Calderone Golf Club
Tremendous Golf, Exceptional Value
By Tom Lang
As much as I can tire of the phrase ‘hidden-gem’, Calderone Golf Club could qualify as one – except for the stark reality it’s in plain sight to thousands of freeway drivers daily – along I-94 in Jackson County.
There is nothing hidden about Calderone, with the exception of the back nine since it runs over the portion of hills and vales of the property that is well away from I-94, and much more tree-lined.
No less than five holes on the front nine’s links layout have sections significantly visible to highway passers-by, yet Calderone does not reflect what you’d expect of a golf course built on mid-Michigan farmland. There are no giant elevation drop-offs like land Up North, but there’s more than enough severely-rolling terrain, slippery side-hill holes and multi-tiered greens to entertain any golfer with a unique half day on the course – a track that lacks a single pancake flat hole.
“I return to Calderone at least once each year because there really isn't anything like it in the area,” said John Ritzer, who is from Ypsilanti, a school teacher known best as The Golf Blogger. “It is sprawling and brawny, and a challenging walk. I love the look of the open front nine, with its holes routed over prairie grass covered hills. The back nine is more wooded but maintains the same epic feel of the front. Since I'm always on foot, every round played there feels like an adventure.”
The general manager, Brian Roberts, has been in the golf industry most of his life. He graduated from Grand Valley State with a degree in business and marketing, before earning a turf degree at MSU. Roberts said that a good GM meshes well with the course superintendent and usually a former super has that advantage.
“If we were located on Lake Michigan, it would be cool and we could charge $100 more, but we’re the course that’s not too far away from everyone,” Roberts said. “There are some unbelievable courses in Michigan, and I do think our course is unbelievable, but we’re different.
“You can go to true destination courses, and we have a lot of great ones in Michigan, and they are worth the higher fee. But we are the kind of course you can come to 4-to-5 times a year where you can come in and spend about $50 and get a really good experience. We do get a ton of people saying that.”
Roberts gives credit to the Grass Lake community for supporting the course, and it was the perfect move for him from a course closer to Jackson where he had worked for 15 years.
“I always loved playing this golf course, and yet I always thought it was a better course than they presented it as,” he said about playing at Calderone before the job change. “The front nine is unique in that it’s a true links, and when I came out, I felt if they really worked at it this place could be amazing. And when this situation came up (just before Covid hit), I thought I’d like to give it a shot. It also meant not moving to another course far away. Our kids have friends here and it was good for our family to stay in the Jackson area.”
His first hire was James Southwell, who Robets called, “the best mechanic ever.”
They were joined by Lee Arbogast, who poured a ton of effort particularly into improving the 14th green and 15th tee, a corner of the property tough to keep the grass healthy. Arbogast personally hand-walk mowed that green and tee to help bring them back to health. Unfortunately, Arbogast unexpectedly passed away in the fall of 2021 but his efforts are not forgotten.
Clayton Simmons then joined the team as Superintendent, and along with Southwell they have really brought the course to a new level.
The improvements encompass my favorite 3-hole stretch.
No. 14 is a dogleg right par 4 that’s protected on the elbow by a couple “crater-shaped” catcher’s mitt grass bunkers – along the way to a green guarded by a sand trap in front.
No. 15 is a par 3 that goes slightly downhill to an attractive green complex of traps and greenside run offs.
No. 16, my vote for signature hole, is a shorter par 4 that heads straight, then turns sharply to the right and downhill to a green built against the hill that backs up the 5th green. Two huge, mature trees block the right elbow yet still keenly tempt many long hitters to try going over them to the green found at 281 yards from the white tee box.
The course opened in 2001 as a design from William Newcomb, who transformed the Calderone family farm. The original owner lives down the road and still stops by now and then to see the progress, but Roberts works for a group of co-owners who constantly pour profits back into improving the course. They are currently halfway through a four-year plan to renovate every sand bunker on the course.
When there taking photos, I found two ladies after their round together who had wonderful things to say about Calderone.
Ann Ziolkowski, from Chelsea, split the drive with her friend, Susan Day of Portage, by meeting in the middle.
“I would say this course is very female friendly, and for my level of golfing, there’s definitely some challenging holes,” Ziolkowski said. “We like the layout and the landscape. We had a good pace today. I think it’s a very beautiful golf course.
“It’s convenient, the price is right and it’s in great shape. They do a wonderful job keeping it up.”
Day, a 20 handicap, said: “The more times I play it the better I like it, this year especially. What I like the most about it, if you’re going to play here a lot, I always look at a course that you could play the reds, or we could play the golds, and there are times we could play a tee box back. So, as we play, you get to the point you can alter the course and make it a greater challenge.”
Roberts said ‘fun’ is the operative word he hears most about Calderone.
“They always say it’s a really fun course to play. And I totally agree. You’ve got links for the front nine and the back has more trees and is a little wooded. But it’s two different nines for most people. But the No. 1 thing I hear is people have fun playing the golf course. I always remembered it that way too.
“There’s always chances to makes birdies,” he added. “There’s a couple chances to make eagles. And you’ll play one of the hardest par 3s you’ll ever play.”
Assumptions of what the golf experience might be, based on rates, is normal.
“We like to say we will exceed your expectations,” Roberts said. “And we get responses that golfers have played other courses this year that were $50 but not this nice. Or some have said, ‘how can you do this for just $40?’”
The next time any golfers travel west from the Detroit-Ann Arbor area, they need to arrive 4 hours late to the final destination. And with its great rates your wallet will still be full.
More information: https://www.calderonegolfclub.com/
