Carleton Glen Golf Course Review

Carlton Glen Golf Club
Carleton, MI

Grade: C+
Teacher’s Comments: A friendly course, but conditions were lacking.

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Carlton Glen has been a neighborhood favorite for more than fifty years. It is an enjoyable course, with a nice mix of easy and challenging holes. On the day I visited (summer 2011), however, tee boxes and fairways were not in the best condition. The greens, on the other hand, were well kept and a pleasure to putt on.

The front nine of this 6,500 yard par 71 course is open and straightforward. A bogey golfer should be able to score well on this traditional back-and-forth layout. Most of the holes are wide open and relatively free of danger. The most challenging is the 327 yard par 4 fifth, which has a creek running across the fairway at about 200 yards out. The creek then takes a right turn and follows the left side of the hole to the green. Because of the angle of the tee box, trees right and the trees and creek left, players take a risk in trying to drive over the creek and surrounding rough. I can testify from experience that getting hung up in trees is a real threat. Better on this hole to lay up to the relatively wide fairway in front of the creek.

I found the back nine more interesting. It is a little more forested, and offers some more interesting elevation changes. It is also slightly longer. The par 5 eighteenth is a 547 yard monster.

A unique feature of Carleton Glen is the cemetery located in the middle of the course.

Carleton Glen also has one of the best looking clubhouses I’ve seen. It is built from the basement of an old barn and has large glass windows to view the 9th green.

Carleton Glen is a fun, but basic course that is worth playing if you happen to be in the neighborhood. It’d be great for an outing. It is not, however, one that I’d go out of my way to visit

A couple more photos follow:

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