Bay Pointe Golf Club in Commerce gives the public a taste of the Country Club Life

     Driving by Bay Pointe since I was a kid and never playing this course, I had no idea what to expect playing this former Country Club. 

You always could get a peak of three or four holes driving by peering through the fence but what holes they were or what it was like to play there was a mystery. Now run by Oak Management (Oakland County) in part, this old style classic course is really an underrated track and playing this dandy is a treat that I took in with great fun. Bay Pointe Country Club sits right at the dead end of Haggerty Road in Commerce Township.

The flowers are everywhere at Bay Pointe Golf Club

   A classic course, there is plenty of water and tree lined fairways but without all the tricked up nonsense some modern courses give you where they want you to purchase a dozen balls and lose a ball a hole before you leave. If that is the kind of course you want to play, Bay Pointe will thrill you will the ability to find your ball unless you find the H2O.

   I like Bay Pointe Golf Club as it is very traditional in design. The course was probably long back in the days of Hagen and Sarazen but at a maximum yardage of 6,231 yards,  many holes will allow players to hit some of the shorter clubs in your bag.

Take for instance the 438 yard par four second. This hole is certainly not short. Playing as a dog leg left, the fairway is wide and fades play nice to the right side of the fairway. Just do not go too far right. There is a pond and moguls in the rough. Going left on this hole is not advisable as  a ring of trees surrounds the green and it almost looks like a mini-theater. If you go left, you will either have to go over the trees to a well-contoured green or get caught up in the trees and who knows what will happen. This is the number four handicap hole on the course and coming in at the proper angle should give you a par. Birdies can happen but the green will most likely settle for a four. 

The sixth is one hole that will get your attention in a hurry. At 368 yards you may say what is the big deal but simply, the hole is nearly set at a 90 degree angle going left with water to keep you honest left side, marsh running along the hole to the right and only bad things if you go right and make this a very long par four. Your best bet is to play down the center  around the 150 marker.

Do not bite off too much to the left

 

The sixth about 150 yards out

A great drive could go through the fairway into the soggy rough leading to the marsh or the marsh itself. There is little wiggle room for players that miss left or right. A sand bunker and just a pinch or real estate separates balls that could go in the marsh if you are short. Once again, the green will make you study your birdie putt if you are lucky. Being above the hole is a probable three-putt.  

Moving to the eighth hole. The first time I saw this beautiful hole, I knew I was in for a treat. I was a little dazed at first. Where do I hit to? Is it a dog leg? Is the flag just beyond the cattails? I took a drive and saw a generous landing area past the cattails and a creek that separated the fairway about 60 yards in front of the green.

A view from the grill at the short par three 8th

 

Shooting over the pond is part of the 8th

A well-driven tee shot should give you anywhere from wedge to a high-iron shot depending on how you hit them. With all of the rain, most tee shots are basically half-plugging and then die within a club of where it lands. Bunkers guard the eighth and the green is large which means hitting the green is one thing but having a makable putt is another matter. Once again, par is a good score but birdie is possible with a good iron shot. 

   The ninth is a really good finishing hole to this nine. It plays from the back tees at 361 yards and you must shoot over the creek to an obscured fairway.

Drive to the fairway on the right

The 9th is framed by trees like many holes at B P

With the dogleg going left, you cannot see the green from the box. What you can see are trees on either side of the fairway with a cluster on the left side which you do not want to mess with. I am serious about that one. You will be chipping back to the fairway or trying to hit a nearly impossible shot. What I love about the older country club courses is they  are not cut out of a bog or a series of swamps and balls can be easily lost in the first cut of rough. The tests on the classics usually are devised by trees and water. The trees give you a chance. The water is on you and is usually avoidable.  Once again, a 250 yard drive will leave you with a wedge or nine iron. There is a small bailout area between the clubhouse and green right side but the green is ample and birdies are very possible. 

This hole is well framed and narrow

Many golfers will not see the pond until its too late

     For me, a hole that I truly found exciting was number ten. Saying that, I did not play this par five very well. Playing as the number three handicap hole at Bay Pointe. Playing as an uphill dog leg left that slopes to a fine finish, this is a post card play. With trees dotting the left side acting like a gauntlet and the drive entering the club to the left, you will not want to get caught up in them if you have any hopes of getting on this green in two.

For those that hit it long and straight. You have a fair opening going over the hill at its apex but with trees right side protecting both the 17th and the point, you will want accuracy. Anyone that fades or hooks the ball right will not want to pull out the fairway wood. A pond juts out right side as do sand bunkers. If you go to the right, the tenth becomes a nasty experience and you will know you wasted a good scoring chance.  The green is where you can make birdie and putts roll true. My guess is many golfers with good tee shots will roll down the slope and your ball will filter within 100 yards of the green for your third shot. Par is a fair score but birdie is very possible. 

I call number 13 the road hole. While the hole has no resemblance to the one at St. Andrews, it runs along Commerce Road and is the one thousands of cars pass each day possibly not knowing anything more than there is a golf course there. Playing as a  reachable par five at 472 yards, it will take most golfers everything they have to reach. With the lack of trouble from water and fairway bunkers, many players will blast away here. As long as you keep it between the ample first cut, this hole should be a birdie opportunity for many. Pars will win you no skins here. Bogeys will let you know you blew it. 

From a hole that is good for the ego to one that is fairly listed as the number one handicapped hole at Bay Pointe, the 14th is one tough test of golf.

Ball placement is crucial on #14

There are plenty of trees to shoot around on 14

Playing at 438 yards, this dog leg right forces you to think about where you should place your tee shot. Go left and you will go out of bounds. Go right and a ditch and groves of trees will quickly add strokes to your round. Snap it right and you could play the 13th back but mature trees will thwart you when you try to accurately find the green. Most golfers will hit a long iron,hybrid or fairway wood for their second shot and the green is severely sloped. With the runoff steep behind the green to keep you honest, you simply have to have a good golf shot on your approach. 

The seventeenth hole is probably my personal favorite on the course. One problem at Bay Pointe is the low water table. It comes into play on multiple holes on the back nine and a couple on the front. I am not complaining at all.

Golfer surveys his options on 17

17 is a tough finish

How much do you bite off on your tee shot on 17?

It is something many courses that have surrounding lakes have to deal with. Saying that, with all of the flowers, the diagonal fairway where you have to shoot over the marsh and pond to a narrow fairway where the pond runs left side and reachable trees run along the right side. How much of the water you want to bend to cut yardage is up to you. Whatever gives you a good view of the flag that overlooks the fairway is what you need to do at this 347 yard dandy. The 150 marker is not a bad place to look to where you should be placement wise and those that drive past it will be rewarded as long as you stay out of trouble. Once again, the greens are the equalizer. Putts can be made but if you put your approach on the wrong side of the hole, another three-putt will fill your scorecard. 

The final hole is really a great way to finish a round.

There are plenty of places for flowers

Don't go left on 18

Trees will alter your golfing decisions on 18 more than once. 

Tree lined on both sides, this 441 yard dog leg left seems to play closer to 500 yards as water, a narrow fairway and the visuals from the fairway make it seem longer. Just like the 13th, you can make it in regulation but you will have a long shot and the green could filter your ball about anywhere making this hole one tough hombre. A par is certainly a great score. Making birdie is certainly a candidate for a skin. 


The Skinny...

   This is a very underrated place to play golf. If you like the classic courses where the fairways mostly run north and south and trees separate the holes, this is a round of golf that you will be glad to spend the money. You will lose very few balls if any if you are a decent player. The second cut is kept fairly short and the course is very well maintained. I love the cathedral style of trees that surround the greens like a horseshoe on three or four holes on the front and again on the back. This helps you focus and is a good course strategy that you do not see at many places. I like some of the ideas where the course uses smart  strategy including this sand bunker that guards the 15th in the back so balls do not run into the water. 

This large bunker runs the back of the green with a sea wall

The clubhouse is what you would expect of a former country club. I have never had a sandwich but this looks like a good place to hang out. 

Course conditions are very good. The course has plenty of workers keeping it in very good shape. There are areas that are very soggy due to the water table and 2013 has not been kind to the golfing industry. 

The service is very good with the people I came in contact with. They have beer carts and a concession stand at the turn with hot dogs on the grill. 

Check out the course. You will see why it was a country club and a staff that wants you to have the royal experience. 
For an interview with PGA Pro Daniel Zyrick, click the link located here. (Mid-August 2013)


http://www.baypointegolfcourse.com/

http://oakmanagement.com/BayPointeGolfClub.aspx