Top: Washtenaw Country Club head professional John Myers tees off on the third hole. Below: The club's 16th hole.
Nothing beats playing a great golf course on a beautiful day. This is especially true if you're lucky enough to be playing in great company.
This past Thursday (May 21) I was lucky enough to do just that.
Earlier this year I wrote a column for The Ann Arbor News called "Thoughts on Golf." The column spoke specifically about the financial troubles of Washtenaw Country Club and the potential sale of the club to Washtenaw Community College (seemingly a perfect fit, wouldn't even have to change the initials).
The potential sale of the private course (for a paltry $1.9 million) fell through after a storm of opposition began to swell publicly over the sale. It wasn't the loss of the course that had the public in an uproar, it was the loss of the tax base if the college took over the property. What got lost in all the bickering was just how nice a golf course WCC really is.
After my column ran I got an e-mail from John Myers, the head golf professional at WCC. Myers appreciated the fact that I had gone to bat for his home course and invited me out to play once golf season arrived (my column ran in February).
I took Myers up on his offer, and late Thursday afternoon, the two of us set out to play the third oldest club in the state of Michigan.
First off, let it be known that I've played WCC five or six times before, but never this early in the year, and never with a golf professional. If any of you have played with a professional before, then you know it can potentially be intimidating. Let's face it, none of us want to totally embarrass ourselves in front of anyone, let alone a pro.
But John Myers is a great guy. Very forthright, funny, and probably the fastest player I've ever seen. Warming up wasn't even an option for Myers as we strolled to the third tee (skipping past a few groups to start on an open hole) where he pulled out his driver, teed up his Titleist and let it rip. (if I did that, the only thing ripping would be an oblique muscle, or perhaps a rotator cuff).
The third hole at Washtenaw is a relatively easy par 5 that measures 511 yards from the tips. Playing downwind, I actually reached the green in two and managed a two-putt birdie. The next hole, No. 4, is a great par 3 measuring 172 yards - this time into the wind. Both John and I struck pretty solid iron shots that ballooned in the wind before drifting left and coming up short of the green. With the pin tucked a pace or two from the front left side of the green, I had no idea how I was going to get the ball even remotely close to the pin on the firm, fast greens. After virtually declaring the shot unplayable, I holed out for birdie. Two holes, two birdies. Crazy start.
For the next several holes, Myers and I talked about the uncertain future of the club as we strolled up and down (and sometimes in and out) of the tree-lined fairways. With the club in financial peril, Myers predicted the bank would settle for less than the $1.9 million previously offered as a selling point to the community college. Rumor mills have kicked out the idea of Eastern Michigan University ridding itself of Eagle Crest (selling it to the Marriott) and buying WCC. This option seemed to sit all right with Myers, as I expect it would with any Eastern Michigan University golf team member.
Myers also pointed out that the public is invited to come play WCC this year with one day membership passes. The club has offered this deal to not only let non-members experience country club life for a day, but also to try and drive up future membership. Myers noted that the club has lost 10-15 members this year due to the club's situation.
The cost of a membership at WCC also has dipped. Interested golfers now may join the club for $4,000 a year. This includes all the perks that come with a membership as well as 10 free guest passes. Normally a guest would pay $50-$75 to play WCC, so the free guest pass perk is a huge one.
In between official club talk, Myers and I chatted about the course's beauty, and trust me, it is a beautiful course. With rolling hills, century-old hardwoods wreaking havoc on wayward shots and smooth-as-glass undulating greens, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of the one-day membership deal.
It's not a long course, tipping out at 6,564 yards, but that doesn't mean it's easy. "When I saw the yardage on this course I thought I would eat it up." Myers said. "But that's not the case." Stray off the tee even a little, and soon you'll be an expert at punching out from under trees. Myers is a particular master of this skill, because, as he put it, "I've had a lot of practice."
Perhaps Myers and I hit it off so well because we're both Ohio natives. In fact, it turns out he grew up playing with Buddy Bell's sons when Bell played for the Cleveland Indians (Bell was my childhood hero). Over the course of our round we talked as much about Buddy Bell and Jack Brohammer as we did about golf.
Myers came to WCC last year after former professional Jim Wilson left for another job. Prior to that, he worked several years as an assistant pro under Doug White at Barton Hills CC. A very boyish-looking 37, Myers looks as if he just graduated from high school, but he's a traditionalist at heart. He appreciates the beauty of a course like WCC over the modern-era golf community courses. He fondly recalls the days of persimmon and balata, and he easily relates to the joy of a well-struck iron shot, no matter where it ends up.
"I always thought a good round was one where I struck the ball well," he said, "no matter what I shot."
After a much-too-quick nine holes, Myers had to leave for family plans, but he was more than happy to let me continue my round solo. With nary a sole on the course, I had the place to myself. The rest of my round was magical. The light was stunning, the course was in pristine shape and I actually found I'm a pretty good putter if I'm putting on good greens, and these greens were better than good.
For me, the best part of WCC is the variety of shots that you must hit. This is no blast it off the tee and wedge it to the green golf course. Several holes take the driver out of your hand, and those are the holes you remember best once your round is through.
The 7th and 8th holes, for example, are two of the best little par 4's you'll ever play. No. 7 plays from an elevated tee and doglegs slightly right to a severely-sloped green tucked up nice and snug next to a pond. (It's the hole you can see from Packard as you drive by the club). Eight is just the opposite, an uphill, dogleg left to an elevated, two-tiered green that Myers admits "has only two places you can put a pin."
The collection of par 3's at WCC are off the charts as well. All are fairly long, save for No. 12 which tops out at 150-yards, and all are well protected by bunkers, or, in the case of No. 12, a water hazard behind the green.
Still, for my money the best two holes on the course are No.'s 15 and 16. Tracking in opposite directions, both holes carve through the woods and put a premium on putting your tee shot in the perfect place if you want to have a reasonable shot at the pin. Measuring only 373 yards, but bending to the right just enough to make you wish you were Jack Nicklaus pounding a 300-yard power fade, No. 15 is just a classic-looking, old, golf course hole.
The 16th is even better. From an elevated tee box, the 16th hole tempts you to blast away, but beware, a water hazard sits in wait 250-yards down the fairway. At 330-yards you need to do the math and realize (as I amazingly did) you need only to hit a 200-yard tee shot to be in good shape. The three-iron I hit downhill and downwind came to rest a mere 100-yards from the green. A little gap wedge later, and I had a stress-free par.
The finishing holes at WCC give you more of the same. No. 17 is a 400-yard, dead-straight par 4 that has a green sloping so severely from back to front, you can roll something all the way to the back of the green and know it will come back.
The last hole at WCC has you teeing off to a blind landing spot. Not a problem if you don'tget too greedy. Like No. 16, a pond lies in wait at the base of the hill where you are trying to land your tee shot. Luckily, the nice folks at WCC leave a first cut of rough in front of the water hazard to help keep your ball dry in case you catch one a little too well.
The 18th green sits at the base of a hill next to the clubhouse making a nice spectator spot for any friends (or foes) to make you nervous while you try avoiding an embarrassing three-putt to finish your round.
Any way you slice it (or hook it) WCC is a great golf course. And now, thanks to Myers and the rest of the club's courteous members, you get the chance to play it. Take my advice, don't pass it up.
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