Eagle Eye Golf Club (Bath,MI)

Eagle Eye was designed by Pete Dye Protégé Chris Lutzke. It is jaw dropping how much dirt was moved to create the giant hillocks that isolated each hole. The resulting lakes are used in appropriate Dye-like fashion with water laden par threes and risk/reward finishing holes on both nines. However, the hole that everyone looks forward to, anticipates, and talks about is the island green seventeenth which is an exact replica of the one at Sawgrass. 

If you’re familiar with Dye than you’ll recognize many of the concepts used to defend par here. Angles and visual intimidation are just a couple, but Lutzke also goads players into challenging the line of charm as opposed to the wide fairways. There’s also Dye’s favorite hole, the switchback, where one is asked to work the ball one way off the tee and another way into the green. Railroad ties are everywhere! Visually, Eagle Eye is as difficult looking as any course I’ve seen. Thankfully there is plenty of fairway although a few centerline bunkers will make you choose between an aggressive vs conservative route. It all adds up to a course that can matchup against any caliber of player. 

(The 422/408 yard par four opening hole allows the golfer to cut over the corner of rough to shorten the approach. The width and depth of Eagle Eye instantly announces it’s superiority.) 

(The 171/143 yard par three second has an intriguing green angled in a way that demands the ball work right to left. Today’s rear pin looks like it’s on a small table.)

(The 351/297 yard par four third has a driveable green just to the right of the fortress bunker hill. The hill is completely random with all sorts of lies and stances making it a must avoid spot. Bailing out left leaves a blind shot over the hill with a poor angle…
…a couple ridges guard against players who laid up left from the water. Note the hazard right of the green. Most will be short on the approach and have to navigate the ridges on the chip n putt too.) 

(The 210/189 yard par three fifth has little room to bailout. Three bunkers in the front right choke any ounce of comfortability on the tee shot. It’s an absolute beast in the wind. Note how the water eats into the land just past the tee shot, making the green look even tinier.) 

Eagle Eye is part of a huge golf complex just outside of Lansing. It dominates golf around the state capital and is rated in Golfweek’s top 100 public courses at #85. Golfweek also has it as the the fifth best public course in Michigan. This is high praise indeed considering the depth of great courses found in the Great Lakes State. 

(The 364/320 yard par four sixth has a centerline bunker that forces the golfer to choose which line he’s attacking. The right side will leave a straight on shot while those who went left have this delicate shot over the bunker.) 

(The 598/494 yard par five ninth is a wonderful risk reward classic finish. The gambling golfer who hugs the water has shorten the hole and take a chance to reach it in two…
…it’s not a shot for the feint hearted. Note the fairway and how it drops down into the green. The short hitter will be playing to the upper half…
…looking back you can see the centerline bunker and the decisions the golfer makes to get to the green. It’s a fantastic hole that can produce a lot of drama.) 

(The 237/185 yard par three twelth has a giant four club green that changes dramatically as the pin rotates between back and front. Note the three pot bunkers and the putting surface above them. Par is a great score.) 

There’s a lot of great architecture here and some original takes on Dye’s philosophy. Lutzke captured his style perfectly. How ironic though that the one hole everyone is chomping at the bit to see is a complete replica of the island green at Sawgrass? Lutzke hid it in a pit where you don’t see it until you’re finally coming off the sixteenth green. For me, it was a powerful moment. It’s arguably the most famous hole in golf, and here in Lansing Michigan, you can play it almost in the same kind of conditions you’d find in Florida. For many people, it’s the reason why they sought Eagle Eye out. Enjoy the moment!!

(The 487/453 yard par four thirteenth plays across the water and alongside it all the way to the green. Into the wind, it can play longer than the par fives at nine and eighteen. A bogey is not a bad score.) 

(The 394/360 yard par four fifteenth has a volcano green that has a falloff at every point. From the tee it looks benign but should you be brave and shoot at the pin then you better be exact. Any mishit will plunge all the way to the bottom of the hill…
…this view shows how abrupt the slopes can be. A few tucked pins can induce fear of putting off these same slopes.) 

(The 458/403 yard par four sixteenth doglegs left off the tee and back right on the approach. Like the second hole, the green bananas around a hazard. Note the golfers above the green on the left. The island green is on the other side of that hill.) 

This is the view from above after walking off sixteen. What many don’t realize until they play it is the amount of slope the green has especially for front pins (like today) and back right pins. Note the sign next to each tee marker. Eagle Eye has the exact yardage to the pin from each spot. (This feature is on each par three btw) This was a first for me. My son-in-law and I had been talking bout this hole all day and decided we would take a video of each other hitting to the green. It will probably go down as my greatest shot (I told my daughter she can play it on a loop at my funeral). I holed it out for an ace!!! 

I’ve played many of Pete Dye’s best courses and Eagle Eye fits in perfectly with many of them. However, this course is completely manufactured. There was so much earthmoving to dig out the lakes and create all the mounding and hills. It goes to show how heavy equipment and modern technology can transform a flat field into a rugged beautiful landscape. As amazing as this is, I’ve always felt the very best courses take advantage of their natural settings. That’s not the case here, but it’s still a terrific golf course. I give Eagle Eye a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play).

(The 589/525 yard par five eighteenth plays alongside the water all the way to the green. My only gripe was how much the hillside pushed into the landing area of the layup. Downwind, it can be reached in two. Note the filled in grass area next to the water…

…this is the side view with the ninth hole in the background. Both holes were designed to be played downwind. High drama for sure! Birdies and eagles are all possible here!) 

Note the yardage and the slope and course rating from the tips! 

[I played the course with my son-in-law who has the golf bug and hits the ball a mile! We played the blue tees at 6412 which is a tad bit more than I’m used to playing. The wind was a consistent 10-15 mph with gusts up to 20 mph. It was a difficult day to golf, and with all the trouble one can find here, anything in the 70s would’ve been a great score. I was so jacked up on my hole in one that I made a careless bogey on eighteen to shoot 80. It didn’t matter because I was on cloud nine for over a week!]