Michigan Golfers Guide Featured Course Stories

Gaylord’s Best Double-Play

The recent purchase of the golf course at Marsh Ridge Resort by the same folks who’ve run the unique resort and also The Natural just down the road are giving travelers to Northern Michigan a spectacular double-play package as good as anything the Tigers can turn down in Motown.

The courses are both 4-Star Golf Digest Places to Play and have a similar relaxing ambiance, but are decidedly different tests. Mike Husby’s Marsh Ridge design features fairways lined with mature trees and changes in elevation that make the par-71 layout play much longer than its listed 6,231 yards. Marsh Ridge makes players get to think their way from shot to shot. The par-3s have some stunning panoramic views and most also require forced carries over marshland. The signature par-5 18th is reachable in two with a great drive and a dry second that negotiates a pond front and left of the green. 

In the last half-dozen years, Tiger Woods has won the Buick Open at Grand Blanc’s Warwick Hills twice, as has Vijay Singh with Jim Furyk taking home a title as well. But nobody received roars any louder than Brian Bateman when he rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the final hole to hold off three seasoned winners, Jason Gore, Justin Leonard and Woody Austin and claimed his first TOUR win last summer.

They’ll likely ALL be back in the Flint area when the Buick Open returns June 23rd-29th, especially with the PGA Championship coming to Oakland Hills just six weeks after.

Players love Warwick Hills’ tight fairways and lush greens. Particularly, they love the crowds that turn the event into an “event”. The throng at the beautiful par-3 17th, possibly the loudest on TOUR east of Phoenix.

Fieldstone Golf Club of Auburn Hills has quickly become one of Mid-America's most prestigious public-access courses. A 4-Star Golf Digest Place to Play, this Arthur Hills design was also voted one of the top three public courses in Southeast Michigan by the Detroit Free Press.

Impeccable course conditions, a great diversity of shot options, smaller than average greens, bunker positioning and a fabulous set of par-3 s are highlights at Fieldstone. The Buick Open regularly uses Fieldstone as a qualifier for its PGA TOUR event.

The only thing more inviting than the gorgeous state-of-the-art practice facility, Clubhouse and veranda that can accommodate over 200 guests is the "customer comes first" attitude of the people who work inside and out to make your day enjoyable.