Beacon Hill is a Neighborly Golf Course

Beacon Hill in Commerce Township is an upscale playing facility that

along with its brother course adjacent to it in Brentwood is a really nice place to play where the golf and the community are downright neighborly.

    Beacon Hill Clubhouse from the 18th fairway.

 The clubhouse above is a multi-purpose facility and elegant weddings receptions depending on the time of year are both outside and held within the walls of the clubhouse. 

Beacon Hill is a 6849 yard course and the four tee boxes play the course much different from vertical to or stacked or from different angles to the fairway and will give you different strategies in which to play. I played the course from a combination of the green and white tees with the whites coming on some par fours as I like to hit the various clubs in my bag.

The first hole is a 379 downhill par four with twin bunkers to catch your tee shots right and left and a well hit tee shot can go longer than your usual. I hit my drove just over 315 yards and was a short distance from a sprinkler head that was well marked. You do not want to dub your drive as there is a wetlands area at the bottom of the hill and the asphalt cart path is the dividing line to the homes that are on top of the course on several holes and the neighbors have plenty of signs like these.

 

These signs are everywhere and the first hole let me know that Elmer Fudd might come out and chase me off their property. My drive was just a few feet in the rough from the fairway and I hit a sand wedge to about 15 feet of the pin on the front of the green on the dog hair. I took two strokes and earned a par. I have played this front side twice this year and the pin has been up front. The back of the green is within 10 feet of this sign and it is smart to take this option out of play. I would put up a fence here and remove all doubt. Funny thing is a children's party was going on and they were having fun and this bounce house was about 20 feet from the corner of the green. A child chased a toy onto the cart path and I thought about saying "stay off this golf course" with a smile but some things are better off unsaid and I thought it was cool to see kids on the edge of the course. I wonder if the neighbors with the signs tell the kids the same thing. Anyways, the bounce house bunch were sure having fun.

   The second hole is a treat to play. It plays from between 107 yards to 216 and I decided to play it from the white box of 186 and hit a five hybrid and put it on the green. Going short is death as it is guarded by fescews and right is also there as well. The green is undulated and huge. There is a collection area in front of the green but I wouldn't count on bouncing your ball to the green. It is soft. Putts tend to slide by on this green and your lag putt should be aggressive enough to get to the hole but do not blow it by as it might curl. I had another par here but bogeyed it the first time and used my knowledge to hit my putt to an area where par would be my score at worst.

 Woods to the Right of the 3rd Green

      The third hole is a 500 yard par five from the green that will leave you buzzing and it is not just from the first mosquitoes I have felt this year. The power lines run over your head all the way down the hole and if you hold your club up in the air, what do you know you just might get your insurance policy paid off but you will not be around to collect. Jokes aside it is a fun golf hole. There is a ridge left side and you want to go right side as it dog legs to the left and if you cannot see the pin, you will be guessing where to hit the ball or laying up on this hole. and I played it from there. A pond guards the green short and a shallow green awaits you. You can go for this green in two if you hit a very solid drive and have confidence in your three wood. Woods will collect your ball to the right and the pond has a spongy feel around it and going in is not an option. If you go for the green in three you will have a short pitching wedge or iron to the green. The green will slide on you but largely rolls true. This is one pretty golf hole. Homes bunch up on this hole around the green but do not come into play like the first hole.

Skipping ahead to the 5th hole, this is a hole where the tee boxes are dispursed and give you a much different look at the hole and how to play it. Sometimes playing forward is not the way to go. This is the case with the 411 yard par four where there are wetlands in front of the tee box and line both sides of the hole including the landing area of this hole. Playing a shorter distance and you should get out there with a long iron or 3/5 wood. You can hit driver on this hole but ball placement is everything as a second pond guards this green. I have hit two good tee shots this year, but have messed up my iron shot both times. It wasn't nerves but a lack of execution. The green is a slider and you should study your putt before hitting it. Remember, it is a slight dogleg left and placement is crucial. The neighbors homes are adjacent to the green but are out of bounds.

Here is a garden from one of the homes below. VVV

Skipping to the back nine, a couple of trees could come into your drive short on this hole and bunkers are to be found left side and in front of the green on this 398 yard par four. The green is shallow and iron placement is important. If your ball rolls off the green it is headed to the wetlands and you are not supposed to go in there. I am not a big sand guy but a trap on the backside of the green would be helpful as it is preferable to a lost ball and a penalty stroke. I bogeyed this hole as I hit a couple of shots that were not well executed.

The 12th hole is a 541 yard effort where it is a arching par five that goes right. Homes run the right side but do not come into play here. Ball placement is somewhat important but a small mistake will not kill you. What will is the water/ditch to the right side of the hole where my ball was headed on a well struck but blocked shot. It did take the huge pond guarding the green out of play and my wedge was put pin high but about 10 feet away. My putt just missed and I earned a par on this number two handicapped hole on the course.

Skipping ahead to the 14th hole, it was party on as people in the neighborhood were simply enjoying life and watching me golf. (Hey mom, I have a gallery). They were pitching horseshoes, cooking out and the smell of MEATA and brats were making me hungry and the cold beers were making me powerfully thirsty. They did not offer me any though as I had to settle for the birthright of cooking meat and washing it down with suds.

 The geese wanted some beer too!

The homes on the 14th had a par-tay going on!

The hole called 14 is an ego booster. It plays from 298 to 420 but the tee boxes were up and it played to 320 yards on this day. I hit an excellent tee shot and was about 25 yards short of the green. There is water to the right side and sand bunkers to guard short approach shots. The putts roll fairly true. My pitch was to the right of the pin and short. My twenty-five foot' putt was wide and I had a par and this was stupid as my fairway drive was wasted as a good chip would have been a birdie attempt.

The seventeenth hole is one where my head is still scratching and I just played the sucker. It plays to over 530 yards and is an s shaped hole. You should bomb your drive and I decided to go elementary school and hit a poor tee shot of 100 yards within a few feet of the neighbors which are on both sides of the tee box. I hit it into a cluster of trees and had to chip it out onto the fairway. I then crushed a three wood into a direction the hole does not travel and thought I would be ok. I wasn't and the ball went out of bounds right side. Now I am shooting for par and am on a cliff where you cannot see how the hole plays (Trust me I played this hole like a 40 handicapper. I drove up to see where the green was and it was at the bottom of a steep ridge. I drove my cart to the closest yardage marker and then back to my ball and hit a 8 iron and it was a dandy or maybe it wasn't as I caught it flush and it was never seen again. I looked for it hard but it went across a road with no drop area and a stone wall guards the green from the street. The hole itself for those playing it right should be done with a driver. The second shot can go for the green but it would be a blind one by that steep hill I told you about. If you hit it to where the fairway ends, you will then turn right and 40 ards away is the green. I like this course but I do wonder what the logic was for the course architect?

The 18th hole is quite a finishing hole and is both beautiful and scorable for those who play two good shots from the tee box. This 458 yard par four has homes to the right and they are in play for shanks. A pond guards the hole left side and trees guard the fairway right side. A series of bunkers are spead out in front and in back of the green. The hole looks intimidating from the box but a solid shot centered or hit left or right center is your best bet. The trees in front of the wetlands will knock you tee shot down and the homes you do not see can collect your golf ball. I hit a solid tee shot and had a five hybrid left. Some golfers behind me caught me as I was caught in traffic that day. They played with me and I hit an incredible shot. I hit a draw from the fairway that actually was slightly mishit and went right to left and landed at an angle on the green and traveled right at the pin. It landed about eight feet away and I earned a birdie from there. They were so impressed. Golf is a funny game.

 

is the Skinny. 

Customer Service- 10 - Staff Friendly and professional. The pro shop help was helpful and provided answers. There were no cart/beer people that day 

Course Markings- 9.0 - Very good.  Markings at 100, 150, 200 yards and sprinkler heads. Some suggestions on playing the holes also helped.  

Conditions -10 - Course in outstanding shape and the greenskeeper should be commended. 
   

Playability 8- The course has plenty of challenge to it and it is fun. The greens must be studied as they have their own mind. Fairways are wide in most places and the different tee shots will help you navigate the couse. It is well taken cared of and is commendable.

Course Design- 8- The course allows you to play most of the clubs in your bag. Errant shots will possibly be lost balls and you will not find most of them as they now belowng to Beacon Hill.

Pace of Play-  9- Players move along and this is helpful.

The bottom line. I give it a 8.0/10 This is a nice track to play and you really should give them a call to book a tee time. It is upscale, a super golf course for intermediate to serious golfers and it is a good experience. Just stay out of the neighbors proberty and you will have the beginning of a beautiful friendship with a pretty nice golf course.

Professional Banquet Staff
• Banquet/Conference Center
  (capacity 250)
• Outdoor Ceremony Site
• PGA Professional Staff
• PGA Professional Golf Instruction
• Bag Drop Service
• Top Line Pro-Shop
• Teaching and Practice Facility
• Golf Outing Specials
• 300 Yard Aqua Driving Range
• Grill Room Overlooking 18th Hole

Congrats to Barry Pearce and the gang at both courses.

I have DJ'd weddings in the past and the food and atmosphere is top notch.