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Black Bear Golf Club
Rating Snapshot
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| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6425 yards | 71.8 | 144 |
| White | 72 | 5814 yards | 69.2 | 130 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5280 yards | 71.7 | 134 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4535 yards | 68.0 | 118 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 71.8/144 | 360 | 207 | 419 | 361 | 538 | 130 | 512 | 338 | 346 | 3211 | 381 | 537 | 198 | 362 | 354 | 489 | 144 | 378 | 371 | 3214 | 6425 |
| White M: 69.2/130 | 331 | 175 | 362 | 322 | 501 | 114 | 458 | 304 | 315 | 2882 | 357 | 509 | 176 | 324 | 330 | 437 | 114 | 351 | 334 | 2932 | 5814 |
| Gold W: 71.7/134 | 295 | 159 | 339 | 297 | 463 | 103 | 404 | 269 | 288 | 2617 | 344 | 472 | 154 | 300 | 292 | 407 | 95 | 310 | 289 | 2663 | 5280 |
| Red W: 68.0/118 | 202 | 159 | 314 | 270 | 409 | 79 | 374 | 245 | 238 | 2290 | 263 | 359 | 154 | 246 | 292 | 359 | 95 | 246 | 231 | 2245 | 4535 |
| Handicap | 11 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 8 | |||
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 15 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 8 |
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Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2024 #1)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Interesting course
Great course especially for the price. Enjoyed it enough that we played it twice during the week while staying in Boyne Falls. There are other courses in the area that may be higher quality as for the fairways and rough but are much higher in cost..Very scenic with some elevation changes.and large greens.
Way better than reviews
Glad I looked past the reviews and gave this course a try. Was it perfect? No. Fairways were in decent shape. The undulating fairways and challenging cup placement were manageable. The greens were great. People were even better. And the views were all I hoped for.
Expect a new experience!!
Black Bear under the new owners has changed dramatically! The greens are good, the tee boxes better every week, the sand traps have sand and rakes, and the fairway grass is filling in. The clubhouse and pro shop are totally changed with a great menu in the offing. What has been accomplished in their first season as owners is remarkable. Don’t expect champion conditions, yet! But, expect good things now, and for years to come. It’s always been a great track, look forward to its future. Play it!!
Course is looking good
New ownership is really stepping up and making improvements. Course is on its way back if they keep it up.
New Ownership
The new owners are making it very clear that they are working hard to make this course great again. Obviously the neglect from previous years isn’t going to improve overnight but they are working hard putting in the work, dedication, effort and man hours to change the course for the better. Huge respect to the staff and new owners for attempting to achieve the impossible in such a short time. I guarantee by mid summer the changes will be drastic, and golfers will be impressed by what some TLC can do to a course. Not only is the course looking so much better but the clubhouse has got a facelift and the restaurant has amazing food and drinks. They have specials that are so affordable and it’s a place even non golfers will want to dine at. If you haven’t been there in the last month or so you should consider making a trip to experience a huge world of change, all the staff are amazing and our experience was incredible. The greens are a little slow and the fairways are a little rough but in due time the benefits of the their hard work will be paying off highly. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a golf course that was highly neglected for years. You wouldn’t be able to tell how bad of shape the course actually was in when they purchased it compared to where it is now. My husband and I were blown away by how much work they have put into making the course so nice in such a small amount of time. We are so excited to witness the process of improvement over the next several months. Please consider visiting the property, making a tee time and golfing a round, and help them out by being a customer for the first time or a returning one that’s willing to support a husband and wife that have a beautiful vision and the passion to achieve what seemed like an impossible goal. I’m looking forward to be a part of this process and seeing this course come alive and become a desired destination for all levels of golfers.
Loved the Layout
Great course layout with several quirky holes. I have always liked blind tee shots and this course has them. The greens are modern and undulating and the holes play over some rolling terrain.
Worst Layout I’ve Ever Seen
Horrendous layout. Signage is a joke, literally got lost going to the first hole, and the round didn’t get any better. Nearly every hole features a blind tee shot. What’s the point?! There’s no redeeming qualities to this course, I paid $16 for 18 with a cart and wouldn’t come back. They must have changed layouts or something because it’s a jumbled mess. What a joke!
Poor management and public relations!
I've been to this course a couple of times in the past years. This year I got delayed in getting there.
Last week, I called several times to get tee times and got the same recorded message, dated Monday Oct. the 9th that the course would be open on Wed and the tentative closing would be after Sunday the 15th. There was some good weather during that time to play; but I was able to get someone to call me back.
I finally got a hold of a man today and he said that the course was closed for the season last Wednesday and it is in the process of being sold.
The really good news for all of the subscribers/members of Group Golfer holding prepaid vouchers: He assured me that the new owners would be honoring the unused vouchers next season.
Tragic course
I love the layout on this course, however, it appears to have suffered from years of neglect. The greens were playable, but the fairways, rough, and tee boxes are barely maintained. There was one kid who was very hard working and friendly running the whole course. No other staff on site. It’s a shame. The other reviews here are accurate, it has so much potential and was probably a great course 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it needs a ton of work and money put into it. If it was properly maintained, I’d come back to play again.
The course is now under new management, due to the amount of neglect from previous owners it will take time to make all the improvements but it’s all in the process of change. It has already made great strides in the past few weeks, you should consider visiting again, expect it to be in a working process but it’s clear that the new owners are trying really hard to get it back in outstanding condition again.
Money and love
The course is a good layout. Unfortunately they need some money and love to survive. The owner / pro was a very engaging man. Wish him the very best in the future.
Susan and Tommy
This is not a Golf Course
This course has NOT been maintained! there are NO fairways, and the tee boxes were long, but the greens were smooth but very slow. You can't enjoy this place. Horrible, the management should be ashamed of the condition of what I believe was a well-designed course but not a cow pasture. Don't waste your money. The best thing I can say about this is they sell beer.
Not in good shape
Our tee time was Mon at noon. We were the only ones on the course. The tee boxes and the fairways were very patchy like they haven’t been watered. The greens were mostly ok but some had dry patches, most were slow and needed mowing, one green was reduced in size by half due to poor condition. We made the turn and stopped at the clubhouse to get something to eat but all the doors were locked and the lights were off (at 2:00 PM). We have golfed here numerous times and like the layout but due to poor conditions we probably won’t go back.
Not expensive. Great layout. Poor conditions
One of my favorite layouts in northern MI! Course conditions are not good EXCEPT for the greens. They are ok. I am hoping this is a sign that ownership is going to restore this OUTSTANDING LAYOUT to the beauty it deserves. I played for $35. Would not pay more currently but this is an $80-100 course if it were maintained
Shanty Creek Stay & Play Package
Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package
The course actually has a bonus/practice hole so you begin on hole #19 then continue on to hole #1, sorry you had confusion but I promise the staff would have been more than willing to help you sort it out had you asked. It’s under brand new management and they have worked around the clock to make the course playable again and still charge a fair price. We need to discuss how much improvement they have made in a short time and recognize them for attempting to take on this huge challenge to make this place what it is, from where it was when they started this task. It has not been an easy one by any means and they deserve so much credit for working hard to making what was once a great course, even a playable one now. Great things are coming soon I promise!