Loop Links, no. 13
The Tiers of Michigan Golf
It was recently announced that Chauncey Billups will join his former Pistons teammate Ben Wallace in the Hall of Fame. I love this for Chauncey, who was one of my favorite players to watch in his era of the game and who had a profound impact on Detroit’s championship run in 2004*. But if we are being honest, both about Chauncey and about Ben, they simply were not nearly as good and did not have nearly the impact on the game that other Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain had. And yet once Chauncey is inducted, there is no distinction between the level of his achievements and those of his other enshrined peers. They are all simply Hall of Famers.
Reading the Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons, I was introduced to his idea of a Hall of Fame Pyramid. In the Pyramid concept, players would still be granted Hall of Fame membership using the same process by which it occurs now, but upon induction players would hypothetically be separated into different levels of achievement, which would be conceptualized based on which floor of the Hall of Fame building the player would be featured on. The 1st floor, for example, would be for marginal players who just make the cut, and each floor up represents an upgrade in excellence until you reach the top floor, which Simmons terms the Pantheon, where you finally see the likes of Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem, etc.
I hadn’t thought about it much prior to reading the book, but the Pyramid concept actually makes a lot of sense to me**. Taking the concept into consideration also made me reflect on comparative player-to-player rankings, and the overall practice of rankings in general. My reflection led to a conclusion that I simply do not like rankings, and I especially do not like golf course rankings.
The Hall of Fame is different from a player-by-player ranking, and therefore a different conundrum in some ways to ranking golf courses, but it could be said that the distinction of being ranked as a Top 100 Golf Course works in a similar fashion to the Hall. Regardless of the particular ranking, courses often strive for a Top 100 ranking of any kind, and consider it a top honor to be included on the list. Hell, even the worthiness of an entire state of golf can be based on the Top 100 list, such as the 2024 Golf Digest list of best states for public golf, which ranks the states based on how many courses appear in their Top 100 public courses list.
Michigan ranks tied for second in that list, with 9 courses appearing in the Top 100. Their top public course in the state is Arcadia Bluffs, coming in at 14th, while the last one on the list is Belvedere, at number 98. If Belvedere had fallen behind only 3 other courses, suddenly Michigan goes from nearly the best in the country, to barely cracking the top 5. And yet some lists, such as the MI Golf Architecture Society rankings, subjectively rank Belvedere as a better golf design than Arcadia Bluffs.
I am considering that part of the appeal of lists are the debates and arguments that ensue, which, for reasons I don’t understand, some people enjoy. That’s fine, I suppose. There will never be a shortage of lists or disagreements or cable TV shows with two people arguing over what is best. But to me, this whole ranking nonsense is madness.
There is too much certainty connotated in a ranking, when ranking things is always such a subjective experience that involves a variety of factors. Most lists ranking the golf courses in Michigan have Crystal Downs as the top course in the state, but I’ve seen others with Kingsley Club ranked first. If Crystal is in the top spot and Kingsley is ranked second, does that make the Downs head and shoulders above Kingsley, just a little bit better, or in a virtual tie? For someone who prefers Kingsley between the two, does a ranking list with Crystal Downs at the top invalidate the entire list? What if those two courses are on a level far above the third-ranked course?
*My wife was also a big fan of Chauncey. Her and I were dating when Chauncey made his unremarkable return to the team in 2013-14, and I happened to be with the team in Chicago, using a road game at the United Center as an excuse to visit her (living in Chicago at the time) while also getting in some extra points with the staff for making my own way there. Getting on the bus to shootaround before the game, Chauncey asked me how she was doing, which was huge. Honestly, as a lowly video coordinator, a lot of players don’t give a shit about you. So when they did remember something personal, it showed they were human. Only the best of the best ever did that. It was also huge because then I got to tell her that Chauncey asked about her, which pretty much made her year.
**That is as close as I will come to saying a positive thing about Bill Simmons.
Much like the Hall of Fame could use a Pyramid, Michigan Golf could use a Tier system to help differentiate the quality of courses and make it easier for people to decide what to play. It’s up for debate whether Crystal Downs or Kingsley Club is the best course in the state, but both courses can sit comfortably side-by-side in Tier 1 of Michigan golf. You can decide which you like better on your own time, but there is no debate that these are two of the best damn golf experiences in the state.
Different courses also serve different purposes. Arcadia Bluffs serves a different crowd then, say, a local muni like Rackham does. Does Rackham being 70-80 spots lower than Arcadia in a rankings list really capture what the experience is about, or convey to a first-time visitor what their level of enjoyment will be?
These thoughts have nagged at me as people have asked me to do a rankings list. I settled quite awhile ago on not ever doing rankings, but a tier system has appealed to me ever since the seed of the Hall of Fame Pyramid was planted in my head. One of the few things holding me back, however, has been not seeing enough of the courses in the state to feel like I am anything close to an authority worth trusting on the matter. I’ve played over 100 courses in the state by now, but with over 700 courses in Michigan, that number doesn’t seem so impressive.
I do think it is time, though, to start workshopping some of the tiers. I likely won’t ever see every course in the state worth adding to a tier, but while I work on seeing what I can, I will also lean on a network of golfers that I trust for opinions. That will come with time. But for now, let’s start with 50 courses that I’ve played in a variety of different categories (private, public, muni, expensive, cheap, Up North, Metro Detroit, etc.) and tier them from top to bottom. In the future I look to break things down even further in different categories that will hopefully prove helpful to each budget, location, and preference.
Course - Location - Year Opened - Designer - Type - Region
Tier 1
Kingsley Club - Kingsley - 2001 - Mike DeVries - Private - Northern
Tier 2 (Remarkable, but not quite Kingsley)
Franklin Hills CC - Franklin - 1927 - Donald Ross - Private - Southeast
Meadowbrook CC - Northville - 1916 - Willie Park Jr./Andy Staples renovation - Private - Southeast
Tier 3 (Elite tracks)
Barton Hills CC - Ann Arbor - 1922 - Donald Ross - Private - Southeast
Arcadia Bluffs GC (Bluffs) - Arcadia - 1999 - Warren Henderson/Rick Smith - Resort - Northern
University of Michigan GC - Ann Arbor - 1931 - Alister MacKenzie/Perry Maxwell - Semi-Private - Southeast
Radrick Farms - Ann Arbor - 1965 - Pete Dye/Alice Dye - Private - Southeast
Bay Harbor GC - Bay Harbor - 1997 - Arthur Hills - Resort - Northern
Indianwood G & CC (Old) - Lake Orion - 1925 - Wilfrid Reid - Private - Southeast
Tier 4, part 1 (Public Gems and Low-Key Clubs)
Champion Hill GC - Beulah - 2000 - Lee Stone/Jim Cole - Public - Northern
Flint GC - Flint - 1918- Willie Park, Jr. - Private - Southeast
Monroe G & CC - Monroe- 1919 - Donald Ross - Private - Southeast
Calderone GC - Grass Lake - 2000 - Bill Newcomb - Public - Southeast
Blackheath GC - Rochester Hills - 1998 - Kevin Aldridge - Public - Southeast
Hidden River G & Casting Club - Brutus - 1997 - Bruce Matthews III - Public - Northern
Travis Pointe CC - Ann Arbor - 1977 - Bill Newcomb - Private - Southeast
Tier 4, part 2 (Big Names and Big Tickets)
Tullymore Golf Resort - Stanwood - 2002 - Jim Engh - Resort - Southwest
Stoatin Brae - Augusta - 2016 - Renaissance Golf Design - Resort - Southwest
Oakland University (R & S Sharf) - Rochester - 2000 - Warren Henderson/Rick Smith - Semi-Private - Southeast
Shepherd's Hollow GC - Clarkston - 2000 - Arthur Hills - Public - Southeast
Otsego Club (Tribute) - Gaylord - 2001 - Rick Robbins/Gary Koch/Brian Lussier - Resort - Northern
Boyne Resorts (Arthur Hills) - Harbor Springs - 1995 - Arthur Hills - Resort - Northern
Oakland University (Katke Cousins) - Rochester - 1975 - Robert Beard/Bill Newcomb - Private - Southeast
Treetops Resort (Fazio Premier) - Gaylord - 1992 - Tom Fazio - Resort - Northern
Tier 5 (The Art, Jerry, and Friends Zone)
Buck’s Run GC - Mt Pleasant - 2000 - Jerry Matthews - Public - Mid-Michigan
Apple Mountain GC - Freeland - 1998 - John Sanford - Public - Mid-Michigan
Red Hawk GC - East Tawas - 1998 - Arthur Hills - Public - Northern
Fox Hills G & Banquet (Golden Fox) - Plymouth - 1989 - Arthur Hills - Public - Southeast
Boyne Resorts (Donald Ross Memorial) - Harbor Springs - 1989 - Bill Newcomb/Everett Kircher/Jim Flick/S. Kircher/Ray Hearn - Resort - Northern
Tier 6 (Lovable Munis and Mid-Level Resorts)
Pinecroft GC - Beulah - 1991 - Lee Stone/Jim Cole - Public - Northern
Leslie Park GC - Ann Arbor - 1967 - Larry Packard - Municipal - Southeast
Rackham GC - Huntington Woods - 1923 - Donald Ross - Municipal - Southeast
Treetops Resort (Smith Tradition) - Gaylord - 1997 - Rick Smith - Resort - Northern
Boyne Resorts (Heather) - Harbor Springs - 1966 - Robert Trent Jones, Sr. - Resort - Northern
Petoskey-Bay View CC - Petoskey - 1915 - Willie Watson/Tom Bendalow - Private - Northern
Tier 7 (On the Edge)
Edgewood CC - Commerce Twp - 1928 - Ernest Way - Private - Southeast
Westwynd GC - Rochester Hills - 2002 - Craig Schreiner - Public - Southeast
Majestic GC at Lake Walden - Hartland - 1994 - Jerry Matthews/Ray Hearn - Public - Southeast
Arbor Hills GC - Jackson - 1925 - Arthur Ham - Public - Southeast
Meadows GC at GVSU - Allendale - 1994 - Dr. Michael Hurzdan - Public - Southwest
Treetops Resort (Smith Signature) - Gaylord - 1993 - Rick Smith - Resort - Northern
Tier 8 (Lost in the Crowd)
Sawmill GC - Saginaw - 1997 - John Sanford - Public - Mid-Michigan
Oakhurst G & CC - Clarkston - 1998 - Arthur Hills/MacCurrach Golf - Private - Southeast
Manitou Passage GC - Cedar - 1997 - Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay - Public - Northern
Boulder Pointe GC - Oxford - 2000 - Conroy-Dewling Associates, Inc. - Public - Southeast
Pierce Lake GC - Chelsea - 1996 - Harry Bowers - Public - Southeast
Stonebridge GC - Ann Arbor - 1991 - Arthur Hills - Public - Southeast
Coyote Preserve GC - Fenton - 2001 - Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay - Public - Southeast
Paint Creek CC - Lake Orion - 1988 - Don Childs - Semi-Private - Southeast
Cherry Creek GC - Shelby Twp - 1995 - Lanny Wadkins/Mike Bylen - Public - Southeast
“The 10 best golf courses to play near Detroit during 2024 NFL draft”
Per Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press, these are the 10 best golf options available in the area for draft attendees. It should be noted that when drilling down into each course, some of his selections, such as Chandler Park, are simply based on proximity, so it being included on the list says more about location than the quality of golf.
University of Michigan GC
Shepherd’s Hollow
The Orchards
Stonebridge
Moose Ridge
Lakes of Taylor
Fox Hills
Rackham
Chandler Park
St. Clair Shores
So the first problem here is four courses by Arthur Hills. Between three of them - Stonebridge, Golden Fox, and Lakes of Taylor, you are getting very little to almost no difference at all. That’s not a great intro to Michigan golf for visitors (although an accurate intro, to be sure). I’m keeping Shepherd’s and Golden Fox, and scratching the others.
Next, if you are willing to send golfers all of the way to Clarkston for golf, being concerned about keeping Chandler Park on the list for proximity doesn’t make much sense. It’s an eminently skippable golf experience.
Lastly, I’ve had enough of Moose Ridge. I think it stinks for a number of reasons (which I may present another day), and it wouldn’t be on any list of mine.
So here’s my Metro Detroit list for making the best public golf impression during the draft, tiered into comparable levels.
Tier 1
University of Michigan GC is unquestionably at the top of the list. While I would normally be a little hesitant about an influx of golfers to the already packed tee sheet at UMGC, I have plans this weekend. So sure, come on out!
Tier 2
Shepherd’s Hollow. Maybe the best public course in Metro Detroit, despite the flaws that come with a typical Arthur Hills design. The property is just really cool and isolated. One of the few metro courses that don’t get an eye roll for using the “Up North feel” moniker.
The Orchards. I haven’t played here, and I have heard mixed reviews, ranging from love for the course to such intense hatred that they wished the course no longer existed. But as a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course, it’s something a little different for the area and worth a look. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, it feels sort of like a Tier 2 course in this list, so that is where I’ll put it.
Tier 3
Washtenaw GC. If you are in Ann Arbor and need a course to play other than UMGC, 10 out of 10 times I’m choosing Washtenaw over Stonebridge. Some of my favorite greens in the area, and only getting better.
Calderone. In place of Moose Ridge, another hard pass, I’m adding Calderone in Grass Lake. It’s not Metro Detroit, but if we are fine sending people up to Shepherd’s Hollow (1 hr drive from DTW), then I don’t see a problem with Calderone (50 mins from DTW). It’s a fun course, and unlike anything else in the area.
Golden Fox. I haven’t played Lakes of Taylor, and Stonebridge was a hard no, so I will stick with Golden Fox on the list. It’s your pretty standard Art Hills experience, has some decent stretches, and is in a good location for the purposes of this list.
Blackheath. Again, if we are sending people to Clarkson and Washington Township already, Rochester is not a stretch. Also repeating a theme here, this course will be different from any other experience on the list. The downside? The draft might be over by the time you’ve finished a round here.
Muni Goodness Tier
Rackham. Carlos says the greens are “ho-hum” here, which makes me question if he’s been on the course. He does redeem himself, though, with his “Rackham is pure Detroit” statement.
Leslie Park. Make it a golf marathon in Ann Arbor, adding Leslie Park to your UMGC and Washtenaw rounds. Between those 54 holes, it’s hard to get more for your money anywhere else on the trip (assuming you paid no more than the affiliated guest rate at UMGC).
St. Clair Shores. I honestly don’t know much about this place. I’ll give the east side some love and keep it on the list.
Last Note
If you are the type of person to get on a plane to fly to the NFL Draft, for whatever reason that may be, then you might also be a person who didn’t get on that plane to play public golf. Luckily you have just landed in one of the private golf meccas of the United States. Assuming you have the connections, I would still leave UMGC on the list, but finding 9 more decent clubs to visit most certainly would not be a problem!
Craig, love this idea of stealing the Pyramid (which Bill admits he stole from his buddy Gus's father), but i have to ask... have you ever played golf on the west side of the state? Not TC, but anything south of Big Rapids. The hole in the map of courses in this pyramid is easy to spot.