Freeways and Fairways: Pine Hollow
This review is part of an occasional series that looks at golf courses found along Michigan freeways – those you drive by frequently, or on that annual vacation, but never seem to have time to stop and explore. Here is my assessment:
By Tom Lang
A cozy little out of the way 18-hole golf course that’s not so out of the way as it lines I-94 westbound near the Sargent Road exit east of Jackson: Pine Hollow Golf Club.
It’s not going to host a national or state tournament, but for less than $30 for a cart and round of golf, it can be a nice place for newcomers to try golf and old timers to hang out with their buddies as all come to play the game they love.
There is not a sand bunker to be found on the course and the greens are not tricky or filled with undulations – all good things for beginners and intermediate players trying to improve their games. But when there is no sand or other hazards missing, it’s a guarantee every course will throw some other challenge at golfers. In this case it’s trees, and some with large over-hanging limbs.
A few holes are wide open off the tee, but very few. The 18th is the most spacious, so if you’ been waiting all day to let it rip, that’s the hole to do so – a par 5 and you’re all warmed up by then. A good improvement to the enjoyment of playing at Pine Hollow would be an aggressive tree trimming program by ownership soon; not necessarily tree cutting, but serious tree trimming.
In online surveys the course gets a 4.1 out of 5 rating. I agree with the reviewers that it’s fun and attractive with its rolling landscape, and it’s not overly crowded. But I also agree with one reviewer that said the fairways need to be mowed more often – yet, in a weird way they still seemed to roll out pretty well under the early autumn conditions.
The back 9 has more character than the front (which borders the freeway) in its routing and land features. No. 15 is a beautiful long downhill par 4 lined with pines, and 17 is a drivable par 4 downhill if you keep the ball way to the right and let the steep slope take your ball toward the large green. And remember, when you get to 18 tee, let it rip.
