Thunderbird Hills is a 36 facility that serves the Huron/Vermillion/Sandusky area out by Cedar Point and the Lake Erie islands. There’s no denying the South is in better condition, but I’ve always thought the North was the more interesting of the two. The landforms near the clubhouse and the undulations further out close to the Huron River make for engaging and demanding golf shots.
(How do you create a short bunkerless challenging par three? You extended it across a ridgeline with falloffs on every side. The 136/126 yard second is just a wedge or short iron yet it demands fearless precision.)
(The 356/280 yard par four fourth tempts players into advancing the ball to the valley short of the green. This brings the trees left and right into play. The prudent strategy is laying back to the 150 marker and taking your chances from there.)
(The driveable 290/240 yard par four sixth drifts slightly downhill to a circular green that slopes front left to back right. It’s a great birdie opportunity but be careful not to be too aggressive. Putts near the right edge will roll off.)
The North was designed in 1960 by Bruce Palmer. His intuition to place the greens on the highest spots was a great decision. The turtleback nature of them gives the course multiple defenses primarily the ability to repel shots that are offline. Those same slopes then demand delicate chips and pitches back to the hole. There’s no bunkers! This means sustainability, playability, and more fun.
(The 534/455 yard par five ninth plays out of a chute, rolling and heaving while doglegging right to a green benched into the hill. Crossing the creek at the bottom of the hill is crucial to securing a stress free par.)
(The 424/402 yard par four tenth is the most difficult hole on the course. Wetlands cross the fairway limiting how far one can drive it down the hill. A mid to long iron is then uphill to a green spread across a ridge. The pin position can be near impossible if it’s tucked in the right or left corners. Par is a good score.)
(The 382/360 yard par four thirteenth has another green atop a ridge with a valley short. It’s a delicate short to mid iron shot as you try to get below the left to right sloping putting surface.)
The biggest complaints I hear are the first six holes are too easy and it has too many short par fours (3,4 if tee moved up,6,17). While there is some validity to both, I feel the 7-16 stretch is full of solid golf and offsets these criticisms. (For good measure, the eighteenth is a dandy of a finishing hole.) I think the lack of internal contouring within the greens is what keeps it from being really good. Otherwise it’s a super fun course. It’s kept in good shape, and has a wide variety of hardwoods and evergreens. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).
(The 352/300 yard par four sixteenth is a layup off the tee followed by a mid iron approach. The green is a singular point with falloffs short, left, and right. It’s an underrated hole where par is a good score.)
(The 371/275 yard par four eighteenth has a semi blind drive downhill to a fairway with a large rolling ridge cutting in from the left. Be prepared to hit your uphill approach from a hanging lie. The green is below the clubhouse patio and has a steep back to front slope to it. It’s a great way to end the day.)
(I blogged the North ten years ago during the shoulder season when the grass was dormant. This time I wanted to update it with quality pictures in the heart of summer.)
(The 3b hole is a Y shaped deviation from the normal short par four third as the fairway doglegs right off the main fairway. I believe the hole plays 400 to this green with wetlands short. This view is actually from a different set of tees that plays this as a par three. I’d love to see them incorporate this onto the scorecard as a one shotter and eliminate the banal par three fifth. They could then lengthen the sixth or keep it as is. Either way, this needs to become part of the main routing.)
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