Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club (South) – Arcadia, MI

Course Details

• Course Type: Resort
• Architect: Dana Fry & Jason Straka (2018)
• Par: 72
• Yardage: 7,412
• Rating: 75.6
• Slope: 132

Course Accolades

• Golf Digest: #3 Best New Public Course (2019)
• Golf Week: #7 in Michigan

Course Score

• Course Conditions: 9
• Green Complexes: 9
• Amenities: 8
• Practice Facilities: 9
• Service: 7
• Course Design: 8
• Value: 6

Total Score: 8.00

Course Review

The Good: The South Course at Arcadia Bluffs is a beautifully-conditioned Dana Fry & Jason Straka homage to golf courses of yesteryear, particularly C.B. Macdonald’s Chicago Golf Club. With its huge, square green complexes and rectangular, church pew style sand bunkers scattered all over the place, its quite the sight. Excellent course conditions that present an opportunity for firm & fast conditions, the green complexes are the real challenge. Given that the greens are so large, the course can set up different golf courses with 6-8 various pin locations. Good Par 4’s and Par-5 variety, but the real showcase is the extremely demanding and fun Par-3’s. Similar in style and look to the original Arcadia Bluffs clubhouse, the South course’s amenities are top notch. Nice dining area and quaint outdoor seating area with its own Adirondack chairs. One of the finest short game areas I’ve seen on a public course. GPS on carts is a nice plus. Decent value at $130 considering the cost of many other premier Midwestern resort courses.

The Bad: There’s not much change in elevation or variety in the designs, but this is easily forgotten once you step on the crazy green complexes. Some of the pin locations are absurdly difficult when we played and didn’t really allow for even the most skilled of golfers to hit shots close to the green. The greens putt perfectly but were almost too firm for the average weekend golfer.

The Verdict: While it doesn’t have the lake views of the cache of its older sibling, the South Course at Arcadia Bluffs was the pleasant surprise of my golf trip in 2020. The variety of the green complexes were the true standout and the main reason why many actually prefer to play this course more often than the Bluffs. A Top 5 Michigan course I’ve played.

Best Hole: Even though it led to a triple bogey, the Par-3 5th hole is an 190-yard demon that I can’t wait to play again. A very tough green that is hoisted well above the tee-area, its has a huge fall-off to the left if you miss the green.