danielbury

I think I enjoy the back 9 more than the front 9 here. That 18 hole is a really nice redesign and a cool finishing hole.
Staff was very friendly giving my little guy a Volvik colorful ball, appreciate that. He made a legit bogey, his first ever. Green tees were a great test for him at 6 years old.
It was busy and had a wait a bit but with him and my dad playing with us we kept pace and had fun. Not a very long front 9 even from the back tees so a few drivable par 4 but the par 3 are kind of tough. And that 8th hole w/ the chute you have to hit it thru w/ the overhanging tress will test your game.
Some tee box conditions were tough and lacking grass but it's been along year I'm sure. Greens rolled true and not too many ball marks.
The putting green between 1st and 10th tee is kind of laughable as the slope it is on makes for some interesting first putts.

I'd been to Lakes of Taylor a bunch of times for meetings and it's a nice place close to the airport to meet people who come in and out of town. Great view and easy food and beverage from their bar and grille.
I had no clue other than 1, 9, 10 and 18 that it was so wooded and semi tight. The fairways were wide enough but if you know me, you know I like to spray that driver sometimes. Even when I went to 4-5 iron off the tee after not trusting the Driver it still found the woods when I didn't think the shot was that far off line. Big time blind tee shots on 4, 6, 7, 8 where you need to play it once to figure out the line. Liked the par 3 on the front 9, the 2nd one no. 5 was a cool tee shot. 3 was cool that it was far, 208 from blue I think but plenty of room right and left but multi level green punished bad chips.
Greens were in great shape for what I had to believe was 220 plus golfers on the perfect Thursday when we played at 5:40pm. Finished just in time for a nice sunset on 8 as we played in.
I want another shot at this place to see if I can play smarter on those blind tee shots, that's a good course even though it beat you up that you want to go back.
Bunkers needed a bit more sand in some areas, I had some rocks I needed to move around and 2 of the 3 times I was in the sand it was hard as rock. Tough to hit out of that.

It was a 9am tee time on a Friday in the summer. I skipped over 2 coffee places on the way to the course and told my buddies the course used to be private, they will have coffee for sure. When we get there, the guy in the golf shop yells back to someone in the kitchen, did you make coffee yet. Guy yelled back, sorry no coffee and that was it. Like, why not just make the coffee now? Weird...anyway course was wet from rain but was still in fairly good shape for value and expectations. Cart path was getting worked on and it needed it.
Some really tight holes where you have to hit the drive into a chute. 2 matching holes that are very tough but a great test I thought. Some wide open holes too where you can blow it three fairways over and get it back in play. Trees everywhere, greens didn't have too many ball marks and it was wet in some areas due to the days rain but not unplayable at all.
I wouldn't go out of the way to play it again, but if you are in the area it was a good test and had to hit a bunch of different shots especially if you sprayed it around a bit which makes things fun.

But...I'll try here. So yes, first time I've ever broke 80. Most of your golf hardos will laugh at that and make fun of me but it was a fun round. 4 birdies and the course was in great shape. I'm a bogey golfer but drained 2 long putts and 2 out of my mind approach shots had me in the zone. Straight driver working all day made things very easy and kind of boring but enough about the round.
Since the last time I've played the course, it has grown in so much. As a guy who dislikes very much a tight fairway lie I loved this place. The fairways had just enough shag on them to stand up my ball for some great contact on approach shots. The tall grass was penial for sure if you hit in there, we rarely found any ball that went far in but man o man it looks pretty out there. Right now the wildflower areas are popping w/ butterflies and birds like crazy. I think the playability of the course is much better with how they have it cut and lengths of fairways and rough areas. I dig the greens that just appear from the fairway and no apron or fringe along the green, very cool look to it.
11-16 are the best stretch of holes, 12 is so fun to bomb the drive, 16 shared fairway and the view from the green make the whole round. Can't wait to go back and it's a must play in the area.

I noticed they recently cut back some of the wildflower areas and I could have used an additional 10 feet in some spots. I like the course and someone I was playing with described it as having great shot value which I think it means you have to play a ton of different clubs and shots in your bag in 18 holes. I agree, I just don't have all the shots and the consistency to hit said shots so makes for a tough day.
17 is awesome and the build up from seeing it on 16 fairway for a peek and then that drive is great. I like 9 too, along the water and the bunkering in the middle of the fairway. You see this a lot where the bunkers and trouble areas are perfectly placed to screw with your mind pre shot.
This is a perfect time to experience the course in all it's glory. The wildflower areas are popping with color and butterflies and birds like crazy. I could have spent hours just IDing flowers. I couldn't get a good idea on the greens which is frustrating as my game is again more built for shaggy surfaces. These quick greens are just hard to judge when you are used to powering thru dew and uncut, unrolled greens.
I don't remember a ton of holes even after playing it now twice, I couldn't map out in my mind other than 2 or 3 holes but it's a great collection of golf. Played lots of different clubs off the tee and in the fairway to try to think my way thru the course at times.

My 6 year old and I walked out at 7am and had a blast. We were cranking his favorite tunes and I used the push cart w/ both our bags on it. He ran around the whole time and it was great as we didn't see another soul during our round. Lots of houses right on the course but no spectators, must be a late awaking crowd around there.
Course is what you expect for an executive 9 hole. Easy walk, cart is overkill here. No long walks. No hole over 160 yards so take everything over like a 7 iron out of your bag. Some nice carries over water and they looked like they were redoing bunker drainage so we found a good spot in the bunker and dropped so we weren't disturbing their ongoing work.
I liked that I need to hit shots from 90 to 160 off the tee, used a fair amount of clubs based on trouble front or behind. Front tees offered a nice fairway style approach for the little guy to hit his ball, run up and hit it again w/o having to carry the water or marsh.
Saw some nice wildlife in and around the ponds. Great little test on a Saturday morning. Mixing in a few rounds like this is good for your game and your brain.

Got out 1st group of the day here at 7am. Always amazed that west MI golfers and golf courses start so late. If you are willing to play at 6-7am you will have the courses to yourself. Anyway, course was wet from the rain but no standing water came into play during our 9 holes. Greens were freshly cut but you can tell they were keeping them a little long for some reason. They needed a roll or some time to dry out but very playable just had to mash the first few holes to get it to the hole.
If you've played here you know the lines off the tee which makes things very enjoyable. 3,4,5,6 all require some local knowledge on the tee for direction and distance.
No bunkers on the course and minimal water. Big trees are the biggest hazards so great course for all levels. New bike path is pretty cool right behind 5 tee box. Like this place, glad it's still here for a round in the area very easy to get to off the highway. Go play it, have fun. Bogey golfers will have legit birdie chances if you play smart. That's fun golf!

Great course, great challenge and glad they are getting relief from the rain. Great guy in the shop said 11 inches of rain in 3 days. We had some wet areas on cart path and 90 degree rule today but nothing that will ruin your day. Some under repair areas that we played free drop from, no biggy. Love that you hit driver on mostly every hole even the 2 or 3 extreme dogleg holes. Great par 3 and back 9 is fun with 3 par 3 and 3 par 5. Par 5 aren’t super long even on a wet day.
I can see why most prefer this place over any other in OBX. Awesome bridges on the back thru the woods. The Loblolly pine forest to be exact.

Wife and I snuck in an afternoon 9 holes before Saturday night festivities and add this course to your list if it rains in the spring. The tall heather grass isn't grown up yet so you can spray the ball all over the place and still find and play it out which was awesome for the 1st round of the year. Most of the couples out on the course came driving in once the rain started which greatly improved the pace of play. It never rained hard enough to even feel wet but wife had the rain coat and a weatherproof blanket on in the cart and I kept feeding her High Noon Peach and she was happy to keep on, keeping on.
Course was in good shape for spring but very hard, this was first rain in awhile and they vericut the fairways recently so it was hard and rolling. I get lost in holes 4 thru 6 - very similar and the blind tee shots aren't the best. Love that par 3 3rd w/ all the sand around it. Good hole. It's a nice place, clubhouse is obnoxiously big, like in your face big but go play here, good test.

What a view at this place. The holes are etched out of big pine trees so it’s got that feel like you are in the north woods. Not too many houses and not that close to the fairway either.
It helped I played well and didn’t spray the ball off the tee it my 2 plying partners didn’t lose too many balls either. Enough room to not lose balls like crazy.
The only thing missing from an up north course is the massive elevation change. Somw blind tee shots but the GN app GPS and some good yardage books in the golf shop made it even for a first timer very playable.
Conditions were mint, best greens I’ve played on this year. Early am round, perfect weather of course and can’t wait to go back and play the back.

Most of the reviews likely focus on the Jekyll and Hyde aspect of their two nine hole layouts here but we walked the 1st 9 this morning so I'll only comment on the tamer of those 2 characters.
It's a good test and once you've played it once you can really attack it and try to score a number. 41 today was best of the year and I left my driver in the car on purpose. It's not a long course and if you can get off the tee 200 yards or 225 you are AOK to still score. Don't need the driver so was my 1st round likely ever I tried to hit hybrids and long irons off the tee. Didn't lose a ball and scored well, used a few more clubs than I would normally as well.
The par 3 3rd and par 4 9th are my favs here on this route. 3 is along par3 w/ bunker protecting and roll up style shots and played 215 yards today. Awesome test. 9 is a dogleg left and a kidney bean shaped tight green and a great looking chute from the back tees on the tee shot.
It's such a pleasant walk, not too hilly and very close green to tee box walks. We were alone out there this morning and played in 1 hour and 40 minutes w/o any rushing around. Greens were in very good shape w/ how much play the 1st 9 has gotten due to flooding on the back earlier in the year. Greens were soft, green and not many pitch marks so someone is working hard out there to keep them looking good.

That is sometimes the true test of a golf course. You play horrible, like run out of balls in your bag horrible and still come home and use adjectives like, awesome, perfect, fun, enjoyable. I saw a great blue heron eat a fish, made 3 pars, walked 9 holes before work.
This course is such a fun collection of holes on the front. Second shot on 2 is so intimidating with water on both sides. 5 is so fun with the mounds along the right. The tee shot on 6 is a fun shoot. Make sure to go back a tee for the extra test here. 8 and 9 are great holes to finish. Love that 2nd shot on 9.
Perfect condition, the day was perfect. Pace was awesome as a walking twosome and had another twosome and foursome in front of us and never waited. Doesn’t get better than The Meadows in my book in the GR area.