Michigan end of April

[blazerico]

I just bought tickets to Detroit for 4/24-4/28 because it was a great price, but didn't really consider the weather or course openings...such as FlipCity. I assume everything will be open by then?! I've only been to MI in the summer, so not entirely sure what to expect in the Spring. Anyway, here's the list of places I'm trying to hit. Please feel free to suggest changes. There in a kind of counter-clockwise loop, but that could change. Also, suggest craft beers and restaurants I should not miss. Thanks!

Black locust
Hudson Mills
Rolling Hills
Oshtemo
Shore Acres
PawPaw
Flip
Leviathan
Beauty

Trying for two a day, but getting older, so my arm and shoulder will hate me and I'm sure I won't be playing that great by the end. Also trying to get to 300 played this year, so may need to suck it up and play more on this trip!!

 

[esdubya]

There's a lot of good course in Lansing, like Burchfield. You have to add Independence Lake in there as well in the Ann Arbor area.

Ann Arbor area: Hudson Mills / Indy Lake / Rolling Hills / Kensington. Really could spend two days in there on these courses.
Lansing area: Burchfield
Kalamazoo area: Oshtemo / Victory / Coldbrook
Northern Detroit Suburbs: Addison / Stoney Creek / ?

You really have 4 days there in just those areas.

If you do want to hit Ludington which is totally understandable, you want at least two days up there.

You might consider cutting out the trip up to Ludington area. That adds a ton of driving.

 

[blazerico]

There's a lot of good course in Lansing, like Burchfield. You have to add Independence Lake in there as well in the Ann Arbor area.

Ann Arbor area: Hudson Mills / Indy Lake / Rolling Hills / Kensington. Really could spend two days in there on these courses.
Lansing area: Burchfield
Kalamazoo area: Oshtemo / Victory / Coldbrook
Northern Detroit Suburbs: Addison / Stoney Creek / ?

You really have 4 days there in just those areas.

If you do want to hit Ludington which is totally understandable, you want at least two days up there.

You might consider cutting out the trip up to Ludington area. That adds a ton of driving.

Quite a few places have multiple courses, but I'm only playing one at each facility. Which should it be?
Esdubya- It's only 3 hours to drive across the whole state, which I don't consider to be a ton of driving. I drive that far on an average weekend to play a single round at a new course.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Just for reference if you were to just take I-94 westbound from Detroit Airport (exit 198) here are some quality courses along the way

- Exit 194 - Willow Metropark (24 holes, wooded, approx 5-10 min from 94)
- Exit 183 - Rolling Hills (18 holes, woods and elevation, approx 5-7 min from 94)
- Exit 169 - Independence Lake (36 holes, great mix of open/wood, approx 10 min from 94)
- Exit 167 - Hudson Mills (2 - 24 hole courses, great mix of open/wood, approx 10 min from 94)
- Exit 150 - Big Portage Lake (18 holes, short wooded courses, quick play, approx 5 min from 94)
- Exit 124 - Victory Park (18 hole long open, lots of water holes, approx 5 min from 94)
- Exit 92 - Cold Brook Park (24 holes, mostly wooded, approx 5-7 min from 94)
- Exit 85 - Robert Morris (18 holes, elevation, open/wood mix, approx 7-10 min from 94)
- Exit 74b - Oshtemo Park (18 holes, wooded, approx 10 min from 94)

Expect some muddy conditions end of April. Just got a snow dusting last night after some rain. Looks like you are missing the weekends so you shouldnt run into tournaments. Might want to check Disc Golf Scene anyways to avoid or join leagues, almost every Michigan event, league, tourney is posted on there.

 

[blazerico]

Here's the plan:

Tuesday
Rolling hills
Independence lake - Red hawk
Old nation brewery

Wed
Burchfield - Devil's den
Shore Acres
New Holland Brewing/Odd Side Ales

Thurs
Flip City
Leviathan 24
Perrin/founders

Fri
Oshtemo
Victory park
brewery

Sat
Hudson Mills - Original
Kensington - Black Locust or some tourist trap
leave

Everything is subject to change, could hit kalamazoo first then go up the coast.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Not to screw up your plans or anything, but...
United States Amateur Match Play Championships is slated for Hudson Mills Sat the 28th.

No leagues or tourney scheduled Sat the 28th at Kensington... so you're good there.

If you're thinking about switching your plans for Tue & Sat, you still have snag, because Indy Lake has this C-Tier scheduled for the 28th.

I didn't see any events scheduled on DG Scene for the courses you plan to hit during the week. :thmbup:

If you can't figure out a way to reroute things without landing in a tournament, might I suggest making your Sat Black Locust + Cass Benton Hills? It's not as well kept as Hudson Mills, not aging as gracefully, and gets a bad rap, but it actually has significantly more variety than either course at Hudson Mills. Beat up as it might be, it still packs more variety into 18 holes than just about any course I've played... anywhere: a few open bombers (one of them's pretty much a top of the world shot), tight and technical shot shaping holes, real elevation (with and without woods), Ace runs.

I'd be happy to meet you any metro Detroit courses for your Sat rounds, and totally understand if you'd rather do your own thing, or have a last minute change of plans. PM me if you're interested.

Safe travels and enjoy yourself some wonderful Michigan DG. Every single course you listed would be considered excellent by most people. :thmbup:

 

[DarkAce1978]

I reccomend playing Vicksburg and Meyer Broadway in Three Rivers. They are both close to Kalamazoo and I would argue just as good or better than Oshtemo. Best brewery in KZoo is Bell's and I don't think many people would debate that. Have fun!

 

[Dr.Smooth]

no Michigan expert but I seek it out in summer when the temps get hot in the lower Midwest.

generally, early spring is a time to go south rather than north. it will be colder and potentially more wet.

if the destination of your flight can't be changed, I would plan to have some bad weather back up plans-museums, etc..

 

[esdubya]

Jamesport Brewing in Ludington is a good one. Much closer for a post Leviathan round pint.

Also you really must play Goliath, IMO one of the best in the state.

Don't go to Cass! haha

 

[Future_Primitive]

Here's the plan:

Fri
Oshtemo
Victory park
brewery

Everything is subject to change, could hit kalamazoo first then go up the coast.

If you stick this schedule you can work in either Bell's Brewery (Kzoo) or Dark Horse Brewery (Marshall) in between rounds. Bells is really close to Oshtemo (maybe 5-10 min) while Dark Horse is on the way to Albion/Victory Park. :clap:

Good call on doing Rolling/Indy lake same day, save you $10 from doing them separately as one pass works for both courses.

 

[blazerico]

no Michigan expert but I seek it out in summer when the temps get hot in the lower Midwest.

generally, early spring is a time to go south rather than north. it will be colder and potentially more wet.

if the destination of your flight can't be changed, I would plan to have some bad weather back up plans-museums, etc..

damn dude, trying to bring me down?! I heard michigan courses are tight, so trying to avoid lost discs by getting there before leaves are on the trees haha. But really, there's a chance of rain every time I go on a trip, can't let it stop me from going.

 

[blazerico]

Not to screw up your plans or anything, but...
United States Amateur Match Play Championships is slated for Hudson Mills Sat the 28th.

I'd be happy to meet you any metro Detroit courses for your Sat rounds, and totally understand if you'd rather do your own thing, or have a last minute change of plans. PM me if you're interested.

Safe travels and enjoy yourself some wonderful Michigan DG. Every single course you listed would be considered excellent by most people. :thmbup:

Thanks for the info! I'll let you know about Saturday.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Looks like you will have some decent weather for your trip, mid 50's to mid 60's most of next week. Just had some snow dusting this past week and looking forward to 50 and above weather finally. Due to this extra long winter temp the leaves aren't back in full yet so courses are a bit more user friendly.

Going over your possible course list I believe Burchfield - Devil's Den has been renamed to Burchfield - Renegades Trail (Devils Den = Renegades Trail). If you make it to Victory Park bring a golden retriever and disc gator if you have them. Holes 9 - 14 have water involved in some way, be it off to the side or right in front of you. Best of luck and looking forward to your feedback/reviews of the courses.

 

[blazerico]

Pretty much the same weather as PA unfortunately. Oh well, at least I won't be working!

 

[esdubya]

Cool. I need to live vicariously through you, so, pics please on this thread!

Where are you staying Tuesday night? Ann Arbor has a bunch of good breweries and restaurants so would be a cool place to hang out after your round at Indy Lake Red Hawk. My personal fave is a hand-pulled Sacred Cow IPA from Arbor Brewing Co.

 

[Stardoggy]

If you haven't done it, you should totally cross the border and play a Canada course. There's one that's pretty close to the bridge.

 

[davetherocketguy]

All of those courses sound like GREAT options but holy cow that's a lot of driving. Be sure to keep in mind when the sun goes down because some of those days you might need every bit of daylight available. Another thing to consider, several of those courses are possibly going to be a bit muddy especially given the unbelievably wet winter we've had. I know Cold Brook can be quite slick this time of year but with the dry(ish) weather coming up this week you might be okay. Shore Acres on the other hand is on sand dunes and doesn't ever get muddy that I recall.

A few other suggestions to your list ... In K-Zoo Vicksburg recreation area is a great course and frankly I'd rather play that than Oshtemo. Another "if you have time" course in the Holland area would be Winstrom Preserve which isn't terribly far from Shore Acres. This course was recently redesigned and is now a decent course, Also, in the Independence Lake area I would suggest the Gulch. That course doesn't get the greatest reviews (which I just don't get) and I thought it was rather solid and enjoyed my rounds there. Good luck and I hope you enjoy Michigan.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

If you haven't done it, you should totally cross the border and play a Canada course. There's one that's pretty close to the bridge.

You'll need either a passport or an enhanced drivers licensed to cross the border.

If you do, definitely give esdubya a shout. He's the designer and driving force behind that course, and all around great guy.

 

[blazerico]

If you haven't done it, you should totally cross the border and play a Canada course. There's one that's pretty close to the bridge.

Planning a trip to Banff and will include dg when I'm there. But will play my first international course this fall in France, Switzerland and hopefully Finland and Estonia

holy cow that's a lot of driving. Be sure to keep in mind when the sun goes down because some of those days you might need every bit of daylight available....Good luck and I hope you enjoy Michigan.

Not really, I have it worked out so I'm not driving more than 1.5 hours between any destination. Thanks for the concern and your suggestions!

 

[esdubya]

Looks like you got a run of crap weather this week. Rain every day in SE Michigan at least. Might need to go north to get out of it.