The Orchards is the Free Press' pick for Top Public Golf Course in Macomb County
This is the second in a series looking at the best public golf courses in the six-county metro Detroit area.
We're always in such a rush. And that's often true of our experiences at golf courses we play regularly. No need to soak in the ambiance. Drive in, grab your clubs and shoes, slam the trunk, pay the greens fee and get to the first tee with five minutes to spare — and that's on a good day.
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I mean, who wants to waste precious time practicing a little before a round? Hey, that's why the golf gods invented breakfast balls!
But the Orchards deserves a second look, and a lingering one at that. While the beautiful, challenging and varied Robert Trent Jones Jr. course in Washington Township could easily stand on its own without any accompaniment, it's all the little touches that truly elevate the experience and make it the Free Press' Top Public Course in Macomb County.
RANKING THE PRIVATE COURSES: Alister MacKenzie gem still No. 1
From the attendant who takes your bag and puts it on a cart when you pull into the parking lot to the handsome clubhouse that's exactly just enough (a strong menu, indoor and outdoor seating, a nice locker room, a full and expansive practice area with grass tees) and even the nice touch of having a bag of practice balls ready instead of dealing with a loud dispenser.
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The entire experience feels upscale, even urbane, but without any hint of stuffiness. That's is a hard trick to pull off in the public-golf sphere. The Orchards likes to tout its motto of being 'Your club for the day,' and it has stayed faithful to that principle since it opened in 1993.
As for the course, there are prettier ones and nicer settings. But the exceptional layout makes it feel more like a tournament-caliber course than any other public track in metro Detroit. That's probably why it regularly hosts the Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour's Rocket Classic.
The 11th hole at The Orchards Golf Club in Washington Township.
A round here practically guarantees you'll need every club in your bag. You'll need a draw and a fade if you want to score. You'll be playing uphill and downhill, hitting a few blind shots and enjoying the majestic sweep of the course with views from the 11th and 16th tees.
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One of the most enjoyable parts of the course is that if forces you to think. You can often let it rip off the tee, but how much do you lay up on the seventh hole with a hard dogleg left? Do you go for the green on the sixth hole with a long bisected fairway? How much do you lay up front of the water-guarded 16th green? And how do you avoid disaster on the 18th hole by avoiding a downhill lie to a green guarded by sand and a huge pond?
Maybe that's why I've never been frustrated at the Orchards, even after I've played poorly. The course gave me so much to think about and appreciate that I didn't have room in my thoughts to blame anything more than my strategy and execution.
The rest of the series
WAYNE COUNTY: The Cardinal at St. John's
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MONROE COUNTY: The Legacy
OAKLAND COUNTY: Shepherd's Hollow
LIVINGSTON COUNTY: Moose Ridge
WASHTENAW COUNTY: U-M Golf Course
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Orchards is Free Press' Top Public Golf Course in Macomb County
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