Greywalls

Basically, it’s Kingsley on acid! I always tell newbies; you need to play GW 3 times to feel comfortable, to fully enjoy, and appreciate it. Yes, it has dramatic views of Lake Superior, intensity, and feels like a rollercoaster, but it has loads of substance. Few courses reward thinking and are beautiful at the same time, but Greywalls checks all the boxes. I’d like to mention first off, that I would like to see the 9’s switched, the back 9 dries out much faster than the front 9, it has 2 much better starting holes, and the front has a thrilling finish. It would be much better to warm up into the front 9 as it’s no joke. I feel it’s 3 shots harder than the back. The first two holes are like stepping in the ring with Mike Tyson, everyone has a game plan such as even par after 2, until you get punched in the face and are 3 over after 2 with reality setting in. Mike DeVries’ talent shines on the 2ndhole. Left of the green is a neat kickplate, that can repel balls to the far-right side of the green. Basically, I’m trying to say you have options from the fairway that you seldom see elsewhere. The 4th is a real interesting tee shot, a rock outcropping in the center of the fairway gives the player many options. Longer hitters can go left and try to have the ball end up over the large upslope leaving a visible green and a shorter 2nd. If one heads to the right part of the fairway, they will have a flat lie, blind 2nd, and a much longer approach. The 4th could have been a par 5 as originally considered but due to environment issues (Oriana creek) & a main gas line, it was too much money/headache to consider. If the 4th was a par 5, the 4th green would have been next to the 5th tee box. Unfortunately, the current routing is disjointed slightly and suffers from those obstacles mentioned previously. The 5th is a cool drive and pitch/drivable par 4. Hybrid or 3 wood is all that is needed on this hole for the average golfer. The green has a rock wall to the right of it and it gets photographed a lot. There is a nice tiered ridge that is in the middle of the green, giving golfers the option to hit a low skipper in. Do kids even know how to hit that shot anymore (paging Lee Trevino)? The 9th is loaded with strategy and hopefully one day will be the closing hole. The left-hand fairway bunker is so perfectly placed into a ridge that goes across the fairway. You want to come into the 9th from the left side of the fairway, the green slopes hard right to left. Even a blind shot short of the bunker is better then being in the center of the fairway. The long bolder player that takes on the bunker either by air or by the sloping fairway from right to left will be rewarded with a short iron into this treacherous green. Views of Lake Superior and fall off backdrop don’t hurt either. 10th hole is the most underrated hole on the course. It has loads of strategy and gets overlooked by folks who don’t understand architecture. The fairway connects with 9, so it’s effectively 150 yards wide. One can bomb driver and if they hit it to the right, they have a bolder outcropping and diagonal green to face. A 3-wood off the tee to the left side gives one the ideal angle into the green. A driver off the tee can lead to a long pitch or short approach to a bold contoured green with 2 shelfs on it. Now the 11th is polarizing hole that is loved by many that like eye candy (lots of bunkers) and some don’t like it for its lack of playability for slower clubhead speeds and business taking away from the vocal point “the wild green”. When you have a lot of elevation change, ridges, and land features you don’t need as many bunkers. I’d remove the bunker on the right 50 yards short of the green. Slower clubhead speeds have little room to lay up on the hole with the fast playing conditions. I also would remove the 2 green -side bunkers and make it short grass, because the green is the vocal point of the hole and the bunkers take away from it imo. The 13th is DeVries best 3-shot par 5 of the 5 courses he has designed in the state. The 17th is a really good short par 3 that can yield birdies and doubles. Now the 18th is polarizing for it’s the opposite of the 11th. There is no bunker on the hole, you drop some 100 feet off the tee for this short par 5. The tee shot gives lots of options, the smart play is to hit hybrid off the tee leaving a 3-wood or hybrid in for the better player. You will have a downslope to hit your 2nd off, but a 100-yard-wide fairway. I have been just off the green in 2 and walk away with bogey. The green is a big circular green which makes 100-yard shots tough with such a big target. The green blends into the fairway and looks flat from 100 yards out. There is a little pimple in the center of the green that has subtle slope and causes poorly executed shots away from the hole. GW is truly an awesome experience, the club is an Aussie model which makes it affordable for local and national members, while accessible for out of towners. With daily direct flights from Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit, why haven’t you made it to the 9th Wonder?