Just returned from a trip to Michigan where, among other courses, I played Arcadia Bluffs. We were completely fogged in and had to wait 3 hours to play, but it was worth the wait in the end, as the back nine was sunny and warm with a one club breeze off Lake Michigan. We played the black tees at 7300 yards, par 72, 75.1/143. The Sunday green fee was $160.
What I (*=really) liked:
1*. The greens--interesting combination of bold and subtle contours, and by far the best greens I've ever played at a public course under non-tournament conditions; they rolled fast and true.
2*. The closely mown areas around many of the greens which allowed for a variety of short shots, with the possibility in some cases of putting from 20-30 yards off the green. These areas are tight, fast, and roll true--the closest to what you might find at TOC that I've seen in the U.S.
3*. No tee markers--There was one set for the forward tees, but no others. You choose which tee you want to play and then tee off from anywhere on that tee. Each tee is marked by a colored plaque in the center of the tee.
4. The routing, starting on higher ground away from the lake and then moving to and from the lake so that the lakeside holes were #5, #9, #15, and #16. Three par 5's in the first five holes helped get play off to a fast start, and the pace stayed good the whole way around. There were a few long distances between greens and tees, though.
5. The use of wide fairways and central hazards, and also bunkers which would seem out of play that actually work--for example, there is a bunker about 40-50 yards short-right of the uphill dogleg right 12th hole that doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to obscure the target, but after I hit it in the deep right rough and had to try to run it on, it was right there waiting for me. There were central bunkers on the 3rd, 11th, and 18th.
6. The atmosphere--the lake, the dunes, the high dune grasses, the lush green short grasses, the clubhouse... And the dunes were convincing, not over-the-top like Tobacco Road and others.
7. The practice facility--practice greens/bunkers represent what you'll see on the course; nice tight bent grass practice tee.
What I didn't like:
1. The severe green contours weren't as enjoyable on the blind greens; you couldn't tell where the ridges were and so picking a target was a wild guess. For example, on the 195-yard par-3 6th the pin was on the right side, so I hit it 25 feet left of the pin, only to catch a ridge and have the ball funnel down to the fron left of the green, maybe 70 feet away.
2. The 14th hole has a thrilling tee shot over a directional marker to a valley fairway, but a deep vertical-wall greenside bunker covers the left side of the green, which is fine if the pin is on the right side. But for a left-hand pin, you either hit a long iron over the bunker to a green running away, or hit to the right and putt over a steep spine in the green. After the difficulty of the drive, it seemed a little much to me. I missed the green left and actually had an easier shot, using a hill behind the pin to get it close.
3. #18 was a little awkward looking; it didn't seem to have enough fairway and although the backdrop of the clubhouse was interesting, we had to walk left and forward 30-40 yards to see where the pin was. After the round, we sat in the lawn chairs behind the green to watch our other group come in, but couldn't see them in the fairway. I liked the hole (& birdied it!), but just not as a finishing hole. But then again, CPCC and Ballybunion have awkward uphill finishing holes, so...
Favorite holes:
#3, 530 yds, well-bunkered par-5 up to a plateau green,
#8, 486 yds, downhill par-4 with sloping fairway and chocie to fly it on or use the left-right contours to run it on,
#9, 240 yds, par over a canyon to a perched green, with a bunker center-right exactly where you want to aim; the drop in elevation make the green receptive despite the yardage,
#13, 203 yds, nice drop-shot par-3 in a valley below the clubhouse,
#14 tee shot, 481 yds blind over an intruding dune to a valley fairway,
#15, 633 yds, long tumbling par-5 with mountainous fairway funneling down and left into a valley to a saddle green with the lake as a backdrop,
#16, 431 yds, alternate-route par-4 along the edge of the bluff; hug the left side closest to the cliff for the short route, or play right for the longer route but a better angle to the left pins.
Least favorite holes:
#6, 195 yds, hidden green contours as described earlier,
#10, 340 yds, neat short tight par-4 up and left through high dunes, but the front bunker rivals the Strath and TOC for depth, which is neat, but unlike the Strath the green here runs away from the bunker. We hit balls out of it and had to have a perfect lie to get out, which was fine, but we wouldnt have wanted to play out backwards because then we'd just have to pitch it over the bunker to the runaway green. Again, a little much,
#14 approach (see above).
All in all, Arcadia Bluffs was a tremendous experience, one that I would highly recommend. If you could go back-to-back at Arcadia and Crystal Downs, that would be hard to top.
(We also played TimberStone and Pine Grove in Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula, a couple of mountainous courses with tall pines lining undulating fairways; it was like kicking a field goal on every shot. Finally, we played Shepherd's Hollow in Clarkston near Detroit, an Arthur Hills course with fast, wildly undulating bent grass fairways and deep encroaching fairway bunkers; the rating/slope was 76.0/147!!!)