GolfBlogger: Golf Blog, Golf News, Golf Reviews and Golf Opinion

Ken Venturi, golf Hall of Famer and longtime golf broadcaster, died Friday at the age of 82.

A California amateur champion, Venturi as an amateur was the 54-hole leader at the 1956 Masters, eventually finishing second. He turned pro later that year. He also would finish second in 1960.

Venturi won fifteen times as a professional, but is best known for his insanely heroic finish at the 1964 US Open at Congressional. In oppressive Washington heat, Venturi suffered heat exhaustion and dehydration, but literally staggered to a 70 and a win.

After 1964, Venturi’s career declined as he developed a case of carpal tunnel syndrome.  Surgery eventually repaired the problem, but he retired in 1967. Venturi then spent the next 35 years as a broadcaster for CBS Sports. That in itself was an amazing feat, for Venturi had suffered from stuttering. His career at CBS was the longest in sports broadcasting history.

Venturi was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame just eleven days ago. He was unable to make the presentation.

Moose Ridge, South Lyon, Michigan

Here’s an updated list of Michigan courses I have played and reviewed. As of this point, I’ve done fifty one reviews (perhaps more, but I can’t find them on my own site), with another twenty still to go. I’ve taken notes and photos on every course I’ve played to enable me to write the review at a later date.

Reviews are based on my impressions of the course on the day(s) I played, and it should be noted that conditions and on occasion even the layout may have changed since I played.

All of the Michigan golf course reviews are from the perspective of a bogey golfer, and I place a premium on fun. I love courses that make you think a bit, and that don’t rely solely on length for their defense.  Also important to me is the ability to walk the course. I have found few courses where walking really was not practical. Too often, I believe, courses ban walking to pick up extra profits from the carts. Finally, I look for value. A course that sets a high bar by claiming “championship” status and charging a premium price had better be very good. A course that offers good golf at a bargain price gets good marks for meeting or exceeding their own standards.

Angels Crossing, Vicksburg, Michigan
Ann Arbor Country Club, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Arcadia Bluffs, Arcadia, Michigan
Arbor Hills, Jackson, Michigan
Bay Pointe, West Bloomfield, Michigan
Black Bear, Vanderbilt, Michigan
Black Forest, Gaylord, Michigan
Brae Burn, Plymouth, Michigan
Brookside, Saline, Michigan
Calderone, Grass Lake, Michigan
Carleton Glen, Carleton, Michigan
Cascades, Jackson, Michigan
Concord Hills, Jackson, Michigan
Coyote Preserve, Fenton, Michigan
Dunmaglas, Charlevoix, Michigan
Forest Akers West, East Lansing, Michigan
Forest Dunes, Roscommon, Michigan
Gauss Green Valley, Jackson, Michigan
Green Oaks, Ypsilanti, Michigan
Hartland Glen, Hartland, Michigan
Hawk Meadows, Howell, Michigan
Hickory Creek, Superior Township, Michigan
Hickory Sticks, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Hudson Mills, Dexter, Michigan
Huntmore, Brighton, Michigan
Idyl Wyld, Livonia, Michigan
Lake Forest, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Leslie Park, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Links at Lake Erie, Monroe, Michigan
Lyon Oaks, Wixom, Michigan
Moose Ridge, Souh Lyon, Michigan
New Rogell, Detroit, Michigan
Pierce Lake, Chelsea, Michigan
Pine View, Ypsilanti, Michigan
Raisin Valley, Tecumseh, Michigan
Reddeman Farms, Chelsea, Michigan
Rolling Meadows, Whitmore Lake, Michigan
Rouge Park, Detroit, Michigan
Rush Lake Hills, Pinckney, Michigan
Salem Hills, Northville, Michigan
Sandy Creek, Monroe, Michigan
Stonebridge, Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Fortress, Frankenmuth, Michigan
The Golden Fox, Plymouth, Michigan
The Majestic, Howell, Michigan
The Nightmare, West Branch, Michigan
Treetops Fazio, Gaylord, Michigan
Tullymore, Stanwood, Michigan
Western Golf and Country Club, Redford, Michigan
University of Michigan Golf Course, Ann Arbor, Michigan

and a few not in Michigan:

Indiana University Golf Course, Bloomington, Indiana
Lake Buena Vista, Walt Disney World
Musket Ridge, Marysville, Maryland
Whiskey Creek, Ijamsville, Maryland

Rush Lake Hills Golf Course
Pinckney, Michigan

Grade: C
Teacher’s Comments: A pleasant country course.

I first became aware of Rush Lake Hills when the boy’s golf team I coached was invited there to a multi-school tournament. I was intrigued by its down-home feel, and have since returned to play several times.

Rush Lake Hills is really two courses, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me that the two nines were built at different times. The first nine is relatively flat and long (3,334 yards), with generous fairways. Bombers will love it.

The back nine is shorter (2,861 yards), but much more tight and incorporating some more serious elevation changes. Accuracy is at a premium here.

Interestingly, the course is a par 73 (you don’t see too many of those). Total yardage from the back tees is 6237, while playng to a 69.9/118. From the front tees, it’s at 4,964 and 67.3/114. There are only two sets of tees.

Conditions at the course have been hit or miss for me. On one occasion I noted that it was in great shape. On another, I took a photograph of a relatively shoddy fairway to remind me of the poor conditions.

Truth be told, though, I’ve had a lot of fun at Rush Lake Hills. It’s got a sort of country charm, accentuated by the WW II style quonset hut that serves as the clubhouse. The one nine lets you grip it and rip it, while the other rewards the strategic thinker. You’re not likely to lose any balls, and even the double-bogey golfer will have a good time.

Make no mistake, though. This is not a “championship” course. It’s a basic, no frills, hit a few balls and have some good times kind of course.

You can’t beat the price at Rush Lake Hills. As of May 2013, it’s $20 with a cart on the weekdays; $32 with cart on weekends.

There’s another interesting aspect to Rush Lake Hills. It was built 1961 by Robert Herndon from a Robert Montville design. Herndon ran the course until his death, when ownership was assigned to the Henry Ford Hospital. Today, all of the profits from the course to to the Henry Ford’s Cancer Research Program.

More photos below:

Che Guevara Premium Golf Head Cover

Ridiculous Golf Item of the Week

New Rogell Golf Course
Detroit, Michigan

It feels strange to do a review of a course just a few weeks before it closes forever, but I feel compelled to record my thoughts for posterity. As of May 31, New Rogell is slated to be sold as a cemetery. Perhaps this is less review than Requiem.

New Rogell née Rogell née Redford Golf and Country Club née Phoenix Country Club is a Donald Ross design from Detroit’s glory days. It opened in 1914 as a nine hole course designed by Tom Bendelow. The course’s original intent was as a Jewish golf club, under the leadership of Max Fisher. Phoenix Golf Club was sold to the city of Redford in 1921, which hired Donald Ross to redo the original nine and finish the layout.

The Redford Golf and Country Club lasted until 1945, when it was sold to the City of Detroit. In 1979, the course was renamed the Rogell, after former Tigers ballplayer and city councilor Bill Rogell. Rogell, a shortstop, had led the Tigers to a 1935 World Series victory over the Chicago Cubs. It was by all accounts not a happy period for the course, as it suffered greatly from neglect. In 2007, it was purchased by Greater Grace Temple, which renamed the course New Rogell. The church has now given up on the property and apparently sold it to be used as a cemetery.

It’s a shame to see such an historic property go under.

An observant and knowledgeable player at New Rogell should have no problem imagining the course as it was in its heyday.  Rogell is compact, with many parallel fairways, and tees that closely follow greens. It is mostly open, with the exception of those holes on the perimeter and along the creek, which winds through a part of the property. The creeks are tributaries of the Rouge River, which passes through the back nine.

Greens at New Rogell are small—as you might expect—but there is a curious absence of bunkering. By my count, there are just eight.  My suspicion is that over the years most of the bunkers were grassed over rather than maintained.

In laying out the course, Ross took advantage of elevation changes created by the creeks as much as possible. It is actually pretty impressive for what might otherwise be a “flat” city course. By my count,  seventeen of the eighteen holes involved an elevation change.  Most of those were at least a club difference.

As you might expect from a course that literally has one foot in the grave, conditions were not great. Still, New Rogell was in better shape than I feared, and far better than a few I’ve played that are pressing forward among the living. The grass was neatly mown; fairways mostly filled in; greens and tee boxes were in good shape.

New Rogell is not particularly short, measuring 6,075 from the back tees and playing to a 70.1/127. From the middle tees, it measures 5,838 yards and plays to a 68.7/123.

As I was walking the course, I couldn’t help but think that it would not take a huge investment to restore the course. The jewel is there, if only someone would see fit to restore its luster.

The biggest problem to overcome, though, is the one that can’t be solved: location. New Rogell is in what some might call a “seedy” neighborhood. That is a characterization that is somewhat unfair, however. There are some very nice homes surrounding the course, and it did not feel at all unsafe. Signs in the parking lot warning of break-ins, however, tell the tale of a community in decline.

The course has been a part of the community for a very long time. A retired friend of mine tells stories of how he used to play the Rogell for fifty cents—or even sneak onto the property at the far end to play for free.

If you’re in the Detroit area take time before May 31, 2013 to play New Rogell. There aren’t that many Donald Ross courses open to the public, and certainly not many at this price.

More photos below:

Garmin Approach S1 GPS Watch

Garmin’s approach S1 watch is on sale at GolfSmith for $149, down from the original $249.