Michigan Golf Scene

Oakland Counties Jewel Golf Course

 Interview with Paul Simpson- PGA Professional
Paul Talks about Oakland County Programs, Lyon Oaks and Junior Golf
Click on the Link Here >>>>  http://youtu.be/MpK7szYF5n8

     Lyon Oaks is an Arthur Hills design where long carries and accurate shots off the tee will help you maximize your golfing experience. Hills is known for the qualities mentioned above and the most recently completed of the five County courses is by far the toughest and best test of your golfing abilities. I enjoy all of the Oakland County courses. Red, White Lake, Glen and Springfield Oaks are all fine courses as well. They play short, scenic and have some very interesting golf holes. Lyon Oaks plays from its longest tees (the black) at 6,837 yards and has tees from yardage at only 4,525 yards.

Lyon Oaks runs along I-96 in Milford and depending on your playing ability, offers five sets of tees that will make you think about where you want to place the ball. The clubhouse is very beautiful. It holds parties and weddings and they had a nice outdoor tent for a wedding that was taking place as we golfed and with the wildlife also in the background, it was a nice place to test my skills.

A View of the 2nd Fairway from the Tee Box. The Sand Bunker Guards You From the Woods 

     Arthur Hills takes good advantage of the terrain in his designs and a tee shot is not just a tee shot at Lyon Oaks. It is a study of golf course management. Take the second hole. It plays only 353  yards from the black tees (the back ones) and looks wide open from the tee box. A pond runs along the left side and a sand trap stares you right in the face. You should figure this into your strategy and even from the black tees it looks like you should carry it easy. It sits around 250 yards from the tee box but with the wind playing in my face, I did not carry it. I landed right smack in the middle of it. This turns the hole into a possible three shot affair to get onto the green depending on your lie and skill. I needed that extra shot to get on the green. The fairway narrows as the hole runs from tee to green. What looks wide open on the tee box narrows as you move to the green like a lane ending on the freeway where you have to merge. The green on this hole is very tough. Really it’s too tough. I have played this course twice and both times I have been bitten by this green. My first fairway iron hit the front left of the green and promptly rolled off the severe sloping green back to within inches of the water. The second time I caught a flyer from the fairway and ended up behind the green and had a downhill chip. I had a nice chip and was happy with my ball strike and then the ball rolled and rolled and thank goodness I had my golf ball retriever as it went into the water.

This View of the Fourth Fairway from the Front Tee Box. Lots of Trouble Here

The Left Side Provides a Good Angle on #4

     The fourth hole 432 yards mirrors the second in that it looks to be wide open from the tee box but as you look over the fescues from the tee box you can see that the woods that line both sides of the fairway demand that you work the ball to a space left center, right center or preferably right down the middle. The woods to the right side are marked with an out-of-bounds fence and the trees that are inbounds may leave you a shot but most likely you will have to chip out of the woods. If you go in the woods left side you will be three off the tee. An iron shot in the fairway will most likely be a low to mid iron (pw to 5 iron). This is assuming you hit it over the fescues. Only a single sand bunker guards the green but the green is very undulating and slopes from back to front and has subtle breaks to read and making a par is a good score here.

Number Five View from the Tee Box

The Driving Area has a Slope from Right to Left with Sand

The Fifth Fairway 160 from the Hole. Notice the Wetlands.
They Love Second Shots

Another view of the Landing Area on Number 5 For Your
First Shot

     The fifth hole is also a tough hole with another long carry. While this par five is only 529 yards, more fescues run a good 100 yards in front of the tee box and depending on your starting place, two huge fairway bunkers look to collect errant shots on either side and the woods will collect any shots that stray right or left. I was lucky enough to be in the fairway both times I played this hole and Paul Simpson, the PGA pro said that this hole is one where you should par or birdie or you will lose a shot to the field. I believe longer players can get on in two but this hole has plenty of risk for golfers going for it in two. First off, the fairway slopes downhill and really narrows about 60-70 yards in front of the green. A sand bunker guards the narrow part of the fairway and a wetlands area guards the front part of the green. I hit my tee shot solid but did not crush it. My second shot both times was hit extremely well but went into the wetlands and this penalty stroke lets you know that the second shot is a layup shot if you are not a really long hitter or miss with the driver. The green is once again severely undulated in spots and is very difficult. Making a par here is a worthy effort and birdie is definitely worth stopping the cart girl for your favorite beverage.

     The ninth hole is a dandy. It plays at 556 yards from the tips and I played it at 540 as a group behind us caught us and we paired up. It plays as a winding par five and for those not familiar with playing the course, aim at the huge tree about 300-325 yards out on the left side of the fairway. Actually, to the right is even better. If you end up in line of the tree, you will either have to hit a draw from right to left or go over it.  The other side of the tree will find both sand and grass moguls and you may have a poor lie. I had to hit over the tree and my second shot was crushed to within 75 yards of the hole. Most golfers will hit a mid to high iron on their third shots after hitting a fairway wood with your second. The ninth green played much slower than the other greens described in this review and with it being in the sun, it surprised me.

Long Carries are Everywhere at Lyon Oaks

     If you have noticed a theme of this Arthur Hills course, its hit your driver over fescues, put a big tree in front of your tee shot and have severely undulated greens with tight driving areas. This is not a pitch and putt course. So is the case with number 11. At 440 yards from the black tee box and 422 from the blues where I played it from, a huge Oak Tree sits right in the middle of the fairway after you pass some fescues that go a good 100 plus yards. The fairway and rough to the left side of the tree is narrow but their is a much larger landing area to the right side. It is still tight though and if you can work a draw you will be in good shape. Those that crush their drives can reach the sand bunkers left and right. The woods to the right side of the hole can come into play if you snap hook it. Your second shot will be a mid-iron for the long hitters but will be a high-iron to fairway wood for the short hitters or for those that catch trouble. My second shot faded into the rough that overlooked the right side of the green. My chip was good but caromed off the dog hair and rolled and rolled and rolled. I did hit a flop shot but once again the greens will let your ball keep going. My playing partner said my ball rolled for several seconds after it initially landed as it just kept trickling.

View from the 16th Tee Box Trees Jut out On the Right but it Opens Up

The 16th Green. Go short Right and Goodbye Good Golf Score

     In my mind, there are many memorable holes but the 16th is the one that will really test your abilities. It really is a three shot par five as it plays from 575 from the blacks to 480 from the front set of tees. Fescues guard the tee box in front as do a line of trees down the right side. A ball driven along the tree line without going in will be rewarded as it opens up. The trees that guard the left side will not come into play on your drive unless you severely pull your shot. The best piece of advice you is to drive the ball down the left side. You have a great angle to play your shots as the hole is a long arching dog leg right. Working your ball down the left will bring the woods into play but any decent shot will keep you moving toward the green. Going right is a very poor idea. The hole slopes with many out of bounds areas and will not give you a good angle to the pin and force you to hook the ball right or leave it short of the green in three. This hole is really a spectacular play. Whatever you do, do not go behind the green, it severely slopes to the cart path about 25 feet below the ball and you could have Shaquille O'Neal hold the flag over his head and you would never have an idea on where the flag is.  
Putting is once again difficult as the green has many subtle breaks.

  The par three 17th hole is a very worthy hole review. At 204 yards from the back and playing at 98 from the very front, you have plenty of options to play the hole from different angles. Whatever the case, watch out. This hole plays much different depending on the location of the flag for the day. It is a two-tiered green and the left side is much higher than the right. Drive it short and a chip is ok and you could still make a par. Drive it to the left side of the green to a flag on the lower tier and a three-putt is likely in order. If your tee shot goes right as mine did, it will go into the wetlands and you cannot play out of there. A bridge where you park your cart and walk to the green will let you know you did a bad, bad thing. You cannot hit your ball on the right side of the cart bridge as it is out-of-bounds.  Take your three or four and get out of here. A birdie is a great score here.

Number 18 is a great finishing hole. Do I need to say any more about fescues? Yes you need to negotiate them as you have all day. This hole really tightens up in the landing area. A huge oak tree to the left side is once again your target. Driving to the right side of the tree is your perfect play. I crushed my driver and was behind the tree where I promptly knew that I had to place my second shot using the sand bunkers to the right of the green as my target. This 510 yard hole has plenty of beauty and trouble to make sure you play your best game. Playing at 510 from the black tees to 401 from the green tee box, a sloping sand bunker is in play for those that miss the fairway and if you reach this bunker, this will be a three shot hole for sure. The woods right side of the tee box will be in play for most of the hole. Golfers will also have to deal with wetlands on their second shot. A wetland fence that runs across the fairway will come into play for shorter hitters on their second shots. Hitting it into the wetlands is basically a lost ball. Now comes another twist. Along the left side of the green is a pond and shots that are not executed correctly will earn you a penalty shot. This hole has a bucketful of trouble and can be birdied but par is a great score and well earned. The clubhouse has plenty to drink and golfers can go there and add up their scores.

From 1-10 with 10 being the Highest Score

Customer Service-10-The make sure you have a good time.

Course Markings- 6- No markings on the golf course. A yardage book is the best thing or a Sky Caddie is needed when playing. A pamphlet is given to golfers to aid them in yardage. I like the yardage books or Sky Caddie best.

Conditions -8 - Plenty of ropes and large  to keep the carts from tearing up the fairways. Golfers need to help them on he greens. A lot of greens had plenty of ball marks where people could use a divot marker to help out the greens keeper. Golfers can also help out by repairing divots. Perhaps some sand containers on the cart would help. The fairways and course did look great.

Playability 7- A very difficult test of golf. Plenty of illusions from the tee box make this course one you need to play several times to begin understand how to manage your game. Driving it over fescues all day does get unnerving. The greens were very inconsistent as some putts were very fast and others were slow.

PGA Pro Paul Simpson His Video Comments will
be Available Later

Course Design-8.0- Hills' uses the natural setting of a golf course to give it unique features. This is easily the toughest course in the Oakland County Parks system. Sometimes a well-struck ball just does not need to be in trouble so much. Golfers do need bailout areas at times and be able to whale away on holes but here you really need to manage your game and sometimes hope for the best.  

Pace of Play 8- The starter said 4 1/2 hours but it was just over five. 

The bottom line is this course is a 9 out of 10. While some scores were lower than the higher score I gave if you average them out, this is a super place to play. Please take advantage of the driving range and practice facilities if you can. Playing this course without a warmup will add strokes to your game. 
http://www.oakmanagement.com/LyonOaks.aspx

From the Website:

This picturesque, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired clubhouse enjoys expansive views of the golf course while accommodating parties of up to 450 for wedding receptions, banquets and meetings. Lyon Oaks preserves 800 acres of environmentally-sensitive wetlands within a natural, 1,043-acre park.

LYON OAKS MENU Lyon Oaks features five specialized menus covering everything from breakfasts to buffets and banquets. There are even two different golf menus! Click here for all the taste-tempting specifics!

PROMO DATES

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CONTACT US

Call or email us at 248.437.9200 (saleslyonoaks@oakmanagement.com) and let’s get together. You’ll love what we can do for you