Sugarbush Golf Course Review
Sugar Bush Golf Course
Davison, Michigan
Grade: C+
Teachers’ Comments: Long and tough.
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Sugarbush is a archetypal southeastern Michigan golf course, routed across relatively flat land through woods and around marsh. A tight course, with trees closely lining nearly every fairway, Sugarbush will test your skills — particularly off the tee.
Tee shots are critical, because Sugarbush is long and difficult. From the tips, the course stretches out to 7, 283 yards and plays to a very tough 75.6/146. A little further up, the tees are at 6914 yards and play to a 73.8/142. Bogey golfers should move up quite a bit to at least the tees at 6, 502 that play at 71.9/139. Even that’s tough. You may quite seriously even consider moving up to the tees at 5, 823 which play to a 69.3/123.
My favorite hole was the par 4 second. Coming in at 464 yards, it rises up from the tee box to a ridge flanked by mounding, where it plateaus for around a hundred yards.
From the plateau on the second, the fairway heads downward, wraps around a marshy finger, then rises again to the green. It’s a roller coaster of a ride.
Even better, the second offers an interesting tactical choice. On the second shot, a golfer must decide whether to take on the swamp to the elevated green, or play to the left. The shot to the left won’t get wet, but will require a good pitch and putt to make par.
Another great hole was the par 4 eighteenth. Whereas nearly every other hole on the course demands you bang the ball as far as possible off the tee, eighteen requires some caution. A marsh separates the fairway from the green and a long tee shot could reach the cattails.
Unfortunately, pace of play at Sugar Bush was very slow. Groups on the day I played were stacked up on every hole. I think that much of that has to do with the course length. There are always going to be those players who decide to “see all of the course” and play from the back tees. On a course of this length, that means extra shots on every hole — and because you are hitting longer clubs, more shots off line. That slows things down, and groups then back up.
Conditions on the day I played were average. The greens and tee boxes were in good shape. Fairways, however, were hit and miss. Overall, the whole course felt a bit shaggy around the edges.
In the, I enjoyed my round at Sugarbush, but it lacked a “hook” that would get me to return. If Sugarbush is your local daily fee option, it’s great. In fact, its business is a testimony to its popularity. But there are enough similar courses in southeast Michigan to keep it from standing out.
The Sugarbush Golf Course Review was first published February 27, 2020 from notes and photos taken on a round played July 19, 2019.
A Sugarbush photo tour follows:
The first at Sugarbush is a 459 yard par 4. Sugarbush’s second is a 464 yard par 4. A view of the green on Sugarbush’s second. The third at Sugarbush is a 530 yard par 5. The fourth at Sugarbush is a 210 yard par 3. A view from the fairway on Sugarbush’s par 5 fifth Five at Sugarbush is a 430 yard par 4. The sixth at Sugarbush is a 430 yard par 4. The seventh at Sugarbush is a 187 yard par 3. The eighth at Sugarbush is a 515 yard par 5. The ninth at Sugarbush is a 443 yard par 4.. The tenth at Sugarbush is a 428 yard par 4. The eleventh at Sugarbush is a 461 yard par 4. Twelve at Sugarbush is a 463 yard par 4. The thirteenth at Sugarbush is a monster 646 yard par 5. The fourteenth at Sugarbush is a 162 yard par 3. The fifteenth at Sugarbush is a 426 yard par 4. The sixteenth at Sugarbush is a 153 yard par 3. Seventeen at Sugarbush is a 514 yard par 5. Eighteen is a 422 yard par 4.
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