Rave Reviews - Ravines Golf Club

Arnold Palmer Signature

By Brian Weis

The Ravines, in Saugatuck, is the only Arnold Palmer Signature in Southwest Michigan. Unlike other courses in the area, the championship style course flows through meadows, forest, wetlands and ravines. With a slope of 142, the course is remarkably fair with generous fairways, expansive landing areas and fast true greens. Palmer's trademark is giving golfers risk versus reward scenarios. Trust me, every round will face opportunities for great shots and/or great disasters. If you enjoy secluded golf on a well-designed golf course, a 4 star golf experience awaits.

Notable Holes

Joe Rebone, course manager, summed up the course by sharing, "The Ravines is a wonderful yet challenging layout that is always in great shape and fun to play. You feel as if you are by yourself when playing Ravines due to the secluded nature of the course. My favor hole is number nine. With a big drive the green is reachable in two. But there is water running the length of the fairway making this a great risk versus reward hole.

Standing on the 14th tee, it became apparent that this was the signature hole. While several holes play over or around ravines this massive crater defines the course. A solid tee shot is needed to clear the abyss.

Arnold Palmer called the ravine on #17, the orchestra pit. A well struck mid iron will be needed to hit "the stage". Do not be intimated by drop off and elevation drop. Club down and attack the pin.

Arnie's Cottage

Arnie's Cottage at the Ravines is a casual dining option after your round. The menu is filled light fare, sandwiches and burgers. The Kobe Burger served on a pretzel roll is almost as good as a 10 foot birdie putt.

Recent Awards

Best Conditioned Course In Michigan, 2009/2010 - Golf Digest
Best Places To Play - 4 Star - Golf Digest
Top 10 Drive To Destination - AAA Michigan
Must Play In Michigan, 2009/2010 - Golf Digest

The Skinny
4 Tees: 7132, 6600, 5992, 5045 yards
Slope/Rating: 142/74.6
18 Hole Weekend Rate: $85

Ravines Golf Club
3520 Palmer Drive
Saugatuck, MI 49453
(269) 857-1616
www.ravinesgolfclub.com

Article Tags: Ravines Golf Club

Revised: 06/12/2011 - Article Viewed 32,278 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.