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Rating Index Rating
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4.0
130 Reviews (130)
5 Stars
33
4 Stars
55
3 Stars
26
2 Stars
11
1 Stars
5
Conditions
4.0
Value
4.4
Layout
4.0
Friendliness
4.2
Pace
4.4
Amenities
3.8
81.6%
Recommend this course
103 out of 130 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.8
5 Reviews (5)
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.0
Value
4.2
Layout
3.8
Pace
4.2
Amenities
3.0
StaffFriendliness
4.2
80.0%
Recommend this course
4 out of 5 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.9
10 Reviews (10)
5 Stars
4
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.0
Value
4.4
Layout
4.1
Pace
4.6
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.1
80.0%
Recommend this course
8 out of 10 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
This scenic course delivers outstanding value, with a challenging and thoughtfully designed layout that rewards strategic thinking on every hole. Friendly staff, smooth pace of play, and well-maintained facilities consistently impress recent golfers.

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Par 71
Length 6260 yards
Slope 131
Rating 70.4

During the winter Shanty Creek offers more than 50 ski runs but in the summer it becomes one of northern Michigan's top golf vacation spots. The club boasts four championship courses, one of which is designed by Arnold Palmer and another by Tom Weiskopf. The Summit Course is the club's original layout. The golf course has a similar terrain to the other three but it is not as dramatically hilly. The layout has a traditional design that incorporates player-friendly elements including putting complexes with open fronts that are more accessible to those who can't hit high, soft approaches. The greens on the seventh and eighth, two of the course's most memorable holes, are an exception though. They require both accuracy and a soft touch. The golf course is approachable for all skill levels, but tight, tree-lined fairways keep it challenging.

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Course Details

Year Built 1965
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Open: 4/20 Closed: 10/21
Architect William Diddel (1965)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Meeting Facilities, Banquet Facilities, Spa

Available Sports

Fitness

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2024 #11)
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Reviews

4.0
130 Reviews (130)

What Golfers Are Saying

This course/club is great for:
Beginners 6
Locals 6
Seniors 6
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 7

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Sensational Summit

Course was in excellent condition. Layout was decent and easy. Great course for a leisurely family focused round of golf. Greens were slow...would use a different COVID-19 cup to allow for pin to be removed if desired.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 66
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Made the best of a bad day.

Power outage at Shanty Creek. Clubhouse dark, bathrooms unavailable. In addition very windy. Not the courses fault. Set up is fair for most golfers, Fairways and greens well tended. Will be back.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Nice and easy

Beautiful weather, friendly staff, nicely maintained.

The course itself is nice and fairly easy.

I was looking for a course where my daughter and I can get 18 in for some practice, Golf Now special at $39, can't beat that price for that area.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 37
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Michigan Advisor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Front 9 needs renovation, back 9 was an improvement

The front 9 is old style late 60's early 70's course and back 9 appears to be added later. The greens, fairways and tee boxes were in terrible shape. The greens had significant slope when greens weren't mowed as short. This causes putts to roll off the greens. Tee boxes typically back were nearly bare and one had sink hole in the middle. Renovations are expensive but the front 9 is lost cause and needs some significant updating that maintenance can't do. Rebuild greens, enlarge tee boxes, cart paths to keep carts away from the greens. I would stay away from this course or use as your first warm up. Just don't expect too much. Better yet expect nothing at all.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good value

Found hot deal for $26 each at 9am. 2 couples played in 3 hours 50 minutes - . All good. Friendly guy cleaned clubs. Hot dogs 4.75 and snacks for 3.25 - poor value. . Course in very good condition . Layout OK. Definitely worth the price we paid!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Better than you think!

This course is better than you might think and def a good value. Greens are in great shape. Most slope back to front but grain is front to back. Prevailing hill always dictates the break. Very short 6k from tips.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Value / Better Experience

The Summit course is a gem for the price. Out of the three courses at Shanty Creek this course is usually the lowest ranked, but in terms of value it may be the best. The greens roll as pure as some of the nicest courses in Northern, MI. Give it a shot next time you are in the area, you'll be surprised.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 449
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Illinois Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Course has winterkill and in rough shape

The original course at Shanty had a tough winter. . Greens were okay hard and fairly fast. Sand traps need new sand. Hadn't played the track in several years- the previous playing had much much better maintenance. Summit is a fun fair test of golf that's pretty straightforward. You have to have course knowledge to score on this course. The nines have been reversed which is a good thing as it now allows someone to walk and play nine holes as the other nine has a very long drive to the tee box and also has another long drive between two of the holes. Drawbacks - all of the Par 3's on the course are long - 180 yards plus. The 9th and 18th holes are almost carbon copies of each other featuring dead uphill approach shots. The 11th hole has to be played a couple of times to get the right aiming point for your tee shot. All in all it's the most affordable of the Shanty courses but at this time until they get it back in shape it's difficult to recommend it (I will because it's a fun old school test) as the 3 other Shanty courses are in much better condition. If you're looking for a less crowded affordable course this would be a good bet. Has large cups at the backs of all greens as well so if you don't want to be too taxed play those for fun/games.. 2.5 stars at this time....3.5 when conditions improve.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Alternate green holes /flags were confusing

Course was in excellent shape. First time playing the course I found it difficult to determine where to go with the cart between holes and where the actual "normal" green holes were located.

Summit uses various size putting holes to make it easier for people to putt and so when you look toward the green you see 3 different flags. It was not obvious on all holes on which side of the green you should drive your cart toward.

Course has a tremendous number of hills and the green (were in good shape) but penalized you for not landing in the center of the green. I had 5 balls that landed 5-10 feet onto the green only to roll all the way off - sometime back toward me other times off to the side. You should not be penalized for a good shot just because it's not a perfect shot. Green had a lot of break and if you were not in a perfect location you were probably going to 3 put - That is not fun.

I would play it again at a discount rate but not at the going rate - it's too much a "miniaturesque" golf course. A course to play if you don't care to score.

Young folks in the proshop and carts were OK but not very enthused about working that day.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

The course is Great. But the rain was horrible.

We would've loved to play 18 holes for which I paid for but wasn't able to due to rain. We played 9 holes & became very wet & hoping the rain would let up so we could play the final 9. The rain continued at a much more down pour then we started our golf game.

Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Overbooked & mediocre conditions

The course was way overbooked, at least 4 carts waiting on each tee box through the round. We played a 3 hour front nine and a 2 and a half hour back. Way too slow pace of play! Conditions were below average. The rough was patchy and weird grass conditions. Don't recommend playing over 20$ for 18.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Perfect weather

Good Round

Greens were fast, but true, and they held. Bunkers have a lot of rocks, and some are poorly designed so that the ball rolls down against the lip. It is a good idea not to hit into them.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 48
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Excellent Course!

Played on a Sunday afternoon during the holiday weekend. Extremely busy! Got behind a group of seven with three young kids. After the first hole, they split in to two groups. We got behind a dad and two young daughters, one who apparently had never played before. Couldn't pass them as the rest of the holes were backed up also. Fortunately they didn't go the back nine. Breezed through the back nine with no issues. Excellent course, not top-tier, but a fun course for hackers and families. Will definitely go back again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Don't bother

Played many fine courses in this neck of the woods, unfortunately decided to give this one a try. Definitely a tier 3 level course. Scruffy areas leaving the tee boxes, no hole-long cart paths, greens surprisingly OK, several parallel holes a safety hazard. If you like scenic as we do, this isn't even close. Not worth the low price. Spend more and do The Legends, if they resume cutting the rough to a playable height..

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart
Value Good
Layout Average
Difficulty Moderate
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Golf Packages

Shanty Creek Stay & Play Package

Click Below
BELLAIRE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Shanty Creek's Lakeview Hotel or Lodge of Cedar River and golf at Shanty Creek - Cedar River, Hawk's Eye, Legend, Schuss, or Summit Courses.

Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package

FROM $617 (USD)
KOHLER, WI | Enjoy 2 nights’ accommodations at The American Club or the Inn at Woodlake and 3 rounds of golf at Blackwolf Run (River or Meadow Valleys Course) and Whistling Straits (Straits or Irish Course)

Destination Kohler - To Dye Four Golf Package

FROM $557 (USD)
KOHLER, WI | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at The American Club or the Inn on Woodlake and 4 rounds of golf at Blackwolf Run (River & Meadow Valley Courses) and Whistling Straits (Straits & Irish Courses).
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