Marietta Country Club (Marietta, OH)

Most private rural country clubs have a few wealthy members or a corporate membership that sustain the course to high standards. Marietta unfortunately does not have that luxury. The greens are nice but the lack of irrigation keeps the fairways and rough in poor condition. Crab grass, bare spots, and uneven mowing lengths result in a substandard surface from which to hit approach shots. It’s quite disappointing because Marietta has a strong design that would pull golfers from the tri-state area in abundance. 

The front nine plays back and forth through a valley with the 1st, 5th, and 7th teeing off by the clubhouse and the 6th and 9th greens playing up to it. Designed in 1901, the front perfectly fits that era’s style. Greens and tees are on the higher land and the fairways play down into the valley. Hardwoods and a creek provide the challenge. It’s not complicated, just good old fashioned architecture. 

(The 350 yard par four fifth has a creek in the perfect spot off the tee. Players can drive over it, but it’s a solid poke off the tee. This results in a layup that leaves a longer than desired approach…

…the green is elevated and has a tight window. The drive must be in the fairway to have any reasonable shot at it. Note how modern times have given players lines to aim their shots…
…on the scorecard the fifth looks like a birdie hole but a par would be a very good score.) 

(The 353 yard par four sixth is similar to the fifth but the terrain is not as abrupt on this side. Note two things in this picture. The first is the gorgeous clubhouse and second is the transition of the bunker. The sand is gone and the grass is filling in.) 

The back nine was designed in the 1930s and it is very different. The land is almost too severe for golf with rippling hills and ridges spread out in front of the player. There’s shotmaking options presented on every shot and only an experienced player will be able to tackle them. The greens are on little spines with falloff’s all around. The ball must flight in properly to hold them. There’s drama on every turn and it is a blast to play! 

(The 356 yard par four eleventh plays uphill to a bowled out fairway…

…the green is further uphill with grassed in bunkers guarding the tiny target. Anything short kicks down into trouble…
…looking back reveals a beautiful view of the Ohio valley. A modest tilt is the only feature in the green.)

(The 169 yard par three twelth is a lovely one shotter over a valley. It’s simplicity is what makes it beautiful. Nothing to distract one from hitting to the target. The pitch gives it all the teeth it needs. It’s a very good par three.) 

(The 347 yard par four fourteenth plays on the side of a ridge. The green with its precarious position makes this a terrific par four. It’s a short iron but one must control the clubface and make sure it doesn’t turn over too quickly otherwise a high draw will careen into the woods.) 

(The 415 yard par four fifteenth is one of the longer holes at Marietta. The ability to hit off an uneven lie makes this a first class hole…

…this view looking back shows the difficulty one faces hitting to this elevated green. Note how the right side of the fairway offers the best stance.) 

(The most photographed hole at Marietta is its 135 yard par three seventeenth. It’s a beautiful little shot over water…
…the green has two tiers with sand guarding the front left. It’s a great chance for a two.) 

(My favorite hole is the 418 yard par four eighteenth. I love the infinity fairway with just the sky as a backdrop. I feel if the trees on both sides were removed then it’d really be a cool tee shot…

…from the top of the hill the Ohio valley explodes into view. One can see the river snaking between the hills…
…the approach is all downhill to a green accepting both a high or low shot. The grass bunkers guard both short left and short right. What a terrific way to end the round!)

While I’m complaining about the fairway conditions, the club seems to have a vibrant membership. The course was full when I arrived and the pool was jamming as I was finishing. I reckon there’s not a ton of money down here and club makes due with what it has. Architecturally, Marietta is a gem of a golf course. If it was in better shape, it would be drawing golfers from a couple hours away. I’m giving Marietta my first 2-6 rating. If you catch it in the beginning of the year, it might be worth driving from Cleveland to play, otherwise, it could be something to see only if you’re in town.  I’m praying it gets the love it deserves and money flows in. 

[I played the blue tees at 6000 yards but only because I rented a set of clubs after realizing I left my own back at the house. The makeshift set I was using didn’t even have a driver, so I was forced to hit a Calloway Razor 3wd on every drive. It’s an eleven year old club and the irons were probably ten years older than that. The putter was the best! It belonged to a 6’5” doctor who no longer played. It literally came up to my sternum. The 79 was a really good score! 🙃]

{Marietta was the first settlement of the western territory. It is where Muskingum and and Ohio rivers meet. For history bluffs, the Lewis and Clark Trail starts here. For everyone else, I encourage a ride on the Valley Gem, a stern wheeler paddleboat. With a top speed of 13mph, and an average speed of 6mph, you’ll appreciate just how slow life was in the 1800s}

Greywalls - Marquette Golf Club (Marquette, MI) [revised]

#90 TOP 100 USA MODERN (GOLFWEEK)

#67 TOP 100 USA PUBLIC (GOLF DIGEST)

#65 TOP 100 USA PUBLIC (GOLF MAGAZINE)

#35 TOP 100 USA PUBLIC (GOLFWEEK)

I’d love to know who’s idea it was to build a golf course here. The property is so wild and rugged that only a visionary could see eighteen holes built on this land. There’s rock outcroppings, granite walls, box canyons, plunging drops, and a spectacular view that will take your breath away. I imagine it all started with a simple hike that turned into curiosity. That question turned into a resounding yes! And today, we play Greywalls! 

(The 579/545 yard par five opening hole has horizontal views that extend miles and miles across Lake Superior and it’s coastline. The tee shot is to a wide fairway that shouldn’t pose much trouble…

…things change starting on the second shot. A rock outcropping with a diving fairway play to a humpback green that is hard to hit in two shots. A reasonable second leaves a short pitch. A par is a fine start to the round.) 

(The 425/397 yard par four second hole crests over the hill and down to a green with a steep sideboard that will gather balls and send them onto the putting surface.)

When you pull into Marquette Golf Club, the Heritage course lines the road and plays alongside the clubhouse. It’s the par three course that plays over your head as you park in the back lot. After you pay for your round, the starter leads you to a shed and tells you to follow the green line on the path. It takes five minutes of driving to reach the first tee. It winds and twists it’s way past several holes, climbing up the escarpment with rocks and boulders all around. The excitement builds with every view, part astonishment, part fear. By time you reach the first tee, your neck is craning to take it all in. 

(The 425/379 yard par four fourth has a dramatic bilevel fairway. The upper left spills over to the lower right and it’s a blast watching your ball take the contours to see where it finishes up. An aggressive line down the far left side could propel to flip wedge range.) 

(The 312/290 yard par four fifth greets you with an uphill tee shot over a landscape of rock. The line of charm drags your eye to carry the outcropping…
…but it plays longer than it looks. (Thankfully my friend is left handed)…
…the green is nestled between rock outcroppings to the left and a sheer granite wall to the right. The back left corner is a prickly pin position that needs a spinning shot to hold the upper level…
…imagine a drive or even a pulled second shot finishing up here. Oh the mischievous spots one can find themselves in!) 

(The 188/178 yard par three sixth is awesome! Every publication has this view when describing Greywalls…

…the green slopes from back right to front left. The proper leave is below the hole. It is possible to putt off the green…
…looking back is just as spectacular as the view from the tee. Legend has it that there’s a secret tee atop the granite cliff on the right.)

(The 489/432 yard par four seventh has rock outcroppings, a bilevel fairway, and another great view. There’s room to drive it but the ball cannot carelessly wander or it can find itself in the rocks…
…the approach is to a humpback green with falloffs on every side. There’s a ramp short that will kick it on. It is very difficult to hit this in regulation…
…looking back reveals just how tumultuous the seventh is. Any short game shot is going to be difficult. A four is really a birdie in my opinion.) 

At Greywalls, it’s you verse the landscape. Mike Devries incorporated all the cool natural features in the design and it didn’t need many sand traps to challenge the player. In fact, eight holes are bunkerless. Many of the fairways are wide and the player has a lot of options to attack the hole. Most of the trouble revolves around the greens. There are no pedestrian recoveries and the greens have internal contouring that makes all the putts difficult. There are sideboards and backboards to use to your advantage but there are also crowned greens with false fronts to avoid. From the first tee shot on one to the last putt on eighteen, every shot is engaging. There is not one boring hole or a breather. Like a roller coaster at Cedar Point, every moment is a thrill! 

(The 389/360 yard par four ninth has the best view on the course, in my opinion. The green is slotted on a little ledge and the player who can turn his ball over off the tee will have just a pitch in.) 

(The 336/320 yard par four tenth has the niftiest green. The upper back right cascades a few levels to the front left. A bathtub feature in the middle right makes for an incredible pin position. Typically just a wedge, one must really visualize the shot he’s trying to hit.) 

(The 491/463 yard twelth is the longest par four on the course. The bunker in foreground is in play for those bouncing it on. This section is in a field and has traditional looking holes.) 

(The 240/202 yard par three fifteenth plays over a granite fissure to a green surrounded by rocks. The putting surface is angled with the green sloping high left to low right.)

(The 137/121 yard par three seventeenth has all sorts of ridges and bumps to tuck a pin position. A short iron penultimate hole is one of my favorites. Anything can happen!) 

(The 533 yard par five eighteenth is one of the coolest finishes you’ll play. It starts with a great view and plays to a plunging, bulbous fairway that gathers balls to the middle…
…the second shot can be any sort of lie to a wide field with a green in it. The hole plays 50-60 yards shorter than it’s listed yardage…

…this view looking back reveals the severity of the second shot. The green is like a pimple with the high point in the middle. Figuring out the slope and speed is the challenging part, especially from any significant distance. As you walk back to the cart, you’ll be chomping at the bit to go back to the first tee.) 

I’ve played Greywalls twice in the past three years, and it is such an amazing experience, just a unique golf course, that I’ve decided to bump it up one from my original write up in 2015. The Upper Peninsula, and Marquette in particular, takes a concerted effort to visit, but you’ll not be disappointed. I give Greywalls my first ever 9 (incredible)(plan a vacation around it). If Greywalls wasn’t so remote and had a longer golf season, it would be a top 20 public course in America.

 [Any trip to the Upper Peninsula would not be complete without kayaking the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If you need to coax the wife or girlfriend to make the trip, this place will push her into your corner.]

Northern Michigan University Golf Course (Marquette, MI)

Formerly known as Chocolay Downs, the Northern Michigan University course is a 1992 Bruce Mathews III design. While the course is inland from Lake Superior, the topography is rolling sand hills thus it has all the characteristics of a heathland course. The playing corridors are defined by an assortment of trees, scrub, and vegetation. 

There’s not many times where I just randomly show up and play a course. As the pictures will reveal, it was a dreary day in the UP, and we just decided to play golf somewhere. This little course turned out to be way cooler than I originally thought it would be. The ground had really good movement in it. The rolling hills showcased premium locations, often times the highest point in the fairway, while the lowest points were the worst angles. Of course the low points were the easiest to find especially when most of the land rolled out to those areas. 

(Look how the right half of the fairway has plenty of room yet the angle leaves a shot over the trees…
…a drive placed on the left has an opened look and allows several varying shot shapes into the green.) 

My only gripe about NMU was the use of sentinel trees. I seemed to have a lot of shots that were blocked out by them or I had to maneuver the ball around them.  If this was my home course, they would give me a significant advantage over visiting teams and players. I had read that Mathews likes to incorporate trees in his designs, so this is part of his philosophy. 

(The pin was located directly behind the large pine on the 323 yard par four fourth. The smart play is laying up to the left trap which opens up the entire green…

…here’s the 377 yard par four sixteenth with three trees guarding the left side. Note the base of the trees where rough is allowed to grow…
…finally the 332 yard par four eighteenth hole. I’ve never seen trees so close to putting surfaces on multiple holes. The rough at base of trees is more obvious here.) 

From the white tees, the course is only 5662 yards so we played the blues (tips) at 6221. The blue tees were in such cool places that some of the tee shots were unbelievable. I had the feeling they needed to lengthen it so they just found these spots and placed a tee there. It was my favorite part of the course. I found myself looking forward to seeing the next tee and what shot I had to hit. 

(From this tee, the shot was right to left. The left side was the garden spot that opened up the green. This is the 353 yard par four eighth…

…how about this view?! It’s only 334 yards but if you have any trouble elevating the ball, the blue tees are not for you. Note the tire tracks. It’s all sand. Btw, the white tees are nearly 100 yards ahead right of the trees…
…the eighteenth doglegged to the left which meant straight shots need to be worked into green with trees guarding the right. Note previous picture of eighteenth green)

The biggest takeaway I had from NMU was the sandy terrain. Last month when I was in Iowa with The Walking Golfer Society, one of the guys from dinner exclaimed that Michigan should have ten Bandon Dunes! That’s how good the terrain and coastline views are! After seeing the playing characteristics at NMU, I’m starting to wonder if he was right. As for this course, it’s in good condition, has a fair price, and has plenty of interesting shots. I definitely would recommend it if you’re looking for an affordable place to golf while in Marquette. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

[A side trip for those who enjoy hiking is a trail called Hogback. It’s pretty rugged with roots and rocks to walk over. The last quarter mile ascends verticallly about 200 feet. The view from the top is amazing! On a clear day, one can see the Keneewah Peninsula.]