Radrick Farms is Pete Dye’s first eighteen hole golf course. He stated in his book, Bury Me in a Pot Bunker, that he didn’t construct it (took UM three years to build) and when he visited to see how it was progressing, many of his ideas were not implemented. I’m glad they weren’t. The property is so beautifully suited for golf that it doesn’t need all the overstimulation Dye is known for. Instead, all the hills and ridges are artfully employed as the holes drop and rise in graceful, and sometimes, dramatic fashion. Dye turns the holes so effortlessly by using specimen trees to guide the fairways around the landforms. The greens are never attacked straight on, but curve or angle from the direct line. It’s a thought provoking course, and one that is so mightily different from the genre that he single-handedly ushered in. The massive amorphous greens are terrific in their contour, and several look as if they’re sliding off the hillside, similar to Springfield Country Club, a course that Dye would have intimate knowledge of.
(The 490/467 yard par five fifth doglegs right to a large green that slopes severely to the front. A hillside of long grass to the left and a narrow water hazard right await any long shot not accurately struck.)
The two holes that everyone will long remember are eight and nine, both short par fours. Eight fairway jogs left around a large sand trap, daring the player to take on the carry. The gull wing green is a real treat as the far left and right pin positions require deft accuracy to get close. Bail out to the middle and you’re in danger of three putting. The ninth follows with a dropping tee shot between sand and trees. The green is fantastic, pinched in by steep bunkers, and sloping towards the player. The rear portion is narrow.
(The 334/320 yard par four eighth)
(The 345/325 yard par four ninth)
The course continues to explore every part of the property and many will be stunned by the drop shot par three fifteenth, an anomaly in southeast Michigan. The sixteenth and seventeenth hole finally reach the valley floor as Fleming Creek protects the left side of the reachable par five and strong par four. The round finishes with the hole emerging from the trees through a saddled fairway to a green underneath the clubhouse. It’s a wonderful ride and one that accentuates all the strong qualities of this land that once was a gravel mine.
(The 183/171 yard par three fifteenth drops over 100’ to the green.)
Radrick Farms is owned by the University of Michigan, and the membership (it’s semi private) is relegated to faculty and donors. It’s a bit more difficult to get on here than the UM course, and I exchanged emails for a month with the GM to setup a tee time. The $170 was a tad more than I was expecting (it includes cart, range balls, lunch, bag tag) but I thought the experience was really great. Only the thirteenth, a super tight dogleg left par four, seemed out of character. My credibility might be challenged but I liked it better than the Alister Mackenzie - Perry Maxwell designed Blue. (That course is rated as the third best college course in America.) I encourage everyone to play both and formulate your own opinion. I give Radrick Farms a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play).
(The uphill 196/137 yard par three fourth hole.)
[Joby and I played the blue tees at 6,442 yards, Jim the silver at 6,253, and Ken the whites at 5,829. Jim shot the low round, avoiding the big number, while Joby and I both had three double bogeys. Ken started strong but stumbled in the middle of the back nine.]
University of Michigan Course: http://golfingwithshawn.blogspot.com/2022/05/university-of-michigan-golf-course-ann.html?m=1
[[I need to comment on how secluded the Radrick Farms is. The entrance road is probably a quarter mile through a canopy of trees. It feels like your own personal course, and the vibe is low key.]]
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