St. Ignace Golf & Country Club Review

June 6, 2023

It summer – and you know what that means……

It’s golfing season in the NORTH!

Soooo….we are spending some time in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially “The U.P.”

And….that means we get to check another state off our golf bucket list!

The U.P. is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac. The main attraction here for us (besides golf of course) is Mackinac Island.

Just up the street from our RV park is St. Ignace Golf and Country Club. After a little research on the course, we decided to schedule a tee time.

St. Ignace opened in 1927, and is located on the shores of Lake Michigan, overlooking the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge.

It’s a nine hole, par 36 public course, featuring three par 5s, three par 4s, and three par 3s.

The total yardage is 2,937 yards from the white tees and 2,602 yards from the red tees.

Upon arrival at the Pro Shop we were greeted by Carter, who provided us with a great run down of the track and what to expect as we played. He reminded us that our balls would roll toward Lake Michigan on the greens and that we should keep to the left of the fairways on the first couple of holes.

As we approached the first tee box, we looked out to the left and took a moment to admire the view of the Mackinac Bridge – also known as the “Mighty Mac”.

Although the course has many difficult holes, Carter told us the greens are considered the course’s most challenging aspect. Warning us that they were small, fast and undulating.

Marc often says he “drives for show and putts for dough”. While my drives were decent during this round, my putting suffered. Carter was right – the greens were small, they were fast and they were undulating.

The fairway grass was much longer than I am used to, which made it difficult for me to distinguish between the actual fairway to the second cut and the rough. As a recreational golfer, choosing the right club to get out of longer grass is essential and I had trouble choosing which club to use due to the longer grass overall.

One of the many things we enjoy about traveling in our RV (affectionally called Dee 2.0) is we find ourselves being just ahead of the crowds when we arrive at our destinations. This course wasn’t crowded at all – we were able to complete the first 9 in just over an hour and our second round of 9 took us a little over an hour and a half.

We decided to slow down during the second 9 to enjoy the weather, the beautiful view and the wonderful company.

I am a pretty conservative golfer. I routinely aim for the fattest parts of fairways and greens and specifically avoid challenging bunkers, water hazards and trees. This made for some interesting shots for me during the round. The trees along the course are in full bloom. Some of them are strategically placed just in front of a green or two, forcing me to take more risky shots.

If you are in the “U.P.” and want to play some golf, I recommend you play St. Ignace Golf and Country Club.

Based on our score card rating – I would rate this a Par Course.

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written By Kathy Festa

COURSE REVIEW SCORE CARD

Course: St. Ignace Golf & Country Club

Type: Public Course

Date Played: 05 June 2023


HOLE	PAR	SCORE	COMMENTS
1 – Tee Time Availability	4	4	We had no problem getting a tee time.
2 – Cost of Green Fees	4	4	Greens fees were fair for the area.
3 – Condition of Tee Boxes	4	4	Good.
4 – Condition of Fairways	5	6	The fairway grass was long. We were told the lawnmower had been down for a week.
5 – Condition of Greens	4	4	Average.
6 – Length of Course	5	5	Average.
7 – Hazards	4	4	Some bunkers and water on the course. Trees are placed in front of some greens.
8 – Starter/Marshal	3	2	Carter was friendly and eager to get us out on the course.
9 – High Handicap Friendly	3	3	Two separate tee boxes.
OUT	36	36
10 – Practice Area	5	5	Putting green available.
11 – Locker Rooms	3	3	Clean Restrooms.
12 – Pro Shop	4	4	Nice shop that has everything you would need.
13 – Location	4	4	Easy to find.
14 – Rental Equipment	4	4	Available.
15 – Restaurant/Food Cart	4	5	No restaurant or food cart.
16 – Club House	4	4	The clubhouse is available for rental of special events.
17 – Parking	3	3	Plenty of parking available.
18 – Customer Service	5	4	Carter was professional and pleasant.
IN	36	36
TOTAL	72	72	PLAYER: Kathy F. ATTESTED BY: Marc F.