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The West at Forest Akers Golf Course
Rating Snapshot
About
The West Course at Forest Akers is one of two 18-hole courses owned and operated by Michigan State University in East Lansing. The West is the premier tournament layout for the Spartan golf teams and also hosted the Division III Women’s National Golf Championship in 2021. The rolling and forested layout was originally designed by Bruce Matthews but was extensively renovated in the 1990s by Arthur Hills and received further updates in 2010. In the early 2000s, a new clubhouse and hotel was built on property that altered the routing of the golf course. There is also an extensive practice facility across the street at the East course and accessible to the public. The West Course is considered one of the Midwest’s finest, public-access campus courses and one of the best layouts in the Lansing area.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 7013 yards | 75.3 | 141 |
| Black (W) | 72 | 7013 yards | 81.9 | 154 |
| Green | 72 | 6412 yards | 71.7 | 137 |
| Green (W) | 72 | 6412 yards | 77.8 | 140 |
| White | 72 | 5694 yards | 68.6 | 127 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5694 yards | 73.6 | 134 |
| Fossum | 72 | 5307 yards | 66.5 | 127 |
| Fossum (W) | 72 | 5307 yards | 71.3 | 129 |
| Silver | 72 | 5012 yards | 65.5 | 114 |
| Silver (W) | 72 | 5012 yards | 69.8 | 126 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 75.3/141 W: 81.9/154 | 423 | 592 | 426 | 322 | 338 | 436 | 202 | 546 | 184 | 3469 | 214 | 414 | 227 | 494 | 415 | 394 | 427 | 514 | 422 | 3521 | 6990 |
| Green M: 71.7/137 W: 77.8/140 | 381 | 562 | 389 | 294 | 316 | 394 | 174 | 495 | 163 | 3168 | 165 | 384 | 213 | 460 | 385 | 366 | 399 | 477 | 385 | 3234 | 6402 |
| White M: 68.2/130 W: 73.6/134 | 340 | 472 | 372 | 279 | 276 | 344 | 145 | 451 | 138 | 2817 | 154 | 346 | 182 | 431 | 356 | 334 | 304 | 428 | 342 | 2877 | 5694 |
| Fossom M: 66.5/127 W: 71.3/129 | 310 | 472 | 322 | 270 | 276 | 290 | 112 | 451 | 114 | 2617 | 154 | 346 | 153 | 431 | 317 | 295 | 304 | 428 | 269 | 2697 | 5314 |
| Silver M: 65.5/121 W: 69.8/126 | 310 | 406 | 322 | 270 | 252 | 290 | 112 | 420 | 114 | 2496 | 140 | 258 | 153 | 404 | 317 | 295 | 294 | 371 | 269 | 2501 | 4997 |
| Handicap | 11 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 2 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 9 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 4 |
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
This course is getting better
Course is getting some face lifts (cart paths, new tee boxes) If your a beginner not advisable tall rough must stay in fairways. For some reason it was very slow play and we had to call for a beverage cart. I can see why MSU golf team plays there and hosts tournaments it can be very difficult and long from the tips.
Great course, great conditions, play was slow.
The course, staff, and facilities are fantastic. We joked with the clubhouse attendant that they carry ball markers from the entire Big 10. He laughed and said even the Michigan ball markers fly off the shelves.
The course conditions were impeccable. The greens rolled true. The course is very fair and will reward longer hitters with some shorter par 5s reachable in 2. However, the course makes up for the shorter par 5s with some 180-200 par 3s from the green tees. The length from the green tees was 6400. There are mature trees that will cost you a stroke if you happen to spray the ball too far in either direction. The greens are typical Aurthur Hills design. They look deceivingly flat, but the slight contours keep you guessing and wondering how a straight putt can break that far.
The only downside was the pace of play. We were paired up with a two-some that played the green tees- should have been on the white and red for one of the guys. When it takes 2 shots to get to the red tees, you are playing too far back! The kicker was, we were being held up by the group in front of us and the group in front of them. The college kids, as uncomfortable as it may be, will have to enforce slow play to be a top notch course. The kicker is, there is a great course across the street that would be fantastic for the golfer who struggles a little with towardness. It took us 5 1/4 hours to play and we putted out and had to make our goodbyes extremely short to the new people we met.
Spartan Golf
Fun course by MSU. Sparty logos everywhere. Course was challenging and kept things interesting. Well kept.
My favorite course of all time
This course is everything I could ask for of a golf course. Fantastic views, beautifully cut fairways and greens, creative layout, quite challenging, variety in types of holes, not to mention very fancy facilities. As I said in the title, this is my favorite course and the only thing that keeps me from playing here a ton is the steep price for a normal round. If you can find for under $40, then TAKE IT! A real gem and a perfect course for intermediate to advanced golfers. Play it play it play it!!!!!!
Nolan,
Don't forget to visit us in the Springtime at the Grand Rapids and Novi Golf Shows. We sell rounds during the preseason for as low as $25 (good for either the East or West). Or look on GolfNow! As we have great daily deals there as well.
Nice course
Value for the course was great. Course was in fantastic shape. staff was friendly. No hold ups at all.
Second time got to enjoy
Play here once 2 yrs ago byt was a scramble and it was raining. Was able to enjoy the view of the course and play of the holes. Tee time was 1138 we were a 2some. Course start to get crowded. 18 took 4 plus hrs but really enjoyed it.
Great Old Traditional Course
It would be nice to have a sign with the hole on to see, or at least a picture of the hole on the scorecard. Greens in great shape!
Fun playable course
The course is in excellent shape. I don't think it's all that difficult but there are some challenging holes and shots. It was very busy but we got around in under 4 hours. This course is very reasonably priced. We got a great price on a Golfnow hot deal.
Worth the money
I paid $14 for 18 holes w/cart and the quality of the course is about what I would expect for the money. The weather made play difficult (which is obviously at no fault to the course), but the course was pretty beat up as well. However, It is still early in the season and there is ample time to fix the course. The driving range was in great condition.
Stop back and try us again! The course is in great shape and the greens are rolling awesome.
Nice.
enjoyed my round. pace of play was fine. Customer service was good. I'll definitely continue to play this course.
We are glad you enjoyed yourself! Make sure to visit GolfNow for great deals at both of our courses! We look forward to having you back.
great lay up
Getting ready for season but greens were awesome and fast
Glad you enjoyed it! Don't forget to check GolfNow frequently for great savings!
Absolutely Gorgeous
Beautiful course that will test your ability to score and yet is still playable. Played from the back tees and the first tee box will let you know right away what you are in for. Wonderful experience and definitely plan to play the West course again. Would expect nothing less from MSU.
Sweet Deal
Nice way to spend a fall day on a well maintained course. Worthy sister to MSU's famous West course. Friendly staff and super Golfnow deal doesn't hurt either.
Fantastic fall conditions!
We wanted to play somewhere that would be in good shape even in late October. Forest Akers' west course delivered. Fallen leaves were managed very well. The course, especially the greens, were still in great shape.
This course has great features
I got the best score today, I was so satisfied with all things!
Thank you Golfnow!
This course has great features
The golf course was amazing! The rate was so reasonable! I am extremely satisfied with all!
Akers West always worthwhile
As always this course delivers a great challenge on an old-school parkland layout. Greens were kind bumpy, but for October course was in great shape, we didn't wait to hit a shot, and the course was beautiful on a sunny fall day.
Cool course, tough the first time around
Played this track on a beautiful September afternoon. Three of us played it in 3 1/2 hours. Lot of fun
Parfict timing... Kind of...
I am an East Lansing native, currently living in Grand Rapids and have always loved playing the West course at Forest Acres! Although for the money I would typically rate the course a 5/5, this round was abnormally slow, potentially due to players that may have been better suited for the East course.. there was 1 group in particular slowing the day down, and we're reluctant to allow us to play through, even though we were obviously waiting 3-5 minutes on every shot... We literally just walked off the green prior to the lightning horn sounding, thus the "par"fect timing!
Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package
Thank you for all the positive feedback. We strive to have a much better pace of play then you experienced. If you contact us at golfinfo@rhs.msu.edu, we would be glad to send you guest passes to visit us again.