Author Archives: Jay Bastian

Arbor Hills Golf Club, Jackson, Michigan

Arbor Hills Golf Club

Michigan is a golfer’s delight, albeit with a short season, and includes over 600 golf courses including 9 holers, municipals, military, public, private, and resort. Our guide to the best public golf courses you can play in Michigan was developed over the last 15 years from the leading golf periodicals’ lists of best golf courses you can play in addition to our user’s favorites. Arbor Hills was submitted by a user and is considered one of the best courses open to public play. It is located the west side of Jackson on Spring Harbor Road 5 minutes off I-94. Our Jackson guide shows there are a half-dozen public access golf courses in the area, so one could easily spend a week here with a different layout each day and at very reasonable rates.

The layout is over relatively level terrain with fairways defined by evergreens and hardwoods providing a mix of straightforward and dogleg corridors. There’s 30 +/- sand bunkers in play and Sandstone Creek on its western boundary comeing into play on multiple holes. There’s three sets of tees from 5,322 yards to 6,480 yards off the tips, 71.3/131, course/slope ratings, designed by Arthur Hamm, a Donald Ross protege with a dozen golf course designs in the mid-1920s.

Forest Park Country Club, a 9 hole relic in western Massachusetts

Forest Park Country Club

Forest Park CC is a 9 hole located 15 miles north of Pittsfield in the small community of Adams in the shadow of Mt. Greylock.

The area around Pittsfield offers 6 excellent public access courses within a 30 mile radius as we discovered from our Massachusetts guide including Taconic, Wahconah, and Greenock to name a few. This provides a legitimate golf destination…..albeit for a somewhat short season

This classic New England parkland design is by one of the early masters, some would say founders, of United States golf course architecture, Alex Findlay. The layout features several elevated tee boxes with significant elevation changes. It moves over rolling tree lined fairways with 11 sand bunkers defending the small oval greens. It’s a short, 5,183 yards, 65.9/118 course/slope ratings, par of 34 off the tips.

Pendleton Hills Golf Club

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Pendleton Hills Golf Club

If you’re looking for a remote course outside of the Cincinnati/Covington area, Pendleton Hills might fit the bill. It is located 40 minutes south of Covington on US 27 on the south side of Butler.

The layout is over a natural setting without homes or development save for one hole. It moves over rolling topography with several ponds in play and Harris Creek traversing the middle of the course. It’s generally straightforward along fairways bordered by scattered trees with 15 sand bunkers mostly positioned around the mid-sized greens. There’s five sets of tees from 5,429 yards to 6,601 yards, 71.8/134 course/slope ratings off the tips, designed by Brian Huntley.

The Brickyard Golf Club

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The Brickyard Golf Club

Brickyard is on the north side of Macon off I-75 at US 23 slightly to the north.

The layout is over rolling terrain along fairways defined by pine trees and mature hardwoods. There’s multiple ponds and a stream in play on numerous holes and 25 sand bunkers scattered along the landing zones and green side. There’s multiple tees from 5,099 yards to 7,128 yards off the tips, the green tees play to 6,256 yards, 71.2/132, course/slope ratings, designed by Chic Adams, redesigned by Mark McCumber.

Stonehenge Golf Club

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Stonehenge Golf Club

Located 45 minutes northwest of Fort Wayne off US 30, Stonehenge is on the southeast side of Warsaw on Pierceton Road in a residential community.

The layout traverses a combination of broad and narrow fairway corridors over level topography. There’s eight water features in play in the form of lakes and streams, 25 pot, conventional, and waste sand bunkers, and modest, kidney shaped greens. There’s six tees from 4,545 yards to 7,041 yards off the tips, the blue tees are 6,084 yards, 68.5/124, course/sloe ratings, designed by Florida based golf course architect, Ron Garl.

Rivers Edge Golf Course

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Rivers Edge Golf Course

Midway between Cheyenne and Omaha just off I-80 there’s a worthy stop for golf. Rivers Edge Golf Course is located on the south bank of the North Platte River just north of downtown.

The layout is over level terrain with one hole along the River with a pond and a stream bisecting the course. Its fairways are lined with trees and there’s several dramatic doglegs with 25 +/- sand bunkers defending the modest, oval greens. It’s in a predominately natural setting on river bottom land without homes or development along the golf course. There’s four sets of tees, the Blue tees are 5,888 yards, 69.2/127, course/slope ratings.

The Morris Country Club

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The Morris Country Club

The Morris CC is off I-80 at the Morris exit 60 miles west of Chicago on the north side of the Illinois River with its Nettles Creek track open to public play on the weekends only.

The Creek course has a wide open, prairie/links feel to it as it moves over slightly rolling topography within a residential community. There’s patches of tall prairie grasses throughout bordering the landing zones, six ponds, 35 sand traps, and generous, undulating and contoured green complexes. There’s tees from 5,059 yards to 6,562 yards off the back tees, the white tees play to 6,129 yards, 68.8/118, course/slope ratings, designed by Buzz Didier.

Waynesville Inn and Golf Club

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Waynesville Inn Golf Club

The Waynesville Inn is a classic North Carolina resort from the 1920s located on the south side of Waynesville on Market Street and its golf course is private, but open to outside play to guests of the lodge on site.

The original 27 hole course has been reduced to 18 holes by Bobby Weed with the original Donald Ross “The Carolina Nine” becoming the front side. The Carolina is over the valley floor while the backside moves over rolling terrain along wooded fairway corridors. It is situated in a scenic setting surrounded by mountain views throughout the at an elevation of 3,000 feet.

With its recent reopening, there are now four excellent golf courses in the Waynesville area making it a legitimate golf destination. It’s especially favorable this time of year as the temperatures are generally 10-15 degrees cooler at this elevation. Our guide for Waynesville includes the Springdale Country Club, Maggie Valley Resort, Laurel Ridge, and the newly reopened Waynesville Inn.

Take time away from Boyne to visit this Donald Ross 9 holer near Traverse City, Michigan

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Elk Rapids Golf Club

The Elk Rapids Golf Club is on 3,000 feet of frontage on Elm Lake on the east side of Elk Rapids 30 minutes northeast of Traverse City and an hour southwest of Boyne.

The golf club is on an isthmus between Elk Lake and Grand Traverse Bay on level land with a couple of fairways bordering the lake and the occasional lake view. It’s a proper 9 hole layout along fairways defined by trees with 25 sand bunkers in play and mid-sized, raised greens. It’s a Donald Ross original design, mostly untouched, and plays to 3,067 yards off the back tees, 69.0/121, course/slope ratings with two shorter tees.

Cassville Golf Club

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Cassville Golf Club

The Best Public Golf Course guide feature 4,500 of the best golf courses from the national golf periodical lists as well as those hidden gems our readers discover. Every week we profile special courses that may just fly under the radar screen or be located away from traditional golf destinations. The Cassville Golf Club is just such a golf club. It’s located about 1 1/2 hours from either Springfield or Joplin, Missouri on the south side of Cassville. It’s just north of the Rolling River State Park, 20 minutes from the Eagle Rock Marina on Table Rock Lake, and about an hour west of Branson. It’s a small town, community golf club that welcomes public play and was designed, financed, and currently supported by its membership.

The course is set on a roomy tract of land with homes well off the fairway on a couple of holes. Its fairways are dotted with trees along straightforward and slight to moderate doglegs. There’s three ponds impacting play on multiple holes, but less than 15 sand bunkers overall. There’s four sets of tees from 4,809 yards to 6,665 yards, 71.3/122, course/slope ratings.