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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 | 310 | 472 | 322 | 270 | 276 | 290 | 112 | 451 | 114 | 2617 | 154 | 346 | 153 | 431 | 317 | 295 | 304 | 428 | 269 | 2697 | 5314 |
| Fossum 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 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Snacks, Restaurant
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Course Conditions
Not up to the standards that I'm accustom to when . I understand that are short staffed right now.
Great course with extremely slow play and no marshals.
Outstanding course
Tee boxes were nicely maintained, crisp grass but not too dry or too moist. The fairways were cut perfectly as well as the greens. The greens were perfect to where the roll wouldn’t “die” after 6 inches and allows me to put true! Even with Social distancing guidelines in play, Forest Akers West still went out of their ways to allow us to have a great round.
MSU west
The course is in great shape the greens are big soft and fast. We played in 3hrs40mins. We checked in at the grill window which was fine with us . No contact we loved seeing the pieces of swim noodles in the cup we tip our hats to them for that. This tells us that they care about the safety of their customers. Good job MSU we will be back.
Top Shelf Course
Fairways were in immaculate conditions. greens were relatively quick but very well maintained. The weather was cool and windy, however if you hit fairways you could score on the par 5's. I look forward to coming back out to Akers West next Spring.
Such great conditions! Amazing fast true greensn
It was cold and breezy, a day after some rain. The course had drained completely and the greens were fantastic. They held nicely and rolled fast and true.
Disappointed
Greens were hard like asphalt. Roll on greens was like putting on gravel. One person working in clubhouse waited 12 minutes to be greeted and checked in. Snack shop was closed and no refreshments on course. I expected more, not the quality course it once was
Memories
Last played this course 23 years ago and the course has only improved with age. Rerouted the holes, added a new clubhouse (which is great for Spartan apparel and accessories) and condition of course is outstanding. Pace of play was acceptable given all the groups playing on course. I will not wait so long to return to my alma mater ‘s outstanding golf course
9 minutes between tee times - save your money
We had a 436 tee time and the couple in front of us was 427 and the guys behind us were 445... toss in walkers and the course is unbearable. After nine holes we went to the club house to ask for a refund and it was locked up and no one was around to even speak to. We left as did others out there. Very disappointed after driving over an hour to play golf.
Hello, u4611750. Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We see you rated the course 2-stars and are interested in learning what we can do to improve for your next visit. We take customer feedback very serious at our course. Please reach out to our team in the golf shop and tell us what's on your mind. Thank you for playing The West at Forest Akers Golf Course.
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Hi, thank you for reviewing Forest Akers West. Let us first start by apologizing for the poor experience you had during your visit. Your feedback about the course is important to us. The current condition is by no means the standard we strive to achieve. We are glad to see you have enjoyed the course in the past and we are rapidly working to return it to those conditions. We will continue to work towards an excellent experience by using your comment for guidance. Thank you for playing, we hope to see you again soon.