Freeways and Fairways: Clearbrook
By Tom Lang
Nearing its 100th birthday in 2026, Clearbrook Golf Club and Restaurant is clearly a special place.
And its location is very unique in having two holes (13 and 14) bordering I-196 – yet is only one mile from the quaint town of Saugatuck and just a hop, skip and a jump from the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Clearbrook’s history makes it special, as well as two distinct nines that test every part of your game. The front nine crisscrosses up and down and back and forth across a brook spanning over 2,000 linear feet trickling through the bottom of a fairly deep valley. Trees are plentiful but not intrusive unless you are way off line.
The back nine, which is about half the age of the original nine, is set more amongst the trees on the property. The fairways are tighter, but again, not suffocating. My favorite 3-hole stretch on the back is the closing three holes of 16-18.
No. 16 is a par five that turns a little, twice, to a green approach shot guarded by water left. The 17th is a classy par 3 over a small extension of the same water found on 16, and it’s usually into the wind.
After a short cart ride to the par four 18th that’s located back on the original property, you will find a highly elevated tee box and a large pond looming at the bottom of the hill on the right. The tee shot requires a decision to layup left of the water and in front of the creek – making your second shot uphill to the green that much longer. Or if you have a better-than-average drive you can clear the creek and have a shorter chip to the elevated green.
I’d say the signature hole is No. 5. It’s a shorter par 5 with an elevated fairway that drops off out of nowhere to a deep valley with the brook running through it to clear on your approach to the green. Even more challenging is the brook forks right in the middle of the action, leaving a few choices on open patches of grass. You might have to play it a few times to figure out the best choice of strategy.
If you have never played the course but the name sounds familiar, maybe you read the December 2022 edition of MI Golf Journal which highlighted the fact that Kirk Cousins, the former QB at MSU and current NFL quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, purchased the golf course from Jim and Candy Jeltema.
The Jeltema’s first interest in the property when buying it nearly 40 years ago was always the restaurant/clubhouse, which was expanded about the time the course went from 9 to 18 holes. They are hospitality people by trade, having held executive positions at the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island before becoming entrepreneurs in the food and golf business in Saugatuck.
They continue to own and operate the restaurant, while leasing the golf course from Cousins, who should become more involved in future years, likely after football.
In the meantime, the Jeltemas continue to offer great food and beverages at what resembles a supper club mixed with family atmosphere. Their summer seating is doubled when including the porch outside overlooking a very well-attended-to garden that treats the eye and adds a flair of total relaxation after a round of golf.
More information at: clearbrookgolfclub.com
