One shot at Michigan

[Mando]

Trying to sift through all the good courses in Michigan is proving to be a tough task, so I thought i would try and get some input on must plays, since this will likely be my only dg trip to the state.
Right now my order of priority is;
Flip City
Hickory Hills
Leviathon
Hudson Mills
Addison Oaks
Deerfield
Mason County
Victory
Rolling Hills
Independence Lake
Stony Creek
Hammond Hill
Fallasburg
River Bends
Myles Kimmerly
Carly's Playground
Riverside
Looking for some input as far as must play order and courses that I might have missed...BTW,
I really like aesthetically-pleasing, scenic courses.

 

[FrigYallHos]

Oshtemo and Robert morris are really the only good courses near kalamazoo.

Both are relatively clean and have cement tees, longs and shorts. Oshtemo is free and more prone to vandals, however there are cops that walk the course on occasion. Robert morris is $5 to park/day, cleaner and more challenging of a course.

If youre in the southwest Michigan area I would definitely give those two a try.

 

[Ricky_Rick]

I have been to a few of them in Michigan, some on the list provided.

Hudson Mills MetroPark is very nice, feels like a real golf course. Activity center, two 24 hole courses, with two sets of tee pads per hole, even a full practice hole to boot. $5 per car to get in park, $2 per golfer to play all day. Very well maintained, variety of holes.

If you are at HMM, then you might as well hit up Independence Lake and Bandemer Park, both are within 10 miles of Hudson Mills. As is CJ's Party Store and they stock over 4,000 discs. I have not played Independence Lake yet, going Saturday, but Bandemer is a fun course.

Bandemer Park, a 9 hole course with 3 sets of tees (red, white, blue). The tees are also in very different locations, not just further back, so they play like an entirely different course. Plays quick, cement pads and baskets for every hole.

If you want scenery, check out Victory Park in Albion, MI. Hole #10 might be the most scenic hole in all of Michigan. Going over multiple bodies of water, with a raging river beside you is a rush. The front 9 is more wooded, some challenging basket locations. The back 9 is more water filled, with 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 involving water in one way or another.

Coldbrook Park in Kalamazoo (or Climax) is pretty neat. 24 holes, concrete pads and baskets for every hole. Place is always packed with disc golfers, even league nights on some occasions. Usually some guy with a van there who sells discs, has a lot of boxes full of them he lays out. Very wooded course with a couple water holes.

Best of luck to you, have a safe trip. :thmbup:

 

[BogeyNoMore]

West Coast/ Ludington Area Must Plays:
Flip City - don't miss it.
Leviathan
Beast
Beauty
Goliath ? (I've never played Goliath layout)
Optional: If you have time that area and like tight/techinical, check out Whitehall


Further north up the west coast there's:
Myles Kimmerly
Hickory Hills
Carly's Playground


Ann Arbor Area Must Plays:
Hudson Mills Monster
Hudson Mills Original
Rolling Hills
Independence Lake... a few holes are under construction, read the course home page
Kensington Black Locust


Northeast suburbs of Detroit:
Stony Creek
Addison Oaks County Park
Holly Woods
RiverBends

PM me - be happy to give you my cell # and discuss what kind of courses you like, maybe help you tailor your trip. Depending on when you're in the state/area, maybe we can meet up.

Fallasburg's great, but there's not much else near it -not a lot of bang for your buck timewise.

 

[deBebbler]

I don't have as much experience in the Detroit area, so I will fill you in on the west side of the state

Ludington is main stop #1, with Beauty, Beast, Goliath, Leviathan, Flip City all in or close to town, and Branstrom Park about 30 minutes away. FYI, Beauty/Beast/Goliath are very scenic, but Leviathan is just a beatdown.

Main stop #2, Traverse City (Grand Traverse Bay area). MK, Carly's and Hickory Hills are your only courses, but they are good ones.

Although none are on your list, coming up to the Petoskey (Little Traverse Bay) area will give you River Road Sports Complex and The Crowle Hole which are in very nice areas, along with Avalanche and Boyne Mountain which have some great hikes and stunning views. Having done a bit of dg travel myself, I have come to realize I have some slick courses around me.

Most of these courses are on or near Lake Michigan. Lots of scenic views for you.

I would add Memorial Park in Frankenmuth off I-75 if you travel on it. It is a top shelf course in a very nice park, and NOT to be misssed. I would also add Hanson Hills in Grayling if you like tough, demanding courses with lots of elevation.

If you come up north, send a message and maybe we can play a round....

 

[B3NDER]

Do yourself a favor, and cross Riverside off your list :gross:

Seriously.

Other than that, I hope you at least make it to Flip!

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I would add Memorial Park in Frankenmuth off I-75 if you travel on it. It is a top shelf course in a very nice park, and NOT to be misssed.

^ He speaks the truth!

I saw you like wooded courses... you'll enjoy this trip!

 

[apdrvya]

Do yourself a favor, and cross Riverside off your list :gross:

Seriously.

Other than that, I hope you at least make it to Flip!

I'll second this... unless you like scraping goose sh!t off your shoes.

 

[Mando]

First revision;
Flip City
Hickory Hills
Holly Woods
Victory
Hudson Mills
Addison Oaks
Deerfield
Mason County
Rolling Hills
Independence Lake
Stony Creek
Hammond Hill
Fallasburg
River Bends ?
Myles Kimmerly
Carly's Playground
Memorial
I do like wooded courses,but also want to see something different (being from NC).

 

[apdrvya]

if you like wooded courses and you're going up towards traverse and shelby, hit up whitehall...

also, leviathan should be on your card if it's not included in mason county

one more, add shore acres in saugatuck and branstrom in fremont

 

[harr0140]

I woul highly recommend Whitehall Township near Muskegon (30 minutes from Flip City), and if you like short wooded courses Rycenga a few minutes south of Muskegon. I was just over there and hit Flip, Rycenga, Whitehall, Deerfield, on the western half . . . Tittabawasee Trails, Central Michigan U., Chippewa Banks, on our way across to Bay City and Wickes Woods, The Vines at Reed County Park, Sleepy Hollow State Park on our way home.

 

[The dude on the bike]

Robert Morris is a very good course. Riverside isn't as bad as all that once you get used to wading out into a swamp to retrieve your errant drives and stepping across goose poops. There are some challenging holes there and no real rough to speak of. I notice no one mentioned Earl Brewer,lol.

 

[Jkoz]

Do yourself a favor, and cross Riverside off your list :gross:

Seriously.

Other than that, I hope you at least make it to Flip!

Ditto

 

[notapro]

I do like wooded courses,but also want to see something different (being from NC).

I've never played in NC, but I imagine Whitehall is very similar!

 

[davetherocketguy]

Can't believe no one has mentioned Meyer-Broadway near Three Rivers. Two courses for one stop. Haven't been there since they added the additional course but it was a lot of fun.

 

[RedHotCujo]

I would add Oshtemo to your list (the worlds were there a few years back and its a great all around course), and if you're in the Kalamazoo area, Coldbrook and the Meyer Broadway courses (Original one is my favorite) are worth playing too. Riverbends is also really fun and scenic with a river running by a few holes, so if you're going to be playing around the metro-detroit area I would def suggest it.
Otherwise I'd say you have a pretty solid list. Guessing this is going to be an extended trip from the length of your list!

 

[Mando]

Definites;
*Flip City
*Hickory Hills
*Holly Woods
*Hudson Mills

Contenders;
Addison Oaks
Mason County
Rolling Hills
Independence Lake
Stony Creek
Hammond Hill
Fallasburg
River Bends
Myles Kimmerly
Carly's Playground

longshots;
Memorial
Victory
Deerfield
Leviathan
Whitehall

 

[mashnut]

FWIW, I like Leviathan better than any of the individual courses at mason county, though it's cool to have 72 holes in one spot.

 

[biscoe]

i thought cass benton was better than the hudson mills courses when we played them in 2000 but supposedly it has been trashed since then. hudson mills original was way better than hudson mills monster. i also thought addison oaks didn't really live up to its reputation. the kensington tunnel course was pretty good- i think it has been redesigned since then though. ann arbor is a cool town too.

nothing in grand rapids was any good.

 

[fishmich]

must plays...
flip city
beauty
beast
leviathan
hickory hills
carlys playground

honestly these are the only MUST plays(keep in mind i havent played 4 of the courses you have listed). the northwest courses are the real pretty scenery courses, and are set in cooler towns and places to vacation. the popular courses in southeast mi are great courses but dont have the look and feel of the northern ones but there are some great ones. addison and stoney are well worth a visit. seymour lake is a very underrated course, hudson mills and kensington are nice. if you decide to play holly, seymour, stoney, or addison then let me know and i should be able to guide you around.