A Fan's Photo Tribute to Kingsley Club - 18th hole commentary now in progress

[Dan_Lucas]

Tim

Short of the short left bunker is the widest point. The fairway line there runs left of that bunker's left edge.

[JC Jones]

I'll try to get there after Crystal Downs this summer.

Why pass on the best course in Michigan for the 2nd best course?

[George Freeman]

Tim

Short of the short left bunker is the widest point. The fairway line there runs left of that bunker's left edge.

Dan - Good to hear.

[Tim Bert]

Tim

Short of the short left bunker is the widest point. The fairway line there runs left of that bunker's left edge.

Excellent!  Just give me a place to miss.  That's all I can ask.

[Mac Plumart]

What is an easier walk Ballyneal or Kingsley?

[Bill_McBride]

What is an easier walk Ballyneal or Kingsley?

Kingsley to me, but not by much.   Both are a great energetic walk, just think Ballyneal is a bit more spread out.

[Jud_T]

Mac,

Just watch the walk from 12 green to 13 tee.  It's quite a steep little hill.  If it's an issue you can walk around on the cart path which is less of a grade.

[Chris_Hufnagel]

What is an easier walk Ballyneal or Kingsley?

Mac, given the Hundred Hole Hike coming up in June...I was wondering the same thing...

I really enjoy walking Kingsley and have never felt it was a hard walk in total.  There are several hard portions of the walk - but generally they are brief and fairly well spread out throughout the round...

#1 - If you choose the upper (right) fairway, the walk up the hill can be difficult, but it is a nice way to get warm for your round!
#5-6 Transition - Not a long walk by modern golf course standards, but one of the longer ones at Kingsley.
#7-8 Transition - Same as above, but a little more difficult and uphill if playing the back tee on #8.
#8-9 Transition - Both uphill and can take your breath away, but the south tee is probably more strenuous, especially if you consider the walk from the south tee to the green.  While it is downhill, it isn't the easiest walk.
#12-13 Transition - I would estimate this is probably the hardest transition on the course and at a fairly steep grade.  It is fairly short, but it gets your attention.

The course is fairly undulating and there is rarely a flat walk out there - the flattest portion of the property is probably the fairways and combined rough on #14 and #15.

The above commentary only applies if you are hitting fairways and greens - if you get out of position at Kingsley, it can take its toll on your card and body...

#1 - Right hand side of fairway
#6 - Left or right
#7 - Right!
#12 - Right!!
#13 - Right!!

I have never had the privilege of playing Ballyneal, but hope to one day...

[Mac Plumart]

Thanks guys!

[Mac Plumart]

I'm sure y'all don't need me to start another thread on Kingsley, but I did want to mention that I thought the course and club were fantastic.  The place is my kind of place and the golf my kind of golf.  I call it adventure golf.  Wonderful routing, akin to an adventure, bold and natural feeling bunkers, off the charts cool greens...really great stuff!!!  The members of the place have to be very happy with the club/course.

[Bill Seitz]

Mac, glad to hear you enjoyed it.  How much golf were you able to get in?  I find that I like it more and more every time I play it, and I look forward to almost every shot on the course.  The tee shot on 10 is a little boring, and maybe the tee shot on 15 as well, but that's about it.  It's a course that I liked the first time, but loved the fifth or sixth time.  I look forward to at least four more trips up there this summer. 

[Jud_T]

The tee shot on 10 is a little boring, and maybe the tee shot on 15 as well, but that's about it. 

more interesting knowing you don't have a 4 iron in your bag for the approach...

[Mac Plumart]

Bill...

I was lucky enough to go around 4 times.  I could have played it 100 more...it was so interesting and exciting.  And like you said, I liked it more and more each time around.

And I didn't find 10 or 15 tee shots boring...perhaps compared with the other shots they were not as thrilling...but far from boring.

It is really a very special place.

[Morgan Clawson]

Mac -

What were your favorite holes?

[hhuffines]

Ditto to what Mac said!  I thought holes 2,3,4,5,6 and 14,15,16 were outstanding.  I am planning on getting back there for golf and some fishing next time.

[Mac Plumart]

Mac -

What were your favorite holes?

I really, really like the entire course.  So, I am not slighting any holes by mentioning that...

13 was my favorite.

3 green was amazing.

4 fairway was really cool.

And I could play 9 for days on end...for all reasons inclucing the good, the bad, and the really, really ugly!!! 

[Zack Molnar]

Mac,

Completely agree with you. I loved the entire course and was blown away by the entire experience. It's the exact atmosphere I want in a golf club and the exact type of course I want to play.

13 is an absolutely amazing hole. You stand on that tee thinking that you can just hit it up by the green, and at worst you will make a 4. But the drop offs are so severe that making a 5 from there is anything but assured. But if you lay back you also have to precisely hit your tee shot to have a good distance in to keep your ball on the green with spin, as well as avoid the hazards and get your self a good line to the flag. So if you dont think and execute on the hole, you can really make a big number on a really short hole.

Also, I love how in a stretch of three semi-lenghty holes, it is broken up by this short hole, and many people will be lulled to sleep and thinking they can take a break. When in fact, 13 requires much more attention than 12, 14 or 15 but is many yards shorter. People looking at the score card will think 12, 14 and 15 are going to be difficult, so they will try to be extra aggressive on 13 to make a birdie, and most will end up making a big number. It is an excellent hole put at a perfect time in the round.

[Bill Seitz]

The tee shot on 10 is a little boring, and maybe the tee shot on 15 as well, but that's about it. 

more interesting knowing you don't have a 4 iron in your bag for the approach...

Technically I don't think I knew it at the time. 

[Chris_Hufnagel]

When in fact, 13 requires much more attention than 12, 14 or 15 but is many yards shorter.

Zack, I am glad you enjoyed the Kingsley Club.  I agree with you on two fronts - it is exactly the type of club I want to play each day and that #13 is an amazing hole - probably one of the holes I look forward to the most each round - and for me that is saying a lot because I love so many of the holes out there.

As for stating #13 requires more attention than #15, I may have to disagree with you.  While the tee shot may not require as much attention as the tee ball on #13 (even though the slope of the hill runs the opposite of where you want your drive to end up), I think the second (and often times third shot for me) is one of the most difficult on the course.  I have yet to master the approach into that green and I would guess that in relation to par, my stroke average is highest there with the possible exception of #2.

Chris.

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

Great thread, bringing back lots of memories of one of the greatest days on the golf course I ever had.  One I will never forget...

Sometime when I have more time I need to go back through my pics and see what if anything I can add.  I played that day with Dr. Gary Wiren and the conversations we had coupled with the fantastic golf were something I will treasure forever.

Cant believe I just went back in my database and see that my day at Kingsley was 7 years ago already.  It certainly doesn't seem that long ago.  Yet it reminds me that I need to get back there soon...

[Bill Seitz]

When in fact, 13 requires much more attention than 12, 14 or 15 but is many yards shorter.

Zack, I am glad you enjoyed the Kingsley Club.  I agree with you on two fronts - it is exactly the type of club I want to play each day and that #13 is an amazing hole - probably one of the holes I look forward to the most each round - and for me that is saying a lot because I love so many of the holes out there.

As for stating #13 requires more attention than #15, I may have to disagree with you.  While the tee shot may not require as much attention as the tee ball on #13 (even though the slope of the hill runs the opposite of where you want your drive to end up), I think the second (and often times third shot for me) is one of the most difficult on the course.  I have yet to master the approach into that green and I would guess that in relation to par, my stroke average is highest there with the possible exception of #2.

Chris.

Yeah, but 15 is already a par 4.5, so it's not surprising that your scoring average is up.  I expect to make five at 15, with the occasional four (which is largely how I think about 14 as well).  That green is so small that actually expecting to be on in two can be a bit pie in the sky.  I don't know that I'd say 13 requires more attention, but it's definitely a hole where my score more often fails to live up to my expectations. 

It hasn't been mentioned in this latest round of posts, but I think 8 is the whole where I've been flummoxed the most.  I can't seem to dial in the yardage on the second shot, even though I know that the safer play is long.  I've just had a hard time reading the uphill combined with the upslope, and even if I hold the green, it's well short of where I want it to be.  As for 2, I mentioned to Jud on our last trip that I could walk out and set up a folding chair, take a book, and watch people hit shots into that green all day.  I've never played a shot which should seem so boring (the play is the same every day - back middle of the green - no matter where the pin is), which creates so much anxiety. 

[Buck Wolter]

I played that day with Dr. Gary Wiren and the conversations we had coupled with the fantastic golf were something I will treasure forever.

I had a similar opportunity to play Kingsley with Dr. Wiren -- definitely one of the highlights of my golfing life.

[Chris_Hufnagel]

When in fact, 13 requires much more attention than 12, 14 or 15 but is many yards shorter.

Zack, I am glad you enjoyed the Kingsley Club.  I agree with you on two fronts - it is exactly the type of club I want to play each day and that #13 is an amazing hole - probably one of the holes I look forward to the most each round - and for me that is saying a lot because I love so many of the holes out there.

As for stating #13 requires more attention than #15, I may have to disagree with you.  While the tee shot may not require as much attention as the tee ball on #13 (even though the slope of the hill runs the opposite of where you want your drive to end up), I think the second (and often times third shot for me) is one of the most difficult on the course.  I have yet to master the approach into that green and I would guess that in relation to par, my stroke average is highest there with the possible exception of #2.

Chris.

As for 2, I mentioned to Jud on our last trip that I could walk out and set up a folding chair, take a book, and watch people hit shots into that green all day.  I've never played a shot which should seem so boring (the play is the same every day - back middle of the green - no matter where the pin is), which creates so much anxiety. 

During the long, cold, and dark winters in Grand Rapids - the tee shot on #2 is the shot I go over in my head repeatedly...it is also the shot on the range that I practice before my long weekends at the club and usually one of the last shots I hit on the range at Kingsley before heading up to the first tee...

[Jud_T]

Dan The Man Lucas putting in the new tees on #4 this weekend.  There will be 4 tees along this line for all abilities.  For all you right handed faders out there that have only played the hole from the fairway gully on the right, salvation has arrived.  

View My Video

Not a "True Links" cause it doesn't get any wind?

View My Video

[Dan_Lucas]

Jud

I knew it was blowing hard that day, I watched a couple balls get blown off 6 green, but the vid of the flag on 2 is awesome. I think I'll send a link to Cheesebrough, the flagstick manufacturer. To see something that stout get bent over that far is a testament to their product.

Dan