3 Michigan golf courses rank among top 100 golf courses in US
(CBS DETROIT) - Golf Digest released its most recent rankings of "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses," and three golf courses in Michigan made the list.
Ranking at No. 14, Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort was the golf course in Michigan that ranked the highest.
The course was designed by Perry Maxwell and Alister Mackenzie.
"Crystal Downs has fairways that zigzag and rumble over the glacial landscape and greens that have doglegs in them," according to Golf Digest. "One drawback is that the putting surfaces are so old-fashioned that they're too steep for today's green speeds. But that's part of Crystal Downs appeal. It's short but has considerable bite."
Next, at No. 20 on the list, is the Oakland Hills Country Club South Course, located in Bloomfield Hills.
Donald Ross designed the course in 1918 and felt his design needed to be updated for the 1951 U.S. Open and wanted to remodel it, but he died in 1948. Robert Trent Jones redesigned the course.
According to Golf Digest, the course closed in 2019 as Gil Hanse renovated the course, and it reopened in 2021. Unfortunately, the clubhouse at Oakland Hills was destroyed in a fire in 2022.
The U.S. Opens are scheduled to happen at the course in 2034 and 2051.
The Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club Bluffs Course ranked at No. 92. It is a public course designed by Warren Henderson and Rick Smith and opened in 1999.
According to Golf Digest, this course is often overshadowed.
"The Bluffs Course at Arcadia Bluffs has been overshadowed by No. 21 Pacific Dunes ever since it finished second to it in the Best New Upscale Public Course race of 2001," said Golf Digest. "And likewise it's been second-fiddle to No. 14 Crystal Downs, a northern Michigan neighbor that every visitor wants to play, even though it's private and Arcadia is public."
In addition, the course also faces competition from the Whistling Strait, located on the opposite side of Lake Michigan, even though the sand dunes at Arcadia Bluffs are mandmade.
For more information on each course, and to see the full list, visit here.
