I played the Gailes course three times this past week. My initial thoughts were that this course was crap. Of course, I played it after playing Forest Dunes, so that may have been my problem in a nutshell. It got better each time I played it, especially with wind. Very fun. Not manicured at all, and almost in poor condition in some areas of the course. I was expecting a lot more from a golf course ranked #54 on the Golf Digest Top 100 list. Not in terms of condition, but in terms of wow factor.
It plays next to a road for the first 5 holes. It also has a set of railroad tracks running through it, but they do not affect play like they do at Shennecossett in Connecticut. They are in between holes number 15 and 16.
It didn't help that they suffer from some VERY SLOOOOOOOOOW play here at Lakewood Shores, so much so that a return trip will never happen. Customer service is very poor here as well, but I digress.
This course is fun, but not anything like a true links course. The fairways were quite undulated and the greens a little less so. There were 2 double greens here, one that sported a huge stacked sod bunker.
One of the coolest items was the round, brick pump house on hole #18. Nice touch.
The Gailes is worth playing if nearby, but with all the great courses in Michigan, I dont think I'll be making a return trip to Lakewood Shores.
PS: Gailes "does not" look as good in person as it does in my pics....trust me....
