In light of 2023 coming to a close here soon, I began to reflect on the year of golf that I had. While I have been more invested in the professional game and covering it on this website than ever before, the core of my love of golf will always be getting out there and teeing it up myself. I had some amazing opportunities that sparked a true appreciation for what this game can be and I wanted to share those with you all. Please note, these are not the five BEST places I played. Many of these places won’t show up on any of the fancy rankings that seem to dominate the golf architecture conversations. These are simply the places I walked off the course feeling the deepest sense of joy, excitement, and appreciation for what I just was able to take part in. I encourage you to think of your experience on the course in a similar way and go take some chances on new golf courses in 2024!
5. Shale Creek Golf Club, Medina, OH
This was the best experience I have ever had on a golf course that runs even remotely close to any housing. A few of the holes played through the back of a subdivision. Normally those courses have no character, routing that lacks, and just an overall blandness to the experience. Shale Creek was none of those things. It had a variety of hole styles that demanded many different shots both off the tee and in approach. The green sites were generous yet intriguing. The hole that stands out most in my brain is the par 5 8th hole. The bunkering around the green made for a challenging and thoughtful approach shot that really stood out from the rest. Plus, this course has perhaps the most unique finishing hole I have ever seen. Playing in almost a U shape from tee to fairway to green. You can hit mid iron out to the fairway for a simple approach, or try and cut the corner and fly it to the green with driver, making for an exciting risk reward finish!
4. Little Sandy Par 3 Course, Fernandina Beach, FL
My experience at Little Sandy made me rethink how I perceive short courses. All of the ones I had been to before were dull and poorly kept in many ways. Every hole usually feels the same and you are just hitting 90 yard wedges into flat postage stamp circles. Little Sandy is the exact opposite of all of those things. The conditioning is first of all immaculate. This 10 hole course has holes that range from 120-42 yards long each with an incredibly unique green complex. I could have looped that course 10 times in a day and I don’t think the joy I felt from the first loop would have ever diminished. It really allows you to bring out a creative side to the game that can get lost on more traditional set ups, which was really fun to get in touch with. To cap it all off, they have an 18 hole putting course that is world class!
3. Bay Harbor Golf Club Links/Quarry Bay Harbor, MI
Being a Michigander, I have heard a lot of people call Bay Harbor “The Pebble Beach of the Midwest”. I could never tell how serious this statement was, and considering I never thought I would play here or Pebble, I thought I would never find out. Well now I just have to play Pebble because I was lucky enough to play the Links/Quarry combo at Bay Harbor! First thing that comes to mind is the views. You are playing along the cliffside overlooking Lake Michigan on almost every hole. That is seriously tough to compete with. On top of being beautiful, the undulating cliffside also makes for unique and quality golfing landscape. Every hole has rolling and uneven terrain that keeps the excitement going once your ball hits the ground. It is in world class condition and is a world class design and I cherished every moment I got to be out there.
2. Champion Hill Golf Course, Beulah, MI
This was the most pleasant surprise of the year. Located seemingly in the middle of nowhere in Northern MI, Champion Hill is one of the best and most fun golf courses I have ever played. The routing is unlike almost anything I have ever experience before. Drastic elevation changes, great usage of the natural slopes, and each hole feeling private and unique makes for almost the ultimate golfing experience. This is the definition of a hidden gem and peak season rates do not even exceed $70 here! Each hole feels like an adventure. This is aided by how the land was truly almost untouched to build the course. The use of the landscape here is so innovative it only reminds me of one other course I have ever been to (more on that to come).
1. The Kingsley Club, Kingsley, MI
Arguably Mike Devries’ crowning jewel in his design portfolio, this course lives up to all the hype. It is the only course I have ever walked off and can still perfectly recite each hole, what par it is, and the design of the hole. Every single hole would be the standout at another course, but they just have 18 of them at Kingsley. What makes Kingsley so wonderful is how severe the land is. Every hole has steep drops, sharp turns, huge mounds, fields of heather, or combinations of all these things. The green sites are what stand out the most. Most of them are massive; genuinely some of them are large enough to have an 18 hole putting course on them. Even in their size though, they don’t lose the nuance that the rest of the course has and it makes for exciting approaches, pitches, chips and putts of all kinds. Kingsley Club feels like a golfers playground where your brain and body have to sharp to score well. It rewards generously rewards great shots, and harshly punishes poor ones, leaving you with a sense of accomplishment that is hard to find at other courses. Everything about The Kingsley Club golfing experience is perfect and it was a thrilling honor to play there this year.
