The Grande Golf Course - Hole #11

Golf Destination Jackson County Michigan

By Brian Weis

The following is an interview with Jennifer Hill, Marketing Manager, with Experience Jackson.

Tell me a little bit about Jackson County and why should the traveling golfer add it to his/her bucket list?
Jackson, Michigan has over 60 miles of fairway and features beautiful, challenging courses at unbelievably low rates. Golfers of all skill levels will be hard-pressed to locate a better deal, with courses as equally tailored and well-managed, than those found in Jackson.
A golf getaway in Jackson allows the traveling golfer to reconnect with friends and enjoy plenty of golf without breaking the bank. Also, Jackson features many options to taste and see allowing each player to check multiple things off their bucket list.

If a group is planning a 8-12 guy buddies trip, what is a perfect itinerary for a long weekend?

DAY 1 - Friday
9:15 Tee Time Hills Heart of the Lakes
1:30 Lunch Downtown Village of Brooklyn
3:00 Quiet World Sports Kayak Rental/Lesson
7:00 Dinner Steaks Eatery
9:00 Return to Super 8 Brooklyn

DAY 2 - Saturday
10:00 Tee Time Concord Hills
4:00 Appetizers and Beer & Wine Sampling at Grand River Brewery/Sleeping Bear Winery
6:30 Dinner Downtown Jackson
9:00 Return to Super 8 Brooklyn

Day 3 - Sunday
8:30 Tee Time Grande
1:00 Lunch on Clark Lake
2:30 Depart for home

*Remember for groups of 8 or more reservations are usually required and always appreciated.

If my wife gave me the out of jail free card for the long weekend, with the boys? What local item I should bring home to say thanks?

Wine, Chocolates from Gilberts or AG Chocolates, jewelry or art from one of the Downtown merchants

Conversely, if you were planning a couples getaway, what is a perfect itinerary for a long weekend?

Couples Stay, Play and Enjoy
Couples Stay, Play and Enjoy
DAY 1 - Friday
9:00 Tee Time Grande
1:30 Lunch & Wine tasting Sandhill Crane Vineyards
3:30 Wine tasting and hanger tour Chateau Aeronautique Winery
6:00 Dinner Knights Steak House
8:00 Light and Music show at Cascade Falls
10:30 Return to Hankerd Inn

DAY 2 - Saturday
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Tee Time Hankerd Hills
1:30 Lunch Hankerd Hills Club House
3:00 Self-Guided Tour of Cell Block 7 Prison Museum
4:30 Shopping Downtown Jackson
6:00 Candlelight Dinner Concert at Lone Oak Vineyard Estate
9:30 Return to Hankerd Inn

DAY 3 - Sunday
9:00 Breakfast
10:00 Tee Time Calderone
2:30 Late Lunch Hard Knock Grill
3:45 Depart for home
*Remember for groups of 8 or more reservations are usually required and always appreciated.*

Any off course recommendations for women who may not golf or want a break from the course? (spas, shopping, etc)
Several wineries that surround Jackson form the heart of the region's Southeast Michigan Pioneer Wine Trail, which extends for miles in each direction around Jackson. Accordingly, Chateau Aeronautique Winery, Cherry Creek Winery, Lone Oak Vineyard Estate, Sandhill Crane Vineyards and Sleeping Bear Winery(inside Grand River Brewery) are all must-sees.

What are the must play courses in the area?

The Grande
Calderone
Cascades
Hills Heart of the Lakes

Best under rated gem or value course?

Arbor Hills has some very nice greens with a traditional layout and Concord Hills is very cheap with an "up north" feel.

Where is best place to do trip planning?

Check out www.ExperienceJackson.com/golf

Do you provide travel assistance or packages?
Experience Jackson provides hotel block assistance for groups of 24 golfers or more. For information on all the available courses please visit ExperienceJackson.com/golf.

Revised: 03/18/2013 - Article Viewed 31,826 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.