Looking back down the par 3 12th13th green with 14th tee behindSeveral bunkers protect the 17th

Next up is Robert Trent Jones Junior’s The Orchards, built over a gas field owned by Ron Dalby, if you get the chance, pop in and see him, his a great guy, loves to talk golf and is very proud of his course and rightly so, it will be holding the Michigan Open Championship for the next two years.

It has a great opening hole with a slightly blind tee shot and a very tough risk and reward 18th hole especially if the pin is at the back, you have to decided if you are going at it over the water or playing safe for a long two putt par. It’s a course that you will probably use every club in the bag and a great clubhouse where you can talk about it all over some great food.

Stand out holes for me were: The first is a slightly blind hole where you can see the rise in the fairway but not the landing area, but it’s still a great opening hole. I really enjoyed the run of holes from the 5th to the 8th especially the 7th hole, very reminiscent of a course in surrey around that stretch. There is a tough finishing stretch of holes from the 15th culminating with the beautifully designed 18th its yet another great hole to finish on.

The tightly guarded 4th green at The Orchards Golf Club © James Mason