Belvedere, Black River and the Chief Play

In the last few days I have played two new courses and returned to a classic.

The classic is Belvedere (shown above), of which I think it is in the conversation for the best publicly accessible golf course in Michigan. The course designed by Willie Watson dates from 1925 and has all the characteristics of a course of that vintage. It has organized the Michigan amateur forty times and was the summer home job of Golf Hall-of-Famer Tom Watson during his youth.

Watson has mentioned it as his third favorite course behind Augusta National and Pebble Beach. If you are lucky, you might see him on one of his travels to the club.

In recent years, the club has made a recovery of the course, based on the original drawings by Willie Watson, which were found during the demolition of an old building in nearby Charlevoix. You can read more and a review of Belvedere on the link.

Displayed above is the diabolical short par fourteenth, with its green above the Fairway. You have to be very good, or good luck to get away with a birdie or par.

I think Belvedere is great and would play more often if it was closer to Golfblogger Summer Head Quarter and a bit cheaper.

Black River Country Club is another classic course, dating from 1926. According to the Golf Club Atlas, the original nine were designed by Fred Riggin, with Wilfrid Reid and William Connellan who contribute the second nine. Later revisions were made by William Diddel.

I enjoyed the layout. Although many fairways are just straight shots, there are a number of wonderful quirky holes that make it worth playing.

Wilfrid Reid designs become favorites of mine. The original nine in Indian River, my course in the northern home, are the original work of Reid. I also enjoyed his designs in Indianwood, Brae Burn, Flushing Valley and Bald Mountain (even if the course conditions sometimes drop).

Unfortunately, Black River is one of that. A crew must continue with a chainsaw and cut some branches back. I think that some of the growth problems of the Fairway would also help. Much of Black River was not grass, but mowing weeds. I would not compare it with a rural club, but in that respect with a Muni at low to middle level.

Yet I had fun and I am happy that I added it to my “collection” of courses.

De Chief, Hole 10

However, I did not mainly enjoy the chef. The chef is in Bellaire and is an old game in Golf Northern Michigan.

My problems with the course are that it is 1) incoherent 2) and 3) simply average. Miss the fairway with a garden or something, and your ball borders from a hill to never see again. Ouldhill Tee -shots require long high wears to prevent you from closing in the face of a gorge wall. Clearly approaching angles, unpredictably interrupted fairways and blind shots contribute to the chaos.

The tone was set by what I think perhaps the worst opening hole is that I have played in recent years: a short par four that requires an iron or hybrid for a small landing zone on a hill, then 90 degrees on the right and requires an iron over a steep, downhill abyss. It is like opening a round with two parentries.

The random man with whom I was linked was a decent ball striker, but he didn’t have fun at all. Perhaps it would be better on a second game, with more price knowledge.

I will have a complete review later, but I can’t recommend it.