TimberStone Golf Course – Pine Mountain Resort
Let’s talk about TimberStone, one of the finest “Up North” golf courses in Michigan. The state boasts dozens of awesome resorts that feature sports for all seasons, and many of us who grew up here look forward to a trip or two each year. Many Michiganders end up in Gaylord or Traverse City, but my recommendation is to keep going north! Head 2+ hours west of the Mackinac Bridge to Iron Mountain – a small town on the border of Wisconsin. The area features a rugged, heavily forested terrain, and you guessed it – a 100+ year old community built from iron ore mining. Add that all together and you get the perfect mix for Upper Peninsula golf at the Pine Mountain Resort.
The Course
Prolific Michigan based golf architect Jerry Matthews designed TimberStone – opening in 1997. The course stretches to 6,938 yards and winds up and down a severe mountainous property with perfectly manicured, tree lined fairways. That opens up the potential for more than the usual amount of “signature” holes like the watery sixth and the outstanding elevation of seventeen. Let’s take a trip through the course!
The Front 9
You step right out of the humble TimberStone clubhouse and tee it up on two straightforward opening holes to get your round off to a good start. Most everything that can get you in trouble is right where you can see it. Bunkers live in landing zones, and if you miss the generous fairways, you might as well max out on the bug spray (use on cart paths only!!!), because you’re now in a literal forest. The third hole is a sweeping left to righter (506 yard par 5) that starts to show some of the gradual elevation of the property. The first par 3 you’ll see is the fourth, which lets you hit a mid to long iron to a green that is… mostly generous to a miss. By now you’ll have noticed a couple things – that you’re playing to some perfectly rolling, segmented greens, and that if you avoid your Big Miss (#HankHaney), you’ll be looking at a good score.
Holes five and six sweep around a smallish lake. You might need to play a little target golf here. Survive those and you start to creep up the hill on the seventh which shares a narrow double green with the twelfth. Maybe a little cliché, but I like it. The designers tried to incorporate a lot of interesting features, and by the time you get to #12, it’ll make sense. Let the land tell you what’s best, right? By the ninth, you’re at a high point of the property and are asked to pipe one down a narrow chute to… another double green!
The Back 9
The back nine really picks up the drama. Some standout holes include number 12, a short hole that demands a little fade to find the proper position, then a little draw into the well guarded green.
Fifteen is a clever mid-length par 4. Fairly standard driver or 3 wood from the tee box, then there’s a tiny green mostly hidden behind a front-left mound. It’s tough to see the pin, so trust your mid iron or wedge to land the right distance.
Sixteen starts a climb up a kind of ski hill (you’ll see) and asks you to hit two precise shots into the fairway then the green. How are we going to get back down???
Ok, here’s THE signature hole. Number seventeen is one of the most severe drop-shot par-3 holes that I’ve come across. I wonder how far into the wilderness you can see? It’s outrageous. I’ve never played in the fall, so just imagine what this looks like with the colors at their peak! Back tee says 215 yards, but you might hit as little as a 9 iron here.
Last hole! Eighteen runs straight down 625 yards into a triple segmented fairway, to the second and final double green of the day.
Final Thoughts
TimberStone offers a wide variety of challenges to the golfer without beating them up. It’s definitely a severe golf course, but entirely playable for mid and low handicappers. And that’s what I like about it. It’s fun, it’s strategic, will let you put up a solid score, and entirely “camera worthy.” It’s a great compliment to the other top Upper Peninsula courses, especially the Perfect Foursome group!
