After our morning round at Tullymore we headed over to Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club, the final Michigan course on our trip. Pilgrim’s Run was highly recommended by a friend who lives in Michigan and turned out to be a great finish to our time in the state.

Things were busier at Pilgrim’s Run than at Tullymore and we spent some waiting on the course. We played in about 4 hours 15 minutes, but it felt longer because we waited on a foursome most of the round. I guess the course is popular and after playing here, I can see why. There is a lot to like and the course usually gets ranked among the top public courses in Michigan.

Pilgrim’s Run is a Mike DeVries design that opened in 1998. I hadn’t heard of DeVries prior to this trip but apparently, he has designed some quality courses in this part of the country. Diamond Springs and Mines are two other courses of his in the area which are supposed to be good. We didn’t have the time to check those out on this trip, but maybe a future one.

The things I enjoyed the most about Pilgrim’s Run were the course’s great look and its many playable holes. The layout isn’t the most dramatic, but that probably isn’t a fair comparison since we played some great courses this week. While playing Pilgrim’s Run I was reminded of the Pacific Northwest. And if you’ve read my page at all, you’ll know that is a good thing!

As you can see in the pictures, Pilgrim’s Run has a mostly wooded look with some wetlands areas. Each hole is in its own little world, cut into the trees. Except for a couple holes on the back nine you won’t be able to see another hole while playing your current one. That separation, and no homes bordering the course, made for a peaceful setting. There is also some tall grass, well-positioned trees and nice bunkering to complete the look.

We played the “2” tees, which are probably the blue tees. From there the rating is 72.0/137/6444, but you’ll need to factor in that the course is a par-73. There are only three par-3’s, with the 15th being the lone par-3 on the back nine. I played terrible, but from the 2 tees it felt like there are enough shorter holes to allow for some good scores. The course isn’t overly narrow and the woods were cleaned out, which allowed me to at least pitch the ball back in play. I thought it was more playable than the slope indicates.

We started on the back nine, so the pictures will be out of order, but Pilgrim’s Run opens with six really good holes. The 2nd is a position par-4 with a beautiful green complex tucked in a low area between a pond, a hillside and a group of trees. There are also two reachable par-5’s in that stretch, including the 459 yard 6th hole which doglegs right to an elevated green. I thought the back nine was trickier, but it also has a number of good holes.

Overall, Pilgrim’s Run was in good shape – no major complaints from me. The twilight green fee of $70 did feel a bit steep, at least compared to some of the other courses we played on the trip. The tees and fairways had good coverage and a good color. The greens were full and a medium pace. It looked like there might be some poa annua patches on the greens, which bumped in spots.

I’m very happy we worked in a round at Pilgrim’s Run and look forward to checking out other DeVries courses in the future. I think Pilgrim’s Run is a borderline hidden gem and I’d recommend the course to those traveling to/from Northern Michigan.

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