Greywalls (Marquette, Michigan)

"On my yikes-meter scale of 1-10, this course starts as an 11!"

                              -Brad Klein 

Greywalls is pure nothern Michigan golf! It's located in the upper penisula, a piece of land that touches three of the five Great Lakes. The site is on a very rugged piece of land, yet Mike Devries was able to design an unbelievable golf course. Golf World magazine stated when it opened that it was one of the ten best new golf courses in the world! 

Greywalls starts with a downhill par five. The view of Lake Superior from the tee lets you know it's gonna be a great day! 

The green is draped across a a little knoll at the end of the fairway. It's a very tiny target to hit with a wedge so a long player trying to hit it in two really has his work cut out for him. 

The second hole is a good par four that doglegs right. 

The green has a pronounced slope short left in the fairway and it seems like it ll take a couple plays to figure out how much borrow is needed to get the ball to stop on left tier or get it to transition all the way to the lower right. The third hole then follows with a solid par three across the wetlands. It's the quietest hole on the course with no rock outcroppings or great views to distract. 

The next four holes are the best stretch of golf. The fourth has two options off the tee. There's a ramp where it looks like a large boulder with fairway on it goes up.

It's a bold looking feature. Meanwhile the lower fairway to the right is also an option. I'm not sure which is the best. I hit it up the ramp and then lasered an iron to ten feet for a birdie. The fifth maybe the most spectacular hole of it's length of 312 yards. Usually a hole of this short length allows different options off the tee, but not here, it's at least 190 yards up over the rock valley. 

The sheer granite wall in the distance is where the green is located. And it is a very cool green site! 

It is a great hole! I'm sure it's one of the members favorites. Of course six is probably THE hole at Greywalls. 

It's a spectacular par three located in a box canyon. It s the one hole that Devries had to design. It fits in this sequence and blends in very well. And then seven finishes off these four holes with a long par four down the hill. The tee box is not very big and I remember reading that Devries wanted it to be akin to a being on a bow of a ship. 

A rock wall lies in wait at the end of the fairway. The driver might be too much as it's downwind downhill. The wild green finishes up the hole. 

The eighth to eleventh plays in what is referred to as the middle section. I'm not a big fan of this hole. Where do you drive the ball? 

The fairway slopes so hard to the left. Is it possible to carry not over the huge rock? Maybe. Nine follows with a fine par four that doglegs left around a bunker in the elbow. The green is benched into the hillside with a granite wall providing the steep falloff on the left. The view of Lake Superior culminates a fantastic front nine!

The tenth starts the back with a short par four that plays straightaway. From tee to green, it's pretty simple, but the putting surface is incredible. There's a back right upper pin placement, the the left side cascading down to the front, with a big slope between the upper and lower right side. A short iron is a must to have any chance to stop the ball close to the hole. 

Eleven descends into the lower portion of  property, and it's another hole that I'm not a big fan. The fairway is littered with eight bunkers and I feel it's kind of a crapshoot to find a good spot to hit a second shot. Add in the green which is somewhat generic in my opinion, and it sums up what a transition hole is. Then twelve follows with a monster par four. The bunker that fronts the green makes this especially hard to reach in regulation. 

The thirteenth is a well bunkered uphill par five. The green extends from the fairway while elevating to a pushed up surface with fall offs on the sides. The long hitter will find this to be the toughest par five on the course. Being long or to the sides is a very difficult position to get a good putt for birdie. Then fourteen follows with a good downhill par four. There's a spine that runs into the green and it's possible to play for that feature and run the ball onto the green. 

Fifteen turns back towards the rock outcroppings and does so in dramatic fashion. It's a long par three over a craggy ditch with rocks backdropping the view. 

There's plenty of room to bounce it on! I would think a three is a very good score! 

The last three holes are all good birdie opportunities. Sixteen is a short to mid length par four. The tee shot is key here as the wetlands outline the far side of the fairway. A good aggressive tee shot leave a short iron approach and a good chance for three. Seventeen is the shortest hole on the course, basically a 130 ish par three. The green is cool as bunkers front it while the contours work high short right to low left. I remember carrying the trap and seeing my ball appear on the left side after a few moments. There's a lot of different ways to get close to the pin! Fun hole!!

Finally eighteen is a severe downhill par five. The rock outcroppings pinching in on both sides as the fairway plunges between them. It's a fun tee shot!

The green tho is very simple...it has a mound, or more like a pimple in the rear center. It influences all the putts and chips. When I played it, the pin was right behind it. My second shot hit the green and disappeared. I found it a few feet away for eagle!! Nothing like a three or four on the card to cap off a very exciting day of golf!!

Greywalls is consistently rated as the second best course in Michigan, an impressive accomplishment considering the depth and quality of the courses. It's easily one of the top 100 public courses in the USA, and having played it, I have to see Mike DeVries' Kingsley Club, which many say is his best! What I like best bout Greywalls is Devries takes you to all the best parts of the property. It's a throwback!! The holes weren't design with a tournament in mind! It's challenging, it's quirky, and most of all, it's fun! It's one of my favorite courses to play and I wouldn't hesitate to make the drive up. I give it an 8 (excellent) rating!