The Streak At 96: A February Round At Washtenaw GC
We have had a remarkable run of weather this past week in Michigan and on Sunday, I got out to Washtenaw Golf Club to take advantage. My streak of consecutive months playing golf in Michigan now stands at 96.
With the bright, sunny skies and fifty-degree temperature, the tee sheet at Washtenaw was full. (Read GolfBlogger’s Washtenaw Golf Club Review)
The course was in very good condition, with only a hint of the sogginess that one would expect during a February thaw. Indeed, the grass was greening up a bit.
The superintendent and crew have been hard at work over the winter, removing trees according to a master plan for Washtenaw Golf Club devised by Ray Hearn. The goal is to improve lines of play and shot value, while restoring the course to a form closer to its original turn of the century design. It’s actually pretty exciting for those who have played Washtenaw for a long time. I am very much favor of the work thus far.
The score didn’t matter, though. I was out on a golf course in FEBRUARY in Michigan fifty degree weather. I played until sundown.
More photos from the round follow:
Congrats on 96. February is always an iffy month, but the recent weather made it easier than most years.
I am not sure I like the “square green” look that seems to be an ongoing project. It will take some getting used to.
A golf buddy who is in his 70’s, remembers Washtenaw from the early 1960’s. He says the course was “wide open” and played quite a bit shorter because of the “hard & fast” conditions.
It seems to me that a number of the trees removed had very little impact on the play of the holes on which they were located. For example, on #11, the tree removed on the left side of the fairway doesn’t affect the tee shot except if one hits a long & significant hook that flies past the pinch point between the fairway bunkers and the trees on the left. Of course, this is from the perspective of a short & straight driver. That tree is out of my range but likely not for a big hitter.
On eleven, my hook-draw is no longer a severe penalty with those trees gone. There is now a landing zone.
Some of the tree removal I think has been done to help grass growth. That may also be the case on eleven. That lower tier below the bunker got beat up quite a bit.