Hidden River Golf & Casting Club

Getting To Know: Hidden River Golf & Casting Club

An Insightful Interview With Jerry Roman, Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Jerry Roman who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Experience Hidden River Golf and Casting Club where you'll discover impeccable course conditions, exceptional service and an exquisite menu. Upon arrival, you will immediately recognize that Hidden River is unique to other courses in northern Michigan. The setting's tranquility is easily noticed, as are the towering pines and attention to detail. Plan time to visit the clubhouse, as well as our Rainbow Room restaurant and patio. The patio overlooks the Maple River which gracefully flows through the property. Hidden River Golf & Casting Club is rated among the top courses around, yet green fees are a surprising value. Whether on a golf vacation, visiting for the day or you live in this beautiful area, you're sure to find reasons for us to welcome you and often welcome you back!

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?

Choose the proper tees. The course plays long for what the yardage shows on the scorecard.

Course designer, W. Bruce Matthews, III, sums it up:

"I really like Hidden River because, if played from the correct tees, it offers a demanding but fair test of golf amid beautiful surroundings. Too many golfers play at 6800 yards and that's wrong for 90% of them. I made sure it was playable too with minimal forced carries. I truly believe it's one of the most unsung courses in northern Michigan, and I'm always happy to hear it's very popular with local golfers."

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?

Top 20 best you can play in Michigan Golfweek 2013

Top 4 Golf Course Restaurants in the Mid West PGA Travel 2008

4 1/2 Stars Places to Play
Golf Digest 2007

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?

Hole #9---Everyone loves a drop shot par-three and this one is to a small green. If you're on the green you're not far from the cup. There's a trout-shaped bunker left of the green that the original owner planned. Alert to stage-minded golfers: you might have an audience - the clubhouse patio is on the other side of the river.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is number 6. Long par 4 dogleg left. Make sure to not cut too much off the corner. Hitting the fairway is a must to set up a long approach shot. Walking off the green with par or better is a job well done.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Parmesan Encrusted Whitefish Finished with classic lemon capper beurre blanc sauce.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Kyle Roman Back Tees 67

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7101
Slope: 138
Rating: 74.3

More Information
Hidden River Golf & Casting Club
7688 Maple River Road
Brutus, MI, 49716
(231) 529-4653
www.hiddenriver.com

Revised: 06/05/2013 - Article Viewed 30,650 Times - View Course Profile

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.