The clubhouse at Colonial pictured above is impressive and looks like it could double for a bed and breakfast. There is not a lot of staff at the course to take your clubs and so forth but those you come in contact with are very friendly and I want to thank John Hawley for setting us up with a super round of golf. The course is very friendly for golfers of all skill levels and is a track where the entire family can play and enjoy themselves. The course is short, without any trickiness and has little water or multiple hazards to frustrate the Hades out of you. The first hole is a prime example. It is a 354 yard nearly severe dog leg right. It does have a cluster of trees down the left side of the fairway and while you could block yourself out of a second shot if you miss the fairway, this course lays out at only 6859 yards from the tips and I played it from 6,247 as I was playing with a partner who felt more comfortable playing the white tees. Your second shot on this par four is but a short iron or wedge if you hit it 250 yards off the tee. I did not as I did not cut the bone off the leg and had a shot of about 130 yards and promptly hit the green but the ball rolled off and a chip was in order from the longer cut. The greens are tricky at Colonial and this is the primary defense of this course. A two-putt gave me a score of one over just minutes into my round.
The best par three in my mind is number 17. This hole is ranked as the second easiest on the course and plays much different from the Gold to the Blue tees. The difference of 184 to 139 yards will play much different for golfers and playing using a nine iron did the trick for me. I did land the ball about 30 feet from the pin on the green. What is frustrating is I actually hit the hole and swirled it around for birdie but like most of the day, the putt rimmed out and instead of birdie, I had a tap-in par. Only a right side front bunker prevents golfers with any obstacle so whale away.
The best par four on the course is the number one handicapped hole on the course and this is the 13th hole and it plays to over 400 yards and the tees were back on this day. You will shoot over the fescues onto a dog leg right and you can cut the hole pretty good with a strong drive and a fade can work for golfers here. The second shot is no picnic. A 250 yard drive will give golfers a mid to low iron to the green. The green is elevated and slopes severely from left to right. I do not know what got into me here as I hit it right where I wanted and went left side as the pin was right and tucked behind a large sand bunker. What I did not know playing the course is that the green was that severe and my putt was a locomotive and even a tap made it roll with steam. I did make a knee knocking par putt and boy was I thankful to get out of there.
The best par five on the course in my mind is the 574 yard par five (539) where we played and it is really wide open here. The tee is slightly elevated here and there is a ton of room to drive your ball. You can bring out the whipping stick here and whale away and you will need to here. My drive was not whaled on but was about a 270 yarder that was straight and not my best effort as some roll gave me more than I care to admit. A cluster of trees does reside on the right side of the fairway and could block your shot. My second shot was nutted and I knew I hit a dandy and it rolled just a few short yards of the green. WOW! Now I know you will think I am lying here as my third shot was a chip with my wedge and it hit the flag stick and bounced ten feet above the flag. My birdie putt was off line but enough for me to putt about three feet for par which was achieved. This hole does play with a slightly elevated green and allows you to play with a driver, three wood and an iron of varying degrees depending on how you hit it after your first two strokes. This was truly a fun hole.
The easiest par or birdie hole on the course could be number four as this severe dog leg right hole plays to 394 yards from the gold and less from where we played. You do have a risk/reward shot if you choose not to use the fairway and a bombed tee shot could actually roll through the fairway. Our tee box was closer to (357) and what makes this a scoring hole is going over the fescues could shave nearly 100 yards off of the fairway and give you a wedge or low iron to the green. There are a few trees to shoot over but a high lofted three wood or 10.5 degree driver could do the trick. I have never played Colonial so I did this but not by design. My ball was a shank off the tee and I thought I lost it but it sat there with a big smile on its face and it was a thrill. I did par the hole though as I was about 25 feet from the pin and played the break a little offline.
The toughest hole is the 467 yard par four (433) and the distance demands you drive it pretty well or you will have a mid iron to a fairway wood depending on where you hit it. As we played from 433 yards, I played my five hybrid and faded it into a sand bunker and then two-putt for a five. I nutted my drive but messed up the second shot and my scorecard reflected that.
When you play golf in the Ludington area, Colonial Golf Course is a place that is affordable, well taken care of and is worth the short drive out of town. Course directions are below as well as a link to the site.
Colonial Golf Course
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For tee times call us at (231) 873-8333
Email: colonialgc@yahoo.com
2763 N. 72nd Ave. Hart, Michigan 49420
http://www.colonialgolfhart.com/
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