Rackham Golf Course (Huntington Woods, MI)

Rackham is a proud course steeped in history. To think the city of Detroit was trying to sell it just six years ago makes me shake my head. Thankfully it remains a golf course, and during Covid, it saw a resurgence of people who took up the game. It’s popularity is better than ever and I can attest to its fine conditions. This Donald Ross course has gone through a lot due to the expansion of I-696. The front nine is completely reconfigured but the back nine is untouched. Its centennial anniversary is next year and it was a pleasure to finally play it. 

Rackham’s biggest contribution to golf centers around it’s head professional Ben Davis who broke the color barrier for African Americans to teach golf. He was the head pro for 50 years, and won the Michigan Senior PGA Championship in 1974 and the National Senior Tournament in 1979. His students included basketball hall of famer Bob Lanier as well as boxing great Joe Louis. He touched many others, giving invaluable golfing advice as well as being a mentor for others to become head professionals. 

(The 530/515 yard opening hole features a well placed bunker that makes long hitters think twice. It hides the right side and confuses depth perception for right hand pins. It’s a good hole.) 

(Jerry Mathews did a fine job reconfiguring the front and giving it a Ross look and feel. The 326/315 yard par four second has an offset green so the best angle is from the left side of the fairway. I like how the green sits between two mounds yet the back half falls off on the sides.) 

(The 507/502 yard par five seventh is one of the few holes on the front that is Ross. Notice the narrow entrance with the bunkers flanging out. The green widens in the back. Long hitters who go for it can find themselves in some awkward positions. It’s a good hole.) 

The city of Detroit owns Rackham (it’s literally next to the Detroit Zoo) and their lack of money tends to leave it in just so-so shape. There’s bare spots and thin lies; the bunkers are crumbling; and the drainage is poor. All the things you think about when you think about old municipal courses. However, the greens roll fine, and the course has a pedigree that will test any player around. The back nine is as tough as they come. We’re talking three par fours at 451, 424, and 448 yards coupled with par threes at 213 and 220 yards. The greens have strong back to front pitches. Rackham has the kind of bones that screams for a healthy restoration. Why the USGA doesn’t invest in a course like this is beyond me. It’s held the US Publinx Championship twice in 1940 and 1961. (The 1961 event was won by Richard Sikes who would become the PGA tour’s rookie of the year in 1964.) 

(The 348/333 yard par four twelth has a wonderful green that looks small but is actually large. The green pitches forward but it slopes off at the front left and front right corners. It’s very difficult to get to a front pin position.) 

(The 213/204 yard par three thirteenth has a giant bunker guarding the right half of the green. The putting surface is crowned and difficult to hold with a long iron or hybrid. I hit it in that bunker and it’s good ten to fifteen yards short of the green.) 

(The 519/511 yard par five fourteenth is a solid hole. A steep green is it’s main defense. Don’t be long.) 

(The 220/215 yard par three sixteenth is an absolute monster. The small green is hard to hit in regulation, and the bunkers surrounding it will trap any ball hit offline.) 

(The short 349/299 yard par four seventeenth is just a flick wedge shot in. From the center of the green, most putts will be 25 feet or less. Note how the bunker face is crumbling in.) 

(The 448/421 yard par four eighteenth is a long par four with a very difficult green. Besides being steeply pitched, the high left corner has some dicey slopes that are hard to read. A set of bunkers cross fifty yards short which gives the hole an even more sinister appearance. Four is a winner every day of the week!) 

Rackham gets panned by many people including those from Detroit but they don’t realize what they're looking at. With a little bit of love, Rackham would easily climb onto the best municipal course list. It’s a strong course with a neat attachment to the zoo where one has a peak from the fifteenth and sixteenth holes. The historic clubhouse is an Albert Kahn design and might be worth the price of admission just on its own. I’m probably being charitable with my enthusiasm towards the place but I really enjoyed Rackham and it exceeded my expectations. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(With a clubhouse this grand, there should be a small food vendor inside and tables should be available under the patio.)  

(Here’s an overlay of Rackham with Ross’ original design in the green outline. Most of the back nine is the same plus a couple holes on the front …ie seven and nine. Note the driving range between nine and ten. Who knew Ross was building those back then. Also a creek cut through the property too.) 

[we played the white tees at 6268 yards. I got off to a really great start and only a lip out on nine prevented me from being under par for the front nine. The back was a completely different story. To be quite honest, I got my butt kicked. I was in four bunkers and was +7 heading into seventeen.  I was able to take advantage of its short length and made birdie. This restored some confidence and a solid par on eighteen had me signing for a 77. I’ll take it. On a side note, one of my playing companions taught English in Jordan. Apparently Detroit has a direct flight there. The conversations between shots was just as engaging.)