Cary:
You are absolutely right, it was remiss of me to forget True North.
Sean: I had no get alot done in a short period of time. Yes, there was some driving, but everything was within 2 hrs of each other.
Here's the link to my lakewood shores review:
http://jayflemma.blogspot.com/2005/10/lakewood-shores-resort-gailes-course.htmlThe skinny:
Aldridge's solid architecture is the primary reason the course remains firmly in the North Michigan rotation for travellers, even though the much larger resorts and newer designs like Forest Dunes and High Pointe command more attention.
Realizing that 20 mph winds are the norm, Aldridge makes use of the prevail in a north south fashion, playing long holes downwind and short tests upwind - avoiding crosswinds whenever possible as even 60 yd wide fairways are near impossible to hit in a gale. There are 18 flat lies on the whole course - one on each tee box. Greens and fairways will test players' skill at hook lies, fade lies and at all sorts of crazy angles. Not only is there a good variety of hole lengths, but even though the routing is a symmetrical seeming 36-36 with an even split of 4 par-3s and 4s, there are back to back par-5s in different directions at 7 and 8 that are nothing alike - one bisected twice by the burn, the other peppered with random fairway bunkers. The par threes appear quickly at 2 and 4, but then dont come back into the mix until the difficult pedestal green 12th.
If there are drawbacks, the topography of the property is flat and uninteresting. The site is not the most stunning natural plot - after all it's Michigan, not Colorado. Perhaps that is why Aldridge settled on an old school, old style design. Also, sadly, the course plays nowhere near as firm and fast as it should for the sandy soil on which links are meant to be built and the ground game suffers dramatically because of it. Most of the bump and run shots catch and hold in the longer fairway grass and collars. Also, several fairway bunkers need to be dug deeper and reclaimed. Nevertheless, many of the good bunkers that still remain admirably fill the pot bunker requirement of being merely small enough for one angry player, his ball and his wedge.
Here is Forest Dunes:
http://jayflemma.blogspot.com/2005/10/forest-dunes-gc-more-great-golf-in.htmlConditioning - Five and 1/2 stars (all ratings out of 7)
Design and strategy Four and 1/2 stars (Front nine Three stars, Back nine six stars)
Natural Setting: Five stars
Overall - Five stars
Value - Four stars. ($125 is too much for daily fee golf period.)