Whitmore Lake Golf Links

No ranger or starter on a nice Sunday afternoon. Watching the other groups is a nightmare. Everyone hitting multiple balls. Searching for balls too long. We watched a group of kids hit balls for ten minutes on a tee.

If they had some organization it would be nice. I used to enjoy golfing here. I will not be back. Started at 3:46 no chance to finish before dark. We waited on every hole.

Nice course with a fun layout. Back 9 opens up more.

Course in good shape, a couple greens were rough.

Surprised there is no starter, as about 4 foursomes were packed in a row at tee off time. It cleared up a little about 4 holes in. No cart girls either.

Always a super fun golf course...we love golfing it and the staff is great and Tommy is the man!

Early spring, so course is a mix of quality. Not surprising at this stage. Greens a little inconsistent in speed is the main negative at this point. Until the fairways start greening up, expect some winter conditions. I really appreciate that they have been open for a couple of weeks, so I’ll put up with the issues - it will improve fast.

The pace of play was slow, took 5hrs exactly. Had a scheduled 1138am tee-time got off 12noon, again too many players waiting extra extra time to tee-off thinking they can all drive the ball like a PRO, causing each and every group to be slowed up. Course in decent shape considering march 21st, bonus day with extremely nice weather for the time of the year. Several carries that can cause havoc for players.

Friendly staff greeted us in morning. A bit of a chill at 8:30am about 21 degrees out when we got there. Hit a small bucket to warm up, and by our tee time at 9:22am the temp had gone up and the frost on the course had dissipated. We were the first ones out and set the pace for everyone else.

Open links on the front nine and a bit more challenging play on the back with tight fairways and challenging dog-legs.

Played the course in about 3 1/2 hours. Never had anyone waiting behind us.

Always enjoy playing at Whitmore Lakes. Definitely will be going back again.

Always a good time here! Great layout...greens had some sand on them which at this time of year is expected. I golf here at least 1-2 times per week.

Great little course for a quick spring round. Was windy and cold but the course is in good shape for mid March in Michigan.

The pace is slow, we had to wait for a while each hole.

The green is fast comparing this season.

Course in almost perfect condition especially for early March. Had a very good time.

I go back and forth on my opinion of Whitmore Lake Golf Links. I'll start with the facts. The fairways and greens were very good. Some of the tees were in need of work. The staff were very professional. The front and back nines are distinctively different, which is a plus in my view. I like that the layout makes you put a premium on strategy and shot selection. I used nearly every club in my bag, which is always an unexpected bonus. It was a bit pricey for the experience, but not so much that it was a deterrent. I'll likely play it again, but...

I don't care for the routing of the front nine. Look, I get it that no course would like to start out with a par three. But I just don't like that the first two holes are on the far West part of that nine, and then you have to cross over past the clubhouse to the farthest east to play the third hole. Then again, they back nine forces players to ride. I'm not a fan of not having the option to walk if I want. They could make number three the first hole, and one and two would become eight and nine... but again I get it. Nine is farther away from the clubhouse, and a lot of players would go straight to the tenth tee across the road instead of stopping and buying lunch. They could solve that by flipping the nines. Just too much crossing back and forth by the clubhouse.

And yes, I'm going to mention the biggest criticism most make. The 13th. You can't... you CANNOT, try to market yourself as a premier golfing destination and make players hit tee shots that require a forced carry off of artificial turf tees. You've played twelve holes to that point, none of which ask you to cross that kind of a hazard, and you change the dynamic with a gimmick? The technology exists to put real tees out there. It would have cost a bit, but then you'd have a hole, and a course, that rivals the best in Michigan. Instead, this is what most serious golfers take away as their lasting memory of Whitmore Lake. It reminds me of that line from Jurassic Park. They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. The answer is the same.