Playing Bee Tee and Hickory Hollow

Playing Bee Tee and Hickory Hollow

I did another double header earlier this week, playing Bee Tee in the morning and Hickory Hollow in the afternoon. All told, it added up to eleven and a half miles of walking.

Bee Tee née Burning Tree

Bee Tee is the former Burning Tree Golf and Country Club in Macomb, Michigan. The Lou Powers designed course opened in 1953 and went public last year. It is a nice course and a dumb name. I suppose, however, that it has the advantage of having the same initials.

My round at Bee Tee was quite enjoyable. It is a pretty parklands course, with tree-lined fairways and quite a few interesting holes. Conditions at Bee Tee were quite good.

Bee Tee has a notably weird hole. The seventh is a par five with an approach shot that must cross the entrance road to the club.

The only other time I’ve seen something like this is at Flushing Valley. There, the eighteenth carries over the entrance road.

If I lived in the area, I would make Bee Tee one of my regular stops.

Hickory Hollow

For my afternoon round, I drove around the corner to Hickory Hollow. Bee Tee, Hickory Hollow and a third course — Sycamore Hills — are all at the corner of 21 Mile and North Avenue, separated only by fences.

Hickory Hollow is a friendly, inexpensive neighborhood course that seems to be a favorite of many leagues. I started playing behind a morning league and the parking lot was completely full with players for an afternoon league as I left.

The back end of the property is a low area along the North Branch of the Clinton River. Holes on the front cross a ravine carved by the Hart Drain, which also cuts through nearby Bello Woods. In between is a plateau where most of the holes of Hickory Hollow are routed.

The course is mostly open; you can really only lose balls in the creeks or on the edges. The lower areas were a bit wet and not in great shape. The plateau was in better condition. Greens were fine.

The staff was friendly, pairing me up with a couple of gentlemen who the starter promised were “very friendly.” They were indeed, and I had a great time. as we played, A-10s from nearby Selfridge AFB flew overhead.