Sweetgrass GC, Harris MI. Photo Tour and Review

[Jon Heise]

There’s nothing better than Upper Peninsula golf.  Amazing variety, quality and value will make you forget you just drove probably 5+ hours to get there.  I’ll even argue all day that Greywalls is the best course in the state of Michigan.  Anyway, I got my first chance to play Sweetgrass GC in Harris, about 15 mins west of Escanaba, part of a very nice casino and resort.  It’s a Paul Albanese design and opened in 2009.  This is a very enjoyable golf course, and I think all us architecture nerds will appreciate what they’ve got here.

Sweetgrass can play long, 7275 yards, and has a healthy slope/rating of 143/75.2 from the backs.  I played from about 6900 on a cloudy but otherwise perfect day.  1 and 10 run parallel to each other, surrounded by the driving range, but you are completely isolated from the other holes.  That changes as you move to #2.  The property opens up drastically at that point, you can see what seemed like 9-10 other holes at any place on the course.  And that’s not saying its flat, there’s plenty of movement in the land.  Fairways offered a lot of width, asking you to pick the right angle into some pretty tricky greens.  Condition was good, the greens were hard, fast and sandy, but you could tell it’s still a young golf course in spots.  I had some 25’ putts that looked like about a 1’ break that ended up moving like 6’.   Now on to the walkthrough:

Hole 1, par 4, 320yds

Super easy opener.  Hit it anywhere.  Offers a nice start.


You’ll notice some old steel bridges on the course.  Apparently they were used in various local towns and provide a cool look.


Hole 2, par 4, 400yds

A little tighter than the first, avoid a bunker to the right.  A tricky green.


Hole 3, par 3, 200yds





Hole 4, par 4, 469yds

Long uphill hole.  Play a long hook into a severely raised green.








Hole 5, par 4, 440yds



Hole 6, par 5, 630yds

Sweeps to the right with a long bunker looking to get you if you try to cut off too much.


Hole 7, par 3, 230yds

Long with another raised green and well bunkered.  Much harder to roll one up here.  (from the far left side)


Hole 8, par 4, 439yds

Wide fairway with a center bunker.  Avoid it!  Some interesting bunker along the right side of the green.






Hole 9, par 5, 547yds

Interesting.  Hole 9 and 18 are parallel to each other and almost mirror image, separated by a lake and waterfall.  I’ve seen something like this before at Eagle Eye near Lansing...  Hit anywhere in the fairway, going for it in 2 is crazy, just try to lay up and avoid the bunker 110 out.




Hole 10, par 4, 372 yards

Avoid the tight fairway bunkers and get a shot at a large green that has some nice pin positions in some valleys.




Hole 11, par 5, 565yds

Kind of segmented, takes a big carry to get over fw bunker.  Wild green.


Hole 12, par 3, 214yds

The Biarritz!  Gorgeous.  Very, very big!








Hole 13, par 4, 489yds

Long dogleg left.  Near the green is a large wood carving of two eagles.  The Native American heritage of the area is proudly displayed, and they did a good job of incorporating it into the course.






Hole 14, par 4, 346yds

Short dogleg right.  Bite off as much as you want...




Hole 15, par 3, 168yds

A huge island green par 3!  Maybe not as taxing a shot as the Sawgrass par 3, but still intimidating.  You’ll be hitting a mid iron into this green.  I wouldn’t be too excited if the wind was up...






Hole 16, par 4, 479yds

Another long par 4.  Man, the long holes play realllly long from the back.


Hole 17, par 4, 427yds

Pretty hole over some marshland.  Natural rocks in the fairway.  Large contoured  and well bunkered green.  The course toughens up on the back 9 for sure.










Hole 18, par 5, 550 yards

Again, it’s pretty much a mirror of #9.  Up the hill.  Give it a smack and play your second to a shallow double green.  I don’t suggest 3 putting for par like I did.  It’ll make you want to go lose all your money at the casino right after.  Like...  I did...









Overall, I really liked it.  They offer some great deals for members of other UP courses ( ) and it's something I'll want to have a second and third look at. 


 

[Brian_Sleeman]

This is the best look I've gotten at it so far - thanks for the comprehensive review!

[Jon Heise]

Happy to provide a quick peek at a cool course! 

[RJ_Daley]

Jon, thanks for the best thread I've seen of Sweetgrass.  It has been on my list of must get-to places.  Paul used to be a frequent GCA poster. I wish he'd come back and comment for us.

[Billsteele]

Jon-Thanks for the photo tour. Aside from Sweetgrass and Greywalls, what other courses are there in the UP that merit a look? I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

[Jon Heise]

Bill- Greywalls, Timberstone in Iron Mountain, and Sweetgrass have kind of joined forces marketing themselves as the "premier" UP courses, and I'll totally agree with that.  Wild Bluff near the Soo is a GC I've have not yet seen, but many say it's on par with the 3 just mentioned.  I really enjoy the Heritage at Marquette Golf Club, it's got great, great greens and is in awesome shape right now, but I'm biased on that one...  I always ask the Yoopers what the local favorite courses are, and a few that they often mention are Pine Grove CC in Iron Mountain, Gladstone GC near Escanaba, and Wawanowin CC in Champion.  Have not yet played any of those, but hope to visit by the end of this summer.  They've all been described to me as totally old-school, classic beauties.

[Phil McDade]

Jon:

Very nice thread. The UP is an area I have to visit sometime to see what's up with all of the great golf up there.

Quick question -- have you ever played the little 9-holer at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge? I've heard it's really old and quirky...

Thanks!

[JC Jones]

Some of those pictures remind me of Hunters Ridge in Howell.  Is that a fair comparison?

[Sean_A]

Some of those pictures remind me of Hunters Ridge in Howell.  Is that a fair comparison?

You read my mind!!

Thanks for posting Jon.

Ciao

[JC Jones]

Some of those pictures remind me of Hunters Ridge in Howell.  Is that a fair comparison?

You read my mind!!

Thanks for posting Jon.

Ciao

Underrated course, Hunters Ridge.

[Chris_Blakely]

Jon:

Very nice thread. The UP is an area I have to visit sometime to see what's up with all of the great golf up there.

Quick question -- have you ever played the little 9-holer at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge? I've heard it's really old and quirky...

Thanks!

I have and it is a real treat.  Huge built up greens.  I remember playing it and wondering if Langford had anyting to do with it b/c of the greens.  Very quirky, nice rolling piece of land.  I know Langford has done at least two courses in the U.P - so who knows.

Chris

[Phil McDade]

Chris:

You let the cat out of the bag! I read somewhere -- long time ago -- that Langford had something to do with this course. Knowing that he did Marquette, and a NLE 9-holer in Houghton, it might make sense he did this, as well. I'm trying to track down some undocumented Langford courses in the Midwest -- stuff that he and Moreau kind of did on the side, perhaps more quickly and with smaller budgets, than their high-profile work.

[Brad Swanson]

John,
   Would you swap a round at Greywalls for a round at Sweetgrass on a long weekend golf trip to Marquette?

Brad

[Chris_Blakely]

Chris:

You let the cat out of the bag! I read somewhere -- long time ago -- that Langford had something to do with this course. Knowing that he did Marquette, and a NLE 9-holer in Houghton, it might make sense he did this, as well. I'm trying to track down some undocumented Langford courses in the Midwest -- stuff that he and Moreau kind of did on the side, perhaps more quickly and with smaller budgets, than their high-profile work.

OOPs, then I forgot about Marquette and I believe the course in Houghton is still there.  Thus, I know of 3 courses for sure he did in the U.P.  After playing Keewenaw, I felt Langford was involved with the course.

thanks,

Chris

[Doug Ralston]

John,
   Would you swap a round at Greywalls for a round at Sweetgrass on a long weekend golf trip to Marquette?

Brad

Brad; if I could ........

I certainly rate Greywalls the #1 course in MI that I have played [including Arcadia, for examplle]. If I had 2 rounds on the UP I would play Greywalls and Sweetgrass. If I had 3 rounds I would play 2 Greywalls and Sweetgrass. If I had 4 rounds I bring in Timberstone to those.

Thank you Jon. I have been begging for someone from GCA; where many go to the UP to play Greywalls; to also play and write up Sweetgrass. I played it once and was very pleased indeed. I am glad to see my notions about it confirmed.

Oddly, no one AT Greywalls seems willing to even acknowledge Sweetgrass. Yet i believe Sweetgrass will bring Greywalls more business than it could take. And the package available when I was there is fantastic.

A trip to the UP is definitely a 'sweet' addition to Michigan golf touring. Go!

Doug

[Brad Swanson]

Oddly, no one AT Greywalls seems willing to even acknowledge Sweetgrass. Yet i believe Sweetgrass will bring Greywalls more business than it could take. And the package available when I was there is fantastic.

Doug

Doug,
   My experience was different.  Marc mentioned Sweetgrass to me several times and also promoted the packages between Greywalls, Timberstone, and Sweetgrass.  I would have a hard time substituting either Timberstone or Sweetgrass for a round at Greywalls (having only done so once at Timberstone after over a dozen long weekend trips to Marquette).

Brad

[Brian_Sleeman]

The other Langford course in the U.P. is Iron River CC in Iron River, a small town not far from Iron Mountain and the Wisconsin border.  It's only 9 holes, but they've added additional tees to give it some variety on the second go around.  They have no idea what kind of golf course they have, and though like most Langfords the greens have shrunk a little over time, they still have that great high-shouldered look and the golf course has some excellent holes.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone heading up from Wisconsin/Chicago and/or anyone playing Timberstone, which is not too far away.

Since this has become something of a U.P. golf thread, I'll chime in with a few more thoughts having played just about every course up there multiple times...

Pine Grove is the other great old club in the U.P.  Like most of those old rural tracks, it started with nine and then added nine somewhere along the line.  It's a fun place to play, is almost always in impeccable shape, and is just down the road from Timberstone.  It's a private club but just about anyone can get on to play by making a polite phone call.

Gladstone GC on the Days River is a lot of fun and one I always enjoyed playing growing up in the U.P.  There's an awful lot of quirk, particularly in the use of the dramatic ski-slope terrain, but I always enjoyed that and the locals up there keep it quite busy.  Recommended if you've got some spare time outside of the must-plays.

Wawonowin is about 20 minutes west of Marquette just outside Ishpeming, and is also a fun place to play.  It's usually in very good shape and has some pretty neat holes.  Nine are spread out on the side of a large but gentle hill, and the other nine are cut through the forest and play along some swampy areas.

Pictured Rocks GC 40 minutes east of Marquette in Munising is another fun old place to play and worth stopping if you've got extra time while driving through the U.P.  As quiet as it usually is, you could buzz around there in just a couple of hours and have a good time.

Another one I really like is Indian Lake GC in Manistique on US-2.  Their original nine is one of the best in the U.P., with one especially good par five that plays along Indian Lake.  It's also always in good shape, and their second nine (added about 15 years ago) packs a fun challenge to finish off the 18.

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is indeed a quirky, fun, and historic nine holes.  I think it's the oldest in the U.P. and it may even date back to the late 1800s.  If that is the case, then it's definitely not a Langford, although I do see some of the similarities between it and some of his work.

I'll put another plug in for the old course in Marquette, though, called The Heritage.  Greywalls is the real deal and must be played, but I think fondly of a lot of great holes on that old course.  The Langford holes are divided between the current front and back nines, and all of those and a few of the David Gill holes are very, very good.

Anyone talking about a trip to the U.P., just drop me a line with any questions!

[JC Jones]

I'll put another plug in for the old course in Marquette, though, called The Heritage.  Greywalls is the real deal and must be played, but I think fondly of a lot of great holes on that old course.  The Langford holes are divided between the current front and back nines, and all of those and a few of the David Gill holes are very, very good.

I can't speak to the rest of the courses but I will echo Brian's comments here.  We didn't play the original 18 at Marquette Country Club but Mike DeVries gave us a tour and specifically highlighted the original Langford 9.  Certainly the greens have shrunk but the holes looked very cool. 

[Chris_Blakely]

The other Langford course in the U.P. is Iron River CC in Iron River, a small town not far from Iron Mountain and the Wisconsin border.  It's only 9 holes, but they've added additional tees to give it some variety on the second go around.  They have no idea what kind of golf course they have, and though like most Langfords the greens have shrunk a little over time, they still have that great high-shouldered look and the golf course has some excellent holes.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone heading up from Wisconsin/Chicago and/or anyone playing Timberstone, which is not too far away.

Since this has become something of a U.P. golf thread, I'll chime in with a few more thoughts having played just about every course up there multiple times...

Pine Grove is the other great old club in the U.P.  Like most of those old rural tracks, it started with nine and then added nine somewhere along the line.  It's a fun place to play, is almost always in impeccable shape, and is just down the road from Timberstone.  It's a private club but just about anyone can get on to play by making a polite phone call.

Gladstone GC on the Days River is a lot of fun and one I always enjoyed playing growing up in the U.P.  There's an awful lot of quirk, particularly in the use of the dramatic ski-slope terrain, but I always enjoyed that and the locals up there keep it quite busy.  Recommended if you've got some spare time outside of the must-plays.

Wawonowin is about 20 minutes west of Marquette just outside Ishpeming, and is also a fun place to play.  It's usually in very good shape and has some pretty neat holes.  Nine are spread out on the side of a large but gentle hill, and the other nine are cut through the forest and play along some swampy areas.

Pictured Rocks GC 40 minutes east of Marquette in Munising is another fun old place to play and worth stopping if you've got extra time while driving through the U.P.  As quiet as it usually is, you could buzz around there in just a couple of hours and have a good time.

Another one I really like is Indian Lake GC in Manistique on US-2.  Their original nine is one of the best in the U.P., with one especially good par five that plays along Indian Lake.  It's also always in good shape, and their second nine (added about 15 years ago) packs a fun challenge to finish off the 18.

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is indeed a quirky, fun, and historic nine holes.  I think it's the oldest in the U.P. and it may even date back to the late 1800s.  If that is the case, then it's definitely not a Langford, although I do see some of the similarities between it and some of his work.

I'll put another plug in for the old course in Marquette, though, called The Heritage.  Greywalls is the real deal and must be played, but I think fondly of a lot of great holes on that old course.  The Langford holes are divided between the current front and back nines, and all of those and a few of the David Gill holes are very, very good.

Anyone talking about a trip to the U.P., just drop me a line with any questions!

Portage Lake is the other Langford course in the U.P.

Iron River is a very neat 9 hole course.

Chris

[Brian_Sleeman]

Never knew Portage Lake was a Langford - thanks for the tip, Chris!