Freeways and Fairways: Wheatfield Valley Golf Course
By John Retzer (GolfBlogger.com)
Editor’s Note: this is one in a long series of examining golf courses located along Michigan freeways that you might drive by often but haven’t yet stopped in to try.
Wheatfield Valley falls into the category of “pleasant small-town courses,” the likes of which you can find in literally hundreds of hamlets across the Mitten State. In this case, the town is Williamston, located about 20 miles east of Lansing.
The course is aptly named, for it was built on former farmers’ fields. In fact, I’ll coin a term here: Along with linksland, parklands, and woodlands courses, there is a distinct species called “farmlands.” There are a lot of those in Michigan. It’s not a derogatory term, though, any more than it is to note that The Old Course was once a sheep pasture.
As a farmlands course, Wheatfield Valley is mostly open, and mostly flat, with light woods on its perimeter that in its agricultural heyday might have served as windbreaks or boundary lines.
The “Valley” is a low area on the back left (southeast) end of the property, abutting I-96. Half the course’s holes are routed through those lowlands, with four (Holes 2, 8, 13 and 16) taking advantage of the one-to-one-and-a-half club elevation change.
Wheatfield Valley is a relatively short par 70. From the tips, it measures just 5,726 yards, with a slope of 117 and a rating of 67. In truth, it’s more like a par 69, because the par 4 eighteenth tips out at just 201 yards. The longest hole is the 506-yard par 5 17th.
Struggling putters will love Wheatfield Valley’s greens, because they are mostly flat. Short hitters will also love this course. If you’re a long hitter, think of Wheatfield Valley as an opportunity to practice hybrids and irons off the tee.
My favorite hole at Wheatfield Valley was the downhill, dogleg right par 4 13th. Measuring 360 from the back tees, the 13th starts from an elevated tee. A good shot is straight out to the left side of the fairway, playing wide of the trees on the right. There’s a bunker out there to threaten a shot that carries too far, so pick your distance carefully. The second shot is into a relatively deep and flat green. Land your shot on the front and let it carry to the hole.
No one will ever mistake Wheatfield Valley for a country club, but for a neighborhood course it was adequate. Michiganders are lucky to have so many course operators bringing golf to every corner of the Mitten State.
Freeways and Fairways: Pine Hollow
This review is part of an occasional series that looks at golf courses found along Michigan freeways – those you drive by frequently, or on that annual vacation, but never seem to have time to stop and explore. Here is my assessment:
By Tom Lang
A cozy little out of the way 18-hole golf course that’s not so out of the way as it lines I-94 westbound near the Sargent Road exit east of Jackson: Pine Hollow Golf Club.
It’s not going to host a national or state tournament, but for less than $30 for a cart and round of golf, it can be a nice place for newcomers to try golf and old timers to hang out with their buddies as all come to play the game they love.
There is not a sand bunker to be found on the course and the greens are not tricky or filled with undulations – all good things for beginners and intermediate players trying to improve their games. But when there is no sand or other hazards missing, it’s a guarantee every course will throw some other challenge at golfers. In this case it’s trees, and some with large over-hanging limbs.
A few holes are wide open off the tee, but very few. The 18th is the most spacious, so if you’ been waiting all day to let it rip, that’s the hole to do so – a par 5 and you’re all warmed up by then. A good improvement to the enjoyment of playing at Pine Hollow would be an aggressive tree trimming program by ownership soon; not necessarily tree cutting, but serious tree trimming.
In online surveys the course gets a 4.1 out of 5 rating. I agree with the reviewers that it’s fun and attractive with its rolling landscape, and it’s not overly crowded. But I also agree with one reviewer that said the fairways need to be mowed more often – yet, in a weird way they still seemed to roll out pretty well under the early autumn conditions.
The back 9 has more character than the front (which borders the freeway) in its routing and land features. No. 15 is a beautiful long downhill par 4 lined with pines, and 17 is a drivable par 4 downhill if you keep the ball way to the right and let the steep slope take your ball toward the large green. And remember, when you get to 18 tee, let it rip.
Freeways and Fairways: Emerald Golf Course
By Tom Lang
The season is winding down on 25 years of The Emerald, situated along U.S. 27 to the north of St. Johns. Right across the highway is a long-time family staple for trips up north, the Uncle John’s Cider Mill.
Playability: For several years the course previously hosted high school state finals, so it sports a good combination of challenges from select tee boxes, yet Emerald remains a course that won’t bury junior golfers and others new to the game. For those who like to know which club to pull out of the bag (and all will be tested), multiple markers made of tall native grass bushes placed 100-150-200-250 yards from the green, plus sprinkler head measurements to center of green, helps everyone.
Yards: 6619 from tips, 5031 from forward tees.
Hole to Remember: No. 17 (451 yards from back tee) is one of those reachable par fives that can call out your name and whispers into golfers’ ears, “go for it.” But the approach can be tricky due to a stream that tightens the fairway near the green, making it a great risk/reward hole for those big hitters going for it in two to the elevated green. Balancing out a hole like 17 on the other side of the course is No. 4, a tough par 3 with water on the right and OB to the left; 223 yards from the tips. Many holes in between are a lot of fun, too.
Value for the money: Considering the experience of rolling terrain mixed with five ponds and many hardwood tree-lined fairways, rates are very fair at mid-Michigan’s “gem.”
Why try it:
Women friendly award as a top 100 course in the nation by Golf for Women magazine several years ago.
Known for very fast greens if that’s what you’re looking for.
The main comments inside the clubhouse of new golfers is: “I’ve driven by for years and always wanted to stop and try it.” Do it.
Web site: www.emeraldgolfcourse.com
A New 9 at Saskatoon Golf Club
By Tom Lang
The already bustling Saskatoon Golf Club near Caledonia opened a new 9 holes in mid-June called the Silver Course that’s drawing more attention than the club thought it would.
That’s understandable, because it’s an excellent layout that adds new features on the property that already had four sets of 9-hole courses and is a popular home for league play that alone accounts for more than 1,300 golfers each week all summer. The Howard family has had to allow play only four days a week in the beginning to give the new and still tender grass on the Silver time to recuperate from the traffic.
The first hole is a very attractive par 4, with a sand trap left and a stand of trees sticking out from the right at a distance where many drives land. On the tee you can see the green trying to peek through those same trees, where all the lower branches are trimmed, and ground brush is gone for golfers to retrieve and hit balls out from trouble more easily.
The second hole is a blind tee shot starting the long par 5. The 4th and 5th holes are separated by several dozen tall White Pines framing both holes, providing a distinct “Up North” vibe. All the fairways have some variation of rolling terrain sure to provide some side-hill lies.
I would call the 6th the signature hole, a par 3 crossing back over the same creek golfers had to carry off No. 4 tee. The green on 6 is lower than the tee boxes and backs up to Hole 2 that sits high atop the hill separating each green, creating a bowl effect on No. 6. The 8th hole is a long downhill par 3, giving the course a par 35 overall.
Two tall, mature Maple trees really caught my eye. The first is near the right dogleg bend of hole 5, about 60 yards back from the middle of the green and almost middle of the fairway. The second Maple sits at the right front edge of No. 9 green. Both have all the limbs of the lower half trimmed off so golfers can go under the leaves canopy with their approach shots, but slightly off shots could smack right into the thick trunk. Yet like Lee Trevino likes to say, “aim right at the tree trunk and you’re sure to miss it.” That said, they are a little imposing, but will seem very cool come fall color changes.
The new Silver Course sits near the Gold Course (est. 1992) on the north side of the road that splits the property. They will be bundled as one 18 course and the current Blue and White Courses will be bundled as a second 18. The original Red Course will be used mostly for a stand-alone 9 that’s popular with the older crowd and beginners but can be added to any mix. A huge newer open-air pavilion can seat 200 people for outings and weddings.
More info at: https://www.saskatoongolf.com/