I played Lochenheath GC (near Traverse City, Michigan) recently. They are now open again after being closed for a few years. I was pretty excited about the opportunity to play here because I had never had the chance to, and then they went under.
Well, after playing it, I wasn't all that excited anymore. I expected more, but got less. Many of the holes were bland in my humble opinion. The greens (not the design or shapes), but the conditions were less than desirable. I guess I should have asked about it to give them the benefit of the doubt. I am not sure if the greens, or the course was even properly maintained while it was closed for a few years. My guess is that it was NOT. Maybe Tom knows why they were brown?? Like I said, I have no idea about their mothball maintenance practices, if they even had any.
My biggest gripe was that I didn't really fit into any of the tee configurations; the back tees were 76.6/147 (7239), Blue were 74.4/144 (6770) (which I played as the 3 gentlemen I was paired with were playing blue) and white at 70.1/137 (6024). I should have played the white, as even at sub 6100 it is a tough course. I also don't like it when #9 doesn't route back to the clubhouse. Personal preference, I guess.
My favorite holes were #6 (par 4 294 yards, tight and nice views along Lake Michigan), #9 par 4 378 yards with some nice bunkering. Finally #15 was a neat par 3 at 171 yards. If you are wondering what they were charging, $50 w/cart at 3pm. For me, worth playing once anyway. There are other courses in the area that I would rather play.
For those of you that have played it, I am curious as to what you thought of it.
Enjoy the pictures.
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