Indian Springs Metropark Golf Course Review

Indian Springs Metropark Golf Course, White Lake, Michigan
Grade: C+
Teachers’ Comments: A perfectly serviceable course.

Indian Springs Metropark 18th Hole

Indian Springs is one of eight courses belonging to the Huron-Clinton Metroparks system. Each is part of larger recreation areas that feature hiking, biking, fishing, boating and other activities. Entry into the parks theoretically requires a fee, or a yearly pass, but I’ve never been charged going to the golf courses.

From the back tees, Indians Springs measures 6,688 yards, with a slope of 118 and a rating of 72. Par is 72. Nine of the holes feature doglegs, all of which require solid and accurate shots. Elevation change come into play on nine. I counted just twenty bunkers, and just one water hazard to speak of. The parkland layout has trees, but few will have a significant impact on play.

The combination of doglegs and elevation changes makes Indian Springs more challenging than it appears from the tee boxes. My first reaction—given the wide fairways and relatively open terrain—was that I would score well at Indian Springs. I did, but it took a lot of work. Shot placement off the tee is critical. So too is the approach, for tiered and crowned greens will make life difficult if you don’t place your shot in exactly the right place. It is a solid, if unspectacular design from Sue Nyquist, the Huron-Metroparks Chief Planner, who also designed the Huron Meadows and Lake Erie Metropark courses.

Indian Springs Par 4 Fourteenth

My favorite hole was the 398 yard par four fourteenth. From the teebox on a hill, the hole sweeps down and doglegs left. A well aimed drive is required to get into a position to take a shot at the slightly uphill green. Unfortunately, I didn’t produce one. My ball got stuck in the rough on the inside left of the dogleg, where the trees atop a small hill prevented advance. I instead managed to bounce a long pitch off the fairway side of the hill and get back to the middle. I then had a shot at the slightly elevated, dual tiered green. Sadly, I didn’t get the ball to the upper tier where the cup was positioned, but did manage a long curving uphill putt and a tap-in for bogey. In spite of that, I liked the decisions the hole forced me to make.

Conditions on the day I played were good—what you would expect from a well-kept municipal course. The greens were in good shape after a particularly harsh winter, and the fairways well tended. There are quite a few low areas, however, that I suspect can be soggy at other times.

Indian Springs’ parkland layout is quite walkable, with its holes following closely, and laid out in a back-and-forth fashion. I had absolutely no problem walking eighteen, but some of the hills may give a more casual walker pause.

Overall, I found Indian Springs to be an enjoyable, if somewhat unremarkable course. I wouldn’t go out of my way to play again, but would not hesitate to return if asked to meet friends to fill out a foursome. Locals will surely want to make it a part of their regular rotation.

More photos of Indian Springs below: