The Woodlands Course at Whittaker

Whittacre used to be a very nice well appointed course. Challenging such that all dog-leg lefts. Although the course charges a stiff price still, the conditions have steadily deteriorated each year. Granted, this was first week opened and some extreme weather conditions occurred recently. Got a fair price on golfnow and was happy to be out playing but the carts were programmed to not let you off cart-paths and on some holes the GPS did not work and we could not move until calling staff to cut the GPS. We obeyed and did not stray from path but the glitch was frustrating.

Course was in pretty good shape for mid November. Leaves were not too bad. Great layout. Looking forward to playing again in the future.

Still struck with the disease greens, fairways tee boxes, better than earlier this summer but not good. Make matters worse the aerated the greens the day before. Would have been nice to know that. Sand traps in rough shape due to neglect and for some reason most filled up with the cores from the greens, would have been nice to know. I have played this course over 100 times in the 3 decades, never been in this condition. Love the layout!

This course has an awesome layout that challenges all levels. It was generally in good shape but a few rough spots throughout. The staff was great to work with. I do recommend playing here!

Course was below par for conditions. Good layout and staff.

I played Whittaker Woods with a friend, on Wednesday, September 25th. It’s been over four years since I last played here and yes, I still call it Whittaker Woods. It was cart path only, due to the heavy storm the previous night. Before I go any further. I’m no course superintendent by any means. I have no idea what challenges face them to keep a course in great condition. I read the reviews before we came out and I can understand how some people felt. There was also a letter on the front desk, from a Michigan university, explaining the reason behind the conditions. With that being said here are my observations. The greens were in good shape and rolled well. The fairways were rough in a few areas. The sand traps were fine and playable, even with the rain the night before. The tee areas were the worst part of the course and will need addressing. The upside was the grounds crew were still working on the course when we played and Mike in the pro shop was very professional and friendly. The course is still tough. Maybe not as tough when it first opened were the cattails prevented you from seeing where you were going. You still need to be on your game when playing. Some holes are tight, and some have forced carries. Like I said, I have played here a handful of times since they first opened, and I will be coming back.

I loved the course layout, but unfortunately the Fairways and some of the greens are in bad shape. I probably wouldn't play her again until 2026.

We feel sorry for Whitaker Woods but won’t be back anytime soon. Played here many times and not only worst conditions ever seen here, worst we have ever seen. Weeds, bare spots, disease, torn up and flipped over turf. Gravel bunkers. Can’t believe it could go down so far so fast.

Overall myself and my group really liked this course. It has a great layout and makes for a really challenging 18 holes. Also being so close to new buffalo is a huge plus. The ownership of the course needs to invest some money into getting the conditions of the fairways and greens back into good shape. That is really the only issue with this course and is fantastic otherwise.

I played the course last year and thought for the price the greens would not be riddled with ball marks….i was wrong!! But this year…was the worst! Sections of greens just missing, cracked g anyone and just missing grass on over 65 percent of every green. It’s a shame such a great laid out course could be be so neglected is sad to say the least! Save your money and play any other course!

As every review says, the course layout is so nice. If you played the course 10 years ago, I would rate it one of the best public courses in the area. However, now every aspect of the course is in brutal condition. There's not 1 redeeming quality to this course. They're trying to claim it's from a bug infestation. I truly believe they're putting $0 into it, and taking people's money.

The clubhouse and staff are really great. However, let's all stop giving this course money. I wouldn't pay $15 to play this course.

Sam Schmidt

It looks like no one has tried to care for the course in a while. Fairways were bald and full of crab grass, Greens had debris all over them and many had chucks taken out of the surface. Doesn’t seem to be any daily maintenance being done there. I was optimistic when the clubhouse staff was friendly and a golf cart was brought right to my car but it could not make up for the course. This has the potential to be a really nice course and a fun layout if it was taken care of. The conditions were so bad that we stopped playing after 9 holes. They need to shut this course down for a year and try to revive it.

Played this course a few years back and thought it was a special place. Neatly kept, tough, all-around above average track. Unfortunately that is no longer the case. Tees, fairways, and greens are severely damaged by some kind of turf disease. Especially the front 9. Greens were the only place that play was actually affected due to missing grass and rolling over dirt patches but visually, it’s absolutely atrocious out there…rough needed mowed, bunkers needed raked, entire course needs treatment for weeds. (crabgrass, dandelions, broadleaf/clover) The ponds have a algae problem that has stained the rock shoreline a funky color. By far the worst case of neglect I have ever seen. The entire round I asked myself what in the world they were doing charging those rates, and where is the money going??? Carts had 4 holes posted to stay on path because they were “reseeding” but there was zero evidence of any work being done. Love the layout of this place and will give it another go in few years but only if whoever is in charge now kicks rocks!

The fairways and greens were gone! Appears to be a bad fungus.