The Dream Golf Course Review

The Dream Golf Course Review
The eighteenth at The Dream Golf Course is a 427 yard par 4.

The Dream Golf Course Review

The Dream
West Branch, Michigan
Grade: B+
Teacher’s Comments: A nice “Up North” style course at the gateway to Northern Michigan.

The Dream checks off all the boxes for Northern Michigan golf: Wooded holes, wide fairways, elevation changes and good conditions born of the region’s moderate summer climate. Located off I-75 in West Branch, it is at what I would consider the gateway to Northern Michigan. If you have not already done so, on your next trip “Up North,” make a point of stopping off for a few hours play.

The Dream golf course was designed by Jeff Gorney, who also designed The Nightmare, sister course of The Dream. Another of Gorney’s designs — and a SE Michigan favorite of mine — is Hills’ Heart of the Lakes. The Dream is a family affair, owned an operated by the Courtemanches.

From the tips, The Dream stretches to 7,000 yards and plays to a 73.7/135. That’s a difficult layout. The Whites are in at 6,392 and a 70/6/124. Gold tees measure 5,769 and play at 67.4/119. The forward tees find their rage at 5, 118 yards and a 68.6/117.

The Dream offers golfers a nice variety of holes. Lines from tee to green on the golf course are rarely straight, asking players to consider ball placement on every tee. Still, only four of the holes are what I would consider real doglegs. The remainder have twists that won’t take you out of play, but will increase the difficulty of the following shot.

Further complicating matters are the fairway bunkers on eleven of the holes. I like golf course designs with fairway bunkers because they add an additional strategic consideration to the holes.

The Dream Golf Course Review
The first at The Dream Golf Course is a 525 yard par 5.

My favorite hole was the first, a downhill thrill ride with a turn to the right at the end (photo at top of page). It’s bombs away here. Try to keep the ball to the left, but don’t get caught in the bunker. Another bunker threatens on the left side of the fairway around a hundred yards out. A good drive give a player a chance at reaching in two, but the green has a bunker on the front left, and mounding on the edges. These could end up negating the advantage of an heroic, but wayward shot. A more prudent player might decide to lay up the right of the 100 yard bunker.

The fifth at The Dream is a 189 yard par 3

Visible to drivers on I-75 south, is the par three fifth, which plays across a pond to an elevated green. The 189 yard par three is quite the challenge. Short, and you risk rolling back into the pond. Long, and you may have to chip back to the green on a downhill lie. Right, your ball ends up on a little rock-strewn creek. Left, it’s cartpath and a probable bounce into the woods.

The eighteenth (top of page) at The Dream Golf Course also deserves mention. It is as good — and tough — a finishing hole as I have seen. The number two handicap hole on the course, it measures 427 yards from the back tees, plays downhill to a bunker strewn fairway, then back up again to an elevated green. The green is large — some 10,000 square feet — but with all the bunkers looks like an imposing target.

Conditions on the day I played were good. Some of the tee boxes were beat up, and fairways were short of lush, but in all very good.

Pricing on the course is pretty expensive by Michigan standards: $130 during peak summer hours.  Twilight rates and replay rates, however, top out at $60. My suggestion is to get a tee time after 3 pm. There will be plenty of light in high summer.

The Dream Golf Course Review was first published February 21, 2018, from notes taken on a round played in August 2016. Yes, I know that’s quite the delay. Quite frankly, I misplaced the notes and then forgot about it. I should clean out my desk more often. Luckily, I take good notes.

More photos of The Dream follow:

2 thoughts on “The Dream Golf Course Review”

  1. I enjoy reading your blog. I’ve been visiting Michigan golf courses for about 10 yrs. now and THE DREAM was my # 57 with over 110 Michigan rounds. I’m from Wisconsin (GO BADGERS) and rather travel to MI. for the best values in golf. Courses and pricing are incredible. I’m 63 and still play the tips with a 11 hcp. I’ve played all your best from Greywall to Bluffs to tulleymore to the loop, which is closest to the cabin. I just played The Dream yesterday 10/8/19 after 2pm for $50 and had the course to myself all but 10 minutes. I give this course an A+. First thing I noticed was “the up north feeling”,which is the main reason I come to MI.. Secondly, was the outstanding maintenance, the grooming every where, make this an easy $100 course in Wisc.
    I’m going to shorten this by stating that I had just played Shepard’s Hollow, Lyon Oaks, Moose ridge, Diamond Springs, & Stonehenge South it exceeded them all on this trip. By the way I get to MI. 3 times a yr. Golfed in the Memorial scramble at Hawk’ Hollow / Eagle Eye and the 4th scramble at Tulleymore this yr. So ranking this course between my 10th-15th best is easy to say.
    BUT based on Total Value it’s in my top 4 only Pilgrim’s Run, Hemlock and Hawk’s View exceed it!
    Next yr. I will be taking the guys to both The Dream and Nightmare only 50 miles from cabin. Rather play them than The Loop!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading