A view of the 18th green surrounded by tricky bunkers at Cedar River from Shanty Creek
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Rating Index Rating
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4.7
130 Reviews (130)
5 Stars
95
4 Stars
31
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.2
Layout
4.8
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.7
Amenities
4.5
93.2%
Recommend this course
124 out of 130 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
5.0
1 Reviews (1)
5 Stars
1
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
5.0
Value
5.0
Layout
5.0
Pace
5.0
Amenities
5.0
StaffFriendliness
5.0
100.0%
Recommend this course
1 out of 1 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.7
11 Reviews (11)
5 Stars
9
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.1
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.9
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.6
90.9%
Recommend this course
10 out of 11 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Par 72
Length 6980 yards
Slope 135
Rating 73.2
Book a Tee Time at
Cedar River Golf Course at Shanty Creek Resorts
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Course Details

Year Built 1999
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Open: 4/27 Closed: 10/21
Architect Tom Weiskopf (1999)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Caddies No
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Proper golf attire required.

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Meeting Facilities, Banquet Facilities, Spa

Available Sports

Fitness

Accolades

Reviews

4.7
130 Reviews (130)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 6
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 12
Bunkers 11
Forced Carries 7
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 16
Advanced Golfers 12
A Weekend Splurge 10
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 14
Worth the Drive 14

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing

Rock filled sand traps

Course was in great shape. Major problem are the sand traps which contain lots of small rocks. There are also many holes with blind shots. At what they charge, $169, I would expect pristine sand traps and better design to eliminate blind shots. We won't be back.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/17/2022

Hello. We appreciate the review. You rated us 3-stars which means there is room to improve on your recent experience at The Cedar River at Shanty Creek. Let us know, in the comments, how and where you would like to see changes from the course. Thanks for the feedback!

Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

What a wonderful course. Don' t miss the chance to play

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Must Play

AWESOME COURSE, a must play if your in the area. Challenging but fair. Was here the week before Labor Day and had the course to ourselves. Can’t wait to play it again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Must Play Course

Cedar River is an amazing golf course you definitely have to play in Northern Michigan. It has very unique holes that make you reconsider your shoot. I personally think this is the most beautiful golf course in Shanty Creek because of the condition it is always in and the design . The fairways are also wider then the fairways at The Legend so you have more room for error.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Favorite course

Favorite course up north. A Challenge but fair. Great greens.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 06/09/2022

Thank you for taking the time to review us. Your feedback is valuable, and we look forward to delivering you excellent service again soon. The Cedar River at Shanty Creek thanks you!

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 638
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Michigan Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Cold weather
Used cart

Favorite Course at Resort

Shanty Creek is my favorite course at the resort. Course was in above average condition for my fall round - some issues with leaves, but that is to be expected this time of year.

The layout is one of the best in the area. The elevation changes and green sites are some of my favorite in northern michigan.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

End of days

I like to start my season up at Shanty playing Cedar River when it opens, and play it as my last round for year….

Like an old friend, CR continues to play true and enjoyable…

Thanks for taking such good care of it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 422
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Illinois Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Fall color trip

Cedar River is in great shape overall but the fairways in many areas are getting divot laced. 3 very good tee shots and my ball finished in a fairway divot....two of those times in areas that it was almost impossible to avoid them unfortunately. Cedar is one of my all time favorite courses - I never get tired of playing it.....a spectacular design and really fun to play. Especially knowing just how to route your ball for maximum rollout. This is a Weiskopf gem that's not to be missed if you are in the area. A must play each and every time I venture to Northern Michigan. 4.0 stars on this day. Tree colors were just starting to pop....mid to late October course will be photo eye candy. Highly Recommended.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good drainage

The area had 1.25” of rain the night before and all holes were playable at 9am. No standing water was on any fairway or green. Carts were still allowed. They strive to keep the course free of leaves. Quick greens even after the rain

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Fantastic Condition and Layout

My wife and I played 9 holes after a morning downpour. Despite wet conditions the course fairways and greens were in fantastic condition. We Can’t wait to play it again!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Excellent layout/ beautiful.

Beautiful layout through the woods with alot of rolling terrain. Very fair course with great views and fantastic homes built in the woods. Tom Weiskoph design. Would definitely play again. Only issue was that there were many unfixed ball marks on the greens. Bad etiquette by many golfers not to fix their ball marks.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

5 star bathroom

The real O'Boyle said the cedar river bathroom was one of the best he's experienced. After many successful visits he came out renewed and ready to play.
Golf was of course fantastic and the weather was perfect but the bathrooms were worth the trip up north.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
First Time Playing

The course is beautiful, only some issues with staff

Came here with a group of women alumni collegiate golfers for our first annual reunion trip. We played here the first day. This was one of the most pretty and scorable golf courses shanty creek has to offer and it was overall a fun track!

Unfortunately, a sour taint started off our weekend when we experienced an incredibly rude ranger who came up to our groups to address pace of play. We had been waiting every hole all day on the group of guys in front of us. The ranger came up to us (women) and said we needed to keep up. We attempted to tell him we’d been waiting on every hole, even on the very hole he came up to us as the guys were still on the green of a par 3. We asked him if we should start hitting into them or play through them and he scoffed said “you all wouldn’t play fast enough” he also made our first group hold up three fingers and say scouts honor we had waited every hole. One of our group players afterwards went to the men’s group ahead of us to ask if they had been told by the ranger to play faster or keep good pace of play and they said no… our group has dealt with the stereotype of women golfers before, but this was one of the worst. The slamming of the clip board on the windshield of the cart and the condescending tone brought tears of frustration to some of us and unavoidable anger to others.

However, Isaac who works by the carts was amazing!! He put us in a better mood before we left and he handled our complaints with class.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/17/2021

Hi, we appreciate you taking the time to review the course and rate us. We are sorry to hear your customer service experience was not up to par. Please reach out to our management team at (231) 533-2020, and thanks for visiting The Cedar River at Shanty Creek. We hope you'll give us another try in the future.

Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/16/2021

We had a group of women and one gentleman in our group!

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