My latest golf expedition took me to Kensington, a Metro Park course, which runs along 1-96 just east of Brighton, Michigan. With its proximity to the super highway, it’s easily the noisiest course I’ve every played. Much of the course is in sight of the road, and the tee box on one hole—the fourth (seen above)—is so close that I could feel the breeze from the endless stream of cars and trucks passing at 80+ mph. Standing on that tee, I was more nervous than I have ever been on a shot. A nightmarish news story kept running through my brain …
Thirty five people were killed and another one hundred injured today in a 100 car pileup caused by an errant golf ball from the Kensington Metropark. The golfer has been charged with multiple homicides and faces life in prison …
Needless to say, I aimed well right of the highway, not forgetting to take into account the fact that my driver miss typically is a snap hook or a dead pull. All I could think was “please Lord, don’t let it be a dead pull.” You didn’t see that story in the national news, so you know it turned out okay.
That was my first time at Kensington, and in spite of the fact that it’s got a lot of nice holes, the highway noise was just too much. I doubt I’ll return any time soon.
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You did not mention the constant “pop” from the Island Lake rifle & skeet range across the highway.
For my money, the most daunting tee shot/traffic encounter is the 7th at Huron Hills. Probably less than ten yards to the left of the tee and fairway is Huron River Drive. Since the City has planted a row of spruce trees, the dreaded line drive to the windshield has been somewhat removed. Nonetheless, there is still ample oppotunity to make a slight pull and nail a car head-on.
At my club, each of the two courses have two holes alongside a fairly well travelled road. There are mature trees lining the road, and generally errant shots are caught up and go no further than the ditch lining the road as well, but occasionally a ball will make it through.
Today, we were arriving on the #12 teebox, which is near the #9 green, and the opposite side of that green is the street. #9 is a long par 3, playing 180 today from the bogey tees, 205 from the back. It is a big green and a fairly wide hole for a par 3, lined with trees on both sides. As we go on the teebox, we were just about to exit the carts when one ball came flying in from the #9 tee, over the trees and landing dead center between the two tees. We laughed a bit about that and the nice yell (none) that accompanied the errant shot. Probably about 20 seconds later a second ball came flying in. And then a 3rd. It is not uncommon for one person to blcok out the road so much to come near the teebox, but this group did it with 75% of the players. And not a single yell.