Michigan Golf Journal September 2019

35 September 2019 www.michigangolfjournal.com parkland style is the quickest way to describe the course that is part of the county park system – tree-lined, gently turning dog legs and a good variety of long and short par 4s – with a monster par 5 closing hole at 577 yards from the tips. My favorite part of the course is its commitment to youth. Not just youth golf programs, but a caddie program that offers golfers a caddie for free on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays – just tip the kids. The goal is training youth to work and develop good character in the safe and noble environment of public golf. Back to the layout. Maxed out at 6,759 yards, there’s no way the course could host the PGA Tour again, but it does host the LPGA Symetra Tour, so clearly the professional organizations appreciate the classic design. The greens do not have severe undulations, but very subtle breaks can baffle even the best putters. When visiting, consider a walk through the Harley- Davidson Museum in downtown Milwaukee and soak in the history of The Hog. Door County: Moving north out of the city, we took a 3-day tour of Door County, the peninsula that jets up the east side of Wisconsin like a pinky finger with Lake Michigan on the right and Green Bay on the left. A beautiful peninsula it is. Door County is to Badgers as the Traverse City/Petoskey region is to Michiganders. Lots of quaint harbor towns, cherry trees everywhere, and summer vacation spots dripping with multi-generational family memories. One difference was that due to Door County’s more compact land mass, the travel time between towns is generally shorter than the more spread out northern Michigan landscape – and you can catch both sunrises and sunsets over a large body of water without leaving the county. The Door County Visitors Bureau is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable – whether you’re searching for U-pick cherries, watersports, boat tours, shipwreck exploration, or wineries and breweries. Visit: www.DoorCounty. com . Peninsula State Park: Love this golf course, pure and simple. It has features found in northern Michigan courses also Peninsula State Park 10th green Continues on next page >>