Hartland Glen South is a Unique Course

   

       When you make the drive out to Livingston County, Hartland Glen is one of several golf courses that are located within a few miles of the Oakland border right on Highland Road. A couple of them are upscale and the rest are daily fee courses and this includes the 36 hole two course layout known as Hartland Glen. The first review is of the south course and I am very familiar with it as I worked there over a decade ago and enjoyed playing it. With the perspective of playing The Sharf, Katke Cousins and Fieldstone over the last week, how would Hartland Glenn’s South Course stack up?

   This course is less popular than the North as it is tighter and a little quirkier than the North but in my mind quirky is good. The course only plays 6287 yards from the tips and the men’s tees play at 6,087 yards. Unless there is something physically keeping you from playing the additional 200 yards or (11 yards per hole) you should be playing the blue tees. I mention that this course is quirky and it starts with a par 37 front nine and continues with a par 34 back.



#1 Tee Box



View from the fairway. The marsh/swamp is to the right.

View ot the green and back toward # 1 fairway

The 350 yard par four first hole is a dog leg right and long hitters will hit a three wood. There are slightly scattered trees in the first cut of rough and you can cut the hole here but the problem is a couple of the trees are maturing and a mishit will give you a pitch out and your birdie try will be from 100 yards or more. Short of the green are fescues and a pond left of the green for you to consider. There is a bailout area to the left of the green. The grass is spongy but it beats losing a stroke. The greens at HGS are largely true and you can go right after the hole but like any course, you must read the greens and hit it firm. The ball will not trickle away forever like some courses reviewed this year.

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Very tight hole. I meam very tight.

Look at the green and the narrow shoot that lines this fairway.

     While I enjoy playing the South course, holes four and five are very tight and I think most golfers would say too tight. The current owners have made some improvements and have expanded a fairway where a pond jutted out into a landing area. The hole plays to 400 yards from the blues and woods cut both sides of the hole and you have to drive it through the eye of a needle to put the ball in play. The pond that was trimmed back will catch longer drives hit right but you will have to hit it around 280 to bring it into play. Bunkers surround the hole but you will have to seriously mishit it to bring them into play. I bogeyed this hole and it was not my drive that hurt my score but my second shot was off the green left side and my pitch shot was ten feet from the hole and I pushed my par effort.

View of the fifth hole from the tee box. Severe dog leg left.

More of the 5th fairway.

   The fifth hole is really something. It plays only 324 yards but has one of the most unique layouts you will ever play. The tee box is within feet of the woods and if you hit a draw here I suggest you pull it out of your bag of tricks. Anyone who hits it left to right will leave a short pitch shot to the green. This includes a pitching wedge or short iron. If you draw it, you may have a lob wedge over the bunkers that guard the slightly elevated green. The woods to the rights side of the hole are in play and I have to admit that I have been there a time or two. When I first started playing this hole ten plus years ago, the trees were not quite as mature and the tree line was not so formidable. This might just be a hole for those that are shaky with the big stick to hit an iron or three wood.

View of the hole from the tee box. The massive sand trap is to the right.

View from behind the 8th green.

The third of three par fives on this front side plays at 463 yards and certainly plays longer than it looks. This was my stupid hole. A sand huge bunker actually serves its purpose dividing both the 8^th and 17^th holes but will only catch drives of 210 yards. This bunker is deep, 70-80 yards long and only comes in play if you do not hit it down the middle. I hit a bad hook that was not good enough to hit the trap. I then bombed my three wood to within 40 yards of the green setting up an eagle with a short pitch shot. I then skulled my third shot, chipped my fourth shot to 20 feet and just missed my par putt as I slid it by about 18 inches. There are woods going up the left side and the woods closes in from the right as the hole continues to its conclusion.

      The final hole on this side is the 138 yard par three. Hartland Glen certainly has its sense of humor. Three of the four nines finish with par threes and the south back is a short par four. This hole is very tight and has woods both left and right and a pond submerges any short tee shot. The green is very long and narrow. The bunkers on the right side could leave you with a touch chip right next to the hole when the placement is to the front side of the bunker. You could also have a better chance at chipping your putt (you heard that right) if you put it on the front right side of the green and the flag is way in the back. You might need to do some P90 X as you could have a 100 foot putt if you misjudge your distance off the tee.

   The back side of the South course is my favorite of the four nines although after playing the North course a few days prior, I have a newfound appreciation of playing golf on this property.

      Number eleven has changes a little over the past decade. The tree line that stood like a stone wall around 200 yards from the tee box has been trimmed back. Your ball can still pinball off the trees but there are less trees to redirect your tee shot. You will want to be left to right center on your tee shot. Right is out of bounds as the woods await you and left will leave you a blind shot to the green. Surprisingly this is only the 14^th rated handicapped hole on the course. Perhaps this is why.  You have plenty of room around the green to chip your missed iron or metal wood shots to the pin. The ball will move around a little on this green and a par is a good score here and a birdie will help you gain a shot against the field.

 



Hole number 13 is certainly not an unlucky one and if you drive the ball relatively straight, you have only 331 yards to pad your scorecard. There are woods right but it opens up and a tree that might be the first cousin to the Joshua sits in the rough to the right side. If you tangle with this piece of wood you will most likely have to deal with this the hard way. Woods to run along the left side of the hole but they are not in play unless you block your tee shot badly. In my mind, this hole has been landscaped and is much more open than it used to be. The green is slightly elevated and has bunkers guarding it. The putt can be tricky here. Hit it firm and you will be rewarded with no worse than a two-putt unless you shoot your putt out of a cannon. 

It's tight from the tee box but fans out quite a bit



The Joshua Tree. You must be left of this tree. There is more room than it appears here. Go right and you can see the rough stuff.





Number 15 used to be my all-time favorite hole on this course and there are several holes that are really a treat to play. Over time this hole has been made over and I think the tee box has been moved to the right but perhaps I am mistaken. A parallel line of trees can be shot over but growth has made this shot much tougher over the last decade. What made this hole so fun is that you could shoot over the tree line and the first cut of rough is almost as easy to play from then have a short second shot from this 305 hole. Most bombers that hit it long and straight will have a short pitch and shorter hitters will have a short iron. Unfortunately, the fun rough I spoke of is now ROUGH. I wouldn’t advise someone to try this shot now as the payoff will not be worth it unless you go just off the fairway to the left side. I sure miss the old rough.



Check Out the Tree Line. A Very narrow shute is down the middle. You cn fly the trees left side but it is rough.



17 is a Dog Leg Right. Woods waits you on the right side.

Number seventeen is a hole where I almost always play great on and I rarely say that. That really long bunker I spoke of on the eighth hole comes out here on 17 but really does not come into play unless you play a draw. The 353 yard par four has a woods/wetlands area right side and some trees if you hit it way left. This slight dogleg right can be attacked best from the center to the left side of the fairway. A crowned grass bunker will throw shorter shots toward the woods or if you hit it on the side facing the pin, you will get a kick that way as well. The green is large and the pin is usually in the front or center of the green. My wedge shot landed 12-15’ from the pin and I achieved a birdie here.

The final hole is a driver’s delight. It is only 280 yards from the tips and there is trouble just about everywhere but straight. The woods frame both sides of the hole and sand guards tee shots that trickle right. I drove it to the doghair of the green just missing the bunker by feet. I was salivating at a sure birdie opportunity if I can chip it to the flag that is tucked into the back of the green. My chip was fat however and I left myself about 20 feet to the pin for a birdie. I then left my birdie putt short by less than a foot and tapped in. Boy, back to back birdies would have been great but a tap in par wasn’t so bad.    

Here's the Skinny...

 Customer Service- 10.0. This course models how to take care of customers. Perry, Jeremy, and the rest do a great job to let you know that they appreciate your business. It is a nice touch to have a 1/2 liter of water placed in your cart and that small gesture is big for golfers who need to wet their whistle on a hot day. 
  

Course Markings- 8.5 - Very Good. No suggestions on playing the course. Plenty of places from stakes

Conditions -7.5 - Course in Very Good shape. There are some rough areas but it could be due to the lack of rain.   

   

Playability 9.0- This is a good scoring track. The course is short. The front nine is a par 37 and the eighth could be a very tough par four instead of a five.  Greens are very straightforward and roll true. Almost no spike marks and this helps.  The practice green and facilities will  will help you and check it out as it is outstanding to improve your game.  

Course Design- 7 Course very narrow in some spots and you literally have to shoot the  400 yard par four 4th with an iron.  

The bottom line. I give it a 8.5/10.0. I like the course and know some people avoid tight layouts but you will play most of the clubs in your bag.  This is really a fun track to play and you really should give them a call to book a tee time.