|
By House
Seeing the statue of the “PohlCat” driving in had me excited to play this course, which I had heard about since I became really interested in golf. In fact, Golf Digest named PohlCat “One of America’s twelve best new golf courses of 1992.” Parking in the lot and surveying the outlining holes, I was still impressed by what I saw. The clubhouse is a cool log cabin design and everything is right there for you: bag drop, pro shop, range. PohlCat is named after former PGA touring pro Dan Pohl, who is a Mt. Pleasant native and designer of the course. After warming up on the range after my 2 ½ hour drive, I was ready to “Stalk the Cat”!
| #4 |
The split fairway allows you to choose your own adventure on this par 4. The green is elevated, so make sure you fly one up there high. |
| #10 |
I am pretty sure you are as far away from the clubhouse as possible. Without the cart girl, we might have starved! |
| #13 |
The longest par 5 gives you a chance to drill your drive. Bunkers along the left side give you something to avoid while trying to put together a few well-struck shots. The green is large but has a lot of character. |
| #16 |
You are given a slight challenge on the tee box of this par 5 because you must hit the ball 235 yards to clear the wetlands. Once you successfully reach the putting surface, you are rewarded with a great 3-humped green. |
| #17 |
This is a tough par 3 if you miss the green. The green is narrow; the bunkers a plenty. |
| #18 |
This is a nice finishing par 4 that requires an accurate tee shot short of the trees. The fairway slopes to the river, further penalizing a hooked shot. The green is slightly elevated from the fairway and shaped like an hour glass. |
| This is a strange course that I think has to be played a few times to totally appreciate it and add as a favorite. Nothing was hidden from you, but there were unfortunate design aspects like trees in the fairway. We found most of the par 5s to be extremely challenging and the par 4s to be mostly mundane. The par 3s created very little excitement. |
 |
 |
| 1) |
Fee Factor
|
16
|
| If you are a student with a valid ID, a guest of a member, or playing on a holiday, then the rates are a good value. Other than that, I would say the rates are a bit high. |
| 2) |
Friendliness Factor
|
17
|
| I was making small talk in the pro shop and asked the young man what his favorite hole on the course was. He asked me to repeat the question (which I did), smirked (I didn't care for that), stared at me like I was an alien (I get that quite often), and responded with "numbers 2 and 5." Wow, what was so hard about that? |
| 3) |
Fringe Factor
|
18
|
| I liked the simplicity of the driving range and the location of the putting green. The putting green gave us a good indication of how the greens would play. Unfortunately, what it showed us is that they are inconsistent like the greens on the course. The clubhouse and pro shop were both very nice. |
| 4) |
From 1st Tee to Handshake Factor
|
18
|
| As stated, there are unique aspects to the design, not always in a bad way. They make a big deal about their greens and sand traps, which didn't really make a big impression on us. Overall, the course was nicely maintained. |
| 5) |
Fun Factor
|
18
|
| We didn't fall in love with this course, but it was overall a pleasant experience. |
Website: http://www.pohlcat.net/
Check out the Where to section: for places to eat, drink, and stay around Mt. Pleasant and southeast Michigan.
|
