The day after I played Arcadia Bluffs, my dad and I traveled a little farther up the lower peninsula to play a fairly new course called Manitou Passage. This course used to be named King's Challenge, but was renovated and had the name changed. For 18 holes in the summer, you can play this course for $79-$89. However, if you decide to play it in the fall (highly recommended), you get discounted rates at $47-$53.
If possible, play this course in the fall, not only because fo the lower rates, but because of the colors of the leaves. Northern Michigan is known for its beautiful colors during the fall season, and this course has a lot of trees, as you'll see later on.
This course is right off of the highway, in a little town called Cedar, and you can see the sign above along the highway, so it's not very hard to find.
This course was ranked one of Golfweek's best new courses in the USA in 2010.
The clubhouse offers Taylormade brand rental clubs, which are fairly nice as they are displayed next to the pro shop. Also, the fall season offers discounted prices to everything in the pro shop, yes EVERYTHING! I ended purchasing a Cleveland CG16 60 degree club for $48 (regularly $120). They also had Taylormade Ghost Putters for 60% off as well.
The Course
The first three holes provide a fairly easy start, as long as you can hit the ball straight. Starting with a 427 yard par-4, a 324 yard par-4, and a 180-yard par-3. The first hole is wide open, with water to the right of the green. The 2nd and 3rd are kind of tight, with trees aligning both sides of the fairway.
The 4th hole was one of my favorites, a downhill, dogleg right, par-4 playing at 408 yards from the tips. Stay on the left-middle side of the fairway for a clear shot at the green, surrounded by tall native grasses.
The 5th, 6th, and 7th holes are fairly tough. The 5th hole, a 545 yard par-5, plays wide open with a lot of wind, so make sure you keep it low. The 6th has a very tight fairway and the 7th is a downhill par-3 with trees behind the green, so dont go long!
The 8th, easily the best on the course is a downhill, dogleg right, 570 yard par 5 from the tips. Water surrounds the entire right side and front of the green. A tight tee shot, with trees on both sides of the fairway.
This is what I mean when I say to go in the fall. Very beautiful with all of the colors!
The back 9 begins with a par-5, and is a par 35, with 3 par-threes. There are a few cool holes on the back, but I completely forgot about my camera for the first 7 holes.
Jumping ahead to #17, this was my second favorite hole on the course!
This was an amazing hole, with the almost straight downhill tee shot and the tree colors. A very pretty hole. Playing at 168 yards from the tips, make sure you take at least one club down to land it on the green.
The 18th hole is a nice finishing hole, which is very similar to the 8th with the water on the entire right side of the green.
This course was a very fun course to play, with nice views and some challenging holes. There could be more water on the course, however, as you get to refill your water bottle once at the halfway mark. The greens are pretty fast for a public course. I can't wait to be able to play this course again!
Manitou Passage Website
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