#887 Vienna Greens

Vienna Greens is located in Clio, MI, it was built in 1969 by Loren Millette. It is well conditioned and has a left to right rotation of each nine. There is OB on the left of seven holes, so if you are a fader/slicer it is almost impossible to lose any balls here. The par3's are a strong group with the 186 yd #3 a challenge with its semi-blind carry over cattails. The B9 is delightful with its interesting stretch of holes. Vienna Greens with its friendly staff, affordable rates, and pace of play far exceeded my expectations. WHITE+

#886 Timbers GC

Timbers GC in Vassar, MI was designed in 1996 by Lorrie Viola. Viola has designed 2 other courses and I have played one of those near me in Florida. Timbers has several interesting holes but the diseased fairways detracts from its nice layout. For the second day in a row I missed an ace by less than a foot. The 135 yd #12 was today's thrill. The sharp dogleg left 375 yd 7th was my favorite hole. You have to be careful not to hit it through the FW on your drive into the junk, so a 3W would be the club of choice off the tee. On the B9 the 13th plays very similar. The most challenging hole is the dogleg left par5 563 yd cape hole. Off the tee you are encountered with a pond if you want to play an aggressive line. Next is another pond that fronts the green on your approach. Of the 6 doglegs, 3 are sharply left. The B9 plays considerabbly easier than the front. GOLD-

"Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can."- Vince Lombardi

#885 Burke Course(9) at Notre Dame

The Burke Course at Notre Dame, in South Bend, IN, was designed in 1929 by Chuck Kelly and was orginally 18 holes. In 1966 Dick Nugent also contributed. Due to expansion of the campus, 9 holes were eliminated and the remaining on football weekends are used for parking. The course is a Par 35 and at 3200 yds is an easily walkable, playable track to come out for a quick game. The conditioning is good and the variety of holes is interesting. I want to thank the budding golf star, Carlos, for allowing me to join in. WHITE

#884 Warren GC at Notre Dame

Warren GC at Notre Dame was designed in 1999 by Coore and Crenshaw, in South Bend, IN. The course is well conditioned but with very little elevation changes. It is not as pancake flat as another C and C design I played, Talking Stick North in Scottsdale. With the minimalist philosophy of Bill and Ben it makes for a visually, challenging template. Notice in my photo's how the fairways are lifeless without any contours. Ideally, the terrain needs to be rolling to make a Coore/Crenshaw most interesting for me. Warren is very playable for every skill level and an easy walk but after playing Culver it was a very mundane experience. The B9 is more interesting with the creek winding its way through it on three holes. The #16 short Par4 was my favorite hole and the 18th was a real challenging finisher. Of the 12 Coore/Crenshaw courses I have played this ranks near the bottom. I did have perfect weather and an enjoyable foursome to play with on this day.BLUE-

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VyiHB5bDXtPjfbZGA

#883 Culver Academy GC (9)

Culver Military Academy was founded in 1894 in Culver, Indiana. Wm Langford and Theodore Moreau laid out a 27 hole complex but only completed 9 holes of it in 1926. In 2015 Bobby Weed restored the course back to its original intent. These are all orginal holes, most L/M courses were built with 9 holes orginally and then added on and reconfigured. The only other complete L/M course I have played is the 18 hole Lawsonia Links(view course under slideshow tab}. Culver is a more dramatic property than Lawsonia and ranks right at the top of the list of the 9 courses by L/M I have played.

If anyone has ever visited Mackinaw Island you know the feeling when you step off the boat onto the island- a step back in time. When I walked to the first tee at Culver I felt the same way. Huge undulating greens, rollicking terrain with blind shots, and very firm and fast greens. There are three 3's, 4's, and 5's. The par 3's all play around 170 yards. The first #2 plays uphill to a redan style green, the second #3 is downhill, surrounded by flat bottom bunkers, the last #8 is farily level with all challenging.

The first Par four #4 is a magnificient, sharp DL left which you need to hit your tee shot about 265 yards to be in the best position for your uphill approach shot. Unfortantly, that distance left me quickly 6 years ago. The front left portion of the green can put you in some deep doodoo if you mess with it. This was one of my favorite holes at Culver. #6 and #7 are more conventional, long, par fours.

The three Par 5's all have a blind shot involoved and are the strongest group of holes here. #1 Is a dogleg left that you need to carry a 60' deep gorge to about 200 yds on the drive. Next you have a blind shot into the green if you have the length or play it to the right for your third. #5 is more strightforward and you may have a blind shot for your second to the largest back to front sloping green. The finishing hole you face a dogleg right off the tee to a blind second shot. These three holes are lots of fun and what is not to like about opening a Christmas present everytime you crest the top of hill and see your ball.

As I noted before these greens are as huge as most I have ever played, big undulations including false fronts, and every hole allows you to run your shots up on the putting surface. The conditioning is as firm and fast as you will want or you would running your ball of the greens. Of the 9 rounds on my trip North, this is by far the most memorable, that even I can recall every hole in detail. The only other 9 hole stretch that gave me this much enjoyment was the F9 at RCD. I want to thank Michael for the wonderful job he does keeping Culver in perfect playing conditions and for his generous hospitality. BLUE+

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Am11FQ5u59N8ytyu6

#882 Kampen Course at Purdue

Kampen was the original North course and has been totally recontructed in 1998 by Pete Dye at Purdue University. The two courses are totally different, which is what you want in a 36 hole complex. This is a flat, swampy, links style layout. Compared to the other course the holes here are very isolated and really not that pretty. The fairways are generous but you don't want to wander to far off or you will be in deep grass or wet. All the par 3's have water/swamp that come into play, which I found twice. My driver was also off a bit and I played Kampen 8 strokes higher than A-A. All the holes were interesting with no really great holes that jump out at you. I did like the short split FW #7 Par 4 with the pot bunker in front of the green, the blind #15 par 4, and the strong finishing Par 4 #18. If you have played as many Dye courses(25) as I have these type holes are usually characteristic of all of his designs. Kampen is also well conditioned and gets the nod over A-A and a BLUE rating.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mH3JL8W97XkyggCV8

#881 Ackerman-Allen Course at Purdue

The Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Layfayette, IN is home to two 18 hole courses at Purdue University. Purdue took full advantage of the naming rights here bringing in four donors to maximize their coffers. Ackerman-Allen was designed in 1934 by Bill Diddle and renovated in 1968 by Larry Packard. Pete Dye arrived in 1998 and again in 2016 for a redesign and addition of two new holes. My initial reaction was this is Pete Dye Lite. Most holes there are a bunker on one side of the green and a swale to bailout in on the the other side. The greens are pure and conditioning excellent. The terrain is rolling and provides a very nice variety of playable holes. The opening holes are very friendly, #6,8,9 are my faorites on the F9. On the B9, #11 feels alot like #9, the short Par3 #13 was my favorite one shotter. The interesting par 5's #14 and #16 are sandwiched around a brute of a par 4. This is the most popular and easiest of the two courses.BLUE

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nzNbnEo12bWSinXQ6

#880 Kokopelli GC

Kokopelli GC in Marion, ILL is a 1996 Steve Smymers design. One of the characteristics of a Smyers course is an extensive amount of bunkers. Aesthetically it is great but if you are the course owner it demands many manhours to maintain them. I was told the course was sold two years ago and the new owner has already removed half of the over 100 bunkers. Most of the remaining bunkers are in transition to new sand which has yet to arrive. So if you can get past the poor condition of the bunkers and the recent top dressing this actually is a pretty good course which next season I would hope presents itself better.

I have played several Smymers courses with the now defunct Wolf Run one of the most difficult I have ever experienced. Who could have thought that a course with a slope of 136 on the easiest set of tee's might have a problem? It was one of the most asethetic bunker designs I had played at the time. The major problem was once you got not far off the fairway the thick grass was up to your knees. My partner lost all their balls by the 17th hole and I finished with hardly a ball left. Go to the Slideshow section above and click on Wolf Run to view a beautiful golf course.

Kokopelli has several interesting holes, the 146 yd par3 5th is it's top one shot hole. It is adjacent to nice lodging options that a group of out of town golfers could stay in. #7 lives up to it #1 handicap rating and all the Par 5's are strong holes. The staff was very friendly and the clubhouse is able to host large receptions with a teaching center on the ground floor. GOLD rated

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RHEJTiQfJNSVQk6j8

Summer Golf Trip North 8/8-8/16

Kokopelli GC
Purdue-Ackerman/Allen Course
Purdue-Kampen Coourse
Culver Academy GC(9)
Warren GC
Notre Dame Burke(9)
Genesee Valley Meadows GC
Timbers GC
Vienna Greens GC

"The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have."- Marcus Aurelius