UNIVERSITY of MICHIGAN GC

[BCowan]

I miss the old one.  I forgot to take a photo of the new DeVries/Hancock putter.  $15 million to drink a beer inside, I prefer the Radrick way of BYOB. 

[Jud_T]

Played it last week for the first time in 4 years.  While conditioning was as expected for early in a wet spring, the transformation is clearly under way.  Many trees appear to have been removed and the greens that have been addressed, i.e. #6, are very good.  Perhaps Mike can chime in as to the timeline for future work.  The clubhouse actually fits in quite well when viewed from the course with all the other University buildings in the background, and care was obviously taken to mimic the architectural and even the specific design elements of the surrounding buildings.  If this course had high-end country club conditioning, folks here would be making a beeline for Ann Arbor for more than a football game or a trip to Zingerman's.

[BCowan]

Sean,

   The Blind Pig is up for sale.  You wouldn't recognize A2 if you haven't been there in 5 years.  Gotta overbuild them condos.  The course has been trying to give Country Club conditioning, they have watered the shit out of it the last 2 years.  As far as the clubhouse goes from the outside I don't think it fits in well with the surroundings.  It's looks about as good as a Zingerman's deli sandwich tastes  .  Any person with taste would go to Maize and Blue for Deli sandwiches. 

    Many in house changes have been made without Mike and Joe's blessing which I hope stops.  Drainage needs to be address in the spots it needs addressing such as the approach on the 3rd hole.  The biggest disappointment is that the pond on 18 could have been removed according to Mike and replaced with a creek, but the University had already signed a contract to renovate it instead of remove it. 

[Sean_A]

Ben

Yes, Ann Arbor has certainly lost some of its charm to new build...I was there last year for a night.  I still miss Del Rios and Joes.  I never hung out at the Pig...was only a music venue for me. 

I am sorry to hear the course work is a bit hit and miss. I am also sorry to hear the 1st green may be lost...though I never thought the hole was brilliant. 

Looking at the pix again, the course still has way too many trees.  Man, visually UofM could be miles better. 

Ciao

[BCowan]

Sean,

    They removed loads of trees which is very good for a University course, trust me management faced many complaints from it.  I hope more is to come, but Rome wasn't built in a day.  I need to do an updated photo tour this summer.  UM is one great piece of land in the middle of town.  The 1st green is very very good, needs some reclaiming.  I think the 1st if very solid, maint issues with the access road for football parking and the rough that interjects too much is main issue with me.  The bunker 40 yards short right of the green is excellent, can't think of a more relevant bunker.  Do folks need elevation change on every hole to deem it great? 

[PCCraig]

That is one ugly clubhouse. Looks like a football training facility, which apparently is the look they were going for.


Too bad they spent so much on the clubhouse, but can't seem to give Mike & Co. a decent budget to restore the course?

[BCrosby]

I normally don't care about such things, but that clubhouse is truly awful. But it was very expensive, so it has that going for it.


Bob

[Jud_T]

The inside of the clubhouse is quite nice, as you would expect on such a budget.  I agree that on it's own it looks like a bit of a monstrosity, but you really have to see it from the course as it blends in rather well with the rest of the institutional stuff around it.  The real bad news is that there's still no alcohol for sale...

[Mike Schott]

I'm sure the new clubhouse is functional and consistent with the newer buildings on campus. In these pics it has little character, but I really liked the old Prairie style clubhouse but understand it has many issues. Overall, not impressed.

[BCowan]

The clubhouse is symbolic of our times.  There wasn't anything wrong with filling in the basement and fixing the drainage issues of the old one.  Clubhouses are hurting area clubs and need to be downsized.  Meanwhile the greens have nasty grain on them and would benefit from some sodding with new grass varaties.  Spend a million on drainage so carts can run when u get half inch of rain.   

[Peter Flory]

Regarding the 18th hole, my Mom used to play in a ladies league once a week there.  Except for her and one or two other ladies, every other player would end their rounds by putting 2-3 balls in the pond and then illegally dropping on the other side.  There really is no alternative route that is feasible for a player like that to complete the hole.  Some would try to hit left toward the bridge in the rough to get past it. 

But for normal play, I always found the hole awkward due to the fairway bunker and the trees to the left of the fairway, which used to be more of an issue.  It's a bit of a long hole, but 3-wood was always the better play than driver.  The creek concept would have been a big improvement IMO. 


I also think that clubhouse looks pretty ridiculous.  The old one didn't draw attention to itself and blended in. 

[Mike Schott]

Regarding the 18th hole, my Mom used to play in a ladies league once a week there.  Except for her and one or two other ladies, every other player would end their rounds by putting 2-3 balls in the pond and then illegally dropping on the other side.  There really is no alternative route that is feasible for a player like that to complete the hole.  Some would try to hit left toward the bridge in the rough to get past it. 

But for normal play, I always found the hole awkward due to the fairway bunker and the trees to the left of the fairway, which used to be more of an issue.  It's a bit of a long hole, but 3-wood was always the better play than driver.  The creek concept would have been a big improvement IMO. 


I also think that clubhouse looks pretty ridiculous.  The old one didn't draw attention to itself and blended in.

Easily the worst hole on the course. From the white tees it's something like 440 yards and even from elevated tees it's a very long hole for a mid to high handicapper. It's far too penal in it's present form.

[Sean_A]

When you take a hard look at UofM, there are several indifferent holes saved by greens.  I am thinking of #s 1, 7, 9, 15, 16 & 17.  18 is quite simply an awkward cuss.  The water course was never in a position to make it a challenging feature...all we get is the penal nature of water without the fun of carrying the hazard with any sense of purpose.  I posited this before, I think the green was always set well back from the water for flooding reasons. Now that the stream is greatly widened, it seems to me the green can be extended or moved much closer to the water. 

Ciao

[BCowan]

When you take a hard look at UofM, there are several indifferent holes saved by greens.  I am thinking of #s 1, 7, 9, 15, 16 & 17.  18 is quite simply an awkward cuss.  The water course was never in a position to make it a challenging feature...all we get is the penal nature of water without the fun of carrying the hazard with any sense of purpose.  I posited this before, I think the green was always set well back from the water for flooding reasons. Now that the stream is greatly widened, it seems to me the green can be extended or moved much closer to the water. 

Ciao

S,

   Come back to the reservation.   #15 is my favorite hole on the course and the Architecture couldn't be more sound.  Very wide fairway that pitches left to right.  You wanna hug the left side to have a proper angle into the green which is very important.  Now the shit that has been planted in the left rough X amount of years ago, doesn't take away from a great hole.  #7 is a great hole, makes one think about whether to hit less club off the tee in an attempt to keep in the fairway, tough to hit.  Tough green to hold from the rough.  I'm not going to rebuttal every hole, but 17 is the only hole I agree with you on and it's not because I pull it left out of bounce 50% of the time hitting the maint building.      The green does save it.  Many criticize the 1st hole which is a solid hole and a maint road that destroys the continuity of the hole for the avg hitter of the golf ball.  Other criticism comes IMO from Elevation Whores, were any flat hole is blah regardless if the Architecture is solid.  Hit your tee ball by the fairway bunker on the left have a nice angle into the green in 2.  The bunkering locations for flailed out shots to the right in 2 are as perfectly located as any bunker I've seen.  The OB is on the left side.  The scale and size of the green on #18 fits perfect for the scale of the hole.  It's perched nicely on a shelf.  The course just needs to listen to the architects, ones that are in favor of removal of the pond.   

 
 

[Sean_A]

I never liked 15-17 as a run of holes because

1. The bunkering is boring and repetitive

2. They are back and forth holes and it feels this way

3. Two holes leg against the lay of the land and neither is a terribly good version of the concept...plus 7 also does this (with left/right bunkering too)...too many holes employing this concept...but I really like 7s green

4. It feels like MacWell ran out of room, but they didn't. The maintenance facility has robbed 17 of its space. The fairway should be bulging well left of where it is today   If management insists on trees existing between 15/16/17, when the fancy new practice facilities were built the maintenance crap along 17 should have been moved, thereby creating more space for 17 and showing how wide 15 & 16 should be.  There should be a fairway bulge right on 15...gone. I am not sure one can even gain the best angle of attack on this hole...I think its buried in crap down the left.  Really, 15-17 epitizomes what has gone wrong with the course in terms of width.

5. Visually, the holes are blah

I often think a very good way to improve back n' forth holes is to create a massive fairway with odd bunker placment.  I don't believe the MacWell plan called for many trees on the inside of these three holes.  Also, reverse dogleg holes really need lots of space to do well.  When I last saw UofM there wasn't enough fairway for any of the reverse doglegs nor did the shortside of the fairway entice play that way at all.

While I like the course a lot, my bottom line is that on that property and with those quality greens, UofM is not living up to its potential. Some of it is presentation/maintenance and some of it is an indifferent bunker scheme. Ironically, I feel the same way about Grosse Ile. 

Ciao

[BCowan]

Played UM for the 2nd time this year on Monday. It was the firmest I can recall it's ever been. Beautiful brown tint on the fairways.  Even the grain on the greens was better due to the firmness.


Bad news is school president might not allow a liquor licenses.  Food is greatly improved though! 

[Ari Techner]

Is the work to the golf course done or still ongoing?
The new clubhouse is certainly um......  interesting looking.

[BCowan]

Is the work to the golf course done or still ongoing?
The new clubhouse is certainly um......  interesting looking.

The new putter is fantastic, MD and JH did an excellent job trying to mimic the Mac/Max greens.  Very bold features, dissapointed they went with thee old Pencross variety for it .  It's nice the ball actually rolls where u strike it.


No more changes this year, clubhouse beautification for this year.  The ability to order a burger on the 9th tee I'm really looking forward to.

[BCowan]

I never liked 15-17 as a run of holes because

1. The bunkering is boring and repetitive

2. They are back and forth holes and it feels this way

3. Two holes leg against the lay of the land and neither is a terribly good version of the concept...plus 7 also does this (with left/right bunkering too)...too many holes employing this concept...but I really like 7s green

4. It feels like Macwell ran out of room, but they didn't. The maintenance facility has robbed 17 of its space. The fairway should be bulging well left of where it is today   If management insists on trees existing between 15/16/17, when the fancy new practice facilities were built the maintenance crap along 17 should have been moved, thereby creating more space for 17 and showing hw wide 15 & 16 should be.  There should be a fairway bulge right on 15...gone. I am not sure one can even gain the best angle of attack on this hole...I think its buried in crap down the left.  Really, 15-17 epitizomes what has gone wrong with the course in terms of width.

5. Visually, the holes are blah

I often think a very good way to improve back n' forth holes is to create a massive fairway with odd bunker placment.  I don't believe the Macwell plan called for many trees on the inside of these three holes.  Also, reverse dogleg holes really need lots of space to do well.  When I last saw UofM there wasn't enough fairway for any of the reverse doglegs nor did the shortside of the fairway entice play that way at all.

While I like the course a lot, my bottom line is that on that property and with those quality greens, UofM is not living up to its potential.  Some of it is presentation/maintenance and some of it is an indifferent bunker scheme. Ironically, I feel the same way about Grosse Ile. 

Ciao

1.  As far as the bunkering is concerned a lot has changed since it was built.  I recall Hills being instructed to make the course to be easier to maint. by the Athletic debt.  A golf coach had significantly messed with the 13th hole. 

2.  ''They are back in forth holes'',  These comments irk me, I don't understand how direction matters.  Holes fitting the land is MOST important.  The land is very good. 

3.  7 is a brilliant hole due to the fact the fairway slopes downhill and to the right.  It makes the player think about blowing it down the hill or taking less club off the tee to hit the fairway.  I disagree with your assessment on this hole.  This hole is one of many reasons why UofM is so Great.  There are instances where bunkers left and right on a green are important.  This is one of them.  #16 I agree with you.  #15 is a great hole, the best on the course for me.  It defines ANGLE so well and the fairway is 42 yards wide and very close to original width.  #2 isn't on the other hand.  #16 fairway is very wide. 

4.  Again, you couldn't be more wrong.  The fairway today is where it was, if anything it looks a tad bit too left.  They removed all those trees to the left on 17.  The bulge on #15 is there.  The width is there on 15-17, but tree removal would greatly improve those holes, so we agree on that.   

5.  ''Visually, the holes are blah''  -   

#15 visually is wonderful, with tree removal on the left it could be stellar.  #16 the tee shot is great, the 2nd shot is obstructed with tree on the left for the left side of the fairway.  The green bunkering is weak, agree there.  Tee shot on #17 is tough for me and the tree on right encroaches on the fairway.  I agree with 17, it's probably weakest hole on the course, but green saves it.  I agree with you about UofM and the Ile not living up to their potential.   Some great improvements with tree removal and reclaiming.  The native grass is one of the biggest mistakes they have done to the course.  Elephant grass (Tall Fescue in heavy soil = lost balls)

[Mike Schott]

I agree with Ben about the comment on the course being visually blah. It's not that at all. A few stretches are less interesting than others and I do mean 15, 16 and 17. The least interesting part of the course for sure, especially following the great 13th and 14th holes. The stretch from 7 to 9 is also fantastic with some of the best greens on the course.

[Sean_A]

Mike

I don't think the entire course is visually blah, having said that the visuals are not the strong point of the course.  To me 15-17 is very average stuff in design and visually which could be far better with more width/less trees and more interesting bunkering.  I think the holes were probably better as MacWell designed them. 

Ben

It will be interesting to see this native grass stuff.  Generally, I don't care for the idea because its hard to control and "out of play" always seems to find a way to be in play.

Ciao