I had the great pleasure of being one of the "chosen 6" (not really) to make the trek up to the UP with Mike DeVries to play Greywalls prior to heading down to TC for the gathering at the Kingsley Club. Mike, JC Jones, Tyler Kearns, Dave Neveux, Brian Cenci, Sir John Mayhugh and I enjoyed two rounds at the course followed by a great dinner accompanied by Bruce (sorry I have misplaced Bruce's last name). Thanks again to Mike, Bruce, Craig and the rest of the Marquette GC staff for setting it up/accomodating us.
I'll put it to rest here: Greywalls is worth the drive from almost anywhere! Not only is the course amazing, Marquette is a really neat town in the summer. It's amazing what not being covered in 6 ft of snow will do for a town...
I had pretty high expectations for Greywalls due to Ran's course profile, trusted positive (!) opinions, Mike's work at Kingsley, etc. Even with these expectations, I was still blown away by the courses scale, the property's severe-ness (while at the same time the course is very playable), the views, the intricacy of the design, the shear movement of the front nine, quality of golf holes, and the "just pure fun" factor the course holds in spaids.
The front nine is like nothing I have ever seen. You feel like a mountain goat but are constantly conflicted by this notion b/c the course is so well routed and possesses a very unforced feel, which is an unbelievable feat given the property the front is laid out on. There are just some incredibly fun holes out there: 1, 2, 4, 5!, 6!, 7!!, 9!
The back nine settles into the more benign (remember everything is relative) area of the property, with more hills and less cliffs. And even though the two nines cross quite different peices of land, somehow Mike figured out how to make everything fit together fantastically.
The quality and attention to detail in the shaping is very evident throughout the course (much like the Kingsley Club). It would be very interesting to see what some other architects would have done with this property. I can't imagine many would have been able to create a course as playable, fun, interesting and unique as the end product at Greywalls.
1st hole - par 5 that tees off on top of the world. Amazing views of Lake Superior in the distance although it's hard to keep your eyes off the ungulating fairway unfolding in front of you
Ahead of the landing zone showing the downhill view of a very well placed and well struck drive. Notice the movement in the fairway even with the morning sun shining directly into my face
Movement in the 2nd fairway
Looking back at the humpback 2nd fairway from behind the kickboard left of the green
Standing atop the kickboard looking down the length of the 2nd green (perpendicular to the line of play)
4th par 4 - Much more room off the tee than this photo would suggest. It seemed difficult to hold the upper lefthand side of the fairway, where an elevated (and clear) view of the green awaits
Slope leading up to the plateau on the left side of the fairway. Double Barky Sparky stalking another "gross bogie-net par"
Rock outcropping separating the left (upper) from the right side of the fairway. Green in background.
View from the left upper landing area
Looking back towards the tee. Look at all that movement!!
4th green
Tee shot on the short par 4 5th - a wee bit discomforting for the first time player...
A blind shot awaits those who don't hit enough club to get to "position A"
Another 20 or so yards can give you a clean look at the green
The author hitting his second after what appeared to be a perfect drive (apparently not!). Photo taken by the architect, loving every second of it. I made par from there thank you very much.
From left of the green
