course (303 yards). The hole runs straight down hill so you can get some nice roll on a well struck drive. If you pull your shot you may be lost in the woods to the left. Pushing your shot could lead to O.B. on the right. If you do hit a good drive, unless you get a great roll, you are faced with a 200+ yard down-hill shot to a green that has a hazard in front of it. Many people will play a 100+ yard shot to the hazard, then play a 100 yard shot to the green, thus playing the hole like a par 5.

If you are looking for a great Family Club in Northern Oakland County, give Oakhurst a call. You can call the Membership Department at (248) 391-3300, x137 (and tell them I sent you). I will see you at the pool or on the course!

My office is a twenty minute drive to Oakland Hills Country Club which has two great courses. The North Course, a par 70, 6,660 yard gem, is ranked #19 by Golf Digest in the State of Michigan. The South Course, a beast at 7,445 (par 70), is Ranked #17 in the United States (#2 in Michigan) by Golf Digest.

Oakland Hills was designed by Donald Ross in 1918. When it opened, Walter Hagen was the first club pro. The Club had a major redesign in 1951 when Robert Trent Jones beefed up the course for the the 1951 US Open. Recently, Rees Jones, his son, has lengthened the course from 6,974 yards (1996 US Open) to 7,445 yards. The list of Major Championships held at Oakland Hills rivals that of any course in the country:

• 1922 Western Open – Mike Brady
• 1924 U.S. Open – Cyril Walker
• 1937 U.S. Open – Ralph Guldahl
• 1951 U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
• 1961 U.S. Open – Gene Littler
• 1972 PGA Championship – Gary Player
• 1979 PGA Championship – David Graham
• 1981 U.S. Senior Open – Arnold Palmer
• 1985 U.S. Open – Andy North
• 1991 U.S. Senior Open – Jack Nicklaus
• 1996 U.S. Open – Steve Jones
• 2002 U.S. Amateur – Ricky Barnes
• 2004 Ryder Cup – Team Europe
• 2008 PGA Championship

I have played each course at Oakland Hills once. I played The South Course about 2 weeks after I shot 94 at Bethpage Black. We were to play the Blue Tees (6,819 yards, par 72, slope 133) which rated easier than Bethpage Black, and I was excited at the possibility of busting 90 on the South Course!

I can’t remember my exact score that day, but it was somewhere in the 110′s.  The rough at Oakland Hills is like no other. It completely sucks up your ball and hitting out of it is like launching a marble out of steel wool. The greens have undulations and breaks that you swear defy physics, and if you do read a break right, good luck judging the speed as you feel like you are putting on the hood of your car.

The 16th Hole is the signature hole at Oakland Hills. In 1972 Gary Player hit a miraculous 9-iron from under a willow tree over the pond to about 4 feet to make a birdie. If you push your drive at all, you are in the Hazard. The big boys need to club down as you run out of fairway at 270 yards. Your iron shot must be accurate, as pushing it will put you in the Hazard, and pulling it puts you in bunkers. Hitting out of the Bunkers is extremely dangerous as the green slopes towards the water.

If you come to my area and get an invite to Oakland Hills, I would suggest 2 things:

• Invite me along as I want another crack at the South!
• Try to get through the 16th hole without dropping one in the pond  (I am o for 1).

See you there!

Boyne has 2 Resorts and Eight Golf Courses located in Northern Michigan. Four of the Golf Courses are located at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs, MI. The newest of which is the Arthur Hills Course (2000). The Course has lots of teeth as it is a Par 73 which slopes at 144 from the back tees.

Like many other courses on my list, this course has a ton of elevation changes with Hole 13 as the signature hole on the course. The drive from the 12th green to the 13th tee is an adventure itself. The winding cart path seems to climb in to the woods forever.

As you reach the light, you seem to be on top of the earth. There is a 150 foot elevation drop from the tee to the green. You must be accurate with your tee shot as you need to land somewhere on the plateau below. If you push your shot you are lost in the woods (but you may see a deer). If you hook your shot, it will roll all the way to the fairway for the 12th hole, at which point you will be asking directions on how to get back to the 13th hole.

There are 3 other courses at Boyne Highlands. The Heather (1967 – Robert Trent Jones) is a great tract and has not lost anything in 40 years. The Moor (1974), and the Donald Ross Memorial Course (1985), were both designed by Bill Newcomb who has left his mark on Michigan Golf. For the overall Golf experience, I prefer Treetops, but Boyne Highlands is a great place to spend a weekend.

As the crow flies, Shepherd’s Hollow is less than 1.5 miles from my front door. The course was designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 2000. The land for the 27 holes is leased from the Colombiere Center, which is a retreat center originally designed as a college for Jesuit Priests. You barely see a house on the course (though you may a priest’s cemetery).  The land has great elevation changes and is densely wooded. It is a course where your blood pressure quickly drops with all of the beautiful scenery.

It is ranked #12 overall in the State of Michigan and #37 in the United States among Public Courses by Golf Digest. One curiosity I found is that Golf Digest uses the 2nd and 3rd nine in its Rankings (Holes 10-27). I and many others I talk to have the opinion along that holes 1-18 make the best tract. I find 19-27 are “tricked up,” do not flow very well, and there are at least 3 holes which are unfair.

Hole #12 is a lengthy Par-3. If you push your shot you may end up in the woods, hooking will probably get you into a bunker. Take plenty of club as I always seem to end up short. There are several other great holes on the course. My favorites include the Par-5 4th, 13th, and 18th. The Par-4′s have quite a variance as you have monsters such as the 483-yard 11th and shorties such as the 345-yard 3rd. The variance of holes is one aspect typical of an Arthur Hill’s design that I find great.

If you plan to play Shepherd’s Hollow, prepare yourself for a slow round. I always find a round will take about 5.5-6.0 hours during heavy traffic time. You will find the food in the clubhouse great, as I have never had a bad meal there. If you come visit me, I will be glad to check it out with you. I must warn you that I prefer a crack of dawn tee time to avoid a long round.

The Orchards Golf Club, located in Washington, Michigan, was opened in 1993 and designed by Robert Trent Jones II. The name, “The Orchards,” is a popular name for a golf course, being used for at least 4 other courses in the United States.

The Orchards has been given several awards and is presently ranked the #14 public course in the state of Michigan by Golfweek magazine. It has been ranked as high as #12 by Golf Digest for the State of Michigan (although it was not listed in the 2007 rankings).

The course has 2 very distinct sides. The front 9 is pretty tight, has some blind shots, and is pretty heavily wooded. The back nine (my personal favorite) is links style with many elevation changes. The 13th hole measures a staggering 607 yards from the back tees (and it plays all of it!).

In 2002, the course hosted the 77th United States Amateur Public Links Championship. The Orchards has a great practice facility and the rates are fairly reasonable. If you get a chance to visit Washington, Michigan check it out, you will not be disappointed.

What is Golf Digest’s top ranked golf course in the State of Michigan?? It is a question that most people I ask get wrong. The first guess is usually Oakland Hills South (#17).

The correct answer is Crystal Downs which is an extremely private golf course located in Frankfort, MI. The course was ranked #10 overall by Golf Digest in their 2007 rankings.

Designed in 1929 by Alister Mackenzie the course is a Par 70 measuring only 6,518 yards from the tips. The Greens all resemble the top shell of a turtle and must have slate below them as they hold the ball about as well as a pool table. There are prevailing winds on the course that make it play very much like Arcadia Bluffs (which is 20 minutes to the south).

The 10th hole is right beside the clubhouse and there is a large window so that everyone in the clubhouse can critique your swing. The day I got to play there, it was very cold and the clubhouse was empty. This was lucky for me as I could not have played a much worse round than the one I played that day.

Crystal Downs has some great elevation changes and it has stayed pretty true to its original design (thus only 6,518 yards). The Greens are a huge challenge and probably are a bit unfair. I am not quite sure it deserves as high a ranking as it gets (I personally preferred Arcadia Bluffs) but I would certainly welcome the opportunity to play it again.

The Old Course at Indianwood Golf and Country club is one of my favorite golf courses. Originally designed by famous British born golfer and architect Wifrid Reid in 1925, the course features pot bunkers, fescue rough, and no two holes that are alike. The Old Course at Indianwood was ranked #25 in the State of Michigan for 2007-2008 by Golf Digest.

The 9th hole is a dog leg right, from an article on great short par-fours in Michigan Golfer Magazine:

Other challenging shorties include the severe dogleg right ninth on the Old Course at Indianwood in Lake Orion. Lynn Janson won two of his three Michigan PGA championships at Indianwood, and calls the ninth one of his favorite short holes, even though he’s not a big fan of the kind of hole the ninth is. “In my opinion,” says Janson, “it is unusual for any kind of dogleg to be considered an outstanding hole. But the ninth at Indianwood has so many different elements to it. You can cut the dogleg and hit a shot very close to the green. You can hit it out of bounds if you stray to the right. Even laying up with a long iron isn’t easy, and if you drive through the fairway, you can have a very difficult shot from the rough.” Janson has never seen anyone actually drive the ninth green on the Old Course, but says he played it to perfection during the first two rounds of one of his PGA wins there, making birdie twice with drives that ended up just short of the putting surface. He also says the ninth has a hidden danger a player will occasionally sample, as his close friend Gary Robinson once did. “He hit his second shot off the clubhouse which sits right behind the green,” laughs Janson, “then it came back down the slope and onto the green!”

In 1930, Indianwood hosted the Western Open which at the time was considered a major championship. Gene Sarazan won $500 for his efforts as this was the only tournament Bobby Jones entered but did not win during the year. The club would also host the 1948 and 1949 Michigan PGA Championship. The 60s and 70s were rough on the club as it had deteriorated severely. Stan Aldridge, the present owner, bought the Club in 1981 and returned it to prominence. Stan spearheaded construction of the New Course (Bob Cupp/Jerry Pate). It is extremely tough from the back tees (6916 – 75.2/150)

The Club hosted the 1989 and 1994 US women’s Open on the Old Course. The future also is bright as the club was recently selected to host the 2012 US Senior Open.

Harry Melling, born in 1945, is best known as a NASCAR owner. Becoming an owner in 1982, he won 34 races, 2 Daytona 500′s and 1 Championship, having his best success with driver Bill Elliott in the 1980s. Melling, a true entrepreneur, bought the tiny Sylvan Ski Resort near Gaylord, MI in 1983.

Knowing that golf was needed for Sylvan to become a year round destination, Harry hired 80-year old Robert Trent Jones, Sr. to build a course at his resort. Legend has it that Jones commented when surveying the property that the only thing you could see were treetops. In addition, standing on the 6th tee after completion of the course, he commented that the course was his masterpiece. The resort was renamed Treetops/Sylvan Resort and later just Treetops. It is the only Michigan Golf Resort ranked in listed in the top 75 North American Resorts by Golf Digest (#48).

The Masterpiece course is ranked by Golf Digest #10 in the State of Michigan. With tons of elevation changes, plenty of trees, and tiny greens, it is a tough course. Hole #6 is the signature hole on the course. Playing from 180 yards (158 from the blue tees), it features a 120 foot elevation drop to the green. The view over the Pigeon River Valley is awe-inspiring. There is a bench at the tee that serves as a memorial to Harry Melling (who died suddenly of a heart attack in 1999).

Treetops has three other 18-hole courses (The Premier by Tom Fazio, as well as The Signature and The Legend by Rick Smith). The 9-hole, par-3 Threetops course (also a Smith design) was number 1 ranked par-3 course by Travel + Leisure golf in 2002. The course was home to the ESPN televised Par-3 shootout from 1999-2006. For an great summer golf experience, be sure to put Treetops at the top of your list.

Arcadia Bluffs is the best golf course I have ever played. It is ranked #46 in Golf Digest’s list of top 100 (#10 public). I have played 3 courses ranked higher by Golf Digest (Crystal Downs, Oakland Hills South, and Bethpage Black), but if I had one round to golf before I died I would want to play it here.

The course was built in 1999 (designed by Warren Henderson/Rick Smith) on a 3,100 foot long windswept bluff that sits 180 feet above the shores of Lake Michigan. The course has several dramatic elevation changes varying a total of 225 feet from highest to lowest point. The views at almost every hole will take your breath away. According to their website, the course is inspired by an Irish Seaside Link meaning that the 1st cut, fairways, and greens are very green.

The course itself is a challenge, but not unfair as you have wide landing areas on most holes. You will be playing in the wind no matter how calm it seems on your way to the course. Three of the first five holes are Par-5s. The 5th hole is a great risk/reward hole. Hitting towards Lake Michigan provides for a great tee shot. The big hitters are going to tempted to shoot for the green on their 2nd shot risking that their shot will end up in the vast surrounding wasteland.

Arcadia Bluffs is located in a rural area. It is one hour north of Ludington and 1 hour southwest of Traverse City. Interestingly, it is only about 20 minutes due south of  Crystal Downs which is the highest ranked Michigan Course.

In my earlier post on Mackinac Island I mentioned Wawashkamo Golf Course. It is a 9-hole layout with 2 unique sets of tees. It was originally opened in 1898 having been designed by a famous golf professional named Alex Smith and was built on the site Battle of Mackinac Island where 14 soldiers (13 US, 1 British) lost their lives. Wawashkamo (Chippewa for “walk a crooked trail”) claims to be one of the few American courses laid out in a links style that remains substantially unchanged.

The course is very proud of its heritage and provides some unique characteristics reminiscent of courses in the early 1900′s. For instance, you can build a sand tee on the first hole, you can rent hickory shafted clubs, and you can even play gutta-percha replica balls. You may get a bad lie in the un-watered fairways (the Greens and Tees are watered). The course is not very difficult when you play it with Modern equipment.

The 3rd hole has a “circus ring”. This is a 3-foot high ring of grass around the green which was used by architects on Scottish Courses to force a lofted shot to the green. It makes for a unique experience as I have never played another course with a “circus ring.”

When you get to Mackinac, I highly recommend checking out Wawashkamo. Go for the complete experience and play the first nine holes with the hickory shafts and the gutta-percha balls. Then take the second nine with your equipment.