Glen Oaks is one of five courses in the Oakland County park system and this one was built with the ego in mind. Playing at only 6,051 yards and with a minimal amount of trouble, Glen Oaks is a course where you can pull out your driver and whale away with little reprisal or fine tune your game by playing fairway woods and irons from the tee box on many of the holes. What the course lacks in distance takes no shortcuts with its elegant clubhouse where weddings and parties are opulently carried out in the beautiful stone reception hall.
I played on a cold and very windy weekend and driving to the north holes such as the first played 70-80 yards longer than the scorecard but seemingly didn’t help when the wind was at your back. Due to the lack of length of the course, unless there is a lack of ability or physical strength, men should not be playing the 5,714 men’s tees.
Take the 395 yard par four first.
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| The Dog Leg Left Par Four |
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| The wind was a factor in my second shot being short |
This par four with a ridge and a slightly off centered and elevated green plays a wide open. The fairways are wide at this Farmington based golf course and with adjacent fairways eight and 18 to either side make this hole one where playing driver is a must unless you need the practice or challenge of using the smaller clubs in your bag. The wind was howling into my face and the ripping of flags hitting the sticks on the adjacent holes was noticeable from the tee box. Usually I warm up before teeing off both stretching and hitting a bucket of balls or practicing my short game but it was just plain too cold. It showed on my tee shot as I hit a high fade that slowly carried my opening drive to the eighth fairway and it seemed that the logo of my ball was staring me in the face as my opening shot was held up in the wind. My second shot was just under 180 yards away and I pulled out my hybrid three iron and the shot was hit solid but not nutted and the wind once again took a club I can hit roughly 190-200 yards and I hit it about 160. Still, they say a bad day on the golf course is better than a great day at work. I had a chip of about 40 yards to the elevated green and thought that a sand wedge was too risky in the wind and I needed to take an eight iron and hit a pitch and run links style to the green and it did the trick rolling about ten feet by the pin and rested on a ridge above the flag. My putt slid by and an opening bogey was carded.
I have not played Glen Oaks in probably twenty years but I remembered it was not only short but there were some good strategy holes.
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| This Hole Plays as a Very Short Slight Dog Leg Right |
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| The Slight Dog Leg Right is Evident Here. Fades Work Great Here |
This is the case with number three. This is another whale away hole and with woods surrounding the fairway on both sides of the fairway. It only plays 299 yards from the tips and this par four is the shortest in the Oakland County Parks system. I started my drive down the middle of the fairway and aimed at the fairway sand trap and the ball was on route but the wind did push it right and with my ball disappearing into the cloud cover in the background I had no idea if I was in the rough to the right side of this dog leg right. To my pleasant surprise my ball was just a few yards from the green and boy did I feel lucky. A chip using my sand wedge was from about 30 feet and rolled a few feet wide but if it was online could have went in. My comebacker did go in and a birdie was earned. Anytime you roll in a birdie, you forget it was from 299 yards and it might as well be a 470 yard par four.
Another hole that plays well for many golfers is the 510 yard par five fifth. It plays as an elongated and arching hole where driving it straight is a good strategy but a fade is much, much better. I aimed for a fairway sand bunker but missing it to the right is a good thing and will cut the hole a good 20-30 yards. The fairway does slightly slope from left to right and a good lie awaits on the fairway and if you like a little grass is good under your ball you can really put some thunder into your second shot as the fairway slopes slightly upward. If you take the big clubs on this hole a pitch and putt awaits but if you miss your drive or second shot a low to mid iron wedge will be your play. The green has some undulation but you can approach it and it is a good bet that a one or two-putt will give you between a birdie-par-bogey. There is very little to penalize you on the fifth unless you fly the green and your ball will sleep in the woods.
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| There is a Hill in Front of the Tee Box that is unplayable and a Stream Runs Through |
My favorite part of Glen Oaks is playing the 6th, 7th, and 9th holes that play over a ridge where a creek runs through a valley. Hitting requires some nerve because driving it into the valley has long un mowed grass and will leave you playing twister with a lie that will make you hit three off the tee. The ninth hole only plays from 157 yards and the wind was circling and with a green that slopes from back to front with sand around the green, landing it on the green is not a sure thing. Hit the green and a par or birdie are a good bet. Hit a tee shot short into the rough stuff could be a sure four and hitting the sand could be tricky because the sand is was wet and a mistake will roll down the sloping green into who knows what. Luckily I hit a right to left draw right at the pin and my birdie attempt from about 10-12’ was measured right. The putt was aimed about a golf ball left of the hole and I rolled it in. What a way to end the front nine. It is the back nine that is a real challenge for me.
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| The Creek and Long Grass for Number 9 are Shown Here. |
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| This is the Number 9 Green Overlooking the Trouble |
The back nine starts out with a 230 yard par three and there are obstacles. Hitting into the teeth of the wind for the 10th hole is not an easy thing and either is a cluster of trees to the left with a safety fence if you go left. In front of the tee box is a grassy depression that is not hard to carry but is there nonetheless. To the right is a tree line and you have to contend with the sand. If you have to miss, let it be in front of the green where you can chip it if you have a mishit. My mishit was to the left over the safety fence into the first cut and a short chip left me with a 15’ putt and I promptly needed two strokes to record a four. It is clear that the back nine will be tougher than the front.
While 11 plays with the wind at your back (334 yards) and 12 is a 401 yard par four that plays more like 470-480 into the wind. Number 13 is a 446 yard par five that plays as a three shot hole as mother nature was brutal. The hole is not intimidating. You do have the woods down the left side but you have plenty of room to work the ball. My playing partner that day hit a popup and the wind carried it behind the on course restroom and instead of chipping it back to the fairway, he hit a ricochet off the side of the bathroom and into the pine straw. I didn’t laugh but couldn’t figure why he played such a low percentage shot. I hit two excellent shots and rifled my second shot to about 40 yards in front of the green. On a day with little wind it is a hole that a high iron or fairway wood can get you on in two.
On this day, I felt like I was at St. Andrews on a summers day.
The hole I felt like would be a breeze was a nightmare for me and I’m talking about the 14th hole.
This dandy plays as a 446 yard par four but instead of hitting a solid tee shot with the wind at my back, I open up the club face and play my second shot from the 13th and clearing the tree line looks easy. It was and it was a fairway wood shot of about 230 playing downwind. The shot was launched and it looked to be on the left side of the fairway with me easily finding the ball. The tree line prevented me from having clear vision and finding the ball went for naught. I never did find the ball and never thought I should hit a provisional. I just took a drop from the tree line (not in the rule book) and promptly hit it in the brush to the right of the elevated green. I thought it might have squirted into the pond and hit a second shot (provisional) and it hit the cart path to the right of the green and rests somewhere in the brush. Isn’t that great about golf? Birdie, then a nine. This hole is the 10th rated handicap hole on the course and I played it as poorly as it can be played. Whatever you do, hit the fairway and play it correctly. I want to go back and try again that’s for sure. (pictures to follow).
The sixteenth hole is pretty non descript except for the green and is no sure thing and this includes having the wind at your back. My Five hybrid usually goes about 170-180 with a solid stroke and nothing more. The hole (192 yards) is wide open but there is sand all over and rough behind the green. My tee shot was solid and landed pin high about 20’ to the right of the flag. But the ball inexplicably ran and went into the rough about 50’ behind the pin. I hit a solid chip to about 5’ away and promptly missed the putt and I hit a 2’ for a four. This green is wild. It is undulated all over but literally has a depression in the front right that is a wild ride if the flag is placed there and it was for its Sunday placement. I enjoy the challenge of putting these types of greens but it is no fun for your score if you have to hit downhill as my first chip was. (pictures to follow). |
| The Front Right of the 16th Green Severely Slopes |
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| It's Wide Open from the Tee Box but the Green is Tricky |
This dandy plays as a 446 yard par four but instead of hitting a solid tee shot with the wind at my back, I open up the club face and play my second shot from the 13th and clearing the tree line looks easy. It was and it was a fairway wood shot of about 230 playing downwind. The shot was launched and it looked to be on the left side of the fairway with me easily finding the ball. The tree line prevented me from having clear vision and finding the ball went for naught. I never did find the ball and never thought I should hit a provisional. I just took a drop from the tree line (not in the rule book) and promptly hit it in the brush to the right of the elevated green. I thought it might have squirted into the pond and hit a second shot (provisional) and it hit the cart path to the right of the green and rests somewhere in the brush. Isn’t that great about golf? Birdie, then a nine. This hole is the 10th rated handicap hole on the course and I played it as poorly as it can be played. Whatever you do, hit the fairway and play it correctly. I want to go back and try again that’s for sure. (pictures to follow).
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| View of the back of the Clubhouse on # 18 |
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| The Wind Pushed this Drive about 300 Yards |
Did you notice that most of my good scoring holes went with the 30 mph wind with stronger gusts (from Channel 7 News) behind my back and my poorer ones occurred when I went against it? No whining here. It’s called golf.
Now for the Skinny (I will use * on a 1-5 system)The course- I give it a four ****
It is short and sweet and the yardage makes it a good scoring course. Heck, it’s a great scoring course when it heats up and the wind dies down. It is very fun and wide open. You will not use most of your high irons here as there are only two par fours where yardage is greater than 400 yards.
Bang for the buck **** This course is reasonably priced at $20-30 for 18 and a cart and you get a round of golf where you do not have to spend your entire day looking for your ball. Because the course is only 6,100 yards from the tips, on busy days you will wait to hit your ball but I did not as the cold and windy weather did not bring out golfers in droves.
Amenities *** Glen Oaks has practice facilities such as a putting green and chipping green but no place to practice your sand game or driving range. The pro shop is small and has the basics such as balls, towels and shirts. The cart paths are painted at 50 yard increments and there are no GPS devices mounted on the carts but many golfers now have SkyCaddie or other devices. There is a frequent playing card that earns you discounts and free rounds of golf.
Conditioning- The course is still in its winter shape and I will not rate it here. Per usual, the courses in the Oakland County system are extremely well maintained and the spring weather has brought out more play than usual. I was told that the warmer days have brought out the golfers in heavy numbers.
I always enjoy playing the Oakland County Courses Get Out there Soon.
http://www.destinationoakland.com/parksandtrails/golf/glenoaks/Pages/default.aspx
I always enjoy playing the Oakland County Courses Get Out there Soon.
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