Playing Stoatin Brae and The Hills of Lenawee

Playing Stoatin Brae and The Hills of Lenawee

The GolfBlogger’s most recent golf trips were to Stoatin Brae in Augusta, Michigan and The Hills of Lenawee in Adrian.

Stoatin Brae is one my favorite courses in the state. I played it shortly after it opened in 2017, and have returned at least once every year since. It has been very interesting to watch as the course has grown in.

Open and linksy, Stoatin Brae is situated on a hilltop at the highest point in Kalamazoo county. That brings a lot of wind into the equation.

The 2021 National Course of the Year, Stoatin Brae was designed by Tom Doak’s Renaissance Group. I think it’s a Michigan must-play (course website).

The Hills of Lenawee is a semi-private course near Adrian, Michigan. More than a hundred years old, it was designed by Ernest Way, the brother of Washtenaw Golf Club architect Bert Way. Ernest Way also is credited with Edgewood CC and Pontiac CC.

The Hills of Lenawee is tight, with parallel, tree lined fairways. It is also aptly named; I counted just two flat holes on the course. Greens tend to be perched on hilltops, making proper club selection critical; you don’t want to be short. Nor do you want to be long: tee boxes often are just a couple of yards from the greens.

Conditions were, as one might expect, country club quality. This is a course that I intend to revisit.