Michigan Golf Journal August 2021

Continues on next page >> THE LEGEND: If you’re a golfer who loves dramatic views from elevated tees with downhill fairways while playing golf, you will love the first hole of Arnold Palmer’s The Legend at Shanty Creek. Uh-oh, perhaps I spoke too soon. You’ll also love holes 5, 6, 10, 13 and 15. Heck, you’ll likely love all the holes. But back to hole 1. The downhill slopping par 5 gets any round going in the right direction, and acts as a precursor to the type of course ahead of you. The 2 nd hole is dramatically uphill to the fairway landing zone shelf off the tee – yet golfers will not see another uphill trek until climbing uphill to the 13 th green from the valley below – then again at the mildly sloping uphill 18 th hole. The late Palmer’s routing (from 1986) is masterful in how he picked highly elevated areas for many tee boxes so that the course feels like it’s all downhill – or at least level – which causes problems picking a favorite photo. Palmer’s goal of beautiful distractions and getting more roll out of your tee shots becomes balanced on the scorecard with many tough putting surfaces that can even make two-putting a challenge. Many golf courses across Michigan have 1-2 dramatic features in their designs. This course has 1-2 dozen , including the approach to the 7 th green. No. 7 is The Legend Hole 1 9 August 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com