| The Country Club of Detroit is a historally significant club in Gross Pointe Farms due to it’s Alison design pedigree as well as serving as the host of Arnold Palmer’s 1954 U.S. Amateur victory. The course occupies a relatively flat property, but boast wonderfully contoured green complexes. Credit must be given to Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design for restoring these greens to their early glory. This is a championship quality venue (host of the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur) that can stretch to 7,100 yards and is a par 72. The front 9 starts with a rare hole that offers meaningful elevation change on the mid-length downhill par 4 1st hole. While this hole offers an early scoring opportunity, the subtle contours and ridges on the green give the golfer a taste of what is to come as the green surfaces are the main defense on this course. Highlights of the front 9 include the long par 4 2nd hole with O.B. (and some of the state’s most magnificent mansions) to the right. Another standout is the 240yd par 3 5th hole that is well protected by a small front-left bunker and, more significantly, a large bunker the runs downs the entire right side of the green. The opening nine finishes in style with the reachable par 5 9th with it’s terrifically placed fairway bunkering and well-protected green. The back 9 is the longer of the two nine’s, aided considerably by the almost 600yd downhill 10th hole. Standout holes on this nine include the 469yd par 4 12th and the 472yd par 4 14th, two holes that will challenge even the highest caliber player. The 183yd 13th hole is one of the most difficult green’s on the course with dramatic slopes from back to front and right to left. The other par 3 on the back, the 16th, is another well-defended green that rounds out a top-notch collection of par 3s on this course. The round concludes with the uphill par 4 18th that doglegs to the right and closes right below the magnificent clubhouse at the Country Club of Detroit. |