University of Michigan- Is the central park for Golf in Ann Arbor. To be blessed with this bold and intimate piece of land so close to downtown is wonderful. The routing choices made are very interesting due to a ridge running through the course. Some great restoration work is being done now with green reclaiming and tree removal. To simplify what is great about UofM, is the moment one leave the 18th green they can't wait to hit the 1st tee again. Fun is also the word one thinks of when describing UofM, even if one's game is off it has enough balance of interesting holes to keep one in the game. Nothing would please me more, then for the UofM course to be restored to its former glory. - Ben Cowan
Battle Creek- Passes all of my tests as a fine golf course. Fantastic green complexes, par is definitely defended at the green. Beautiful rolling terrain, a wonderful walk in the park. Play every day and not get bored, most definitely. BCCC is as close to an original Willie Park Jr as I think you are going to find. Given that you have a former Super as GM, he and the Super have superbly restored the green complexes and shot values without spending a fortune. I'd classify BCCC as the most underrated golf course in Michigan! A must play for those that love Golden Age Golf. - Jeff Bergeron
Forest Dunes- Ohio State Buckeye Tom Weiskopf brought all of his skills to the table when he built Forest Dunes in the Wolverine State. Known for building great short Par 4's, Weiskopf didn't disappoint in building the fun and strategic 6th and 17th holes. Moreover, the land was so good that Weiskopf didn't stop at just 18 holes, he built a fun one-shot bye hole that has a Riviera-style bunker in the middle of the green to settle bets at the end. Forest Dunes is a great blend of tree-lined fairways, common in Northern Michigan, and exposed sandy areas, less common in the state. The design winds its way back and forth, taking the player from narrow holes to more open and exposed holes and then back again. The back nine crescendos with several good holes before finishing with a fun match-settling holes such as #15, #17, and #18 which are open to birdies or better, but can bring bogeys or worse into the picture as well if the player doesn't excute. Many people play Forest Dunes on the way to somewhere else, but now that Tom Doak's reversible course, The Loop, opened in 2016, Forest Dunes will likely become more of a destination restort, and will get even more attention and play. While it's a bit off the beaten path, Forest Dunes is clearly worth experiencing-- one tip though... BRING BUG SPRAY!- Matt Bielawa
Barton Hills - Like many courses in SE Michigan, it's another Donald Ross Gem (1919), highlighted by a diverse set of undulated greens uniquely fitting the holes they lay on. I consider the course largely a 2nd shot golf course as the fairways are generous and hazards generally not in play off the tee. It's a course where angles into greens really means something if you want to score as just hitting the green doesn't always equate to good scoring opportunities. While the course has a series of long Par 4's from the back tee, I consider the short Par 4, 4th and 12th to be the most enjoyable and interesting holes. They can be easy birdies if played correctly, sometimes with only a long iron and wedge, but often times a misplaced approach ends in 3 putts or impossible up and downs. The course has been much improved in recent years with a Ron Prichard ''Restoration'' with tree removal programs that is opened up the views of the course as well as improved Turf and play-ability. - Dustin Ferrell
Bloomfield Hills- Is one of only 2 Harry Colt courses left in the US! The strength of BH is the set of par 3's. The 9th, 11th, and 17th are really great one shooter and can match any in the city! The course has done a semi complete restoration with Keith Foster a few years back removing over 700 trees and re-grassing the greens. The course sits on beautiful rolling terrain. The 10th and the 15th are very strong drive and pitch holes. The 10th gives a golfer many options off the tee due to the change in elevation throughout the hole, while #15 temps the long ball hitters to drive the green. Due to technology many ignorant flat bellies may overlook BHCC, but it gives a good test to most and its architecture is very good!- Ben Cowan
CC of Detroit- After a decade of dying greens, bunkers redone by Foster, greens and tees rebuilt by Doak, a new 17th green relocated by Doak, and a thousand trees removed by both Doak and Foster, the CCD course is as close to Charles Hugh Alison's 1926 vision as it has been since WWII. Certainly Michigan's best and one of the country's best flat land courses, the CCD uses its shallow lake bottom sand ridges to good advantage. Doak has eliminated Trent Jones' 1954 aircraft carrier tee's and has relocated them to original directional positions. The back tees are now are placed into the existing grade where the low ridges obscure the landing areas as originally intended by Alison. The result is a wide course that exacts a penalty for tee shots to the wrong side of fairways for the good players while allowing the average golfer to enjoy their afternoon. The tree removal highlights the remaining specimen trees and they help define the wonderful parkland course.- Tony Gholz
Belvedere- Is classy, but not up-tight. Laid-back, but not sloppy. From the opening elevated tee shot to the putts on the home hole, it's a GREAT walk. Suitable for all kinds of players and equipment. Stand-out holes are the excellent Par 4 7th, the Par 3 8th with its infinity green and lone tree, the short Par 4 11th and it's model green, the 12th with its rolling fairway, and the raised but shallow-greened 16th. Sleeper holes are the half Par 4th, the dog legged 6th, and the bunkerless Par 3 17th. Three (three!) of Belvedere's holes were featured in George Thomas' ''Golf Architecture in America'' book. There should be more courses and clubs like Belvedere. Simply put, Belvedere is what's good about Golf!- Russ Arbuthnot
Oakland Hills (North)- Although clearly the second ranked course on the property, the North Course at OHCC (built in 1923 six years after the South) had hosted several top tier Michigan tournaments, including the State Amateur, prior to acting as the second qualifying course for this year's US Amateur. If resistance scoring rings a bell it stayed within a stroke and a half margin of the south, mostly due to the greens, but if played at full length the North would have been the equal, or a little longer, than the South. The course aesthetics today are mainly those of the Jones family as Trent redid it shortly after his work on the South for the '51 Open, think aircraft carrier tees and high lipped bunkering. He and Rees have made changes to it over the decades since, mostly for drainage as well as the use of the course as the practice, parking, and commercial staging areas for the big tournaments on the South. The combination of the 1st and 10th tees on the highest point of the property to make a mega practice tee for the Majors is a striking tee platform and allows for expansive views over the property. The drainage solution to the swampy areas of the back nine, along the north side of the property, have an unmistakable Medinah #2 feel and were completed recently at several million dollars of expense. That said, the original 1923 Ross magic in routing a course on a tight (tighter than the expansive South) property is well in evidence and still shines today. Despite several back and forth parallel holes on relatively flat land, where the land rolls it is well used, with several holes in the excellent category. I include the par-3 4th, and especially the par-4 17th and 18th holes, as first class on very interesting land. The 4th is an uphill shot to a terraced green situated on one of the high points of the property where the wind blows free. The one tree on the hole is a large specimen oak out of play to the left, but it beautifully frames the view. The hole would fit well at Braid's Gleneagles Kings Course. The 17th is a strong uphill par-4 beautiful bunkered against a natural hill on the left in the landing area with OB right. The second shot is to another plateau green back on the higher end of the property. The hole was considered tough enough by the USGA that the new back tee was not used during the tournament, however even the big hitters had to contend with the single fairway bunker. The 18th hole is a shorter par-4 fitted in a saddle between two more natural hills. It allows the long hitter an opportunity to hit driver while the average golfer playing from the member tees has a chance to hit a mid to short iron to the well bunkered green. - Tony Gholz