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The Legend at Shanty Creek
Rating Snapshot
About
The Legend Course is one of four championship golf courses at Shanty Creek in Bellaire, one of northern Michigan's most popular golfing destinations. The Legend might be the most well known of the four since it is the club's Arnold Palmer design. It has been ranked as one of the top four resort courses in the country and the best resort course in the Midwest. It is definitely a challenge but Palmer incorporated generous fairways and true-rolling greens that allow golfers to play to their handicap. The golf course features elevated tee areas and slightly raised, heavily bunkered putting complexes. Water hazards also come into play on five holes. The 12th is one of the most challenging holes and also one of the most scenic. There is water to the left and a treacherous bunker waiting on the right.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6764 yards | 73.2 | 137 |
| Blue | 72 | 6269 yards | 71.0 | 131 |
| White | 72 | 5801 yards | 68.8 | 129 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5801 yards | 74.4 | 132 |
| Silver | 72 | 5017 yards | 64.6 | 115 |
| Silver (W) | 72 | 5017 yards | 70.0 | 123 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4895 yards | 69.3 | 121 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 73.2/137 | 496 | 350 | 433 | 181 | 402 | 410 | 501 | 379 | 178 | 3330 | 404 | 415 | 173 | 569 | 379 | 190 | 442 | 382 | 480 | 3434 | 6764 |
| Blue M: 71.0/131 | 459 | 303 | 412 | 152 | 380 | 370 | 474 | 351 | 168 | 3069 | 370 | 393 | 156 | 528 | 333 | 167 | 425 | 367 | 461 | 3200 | 6269 |
| Blue/Wite M: 69.9/130 | 459 | 303 | 388 | 135 | 380 | 347 | 474 | 331 | 154 | 2971 | 350 | 363 | 142 | 528 | 333 | 146 | 425 | 322 | 461 | 3070 | 6041 |
| White M: 68.8/129 W: 74.4/132 | 416 | 273 | 388 | 135 | 357 | 347 | 432 | 331 | 154 | 2833 | 350 | 363 | 142 | 504 | 312 | 146 | 411 | 322 | 418 | 2968 | 5801 |
| White/Silver M: 66.7/122 W: 72.2/128 | 416 | 273 | 334 | 106 | 326 | 282 | 432 | 331 | 112 | 2612 | 301 | 329 | 124 | 504 | 312 | 121 | 382 | 322 | 418 | 2813 | 5425 |
| Silver M: 64.6/115 W: 70.0/123 | 377 | 240 | 334 | 106 | 326 | 282 | 394 | 276 | 112 | 2447 | 301 | 329 | 124 | 455 | 253 | 121 | 382 | 285 | 320 | 2570 | 5017 |
| Red W: 69.3/121 | 373 | 234 | 328 | 100 | 322 | 272 | 386 | 270 | 107 | 2392 | 293 | 321 | 120 | 450 | 247 | 118 | 378 | 281 | 295 | 2503 | 4895 |
| Handicap | 5 | 11 | 3 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 6 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 3 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 8 |
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Last round for the year
Legend has some great challenging holes and always like it for demanding you bring your game.
Sadly, due to level of heavy rain and ppl who have no respect for the course… chewed up sections with the carts…
Till next year…
Copied part of my 6/6/21 review
Returned to Shanty for some fall golf. Had some very nice weather. On my next visit to the area I'll probably just skip playing Legend.....HawksEye was already closed for the season....would much rather play that instead. Legend is definitely not a 5 star and it's simply not even a 4 star for the overall conditions and what they charge.
The Legend simply put is getting a tad "long in the tooth" with age. It desperately needs a solid rehab or renovation in a number of areas. Especially the cart paths.....many are crumbling and for a resort course of this stature it's really been neglected. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy playing Legend but Shanty needs to pay attention and invest some funds in to what was their featured 18 holes years ago....otherwise they'll start getting real push back for what they charge to play it. It's a 50/60 course at most right now....definitely not towards the c-note range. The clubhouse/bathroom facilities for the Legend/Summit courses are also is old, smelly and tired. The pretty Legend flower logo in the hillside at the first tee only goes so far guys. Recommend play however Cedar River (and now Hawk's Eye) are the courses not to miss at Shanty. 3.75 stars. Legend is downgraded from my 4 star plus plus previous reviews.
Course Awesome - Arnie's Grill HUGE Disappointment
The Legend golf course continues to be one of the best courses in Michigan.
Unfortunately, the clubhouse facilities have suffered from a lack of investment and reflect very poorly on Shanty Creek and The Legend course.
Restrooms - dumpy
Arnie's Grill - IS NOT A GRILL. It's like an old cafeteria that nobody takes care of. The patio, which has a great view over the Summit course, is a mossy, paint peeling, AstroTurf bummer.
Layout
The layout changed and the painted markings could be better. The course was awesome! Definitely coming back.
The course felt like we were playing in a swamp
I've never before played on a course as wet as this. It wasn't just parts of the course that were wet, it was the entire course including the sand bunkers, some of which still held water. The small amount of rain we had did not justify the water on the course. I suspect there is a lot of clay under the soil and there are obviously drainage issues. The tee boxes and fairways were like wet sponges, although the large and difficult greens were still fast and unreceptive. We were advised that due to the wetness of the fairways, the carts must stay on the cart path, so there was a lot of walking during our round that we hadn't anticipated. I've played this course before when it was drier, but today the course should have been closed; playing on a course this wet and difficult takes the fun out of golf.
Hello, thank you for reviewing the course. Let us first start by apologizing for the poor experience you had during your visit. Your feedback about the course is important to us. We with the recent rain we are working to get everything up to par. We have projects ongoing to recover the fairways and greens from the water on the course. The current condition is by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We are going to escalate your feedback to our team so we can make improvements before your next game. We will continue to work towards an excellent experience by using your comment for guidance. Thank you for playing The Legend at Shanty Creek. We hope to see you again soon.
Perfect conditions
Glorious day. accommodating staff wonderful weather highlight of golf weekend great finishing hole
First time
Condition was pristine. Course was a challenge but fair. We loved it! Very amenities which is probably lack of staff at this time. Could have used a course ranger other than that great experience.
Gorgeous and challenging!
Gorgeous and challenging course! Well maintained (cart path was a little rough) but the course itself is beautiful. Nice layout with challenging hazards, hole #7 is a beast. Definitely a shot placement course, fun, and will definitely play again!
Pace of Play
Beautiful course but the pace of play was glacial. The starter indicated that the course was busy so expect to play in about 4.5 hours, which is slow. We were at 4 hours and waiting to play hole 12. Hadn't seen a ranger so called the clubhouse and was told that the ranger said everything was on pace. About 45 minutes later someone from the course came out and said sorry about the pace but they didn't have a ranger - what is it, the ranger said everything is on pace, which it wasn't, or we don't have a ranger? We played behind 4 guys that didn't bother teeing off until we were at the same tee and there was nobody in front of them. On the last tee they were trying trick shots while we waited. For the price we paid to play The Legend you would think the course would provide excellent service and pace of play. Have played all the other courses at Shanty Creek with a great experience but The Legend was real disappointment.
We appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are going to pass on your feedback to the teams in charge so they can work to make changes.
Your feedback helps us do better. We are looking into this issue and hope to resolve it promptly.
Thank you for visiting The Legend at Shanty Creek. We hope you'll give us another try in the future.
It is very pretty.
It was wet from all the recent rain. Cart path only so we walked 4 miles. Still a great venue.
Beautiful course, friendly staff!
Course is beautiful and the staff were excellent. From the woman behind the bar to the starter, we had nothing but a great experience at this course!
The Legend was a great experience
Booked the course to play for our vacation, the staff was very impressive and friendly, course conditions were great. Fairways, greens and tee boxes were in great shape. Only complaint would be that a few of the bunkers were a little wet and played more like clay than sand. Other than that no complaints at all. We had a great time, on a truly beautiful course.
Sunday PM Hot Deal
Over the past 3 decades I've probably played Arnie's Legend at least 30 times. That being said I took a 5 year hiatus from it.....with so many other options in the area it just didn't get put on the agenda for some reason. The Legend is always a challenge....a figure 8 routing and some really difficult green complexes to navigate. Overall the course is in decent shape however there were still old green aeration marks (looked to be from last fall but surfaces were running smooth) and also noticed some diseased areas of some greens. The Legend simply put is getting a tad "long in the tooth" with age. It desperately needs a solid rehab or renovation in a number of areas. Especially the cart paths.....many are crumbling and for a resort course of this stature it's really been neglected. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy playing Legend but Shanty needs to pay attention and invest some funds in to what was their featured 18 holes years ago....otherwise they'll start getting real push back for what they charge to play it. It's a 50/60 course at most right now....definitely not towards the c-note range. The clubhouse/bathroom facilities for the Legend/Summit courses are also is old, smelly and tired. The pretty Legend flower logo in the hillside at the first tee only goes so far guys. Recommend play however Cedar River (and now Hawk's Eye) are the courses not to miss at Shanty. 3.75 stars. Legend is downgraded from my 4 star plus plus previous reviews.
Hi, thank you so much for leaving us with your feedback. We value our customer experience, so your review is important to us. Please know the current conditions are by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We will continue to work towards a 5-star experience and we hope to see you back!
Very Nice Course
The course was in excellent shape as well as perfect weather for golf. The fairways were clean - a little soft but nice. The greens were fair and a little on the fast side but readable. This is one of my favorite courses within 50 miles - and we have a lot of courses.
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Hello, thank you for leaving us a review. We are sorry to hear your experience was anything short of 5 stars, but we hope you will give us another try in the future. Thank you for choosing The Legend at Shanty Creek.