River Road Sports Complex

DubHyzer got a little too emotional about this course, he is entitled to his opinion, however, I had to send in a more positive rating to balance it out. His assessment of this course is totally wrong, I don't know what he was shooting at, but all tees face toward their pins. If the hedgerows were not used to define the fairways, you would have 24 150' holes in the open, flat terrain. I thought the holes were a great mix of long/short/left/right/straight. Mark Ellis, the 'Lizard Lawyer' once said to me that playing this course will make you a better player. I use every disc in my bag when I'm here. It is unlike most other courses in northern Michigan in that it is NOT on a ski hill and you don't have to be part mountain goat to play it. Now in the last 3 years (2011-2013) there have been a number of improvements, including regularly mowed fairways and new tee signs. I would recommend a spotter, play from the short tees, or even just walking the course if its your first time. A good friend of mine pointed out that blind holes are only blind the first time you play them. With a couple of exceptions the fairways are pretty wide, especially on the holes that are 300' or longer. Most people that I know that have played it more than once grow to love it. If you want to throw at ridiculously short easy holes, this course is NOT for you, try the front 9 at Harbor Springs instead. Ace runs from the long tees at River Road are few, unless you can throw over 300' easily. If you don't have time for a full 24, you can cut from 3's pin over to 16's tee for a short loop.