The natural thing to do once you have decided to drive from Pennsylvania to Grand Rapids, Michigan is to line up a few golf venues. Having previously played the headliners along the route, the thought was to play the gems not experienced in prior treks. Sylvania C.C., University of Michigan (Mackenzie course) and Wuskowhan Players Club fit the bill perfectly.
Having played Old Elm Club in Chicago and witnessed Drew Rogers brilliant work at that magnificent refuge, we wanted to see how his deft touch impacted Sylvania. A quote from Drew Rogers perfectly captures Sylvania and his work there:
“There’s a spectrum of change that can take place on courses like these, from the Golden Age. At one end, there are courses where the greens, tees and bunkering have been actively modified, moved or replaced with ever more modern feature components. At the other end, you have clubs like Kenosha and Sylvania where nearly all the original features are essentially intact, still recognizable but have fallen into some level of disguise.”
Clearly, Rogers recognized the key elements at Sylvania and went about accentuating their appeal and creativity. As Rogers pointed out in his observations regarding Sylvania, Willie Park, Jr. conjured up magic with front 9 par sequence of 4-5-3-5-4-3-4-5-3. Nary a repeat par in the outgoing half and the shot values, sight lines and strategies are at once fun and challenging. Coming home, the pars may repeat, yet the style of the 3’s, 4’s and 5’s are distinct in all categories. The final three feature back to back 5’s and a whopper of a 4. The highlights were the mini-Alps on the second shot on number 4, the wildly tilting fairway and pitched approach on 7 and the dizzying choices on those back to back 5’s on 16 and 17.
We continued on to Ann Arbor for a lovely dinner at Sava, adjacent to campus, with a 7:00am tee time awaiting us at the Mackenzie course at the University of Michigan. If a golf facility was measured solely by the level of service of its pro shop and starter staff, the University of Michigan course would be number one in the world. Of all of our golf trips and club visits over forty years, the UofM golf course team was by far the best. Combine that level of service with a terrific golf course and you have an unparalleled experience. Although some tinkering has altered Mackenzie’s original design in a few areas, the UofM is largely true to his vision. Interesting shots abound, the par 3’s are wonderful throughout and the short 6th is an amazing creation. The green at the 6th is a severely sloped quasi-hourglass shaped beauty that presents an infinite variety of approaches and putts depending on the pin location. You know its a wild green when a “no chipping” sign is on the middle of the green. The incoming nine is not quite as strong architecturally as the outward half, but its a great track throughout. The kind and accommodating staff at UofM are extraordinary, making the “Mackenzie Experience” a must.
Our third venue, Wuskowhan Players Club, is a whole ‘other kettle of fish. “WPC” is a beaut, but also can be a brute. A decidedly modern track done ably by Rick Smith, MPC is located in West Olive, MI nearly to the banks of Lake Michigan. The course weaves through the western Michigan low country and features gorgeous driving corridors occasionally bisected by cattail crowded junk. The full 14 clubs are in use at WPC as a delightful mix of long, medium and short shots require all sorts of differing blows, WPC is terrific and the welcoming spirit of the Club greatly enhances the experience.
Although we did not play Blythefield C.C., we revisited the course while spectating at the LPGA’s Meijer Classic. The Langford and Morean design is a golden age charmer and the super talents on the LPGA tour amazed with their mastery of the game. We played Blythefield in 2013 and it is a superb club and course.
Four days, three courses, two ears of golf design add up to a memorable 1,100 miles or so.
Ben