This review is part of an occasional series that looks at golf courses situated along Michigan freeways – those you drive by frequently, or on that annual vacation, but never seem to have time to stop and explore. This one you certainly should, according to our guest reviewer.
By John Retzer, GolfBlogger.com
The Dream checks off all the boxes for Northern Michigan golf: Wooded holes, wide fairways, elevation changes and good conditions born of the region’s moderate summer climate. Located off I-75 in West Branch, it is at what I would consider the gateway to Northern Michigan. If you have not already done so, on your next trip “Up North,” make a point of stopping off for a few hours play.
The Dream golf course was designed by Jeff Gorney, who also designed The Nightmare, sister course of The Dream. Another of Gorney’s designs — and a SE Michigan favorite of mine — is Hills’ Heart of the Lakes. The Dream is a family affair, owned and operated by the Courtemanches.
From the tips, The Dream stretches to 7,000 yards and plays to a 73.7/135. That’s a difficult layout. The Whites are in at 6,392 and a 70/6/124. Gold tees measure 5,769 and play at 67.4/119. The forward tees find their rage at 5, 118 yards and a 68.6/117.
The Dream offers golfers a nice variety of holes. Lines from tee to green on the golf course are rarely straight, asking players to consider ball placement on every tee. Still, only four of the holes are what I would consider real doglegs. The remainder have twists that won’t take you out of play but will increase the difficulty of the following shot.
Further complicating matters are the fairway bunkers on eleven of the holes. I like golf course designs with fairway bunkers because they add an additional strategic consideration to the holes.
My favorite hole was the first, a downhill thrill ride with a turn to the right at the end (photo at top of page). It’s bombs away here. Try to keep the ball to the left, but don’t get caught in the bunker. Another bunker threatens on the left side of the fairway around a hundred yards out. A good drive gives a player a chance at reaching in two, but the green has a bunker on the front left and mounding on the edges. These could end up negating the advantage of a heroic, but wayward shot. A more prudent player might decide to lay up the right of the 100–yard bunker.
Visible to drivers on I-75 south, is the par three fifth, which plays across a pond to an elevated green. The 189 yard par three is quite the challenge. Short, and you risk rolling back into the pond. Long, and you may have to chip back to the green on a downhill lie. Right, your ball ends up on a little rock-strewn creek. Left, it’s cart path and a probable bounce into the woods.
The 18th hole also deserves mention. It is as good — and tough — a finishing hole as I have seen. The number two handicap hole on the course, it measures 427 yards from the back tees, plays downhill to a bunker strewn fairway, then back up again to an elevated green. The green is large — some 10,000 square feet — but with all the bunkers looks like an imposing target.
