Leslie Park Golf Course (Ann Arbor, MI)

Leslie Park is a certified monarch butterfly sanctuary. Wildflowers grow all throughout the course but mainly they’re alongside the creek that meanders around the back nine. Hummingbirds were darting in and out of them the day we visited. The speed and multiple angles in which they fly is exhausting. And there’s not a single house to distract from the experience either. To me, this is what golf should be.

Owned by the city of Ann Arbor, Leslie Park was designed by Lawrence Packard in 1967, and renovated by Art Hills in 1995. It has a peculiar routing. The first three holes are in front of the clubhouse, and then it goes through a tunnel to a hilly parcel of land. Holes 

4-9 are located here, and these are the best ones. 

(The 359/337 yard par four third plays below the clubhouse. The fairway bunker looks menacing but a confident drive will carry it and leave just a short pitch in.) 

(The 507/484 yard par five fourth doglegs left off the tee before climbing up a steep hill. The longer player has a chance to reach it in two, but the shorter player must choose between laying up at the base or hitting it further up the slope.) 

The hillier section possesses great strategy. The player must determine where his best position is located, and then execute the shot. This might mean laying back to a flatter spot or going all out to get a shorter club in hand. Several big trees punish lackluster play, and the greens have plenty of slope and internal contour to make putting difficult. 

(The 407/378 yard par four fifth is a terrific hole. A good driver can take a chance and knock it down into the valley, but an offline drive will result in pitching it out from behind the trees. Laying up to the 150 marker is an option. The slope of the green is best handled by staying below the cup, a difficult task if hitting from too far back. Four is a good score. ) 

(The full scale of the rolling terrain can be appreciated in this picture. This is the drive of the 425/405 yard par four sixth. It’s uphill over a good sized valley. It also owns an animated green with plenty of roll in it. Reaching this in regulation starts with a strong tee shot as a poor one effectively makes this a three shot hole.) 


(The 149/132 yard par three seventh has a beautiful green with an infinity view all the way to the hillside in the background. Fully exposed to the wind, the player must properly gauge its strength and pull the right club.) 

(The 344/325 yard par four eighth has several options for golfers. Laying back is the easy choice, but there’s plenty of room down the right for a driver. Those who double cross and hook it left may find themselves wet.) 

Players cross a dirt road to start the back nine. It’s flatter on this side, especially 10 and 18, but it does have roll to it. The biggest feature is the creek. It comes in play on the first four holes 10-13. Then one hikes up a small hill and plays down to the flat land again. Fourteen through sixteen are good birdie opportunities before the final two holes finish it off in style. 

(The 404/376 yard par four tenth is a straight hole with the green on the opposite side of the creek. Being close to the hazard gives a better angle for the approach. Note how the front is higher than the back. This pin position is partially hidden since the bottom of the cup can’t be seen. Par is a good score.)

(The 403/374 yard par four thirteenth plays parallel to ten with the creek guarding the right side…

…the green is open in the front with bunkers on the sides. A good drive will allow an aggressive approach since the putting surface is more level than the others.)

(The short 150/139 yard par three seventeenth plays over water. The vista behind is absolutely gorgeous. When the wildflowers are all in bloom, it’s a kaleidoscope of color. A bold shot is needed to make a two.) 

Leslie Park is recognized as the best municipal course in Michigan and one of the top 50 municipals in America. The two holes that stop it from getting more love are nine and eleven. Both have very narrow fairways that don’t necessarily hold good shots. The ninth doglegs left against a hillside which one should be able to use to his advantage, but instead it’s kept as rough. The eleventh is a par five whose second shot plays through a notch in the hillside. The better players can pull it off, but the majority lose a lot of balls. 

(Leslie Park ends on a 436/402 yard par four. The green slopes towards the front right bunker, yet the opening gives the illusion that left is the proper miss. This is a classic finisher where par will be a good score.) 

Ann Arbor is surprisingly only two and half hours away from Cleveland. Obviously it’s the home of that team up north, but it’s cool college town, and makes for a good road trip. If one is thinking of going up then Leslie Park is well worth a visit. They play several tournaments here and the course more than holds it own. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). It’s also affordable which makes it even more like my kinda place. 

(The 174/156 yard par three twelth is across the creek to a well protected green. It’s the first thing you see when you pull into the parking lot. The wildflowers in the hazard area make for a welcoming introduction.)

(The 502/473 yard par five eleventh features this small gap in the hillside for the second shot. It’s quite intimidating even for a low handicap. Today’s pin tucked against the bunker in the back corner is probably the toughest.)