Hidden River Golf and Casting Club

Pristine Northwoods Golf

By Brian Weis

From the moment you drive up to Hidden River Golf and Casting Club you realize you have encountered a special place. The accolades hanging on the wall confirm the feeling. Opened in 1998, the W. Bruce Matthews designed course has been awarded a 4 /12 star rating by Golf Digest, along with a Top 100 ranking in the United States. In addition, the course is touted as one of the top manicured courses in the Midwest.

The starter warned us that the first three holes trick you into thinking that Hidden River is a lazy woodland course. Then suddenly the layout shifts from majestic northern pines to a long links style course with mounding and natural dunes. It was not the scenery change that had me in awe, it was the length. The three middle par 4's (4, 6, 8) averaged 460 yards from the tips. The signature 7th is a three shot par 5 with water lining both sides from the dog leg to the green. For the record, no one has hit the 636 yard hole in two. W. Bruce Matthews recommends hitting driver, middle iron then short iron and keep your fairway woods in the bag.

The back nine returns you to Northwoods golf, featuring significant elevated changes thru mature forest and wetlands. While the remaining stanza is 300 yards shorter, but shot making is at a premium. One of the biggest challenges is long par three 15th. A five or three wood is not out of the question when trying to tackle the 243 yard hole into the prevailing wind.

The Skinny

5 Tees: 4,787 to 7,101 yards
Slope/Rating: 140/74.3
Designer: W. Bruce Matthews
18 Hole Rate: $89 weekend in season

Restaurant

Your experience is not complete without dining at the award winning Rainbow Room Restaurant. The menu features an abundance of Fresh Great Lakes fish, prime cut aged steaks, creative pasta dishes, unbelievable salads, and the best ribs in Northern Michigan. Dine on the patio forviews of the Maple River and the ninth green. PGA Travel named the Rainbow Room a "Top 4 Golf Course Restaurant in the Midwest."

Awards

Golf Digest - Best Places to Play 2007
"Top 4 Golf Course Restaurants in the Midwest" PGA Travel 2008
Best of the North West - Best golf Course 2008

Getting There

By Car:
From I-75, take Indian River exit 310, west on M-68 to Alanson and north 4 miles on US-31;
From US-31, 13 miles north of Petoskey on US-31.

By Air:
Located within 5 miles of Pellston Regional Airport. Daily flights by Delta Airlink. (231) 539-8423

Hidden River Golf and Casting Club
7688 Maple River Road
Brutus. MI 49716
800 325-GOLF (4653)
www.hiddenriver.com

For more information about great Michigan golf, visit Michigan.org .

Article Tags: Hidden River Golf and Casting Club

Revised: 01/13/2011 - Article Viewed 29,712 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a 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). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.