Course Review - Radrick Farms, Ann Arbor

 Par-5, 490-yard, 5th hole at Radrick Farms.

There are some truly great golf courses in and around Ann Arbor, and Radrick Farms, off Geddes Road, certainly ranks as one of the best.

The problem, I suppose, is that only a very select minority of local golfers ever get a chance to play the jewel of a course. Owned and operated by the University of Michigan, unless you are a faculty or staff member (or know one) the best chance you have of getting on the course is to play in a GAM qualifier or some other tournament hosted by the course. But, if you are lucky enough to get a chance to play Radrick, you won't be disappointed.

Designed by famed architect Pete Dye, Radrick opened for play in 1965 (maybe that's why I like it so much, we were born the same year). It was Dye's first course design, or so the story goes, and you might say he came out of the gates swinging (although rumor has it that upon a revisit several years later, he didn't like the course much; he thought the greens were too severe). Of course most folks are their own worst critic, so I'd like to share my thoughts on Radrick and leave Pete out of it.

One of the coolest things about Radrick Farms is if you didn't know it was there, you would never know it was there. It is, without a doubt, the most secluded golf course in Washtenaw County, even more so than Barton Hills Country Club.

Sitting well back off Geddes Road, the entrance to Radrick easily could be missed in the blink of an eye. There are no large signs; no holes visible from the road; no gigantic clubhouse to make you do a double take, just a little sign on a stone wall that comes up on you so fast there's a good chance you may put your car up on two wheels as you negotiate the sharp turn into the driveway at a high rate of speed.

But oh what a driveway. It's kind of like a poor man's version of Magnolia Lane. A very long, tree-lined drive that takes you well away from Geddes Road; away from civilization - almost to another time. So much so, you half expect Bobby Jones to be waiting for you in the parking lot dressed in knickers, toting a bag full of old  hickories.

Before you even tee off, you realize this place is special. Except for the birds, it's a very quiet place. Even the gas-powered golf carts seem strangely silent. There is a "no playing through" at Radrick; a rule that seems a bit odd, but seems to work. Rather than wave faster groups through, slower players are told to pick up their balls and move to the next tee to keep things moving. Strange as it sounds, it seems to keep all the golfers civil.

As cool as the funky rules and the long entrance drive are, the course itself is also incredibly nice. Starting with the first hole, Dye's layout takes the golfer on a very well thought out route through the rolling country side. Despite being nearly 7,000 yards from the tips, Radrick is very feet friendly. Almost all the tees and greens are close together, making for a very efficient walking round, if you choose to go that route.

Radrick starts off with the longest (530-yards) but certainly not the toughest, par-5 on the course. And honestly, who doesn't like starting off their round with a relatively easy par-5?

But after getting you settled in, Dye throws a nasty one-two combination with holes No. 2 and No. 3. 

The second hole is a doozy of a dogleg left that can play really short, if you cut the dogleg, or really long, if you block it right or have a nasty slice. A fairway wood hit straight off the tee may be the smartest play, leaving you little more than a mid-iron into a severely sloping, elevated green.

If you're still standing after the first punch at No. 2., the third hole will try and finish you off with the 465-yard, dogleg left, par-4 that requires a blast of a tee shot just to have a clean shot into the green. A green that slopes just as much as N0. 2 but is twice as big. Just for good measure, there's a Sahara desert-sized bunker guarding the front left of the green. 

Once you drag yourself off the canvas, Radrick lets you breathe for a few holes with the fairly easy par-3, fourth, and the very short, risk-reward par-5, fifth hole. Probably the signature hole on the course, No. 5 requires only a straight tee ball to give the better golfer a fairly easy shot into the green setting up a possible eagle try. Of course, the problem is hitting that straight tee shot. With a very narrow landing area and plenty of trees to gobble up any eager beaver trying to cut the corner on the right, the fifth hole is a little tougher than it looks. The green itself takes up roughly two zip codes, so you better have a firm grasp on your yardage for your approach shot or you may need your caddy to set off a flare while tending the pin as you settle in for your two-day journey of a putt.

Just when you think you can get your round back on track, Radrick tosses another long par-4 your way, followed by what I think is the toughest par-3 on the course. At 213-yards, N0. 7 not only is long, but just plain hard. As if to offer an apology, Dye then gives you two extremely short par-4's in No.'s 8 and 9.

On the back nine, Dye gives the golfer more of the same, fairly easy holes followed by some fairly tough ones. But isn't that what a good golf course design is supposed to do? With Radrick, Dye has done just that. The course may beat you up a bit, but if you keep it in play, stay patient and keep the ball below the hole, it also gives you an opportunity to score.

The par-4, 13th, and the par-3, 15th, really stand out on the back as two of the better holes. Thirteen is another hole where you'd be better served leaving the driver in the bag. Even the 3-wood I hit the day I played, sailed through the fairway and wound up under a tree. It's a great hole that doglegs hard to the left from out of the middle of the woods. It looks like a hole from up north, in fact, it seems out of place compared to the rest of the course.

No. 15 is a great par-3 measuring somewhere between 171 and 183 yards depending on where you tee it up. From an elevated tee box several feet above the green, it looks as if a good throw could put the ball on the green, but just to spare your rotator cuff, and actually play the game by the rules, try picking two less clubs than what you think you should hit and swing away!

The final three holes at Radrick are solid, if not spectacular. Maybe that's the reason for all the fountains in the water hazards. I'm pretty sure they had nothing to do with Pete Dye, but who knows. Water fountains aside, No. 16 is another par-5 that's short on length (511 yards) but plenty tough nonetheless, thanks to narrow landing areas, water running down the entire left side, and... surprise!... a gigantic green.

No.'s 17 and 18 are a pair of back and forth par-4's that are medium in length, but not horribly difficult. No. 18 seems like it should be a N0. 13 or something. Not that it's a bad hole, it's just not a terribly exciting finishing hole. Bone straight, with a fairway that funnels almost all shots into the short grass, N0. 18 isn't long enough to be a killer, but it's no pushover either.

The green is very large, and sloped, just like all the others, only now you've been putting on those same greens for 17 holes, leaving you with the very real possibility of making a birdie if you play your cards right.

When you finish your round, you'll find that the 18th hole is in an odd location, as in, not exactly a stone's throw from either the clubhouse or the parking lot. No matter, the round itself should have been so fulfilling you'll be scheming some way to get back there again as soon as possible to do it all over.

Just remember this one tidbit of information as you leave the course and drive that long driveway back to civilization: Geddes Road is at the end of that drive, and there are cars driving by on Geddes Road; sometimes lots of cars; usually very fast. But they haven't just finished playing golf at one of the most relaxing places in Ann Arbor, so be careful as you pull out into the real world again, or you might just end up having your front bumper ripped off by a passing motorist who cares little or nothing about golf, or how great a round you just had.