There's nothing like a final, late summer excursion to put the lid on the year's travel season.
I was a part of a group from Coyote Creek Golf Club in Fort Wayne, IN that scheduled a three day, two night stay at Forest Dunes Resort in mid-Michigan. We would stay in a spacious five bedroom home onsite and play three rounds of golf on the Forest Dunes course (a Tom Weiskopf design ranked number 21 on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list and the number one public course in the state of Michigan), one each day from Monday to Wednesday. And I, as the only walker in the group who had yet to play The Loop course (Tom Doak's reversible course tapped by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest as their Top New Course for 2016) would add a morning round on Monday and Tuesday before joining the others for the afternoon round.
We left Fort Wayne in the morning of the last Sunday in August. We were headed for Mt. Pleasant, MI where we would play an afternoon round at Buck's Run Golf Club. While the weather was perfect that day, we knew there was severe weather to the west that would impact our trip.
We arrived at Buck's Run well before our twilight tee time and took the time to enjoy a few beers and appetizers at the course's Quarry Grill. We sat on the deck overlooking the Putting Island at Buck's Run, an 18 hole grass putting course in the middle of a large lake.
The course sits on 290 acres spread across natural wetlands, wooded areas, river frontage, and beautiful lakes. It has four sets of tees and plays at 6765 yards from the back tees with a slope of 130 and course rating of 72.0.
Tom Putman, one of the members of our group decided to be bold and rented one of Bucks Runs' golf boards. The bag sits at the front of the board and you control the board by leaning left or right. Tom explained it was quite a bit more physical than he imagined and he was more tired at the end of the round than the others.
I was a part of a group from Coyote Creek Golf Club in Fort Wayne, IN that scheduled a three day, two night stay at Forest Dunes Resort in mid-Michigan. We would stay in a spacious five bedroom home onsite and play three rounds of golf on the Forest Dunes course (a Tom Weiskopf design ranked number 21 on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list and the number one public course in the state of Michigan), one each day from Monday to Wednesday. And I, as the only walker in the group who had yet to play The Loop course (Tom Doak's reversible course tapped by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest as their Top New Course for 2016) would add a morning round on Monday and Tuesday before joining the others for the afternoon round.
We left Fort Wayne in the morning of the last Sunday in August. We were headed for Mt. Pleasant, MI where we would play an afternoon round at Buck's Run Golf Club. While the weather was perfect that day, we knew there was severe weather to the west that would impact our trip.
We arrived at Buck's Run well before our twilight tee time and took the time to enjoy a few beers and appetizers at the course's Quarry Grill. We sat on the deck overlooking the Putting Island at Buck's Run, an 18 hole grass putting course in the middle of a large lake.
The course sits on 290 acres spread across natural wetlands, wooded areas, river frontage, and beautiful lakes. It has four sets of tees and plays at 6765 yards from the back tees with a slope of 130 and course rating of 72.0.
Tom Putman, one of the members of our group decided to be bold and rented one of Bucks Runs' golf boards. The bag sits at the front of the board and you control the board by leaning left or right. Tom explained it was quite a bit more physical than he imagined and he was more tired at the end of the round than the others.
Tom Putman With the Golf Surfboard Prior to the Round at Bucks Run
Bucks Run is not an easy course for the first time player but over time, familiarity with the course will lead to better scores. It is important to select the correct set of tees. Each nine starts with an easy hole and ends with a hole where water comes into play. The course is a Jerry Matthews design and in my opinion, is the top golf course in the Mt. Pleasant area.
We left the course and spent Sunday night in Mt. Pleasant. While the Soaring Eagle Casino is less than 4 miles west of the course, we stayed close to the campus of Central Michigan University which required a bit of backtracking.
Most of us would make a leisurely drive the next morning to the resort for the Monday afternoon round at Forest Dunes.
Everybody but me, that is. My round at The Loop's Black Course was scheduled to begin at 8:03 A.M. Monday. Severe storms began during the overnight hours I left the hotel for the 80 minute drive to Roscommon at 6:00 A.M. I drove at a reduced speed through persistent thunder storms nearly the whole way, especially after a bit of hydroplaning. When I arrived at the resort, I immediately checked with the pro shop to determine the likelihood I'd be able to play. Having already played the Forest Dunes course several times, my plan was to forgo rounds on that course if necessary to be sure I could play both the Black and Red routings of The Loop.
I had the good fortune of being the only scheduled round on the course until 10:30. I knew I could walk the course in two and a half hours and still make the afternoon tee time with the rest of the group. So that gave me some time to allow the rains to subside a bit.
I took the time to get settled in the house before heading to The Loop hoping the weather cooperated.
Most of us would make a leisurely drive the next morning to the resort for the Monday afternoon round at Forest Dunes.
Everybody but me, that is. My round at The Loop's Black Course was scheduled to begin at 8:03 A.M. Monday. Severe storms began during the overnight hours I left the hotel for the 80 minute drive to Roscommon at 6:00 A.M. I drove at a reduced speed through persistent thunder storms nearly the whole way, especially after a bit of hydroplaning. When I arrived at the resort, I immediately checked with the pro shop to determine the likelihood I'd be able to play. Having already played the Forest Dunes course several times, my plan was to forgo rounds on that course if necessary to be sure I could play both the Black and Red routings of The Loop.
I had the good fortune of being the only scheduled round on the course until 10:30. I knew I could walk the course in two and a half hours and still make the afternoon tee time with the rest of the group. So that gave me some time to allow the rains to subside a bit.
I took the time to get settled in the house before heading to The Loop hoping the weather cooperated.
Forest Dunes Resort
Forest Dunes has a Roscommon, MI address and can be a bit difficult to find. Don't trust your vehicle GPS; use the directions that can be found on the resort's website.
The signature course is Tom Weiskopf's Forest Dunes course, ranked 21st on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 You Can Play" list.
Tom Doak's The Loop is a reversible course played clockwise one day and counterclockwise the next. It earned Best New Course ratings from both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest.
The HillTop at Forest Dunes is a nearly two acre 18 hole putting course routed through undulating terrain near the site's driving range.
There are several lodging options including:
The Lake AuSable Lodge - Close to the first tee of the Forest Dunes course. It is a two story building with eleven standard rooms and two suites.
Villas - Also within walking distance of the Forest Dunes course, there are both two and four bedroom configurations.
Cottages - There are two cottages on Lake AuSable and four on the Forest Dunes course. "Cottage" clearly is an understatement. These are really luxury homes with between three and five bedrooms. We stayed in one of the five bedroom cottages on Lake AuSable and while within walking distance, it probably makes sense to drive to the clubhouse.
There is onsite dining at Sangomore's Restaurant where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a grille room and bar on one side and a grand dining room on the other side.
Given the captive audience, the prices are not low and we found the food, for the price, to be average.
Here are some "off resort property" restaurant options:
Fred's of Roscommon - We traveled about 20 minutes back to Roscommon for our dinner the last evening of the trip as we were not overwhelmed with the options onsite. Fred's of Roscommon is a restaurant, bar, pool hall, bowling center, and banquet facility all under one roof. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Members of our group enjoyed pizza, ribs, and of course, beer.
Jack's Place - Another place to eat is Jack's Place, also in Roscommon. It's a Sports Bar and while it may not look like much from the outside, it is nice inside and the specialty is beer battered cod.
The signature course is Tom Weiskopf's Forest Dunes course, ranked 21st on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 You Can Play" list.
Tom Doak's The Loop is a reversible course played clockwise one day and counterclockwise the next. It earned Best New Course ratings from both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest.
The HillTop at Forest Dunes is a nearly two acre 18 hole putting course routed through undulating terrain near the site's driving range.
There are several lodging options including:
The Lake AuSable Lodge - Close to the first tee of the Forest Dunes course. It is a two story building with eleven standard rooms and two suites.
Villas - Also within walking distance of the Forest Dunes course, there are both two and four bedroom configurations.
Cottages - There are two cottages on Lake AuSable and four on the Forest Dunes course. "Cottage" clearly is an understatement. These are really luxury homes with between three and five bedrooms. We stayed in one of the five bedroom cottages on Lake AuSable and while within walking distance, it probably makes sense to drive to the clubhouse.
There is onsite dining at Sangomore's Restaurant where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is a grille room and bar on one side and a grand dining room on the other side.
Given the captive audience, the prices are not low and we found the food, for the price, to be average.
Here are some "off resort property" restaurant options:
Fred's of Roscommon - We traveled about 20 minutes back to Roscommon for our dinner the last evening of the trip as we were not overwhelmed with the options onsite. Fred's of Roscommon is a restaurant, bar, pool hall, bowling center, and banquet facility all under one roof. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Members of our group enjoyed pizza, ribs, and of course, beer.
Jack's Place - Another place to eat is Jack's Place, also in Roscommon. It's a Sports Bar and while it may not look like much from the outside, it is nice inside and the specialty is beer battered cod.
The Loop
A little over two years ago, The Loop, Tom Doak's reversible golf course in Roscommon, MI opened for limited public play. The date was June 27, 2016. The course, or should I say courses, is right across the street from the resort's signature course.
There is nothing like it in North America and while certainly there may be other examples, I am aware of only one other 18 hole example in the entire world--arguably the most iconic course in the world, The Old Course at St. Andrews, was built to be played in two directions.
There was still a persistent drizzle when I began my Monday morning round on The Loop Black. After instructions from the starter, I was off at 8:40.
The Black Course is a less traditional setup. The early holes are tough while the later holes are easier. Par for the front nine is 34 and for the back, 36. The course is fairly flat until you make the turn where there is a series of holes with ups and downs.
I was finally able to remove my rain gear on the 15th tee and predictably, with a temperature in the 70's with high humidity, I was soaked to the bone with sweat. Gore-Tex keeps the rain out and the sweat in!
As I expected, I played in exactly two and a half hours and was off the course by 10:10 A.M. with plenty of time to enjoy a burger, fries and Arnold Palmer before joining the other members of the party for the afternoon round.
There is nothing like it in North America and while certainly there may be other examples, I am aware of only one other 18 hole example in the entire world--arguably the most iconic course in the world, The Old Course at St. Andrews, was built to be played in two directions.
There was still a persistent drizzle when I began my Monday morning round on The Loop Black. After instructions from the starter, I was off at 8:40.
The Black Course is a less traditional setup. The early holes are tough while the later holes are easier. Par for the front nine is 34 and for the back, 36. The course is fairly flat until you make the turn where there is a series of holes with ups and downs.
I was finally able to remove my rain gear on the 15th tee and predictably, with a temperature in the 70's with high humidity, I was soaked to the bone with sweat. Gore-Tex keeps the rain out and the sweat in!
As I expected, I played in exactly two and a half hours and was off the course by 10:10 A.M. with plenty of time to enjoy a burger, fries and Arnold Palmer before joining the other members of the party for the afternoon round.
The Loop Black 193 Par 3 15th Hole
I played the Red Course on Tuesday morning in perfect walking weather. It was near 60 degrees, overcast, and I played in short sleeves and shorts. Because the weather was so good, I was able to play in two hours and 10 minutes, finishing as the sun came out.
The Red Course begins with some easy holes, has the same ups and downs as the Black Course at the turn, and ends with four tougher holes including an uphill blind shot to the 18th green. Like the Black, its par is 70 but the front nine has a par of 36 and the back, a par of 34.
Each day when I finished, there were large groups of golfers on the practice green waiting to head out, some with caddies, some with push carts, and not very many with their bags on their backs.
The Loop is an exciting but complicated design. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It does take some getting used to but there is no doubt you will enjoy it more with each succeeding round.
If you are a walking golfer, you must place The Loop on your bucket list and by all means, play it on successive days to gain an appreciation for the design genius it took to make the concept work.
Please see my post specifically devoted to The Loop. (http://logoballtraveler.com/blog/i-finally-played-tom-doaks-the-loop)
The Red Course begins with some easy holes, has the same ups and downs as the Black Course at the turn, and ends with four tougher holes including an uphill blind shot to the 18th green. Like the Black, its par is 70 but the front nine has a par of 36 and the back, a par of 34.
Each day when I finished, there were large groups of golfers on the practice green waiting to head out, some with caddies, some with push carts, and not very many with their bags on their backs.
The Loop is an exciting but complicated design. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It does take some getting used to but there is no doubt you will enjoy it more with each succeeding round.
If you are a walking golfer, you must place The Loop on your bucket list and by all means, play it on successive days to gain an appreciation for the design genius it took to make the concept work.
Please see my post specifically devoted to The Loop. (http://logoballtraveler.com/blog/i-finally-played-tom-doaks-the-loop)
The Loop Red 187 Yard Par 3 4th Hole
The Forest Dunes Course
The crown jewel of the resort is Tom Weiskopf's Forest Dunes course. Ranked 21st on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list and 25th on Golf Digest's 2017 "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses" list, it is also the top public course in the state of Michigan. Opened in 1999, it has steadily risen on all the Top 100 lists.
The course is impeccably manicured and the greens are quick. Be sure to bring some potent bug spray because the gnats can drive you crazy.
This course has it all. It is simply fun to play. There are three medium length par 3's and one long par 3 with a mammoth green. The hole is know as "Hell's Half Acre." The par 5's are manageable and two are reachable for even the medium length drivers of the ball. Hole 15 has a putting green that sits below the fairway. This is just another cool feature of the course.
The par 4's have a little of everything. There are two short, split fairway holes that provide strategic options. Number 17 is a driveable hole with more strategic options. The two most challenging par 4's, number 2 and number 8 are doglegs, one left and one right.
The more you play it, the more you will fall in love with the course.
We experienced very brief showers during our Monday afternoon round at the Forest Dunes course including the threat of a significant thunderstorm as we neared the end of the front nine. But we were able to get the entire round in with no problems.
Our Tuesday afternoon round was played in gorgeous sunny weather, even with the threat of storms in the forecast.
Forest Dunes has a par 3 19th Hole and each day, we each hit one final shot to try to claim a pot of money for closest to the pin.
In addition to our normal skin pot and Nassau competitions, we also had one other less traditional event. There was a tree across Lake AuSable from the back of our cottage. We each took as many guesses as desired at $2 a pop to guess the yardage. Guesses were in the range of 140 to 600 yards (yes, there were some morons in the house) and amazingly, the 143 yard guess was the closest.
The course is impeccably manicured and the greens are quick. Be sure to bring some potent bug spray because the gnats can drive you crazy.
This course has it all. It is simply fun to play. There are three medium length par 3's and one long par 3 with a mammoth green. The hole is know as "Hell's Half Acre." The par 5's are manageable and two are reachable for even the medium length drivers of the ball. Hole 15 has a putting green that sits below the fairway. This is just another cool feature of the course.
The par 4's have a little of everything. There are two short, split fairway holes that provide strategic options. Number 17 is a driveable hole with more strategic options. The two most challenging par 4's, number 2 and number 8 are doglegs, one left and one right.
The more you play it, the more you will fall in love with the course.
We experienced very brief showers during our Monday afternoon round at the Forest Dunes course including the threat of a significant thunderstorm as we neared the end of the front nine. But we were able to get the entire round in with no problems.
Our Tuesday afternoon round was played in gorgeous sunny weather, even with the threat of storms in the forecast.
Forest Dunes has a par 3 19th Hole and each day, we each hit one final shot to try to claim a pot of money for closest to the pin.
In addition to our normal skin pot and Nassau competitions, we also had one other less traditional event. There was a tree across Lake AuSable from the back of our cottage. We each took as many guesses as desired at $2 a pop to guess the yardage. Guesses were in the range of 140 to 600 yards (yes, there were some morons in the house) and amazingly, the 143 yard guess was the closest.
Forest Dunes Par 3 9th Hole
Our Monday evening dinner was at Sangomore's Restaurant inside the resort's lodge and as explained above, we were underwhelmed. Six of us ventured into Roscommon for the Tuesday evening meal.
The two who remained behind to eat at the lodge ran into former MLB players including Hall of Famer Alan Trammel and former NY Yankee pitcher David Wells who were at the resort in a large group courtesy of Trammel's travel bus.
As we ate our meal at Fred's in Roscommon on Tuesday evening, we were hit by a torrential downpour. It rained on and off all night and into the morning. With a persistent drizzle and fog on Wednesday morning and a forecast of several hours of rain, we decided to cancel our round and head home. We were surprised to receive a full $85 credit for the round rather than a rain check that may not have been used within a year.
The two who remained behind to eat at the lodge ran into former MLB players including Hall of Famer Alan Trammel and former NY Yankee pitcher David Wells who were at the resort in a large group courtesy of Trammel's travel bus.
As we ate our meal at Fred's in Roscommon on Tuesday evening, we were hit by a torrential downpour. It rained on and off all night and into the morning. With a persistent drizzle and fog on Wednesday morning and a forecast of several hours of rain, we decided to cancel our round and head home. We were surprised to receive a full $85 credit for the round rather than a rain check that may not have been used within a year.
Inside Fred's at Roscommon
All in all, our package at Forest Dunes Resort was quite affordable. Essentially, we each paid $99 per night plus tax for the lodging and $85.00 for each round of golf.
And make no mistake, the golf is first class.
And make no mistake, the golf is first class.
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