| The Mines is potentially the most accessible option for golfers looking to experience top class architecture in Michigan. This accessibility is due both to the affordability of the course and it’s proximity to downtown Grand Rapids. The site occupies land that was previously an old gypsum mine, giving the course it’s name. The terrain of the course is sandy, rolling, and well-suited for golf. This 2006 Mike DeVries design gives players a glimpse of the minimalist design and complex green complexes that the architect has become famous for, both across the state and the globe. Golfers must venture across Covell Avenue for the first four holes of the round. The holes across the street consists of four consecutive par 4s that give players a glimpse of the land movement and thought provoking greens ahead. Highlights from this stretch include 1st, with a blind opening tee shot and large false front protecting its green, and the reachable and penal 4th, a hole that tempts golfers to play for the green but severely punishes shots that lack precision. This is the first of several high quality short par 4s here. Golfers then cross the street to play the 600yd, downhill par 5 5th. This hole is wonderfully strategic as golfers must decide whether they bring O.B. into play by playing up the right side of the hole, which offers the best angle into the green, or if they hedge left and leave themselves with a blind approach shot. This hole is an early reminder to golfers that they are playing a far more complex design than the price and municipal-like setting would suggest. Golfers may begin to wonder where the short holes are, and they are rewarded with terrific back-to-back par 3’s on 7 & 8. The 7th is a beautiful 130yd downhill hole cut into a sand dune that’s well protected with a front left bunker. While the 7th is fun and beautiful, it is the 8th that is the true stand out hole, sporting a wild and rolling green that is as unique as any in the DeVries’ catalog. The back 9 maintains the high standard for fun and strategic design. This nine opens up with the drive-and-pitch par 4 10th, featuring a semi-blind approach shot to a contoured green that runs away from the player. The 12th is another intriguing short 4 par, with a centerline bunker denying golfers a direct path to the green. Holes 13-17 are an excellent stretch of golf that tacks back and forth along the NE portion of the property. There is an excellent variety of holes here, unified by creative greens and well placed bunkering. The 18th hole is a slight letdown in two ways. The first is that this is potentially the tightest and most penal hole on a course that values width and angles. The second, and more important, is the realization that the round is coming to an end on this thoroughly enjoyable golf course. |