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By House
The original Stanwood course is yet another Jerry Matthews classic. Matthews has dominated our mid-Michigan journey with St. Ives, Buck’s Run, Hawk Hollow, Cutter’s Ridge, and The Emerald. The layout is an environmentalist’s dream and a purist’s challenge. The expectations for this course were extremely high. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about St. Ives and Tullymore for years. Both courses ranked high on our “must play” list, but there never seemed to be enough time during our run at the end of last season. St. Ives is a resort course, with adequate accommodations right next door. After the round, nothing felt better than relaxing before heading out to the various spots around the Tullymore complex.
There is no reason to go into hole-by-hole descriptions because you will receive a very thorough “Pro’s Pointers” awaiting you in each golf cart. Add a yardage guide for the fan of all things glossy and pretty (yes, I got one) and you will possess everything you need to navigate your way around the course.
| #1 |
Typical Matthews: a layup to a landing area that will penalize aggressive play. Then a dogleg left to a beautiful downhill shot to the green. While setting up your second shot, you will get a view of Lake Mecosta in the background of this stunning first hole. Don't even think of using your driver on this hole! |
| #2 |
There's no place to bail out on this par 3. The marsh goes from tee to green. Hope you have you irons dialed in or you will be teeing it up again. |
| #3 |
Elevated greens are always so enjoyable to fire into. Club up and enjoy the views from both the tees and the green. |
| #14 |
This par 4 hole cost VW a little bit of his sanity. He shot par the rest of the back- this hole killed him. Placement is paramount on the hole. Your driver should not be looked at; go with a 3w or 2h depending on what you fill comfortable with. Hit to the right side of the green and realize it slopes back to front and right to left. |
| #16 |
Water, water everywhere on this par 3. The peninsula green is relatively easy once you arrive. VW birdied and I settled for par. |
| #17 |
This is another great finishing hole. This par 5 has water along the entire right side. It is a true three shot hole unless you are a monster hitter and can get home in two. The green is large but pretty testy. |
| #18 |
You finish the opposite way you started. Instead of a green downhill like the par 4 1st, you get an elevated green on 18th. The holes coming in give you a chance to gain some strokes on your opponent or watch it blow up. |
When confirming our schedule earlier in the season, I asked VW "What about St. Ives?" He responded with confusion, "The malt liquor?" However, there are a couple of holes on this course that will have you wishing you had hit the 40 oz. prior to teeing it up at St. Ives.
To be honest, this course didn't live up to the hype, but that is not to say it isn't very nice and enjoyable to play. It is a fantastic course! Perhaps playing it again would reveal more of the nuances I missed during the first time through. Perhaps when you play it back to back with its little brother (Tullymore), it fails simply by comparison. This is a top course in the state, but for us, it wasn't the top Matthews course in the area (Buck's Run). |
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| 1) |
Fee Factor
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17
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| Call or look online; they offer promotions for this very nice course. |
| 2) |
Friendliness Factor
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19
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| The staff was very polite and professional in the pro shop. The bag attendant was very nice college guy. We exchanged small talk about the pleasantries of summer Michigan driving/ construction and how it makes the sanest of us a little crazy. The starter explained the history of the course and explained what to expect right out of the gate on the first hole. |
| 3) |
Fringe Factor
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19
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| The pro shop won awards in the past, but I found it just to be nice, not awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, the St. Ives Sports Pub & Grille was not open the day we played. We were told that is a fun place to have a beer post-round. I peeked in and much to my amusement I saw a Zetterberg jersey on the wall. Who says the 19th hole bar needs to be purely golf themed!?! The driving range was right outside the pro shop, so there's no long cart ride to warm up, which is very nice. A chipping green and putting green are also available to you. |
| 4) |
From 1st Tee to Handshake Factor
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18
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| Well designed and maintained. The beginning and ending holes really stood out. Some of the middle holes were unremarkable. |
| 5) |
Fun Factor
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18
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| I never met a Jerry Matthews course I didn't like. St. Ives offers some challenging and entertaining holes that will test golfers of all skill levels. |
Website: http://www.tullymoregolf.com/golf/st-ives/golf-club.asp
Check out the Where to section: for places to eat, drink, and stay in southwest Michigan. We say make a golf weekend out of it. There are numerous options to stay and play (for larger groups you can rent a house or a condo). We chose the popular Inn at St. Ives located at the course. Play both courses at least once. There isn’t much to do around Stanwood, so keep that in mind. We enjoyed food at the Tap Room at Tullymore after our round. We were treated like family and enjoyed the conversation with the waitress and manager. I suggest the Mexican Queso Fondue as an appetizer. It really hit the spot prior to our meals.
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