Thurs. Sept 11
Today we went to the Greywalls course at Marquette Golf Club. It is about 11/2 hour drive from Island Resort where we are staying but they have a stay and play package with all three of these courses.
This one is a bit of a drive but definitely worth the trip and certainly a unique golf course. It sits high on a bluff, ½ mile from the north shore of Lake Superior and several holes have panoramic views of the Lake. It has over 300 feet in up and down elevation changes which makes for some very challenging holes. This is mining country, for iron ore and it must have been copper and granite mining territory too because this course is filled with Granite outcroppings, most of which are strewn throughout the fairway. On #6 a 65-foot high granite wall looms over this par 3 green.
Imagine boulder- strewn foothills, sitting on a bluff high above Lake Superior with ribbons of emerald fairways meandering through granite walls and outcroppings. That is the beautiful and intriguing Greywalls.
This is a most interesting golf course, with no level lies to speak of, but there were a couple holes that I didn’t particularly like. # 5 call for a tee shot through such a narrow rock chute that it appears to be a smaller target than your average green. The fifteenth hole is a par three that took a driver and 2 putts for my par, A par-3 that requires driver is just too much for me.
Greywalls was designed by Mike DeVries who has worked for both Tom Fazio and Tom Doak and it is truly amazing to me that anyone looked at this property and could envision a golf course here. It is spectacular looking, very challenging (slope of 144 from the tips) and still very playable. There is very little about this golf course that anyone would call straight forward. And there is not a house in sight.
I was surprised to learn that this course was built for just over 3 million dollars and somehow, their maintenance budget is dramatically less than the average golf course in the U.S. I don’t know how they pull that off. It is also one of just two courses that has seeded its fairways with Dwarf Bluegrass, which plays surprisingly well and handles cart traffic extremely well (the greens and tees are bent grass)
And if you want to join here, the annual dues is just $1350 for a single and $1975 for a couple, but it does accept public play. I wish the dues at my home club were that cheap.
I played very well today and still shot 88 but our host, Bruce, shot 44 on the front 9 and told us it was his best 9 holes here at Greywalls ever.
It has received several accolades, including best new course for 2004 when it was built, and #2 Course in Michigan You Can Play- by Golfweek Magazine
For more info visit www.marquetteGolfClub.com
If you go:
100 miles north of Green Bay WI
Affiliated with Island Resort and Casino
Indian Gaming Casino, which has a hotel on site
Nearby Airports: Marquette MI and Green Bay WI
Off course activities: Casino gambling, hiking, fishing canoeing camping and plenty of outdoor activities and Lake Superior cruises
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