The Patriot/Fox Run Country Club Review

The Patriot/Fox Run Country Club
Grayling, Mich
Grade: C
Teacher’s comments: Good basic golf.

The Patriot, formerly known as Fox Run Country Club, is a park and forest course located near Grayling, Michigan.

The Patriot’s architect is Jeff Gorney, who also designed The Dream and Nightmare in West Branch and the now closed Little Traverse Bay. It was built in 1989 or 1990. I should note, however, that it doesn’t remind me of any of these at all. That’s probably due to a much less dramatic landscape at The Patriot.

The Patriot is a good basic wave. There’s nothing special about it, but from a design perspective there’s nothing to criticize either.

The majority of The Patriot’s holes are flat, with more or less straight shots from tee to green. A few, especially towards the back of the site, are rougher, with the par 4 fourth and par 3 fifth having significant elevation changes.

The Patriot is generally a friendly game, with only four holes calling for a forced handoff off the tee – and two of them are negligible. There is swamp on the sides of several holes, but water only becomes a real threat on the par 3 fifth and par 3 seventeenth.

Fairways are wide enough that any reasonably good shot will stay out of the trees. The greens are on the softer side. Bunkers are limited to the greenside and all greens are open in front, allowing for a variety of approach shots.

However, ball placement from the tee can be important as several holes have trees blocking the lines of play from one side. In this context I am thinking especially of the eighteenth. It is important to think about which side to play from the tee.

My favorite hole was the par 4 fourth of 377 meters. The tee shot goes downhill through a relatively narrow opening in the trees. A good shot will hug the left side to provide a clear line to the green for the approach.

At the bottom of the hill, a patch of swamp and some trees encroach from the right. Too far from the tee, and the line becomes indirect and treacherous.

The waterway around the swamp is narrow and is flanked on the left by an embankment.

The green itself is slightly uphill again. It is flanked on the left by a slope and on the right by bunkers.

I play the hole poorly and find myself too far right on the landing zone off the tee. That left me with a shot to the left of the green as my only safe second.

On a second drive around The Patriot, I aimed my tee shot more to the left to give myself a better approach.

What I liked about the hole was the two-way elevation change: from the tee and back to the green. If you know what you’re getting into on the hole, there are a few options to make a meaningful club selection decision.

This is also the number one handicap hole on the course.

The Patriot is not a long course and comes in at just over six thousand yards from the back tees.

The conditions on the day I played were really mixed. Some holes were in good condition. Others suffered. One couple looked like they had forgotten to mow for days. I can’t remember a course with so much variety.

Still, I have the feeling that management is making an effort. There are very beautiful hanging baskets of flowers on the tee boards, and a beautiful floral design “The Patriot” on a hill near the fourth green and fifth tee.

I don’t know if I’d take another round at The Patriot, but the locals are lucky to have it. The Grayling area has only a few “local” courses, including Forest Dunes and The Loop, which as resort courses are in an entirely different category, especially in price.

The Patriot is also very conveniently located off I-75, so it can very well serve as a convenient stop if you are heading to or returning from a vacation in northern Michigan.

The Patriot Golf Course Review was first published on GolfBlogger.Com on January 27, 2026 from notes and photos taken during a round played in the summer of 2025.

A photo tour course will follow.

Related