I have a short golf trip to Northern Michigan coming up this weekend and wanted to get some extra swings in before. Juday Creek Golf Course is close to where I am staying so I thought I’d give it a try.

The walking rate on a holiday afternoon was $34 – a bargain compared to most green fees these days. Things were busier than I expected, but I guess everyone else near a college town had the same idea I did – a late afternoon round of golf on a holiday. The pace felt slower than it was, but I made it around in about four hours.

I’m not exactly sure who gets credit for the design. GolfPass lists Ken Killian as the designer while the course’s website says Linda and Mike Rogers “built” the course. Either way, I thought the layout was decent considering the budget price. There are a number of challenging holes, some variety, and the walk wasn’t stressful.

As the course’s name indicates, there is a creek that runs through the property. The creek – and quite a few ponds – give the course a wetlands feel. It also has many parkland style holes, with only a few homes in play.

The blue tees are 6,940 yards while the white tees are 6,427 yards. I had a tough time deciding between those two options and wouldn’t mind seeing a combo set of tees. Ultimately, I decided on the blue tees which have a rating of 73.7 and a slope of 134. Probably a poor choice, as I found Juday Creek to be quiet the challenge from the blue tees! There are a seven par-4’s that play 400+ yards.

Considering the course’s length – at least from the tips, accuracy is important. There is a lot of lost ball trouble. The fairways are narrow with some doglegs. If out of position off the tee, then there are forced carries to consider from thick rough. The greens are relatively small. Thankfully, they aren’t the most difficult to putt.

The 354 yard par-4 5th was my favorite hole. The green actually sits close to the interstate, but the woods provide some cover so you aren’t looking at a constant string of traffic – just listening to it. A pond is located short and left of the green and gives the hole a nice look. The par-3 15th (also near a road) is another hole with a good look.

For the bargain price, I have no complaints about the maintenance – which was a bit scruffy in spots. Think “muni” type conditions. The ball sat down in some fairways. The greens were longer and the slowest that I’ve putted on this spring. The rough was inconsistent – sometimes I got a playable lie where I could advance the ball and other times I couldn’t get more than a mid iron on it.

Juday Creek isn’t a destination course and it certainly isn’t perfect. However, for the price I think it is worth a play if you are in the area. I enjoyed the casual vibe here, there are some legit golf holes, and homes don’t line every hole.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):