Verona Hills Celebrating a Century
Oldest golf course in Michigan’s Thumb
By Tom Lang
On an early August day, I played Verona Hills, just two days after the club’s 100th anniversary party.
As I’m sure the party was, playing the course was a joy.
Verona Hills is located in the midst of the outlandishly flat farm country of Michigan’s ‘thumb’ – but barely a single hole is level like the surrounding countryside, east of Bad Axe.
“The surprise people will find is that it’s hilly. Who expects hills and rolling terrain in Huron County when they visit?” asked Dick Walker, a Verona Hills member for 41 years. “My favorite hole is 14, a par 5. If I hit a good drive, I have a chance to go for it in two.
“Hole 8 is a great one too. And in the fall, it’s unbelievable when you make the turn (on the dogleg left). It’s fantastic with the trees to the west. It’s beautiful, just flat out beautiful.”
Walker showed me around the club with great pride and joy, where I found holes 7-9 as my favorite stretch of three consecutive challenges. Hole 7 is a slightly turning left dogleg par 5 with high sides on your second shot to keep your ball in the middle on the way to a very attractive green complex awaiting you. No. 8 is a harsh left turning dogleg that once you make the corner, you see a deep valley protecting the front of an elevated green. Challenging and beautiful.
No. 9 closes the front with a nice dogleg left-to-right path, with water at the inside of the elbow.
PGA club pro Phil Gornowich, in his 11th year at the club after growing up in the area and playing his high school golf at the club, said the origins of Verona Hills encompasses the traditional nine holes of early courses that much later became 18.
“The original nine must have been very spread out with lots of open land in between,” he said, adding that the newest nine holes are not just set off to the side of the first nine, but rather, it’s all interconnected.
Yet two years ago, with even more land available within a gap between holes 9 and 18, the club added a section called the ‘Hive.’ It’s five short holes where kids can learn the game and adults can improve theirs. The maximum hole length is 90 yards.
Because of the hills and doglegs, a common trait is blind shots. Yet you are always able to see the flow of the fairways through the trees, and the entire property is a great combination of challenge and beauty. No one should leave Verona Hills disappointed – even if you played poorly.
Walker said he is proud that it’s reasonably priced to play – where the public is welcomed – and all the members enjoy each other.
“I play all winter in Florida,” he said. “But when I come back here, I feel like I returned to heaven.”
