Challenge a top-100 course at Tullymore Golf Club in Stanwood, Michigan
STANWOOD, Mich. -- From the $7 million clubhouse to the Jim Engh design outside, Tullymore Golf Club delivers a "top 100" experience for golfers just west of Mount Pleasant in the state's midsection.
Tullymore G.C., which opened in 2002, checks in at No. 36 (Golf Digest) and No. 83 (Golf Magazine) among the top 100 public courses in the country. Such lofty praise from the critics is indicative of Engh's unique style and strong routing through the marshy lowlands and forest of the Canadian Lakes.
Intriguing, short par 4s and serpentine-like bunkers are Engh's signatures. Tullymore's short par 4s at No. 3 and No. 9 highlight a par-35 front nine that can be blitzed if players handle their business at the three difficult par 3s.
Tullymore Golf Club's par-37 back nine fights back with two monster par 5s, the 615-yard 13th hole and the 608-yard 16th hole, and a third par 5 that's a risk-reward finish to the round. No. 6 and No. 14 are strong Cape holes, daring players to cut off hazards for shorter irons into the greens.
The bunkers might look good in aerial photos, but they're penal. Scot Cucksey, the head professional at Tullymore, compares getting stuck in a finger of these narrow sand traps to landing in a pot bunker overseas.
"They are true hazards," Cucksey said. "The best designers make bunkers hazards."
Kiel Christianson:
The Accidental Golfer:
Jason Scott Deegan:
Golf with Shanks: