Golf-South.net, your link to the Traveling Golfer.

by Claudio Demarchi

For years now golfers have been making their way up to northern Michigan with the lure of championship golf. Rightly so, as the folks from up north have done an excellent job in marketing their area! It is as simple as this – if you want golfers, tell them what you have to offer. If it is reasonable they will come because we all like to experience new and exciting golf destinations.
For many venturing into Michigan the drive time just got a whole lot shorter. In central Michigan, right on I-75, you will come across the mid-sized city of Saginaw, home to "The Fairways of the Valley". Here you will find 3 distinctively different championship layouts with conditioning that I would put up against anywhere – not just in Michigan.

We began our Fairways of the Valley adventure with a stop at The Golf Club at Apple Mountain - well known in the area not only for its golf but also for skiing in the winter and its conference facility making it a perfect place to meet. After golf you can check out The Grove Restaurant for some casual fare or if fine dining with an extensive wine list is more your style then Kathleen's is your place to be.

The parkland style course is well laid out with a good variety of holes, many offering risk reward opportunities. You get into your round with a fairly easy opening hole, but the easy part of the round comes to a screeching halt as you step onto the 2nd tee. One of the more difficult holes, this par 5 has water lurking down the right hand side and OB on the left. A straight tee ball is essential here as is your ability to avoid the deep bunkers that protect the front of the green.

Apple Mountain #3

The Fortress #16

Sawmill #8

Holes 5 & 6 take you up Apple Mountain where being distracted by the views is about as common as making the wrong club selection. The 5th is a gorgeous downhill par 3 over a lake and if you are a "grip-it and rip-it" type of golfer #6 is your kind of hole. Just watch it sail, but make sure you avoid that second hazard, left is best as I found out.

Beware of the 8th, 17th and 18th fairways, as balls that land too close to the edge of these fairways seem to be attracted to the water lining these holes. The par 4, 18th is a great finishing hole with water surrounding the green and the only hole on the course without a bunker. Our impression of Apple Mountain was that it is a great challenge, well conditioned and fun to play.

On our way back to Saginaw my buddy, Dave noticed a Hooters along the way. Of course we always have room and the time for a pint or two after a great game of golf. After we got cleaned up a bit we headed off for a nice Sushi dinner before turning in relatively early to get ready for our next day at The Fortress.

The Four Points by Sheraton is where we called home for our stay in Saginaw. Located at the corner of Tittabawassbe Road and Towne Center Road just off I-675, it is an ideal location, close to a variety of restaurants and shopping. For the ladies, the Prime Outlet Mall at Birch Run is only a short drive away.

To get to The Fortress you must venture into Frankenmuth. As soon as you enter this quaint little town you are overcome with Bavarian flavor. Pride of ownership is exemplified at the Fortress and there is no doubt that this course sets the standard for course conditioning everywhere.

The Fortress reflects characteristics of early Scottish origins with its fescue covered mounds lining the links style fairways and bunkers that protect the sectioned greens that average almost 7,500 square feet.

This course plays to 6,800 yards from the tips with formidable ratings of 72.8 and 132 but with 3 sets of tees this course is very playable for all levels of the game. The signature hole is most likely to be the par 3, 17th. Your intimidating 170 yard tee shot is all carry to a green walled by railroad ties. And don't be too long or you will find the Cass River in behind.

Favorite holes! That's tough – all of the par fives comes to mind. As for the par 4's, with water looming everywhere, the 13th and 15th, are somewhat intimidating. The Fortress is a real gem in central Michigan and not to be missed.

While at the Fortress you should make the time to walk the town and experience Zehnders' world famous family style chicken dinners where they claim to have served over 30 million plates. Believe it or not they have 9 dining rooms and for good reason.

Sawmill Golf Club was our final stop on our tour of Saginaw's Fairways of the Valley. Now, here is a course that offers a little bit of this and little bit of that. You ease into your round on a parkland style front nine with a creek meandering through a number of the holes. Holes 11 -14 tighten up considerably. Target golf at its best! Holes 15-18 culminate your round in a links style environment where length is certainly a key to winding up with a good round. The 16th and 17th holes are 392 and 432 yards respectively. 18 is a 546 yard par 5. Hit it long to bring it home strong.
Five sets of tees make it playable for all levels of play. It's only 6700 yards from the tips but the slope rating of 139 lets you know that you are in for more than just a walk in the park. Another superbly conditioned course!

As we left Sawmill, we were lead by our gracious host to any "winos" ideal shopping experience, Opperman's Cork' N' Ale. A 5,000 square foot Super Store of fine wines, beers and liquors. Here you will find over 2,500 wines from around the world with over 600 beers and hundreds of liquors including over 100 single malt scotches to choose from. What a way to end our visit to Saginaw. You can bet that the Cork' N' Ale will be our first stop on our next trip to the Fairways of the Valley.

What is a visit to the Fairways of the Valley going to cost you? You will be surprised – 2 night "Stay & Play Packages" including 3 rounds of golf start at $194 USD.

Plan now to visit The Fairways of the Valley! You won't regret it! Check out their website for many lodging options at www.fairwaysofthevalley.com or call them at 1-800-444-9979