Detroit MI Golf Weekend
GolfWeek, 8/10
Golf Magazine 8/08
The Heartland: Crazy about Motown
By David Weiss, Golfweek contributor August 11, 2010 10:52 a.m.
DETROIT – A disclaimer: The writer hails from the city in question – the mighty Motor City – so don’t expect objectivity or sober judgment. I have 10W-40 in my veins, the great Gordie Howe in my memory banks and the temptin’ Temptations in my very soul. Um, can we not talk about the Lions?
I moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago, but every visit home is an adrenaline shot. Detroit has taken its share of post-industrial age licks, but its sturdy steel heart and vibrant culture keep on ticking. It also is surrounded by fish-filled lakes and miles of healthy greenery, so you better believe I bring my sticks along with my nostalgic outlook. The metropolitan area has some 250 tracks from which to choose – a legacy, in part, of the prosperity Hammerin’ Henry Ford brought to the city a century ago.
True, the local economy is teetering, but that translates into more modest greenfees. Less than $50 buys a quality round within an hour’s drive of downtown, where the casinos and new sports stadiums have vivified the city center. All that and killer chili dogs at venerable Lafayette Coney Island, and my heart is well-plaqued and happy.
Thusly armed to bag birdies, I hightailed it to nearby Clarkston to play all 27 holes at Shepherd’s Hollow, the celebrated pine- and oak-studded Arthur Hills design sprawling over some 420 acres of Jesuit-owned land. Curse at your own risk. Honcho Mike Bylen runs a well-oiled machine here, as well as at his Pine Trace and Cherry Creek clubs nearby. Conditioning and service are top-notch, and the rolling and heaving landscape is sublime to both see and breathe.
Just down the road in Rochester is a swank hostelry that visiting athletes and rock stars call home, the Royal Park Hotel, a model of subdued luxury in a surprisingly quiet suburban location. But before you settle into that million thread-count sack, make for the whitefish at Mitchell’s Fish Market (make mine pecan-crusted with brown butter sauce). Don’t leave Michigan without trying the pride of Lake Superior.
The next day found me teeing it up at TPC Michigan in Dearborn, the city that Mr. Ford’s Model T put on the map. The club is private and most of its members are corporate, but the nearby Hyatt Regency five minutes away can send a couple of foursomes a day, as can the downtown casinos. The Nicklaus design was the site of the Ford Senior Players Championship until 2006, and it’s easy to see why: Between the smallish greens and tall grasses, you need to employ precision shotmaking to score well. Abundant wetlands and wildlife make you forget they are melting steel ingots into bumpers a drive and a 3-wood away.
I took a day’s detour from Detroit to relive my wasted youth at the University of Michigan, which was myopic enough to hire yours truly to work the pro shop at Radrick Farms, the stunning Pete Dye design reserved for faculty, staff and alums. There are a few trademark railroad ties, but little of the crazy swales or heroic holes that lay in Dye’s future – just pure parkland goodness. And across from the football stadium is the U of M student course, a 1931 MacKenzie gem boasting one of his trademark boomerang-shaped greens, a two-tier affair at No. 6. Both courses are worth wearing maize-and-blue polo shirts to finagle a tee time. After the round, make your way to Zingerman’s deli for the best sandwiches in the Midwest, bar none.
You could stay for three weeks and not run out of playable layouts, but if you’re just passing through to buy an engine for your ’66 Shelby GT, make sure you set aside 90 minutes to play the award-winning par-3 course at Fox Hills in Plymouth. No pushover, the 18-hole design is a good tune-up for the other two courses on the property, which is run with a genial iron fist by Kathy Aznavorian, an advertisement for unpretentious Midwestern charm if ever there was one.
So go ahead, call me biased, a booster, a true-blue native son, but trust me when I say you won’t be disappointed. Stop in the name of golf? I second that emotion.
Where to play
Shepherd’s Hollow
www.shepherdshollow.com; 248-922-0300
$45-$75
TPC Michigan
www.tpcmichigan.com; 313-436-3000
$120
University of Michigan GC
www.mgoblue.com/facilities; 734-615-4653
$50
Fox Hills
www.foxhills.com; 734-453-7272
Golden Fox, $49-$59; Fox Classic, $43-$48; Strategic Fox, $30
Assuming you're temporarily light on Big 3 auto exec buddies to get you on Ryder Cup/U.S.Open venue Oakland Hills designed by Donald Ross, Golf Magazine recommends...
Where To Play
Rackham GC (6,555 yards, par 71, $36-$47, 248-543-4040, www.rackham.americangolf.com)
-Play another Detroit area Ross design for under $50. All the Ross trademarks; gentle doglegs, contoured greens tightly guarded by deceptive bunkers.
Shepherd's Hollow (7,236 yards, par 72, $45-$65, 248-922-0300, www.shepherdshollow.com)
-This oak-shaded landscape was once tended to by Cathlic priests, who planted the now-ancient trees. It's your mission not to hit them.
The Orchards GC (7,036 yards, par 72, $55-$80, 586-786-7200, www.orchards.com)
-This RTJ Jr. design has hosted the Buick Open and U.S. Open qualifiers.
Best Bar: Fat Guy recommendations: For a lakefront tiki bar, hit Luna Kai Tiki Bar at Gino's Surf, (Harrison Township, www.lunakai.com). No less than the Ultimate Strip Club List ranked Detroit's All Stars as the #7 Gentlemen's club in North America. And how can you not go to a strip club called Chix On Dix (I kid you not). But don't forget that Canadian Gentlemen's club mecca Windsor Ontario is right over the border (see Fat Guy's Strip Club Golf Trail). Golf Magazine likes the Red Coat Tavern (31542 Woodward Ave, Royal Oak, MI) for British pub ambience. Order the house specialty burger smothered with onions rings. The Washington Post recommends the Majestic Bowling Alley (4120 Woodward, www.majesticdetroit.com), which also doubles as a bar/pizza shop/concert venue/pool hall/swank restaurant, with an art house feel. Order the portobello ravioli ($16).
Where To Grub: Guy Fieri of Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives hooked up with Detroit native Kid Rock for a tour of Kid's favorite local spots to chow down. "This trip, Guy's taking Kid Rock's lead on a tour through D-town. Just outside of Detroit in Clarkston, Michigan, Guy tries one of Kid Rock's favorites, the mackinest mac 'n cheese, in a renovated church. On the same block, Guy and Kid Rock check out a neighborhood favorite scratch making bacon and hot links for one mammoth sandwich. And in Webberville, Michigan, Kid Rock shows Guy the secret behind his own unique brew.
Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen
54 S. Main St.
Detroit, MI 48346
(248) 620-6100
Union Woodshop
18 S. Main St.
Clarkston, MI 48346
(248) 625-5660
www.unionwoodshop.com
Michigan Brewing Co.
1093 Highview Dr.
Webberville, MI 48892
(517) 521-3600
www.michiganbrewing.com " [FoodNetwork.com]
Or check out any of these Detroit food joints:
Loui's Pizza (23141 Dequindre Rd, Hazel Park, MI) is the undisputed king of Detroit deep dish pizza. Loui's borrows from the Midwest tradition, and serves them up square instead of round. An unpretentious neighborhood parlor. Hong Hua (27925 Orchard Lake Rd, Farmington Hills, MI) has a refined setting to match the refined Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine. Get the Peking duck or salt-n-pepper shrimp. Then go get your Big Fat Greek Wedding on in Greektown. Fishbone's Rythym Kitchen Cafe (400 Monroe, Greektown, www.fishboneusa.com) is a fun option with live music on weekends and a diverse menu of American, Cajun, and sushi options. The jambalaya is $17, and salmon rolls are $4.75. Or try Pegaus Taverna (558 Monroe, 313-964-6800) for Saganaski ($6) and a chicken gyro ($10).
Where To Stay: Go upscale at The Townsend Hotel for luxurious amenitites in a chic shopping district, or do the midscale bachelor thing at the MGM Grand Detriot (1777 Third, www.mgmgranddetroit.com). The Washington Post likes the Detroit Riverside Hotel (2 Washington, www.detroitriversidehotel.com, $129/night) or the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown.
Maxim's Guide To Detroit
Detroit Rockin' City!
Posted Maxim.com Monday 03/30/2009 9:00 AM
Detroit offers much more than just a struggling auto industry and one of the nation’s highest murder rates. From awesome strip clubs to amazing indie rock venues and colossal casinos, this Rust Belt capital is a blue-collar bastion of after-dark debauchery. So when you’re not sitting courtside, use this handy guide to quench all your Detroit-related desires…except your plan to get free drinks by pretending you’re Tito Jackson. We’ve already tried, and it doesn’t work!
THE DIVE BAR
The Old Miami
Once the haunt for local heroes Iggy Pop and the Stooges, this swillery was opened in 1975 by Dan Overstreet as a hangout for his fellow Nam vets. Note: The Miami’s décor—fading military bric-a-brac, walls of peeling bumper stickers—is the real deal, not ordered from a catalog. Old and new sol-diers, punk rockers, and assorted alcoholics jam the place for $2.50 cans of Milwaukee’s Best and $3 pints of Motor City Ghetto Blaster ale. The bar’s credo: “Gettin’ everyone drunk.” Sold! (313)831-3830
THE STRIP CLUB
Cheetah’s of Windsor
Just a five-minute cab ride from Ford Field lies the wondrously depraved paradise that is Windsor, Ontario, which boasts a drinking age of 19, legal prostitution (as long as it’s in a hotel room), fatty Cuban cigars in ample supply, and a bevy of all-nude jiggle joints. Dubbed “the Windsor Ballet,” this cluster of strip clubs offers “full contact” lap grinding. We like Cheetah’s, with its unusually hot girls and largely disease-free bargain-rate private rooms. www.cheetahsofwindsor.com
THE INDIE ROCK CLUB
The Magic Stick
From the White Stripes to the Dirtbombs, every band from Detroit’s storied garage-rock scene has jammed at this pool hall-cum-indie rock mecca. (This is the spot where Jack White infamously beat down rival local rocker and Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer.) On any given night, the Stick hosts earsplitting, MC5-inspired local acts alongside national headliners. Says Ben Blackwell, the Dirtbombs’ drummer, “It’s the place to hear loud-ass music any night of the week.” www.majesticdetroit.com
THE HIP-HOP HAVEN
Saint Andrew’s Hall
If you’ve seen 8 Mile, this crucible of Detroit hip-hop needs no introduction. For everyone else, SAH is the ghetto-fabulous venue where Eminem earned his MC battle cred, launching his career and marking his string of doomed marriages to what’s-her-name. Located in arguably the worst ’hood in the U.S., this three-floor club is a sea of nonstop booty shaking on the weekends. Tip: Leave your nunchucks at home—no-neck bouncers give full pat-downs at the door. Hot! www.livenation.com
THE CASINO
Caesars Windsor
Just a drunken stumble from Windsor’s strip of sin is this 100,000-square-foot gambling mecca. Odds are the same as in Vegas, the sports book has private flat-screen booths, and unnervingly attractive French-Canadian waitresses deliver free booze whether you win or lose. But wait, there’s more! Caesars is hosting daily no-limit Texas Hold ’Em tournaments in April to ensure you leave town totally broke. Hey, worst case, you pick up a shift at Cheetah’s, right? www.caesarswindsor.com