Turning 100: Centennial Courses in Michigan
At least 5 public courses built in 1923 in Michigan still open for play
By Tom Lang
Unofficial research reliant almost solely on Google found that about half a dozen public golf courses were built in 1923 in Michigan– making this year their 100th anniversaries. Two more are private courses.Our goal is to play the public courses this coming golf season and report back our impressions to readers:
BRAE BURN, Plymouth
Still in an area of metro Detroit that seems very remote, Brae Burn is on Five Mile Road, west of the Home Depot at Five and Beck Roads, imagine how far it was away from the crowd in 1923. Yet Wilfrid A. Reid designed a track that includes a double dog leg par five stretching to a massive 666 yards – easily one of the longest holes in the state.
An online review says: “The rest of the holes at Brae Burn Golf Course offer a good mix of challenges. It's a rolling layout, with lots of elevated greens and tee boxes and shots over depressions. Water comes into play on 17 of the 18 holes.”
ROUGE PARK, Detroit
The 18-hole track is considered a wildlife oasis among the concrete and development of the city, often with deer, turkeys, pheasant, hawks, heron, and many other birds found on the property. The Rouge River runs through the course – not far from the intersection of I-96 and Telegraph Road – and influences shots on at least seven holes. Many fairways are tree lined yet the greens have some subtle but not aggressive undulations.
RACKHAM GOLF COURSE, Detroit
Technically in Huntington Woods but owned by the City of Detroit, Rackham claims to be the first 18-hole public course to open in Michigan, 100 years ago. (Other public courses are older but opened as 9 holes.) The Donald Ross original design had some alterations in the late 1980s due to the construction of I-696 that travels along the course’s edges and the bordering Detroit Zoo.
DEARBORN HILLS, Dearborn
A wonderful course for beginners and shorter hitters, Dearborn Hills usually cannot be played early in the spring as it’s in a natural watershed for the Rouge River and keeps the surrounding neighborhoods from flooding. But when it’s open, it is a treat. The total length is under 4,600 yards, but it’s not an all par 3 course. The layout has a nice mix of shorter challenges and feels like a low-lying wildlife refuge from the housing and commercial developments perched above that surround the property 100 percent.
INDIAN RIVER GOLF CLUB, Indian River
One of the oldest clubs in northern Michigan, Indian River’s modest beginnings of a 9-hole course that history describes as not much fancier than a cow pasture, has grown and transformed into a highly touted golf experience by national golf pubs. Only pieces and parts of the original holes remain (then called Burt Lake GC), while the second nine construction begin in 1983. The current clubhouse replaced other building iterations and opened in 1995.
The semi-private course, which allows public play, originally had no bunkers on the course and the only water hazard was a cement artesian-fed pond at the base of the current #1 tee. That has all dramatically changed.
