Garland Swampfire Golf Course Review

Garland Swampfire
Grade: A-
Teacher’s Comments: Water, water, everywhere. A thoughtful design.

Garland’s Swampfire has more water in play than any course I can remember.

Swampfire was built in 1987 from a design by Ron Otto. Indeed, each of Garland’s four courses was designed by Otto.

Ron Otto is an interesting story. While Garland was his parent’s business, Ron struck out on his own and made a fortune in the garage door industry (he reportedly invented the insulated garage door).

Following the death of his father (Herman) in 1983 and a natural gas explosion that destroyed the original lodge in 1985, Ron took over management of Garland. As part of the rebuild, Ron Otto reworked the resort’s original thirty six holes into four new courses: Swampfire, Monarch, Reflections and Fountains.

If I did not know this story, I would have assumed that Swampfire (and Fountains – review at the link) were designed by one of the Matthews clan. The routings take full advantage of the terrain, and the individual hole designs are solid, and often clever.

As the name suggests, Swampfire is routed through a mostly flat, marshy area of lowlands that is prettier than the “swamp” monicker suggests. The wetlands, with their borders of cattails and native grasses contrast nicely with the pine and hardwood forest on the edges.

Swampfire is a strategic course. Assuming one plays from the correct tees, a well-placed ball is far more valuable than distance. Otto thankfully generally avoided the temptation of forcing players to carry large stretches of water. Instead, the hazards typically run down one side of the hole, cross the fairway at no great depth (but forcing a decision about laying up) or guard the sides of greens.

I enjoyed the process picking my lines and clubs at swampfire. There were more than a few instances that required study of my Garmin S70. How far to clear that finger of marsh coming in from one side of the fairway? How much room do I have to the right of the green? What’s the worst possible outcome and how do I avoid it?

A view of the second green on Swampfire’s second.

From the tips, Swampfire plays at 6, 854 yards. Given the accuracy demanded on so many shots, that plays longer than the scorecard indicates.

Tee	Yardage	Rating	Slope
Black	6, 854	73.2	138
Blue	6, 422	71.2	133
White	6, 146	69.8	127
Golf	5, 617	M: 68 W: 72.8	M: 119 W: 135
Red	4, 676	67.6	122

Four at Garland Swampfire is a 439-yard par 4

My favorite hole at Swampfire was the par four fourth. Beginning from a raised tee, it asks for an tee shot over a sliver of water. There’s nothing there to be concerned about, but as with any water hazard, it can get into a golfer’s mind.

The fourth at Swampfire is the dogleg left at top with the two bunkers. The fifth is just below, with a horseshoe teeing ground.

From the landing zone, the hole doglegs to the left, with two bunkers on the outside. An inlet of a pond pinches the fairway from the left, so that — depending on where your first shot lands — the approach will either have a straight shot up the fairway, or need to clear part of the pond.

A view of the second green from the Fairway on Garland Swampfire’s fourth.

To add another layer, the green is elevated, with mounding all around. You don’t want to miss this green. Ask me how I know.

The fifth at Swampfire is a 174-yard par 3.

The fifth is a very clever par three, with a horseshoe teeing ground that extends from 170 to just a hundred yards. With the green in the middle of the arc, it offers a nearly infinite number of angles for teeing grounds. Just as neat is that as the yardages decrease, so to does the amount of water that a ball needs to carry. From the right leg of the shoe, there’s no carry at all.

This aerial of Swampfire shows the watery doom awaiting golf balls.

Conditions on the day I played were quite nice. Some of the tee boxes were a bit beat up, but nothing to compain about.

My only complaint, in fact, was that they wouldn’t let me walk. It struck me as a perfect walking course. I’d really like to go back and play it “on the hoof.”

The Swampfire golf course review was first published March 1, 2025 from notes and photos taken on a round played during the 2024 season. For a list of all of GolfBlogger’s Michigan golf course reviews, follow the link.

A course tour of Swampfire follows: