Hidden Oaks Golf Course

As an avid golfer playing many courses in the state of Michigan and even playing courses out of state, I carry a 1 handicap and I have played on this course for 8 years every summer and the year 2022 has been the best year for this course. Greens rolled EXTREAMLY true, Fairways where always tight collars were also mowed, and staff has been the best it has ever been. also, some changes that happened this year happened inside and outside the club house!!

Assuming this course used to be a gem, found out the hard way that its not. $40 for 18/cart was ridiculous and I wouldn't have paid knowing the conditions. There was literally more crabgrass than fairway grass. It was everywhere in the rough and tee boxes and fringes. The greens were nice and smooth, mostly because nobody plays here. Parking lot was empty on Friday afternoon.

The front 9 is open with uphill green complexes and hilly terrain. The back 9 is closed up with overgrown wetlands, swamps, and much of the same grass quality. Seriously, drive another 45 minutes north and play Pohlcat for $35 Monday-Friday after 2pm. That course is picturesque. This course needs a major supply of weed killer and fertilizer.

Maybe at one time this was a nice course but not now.

It's a fun place to play.
Nice challenge, but not to hard.

The Front and Back Are Like 2 Different Courses, The Front 9 Challenges Your Tee Shots, and Putting, While The Back 9 Challenges Your Accuracy and Pride. Greens Rolled True, Fairways Were Great, and The Staff Was Very Nice. 18 May Be The Best Finishing Hole In Mid-Michigan. What A Ride!

What can I say for a Hot Deal at $10. I would have like to seen-played this course when it was built or at least when it is in better condition. I really liked the green complexes, but the current state of maintenance around the rest of the course is very sad to say the least. Poor mowing all around and DANDELIONS were EVERYWHERE, tee boxes, fairways and they went on forever in the roughs. I liked the layout (even with a couple blind tee shots) and would only go back a play again if/when I could get another $10 Hot Deal even though published rate is only $25 for 18 w/ cart.

Greens in good shape, fairways decent, but could use a little more upkeep. Tee boxes were decent as well, also could use a little more tending to. Front nine is the original nine, kind of has that 'farm land turned golf course feel,' which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 6,7, 8, and 9 are a nice stretch of holes, the others on the front aren't anything too special. The back nine makes this course really interesting - tight, some water and forced carries - Jerry Matthews did a nice job with the land they had. If you're in the area, check it out. But if you're interested in playing more upscale courses, stick to Mount Pleasant (Pohl Cat, Bucks Run, Riverwood). I'd play there again just for the uniqueness of the back nine, or if you're only out to play 9, try to play the back 9. When I was at CMU 10 years ago, my buddies and I liked the variety of Hidden Oaks, we would drive down from Mount Pleasant and play it - less crowded and decent rates.

The back nine is very different from the front nine and I like this change within the same 18 holes. Both nines are challenging in a different way but the back nine is tougher and interesting. The greens are in good shape, some fairways are weedy, and the grass was mown well but may not have been mowed for a while as there were grass clumps laying around.

It's a very nice course.... The 4th & 5th hole are very hilly but makes it amazing.

I have not written any bad reviews on any courses but for this one I had to. It is important to all of you so I will be honest here.
The tee boxes had very tall grass mixed with weeds, the fairways had more crab grass than I have ever seen in my life and it was not cut well at all. The staff was very nice and the overall condition of the building was good as well as the carts. The front nine is okay for a challenge but the back will give you more of a challenge forcing you to either carry or lay up. This course could be so much more and has the potential to be a very nice place to golf but not now. I would not play this again if it was only $10 that is how bad it was. Save the trip and the cash and go elsewhere.

The course was overall in pretty good shape, a couple of dry areas around the fairways and plenty of weedy areas that were tough to hit out of. The Front 9 plays fairly open and is the scoring 9. The Back is very hazardous and can get frustrating very easily, some of the hole layouts force long layups which is a disadvantage to the average golfer. Beautiful greens that are hard to stick but roll well.

Very challenging layout. Conditioning so-so but greens were excellent.

This is a Jerry Matthews design which are always challenging, intuition says there is not a lot of capital to keep course in good condition. The greens ran a little slower than most courses. But was an interesting course to play with not a lot of people pressure the day played.(Friday 11:30PM_)

Front 9 easy; back nine very hard. Just a place for hot dogs and drinks at the break.

Great layout.
Parkland and target golf combination.
Super greens.
Fairways could use some attention.

Course was empty so it was a relaxing round. However, there was no discount as stated on golf now app. I paid the same price that non-golf now customers paid. Course had a severe mole problem, greens where long and patchy,, wouldn't go back for free!

Four of us went out and played Hidden Oaks. Overall it was a decent time. The best thing was the pace of play - we didn't have anyone in front of us or anyone pressing us at all. Very enjoyable.

The course conditions left a little to be desired. Some of the tee boxes were pretty uneven and bumpy. One even had overgrown weeds filling the box. Fairways were in reasonable shape for the most part. Bunkers weren't great, but weren't terrible. Greens were a bit long and slow.

The back 9 seemed to be a little more challenging and potentially less playable because of the target golf nature as well as several forced carries.

We had an early tee time (8:12 a.m.) and there was no one on the course except us for the entire first nine. We turned the corner to the back nine and had the back nine to ourselves also. The course was in good condition with a few areas of burned up grass on the front nine. The back nine was extremely challenging with many of the tee shots needing to be near the fairway or risk losing a ball. We did not eat at the course so we didn't form an opinion of the food.

Played an early round in 2.5 hours! The course was dry and some of the fairways were patchy. They said they had just fixed the sprinkler pump that day so I'm assuming the course will be in better shape in a few weeks time. I enjoyed the differing layouts of the front & back 9's (front - wide open, back - tree lined). Would return to play Hidden Oaks again especially for $15.

With the wet weather early last week the rough was tall and being in the fairway was a premium. Greens are coming along nice for early season. Would like to play here again early July.