Golf Course Overview: Arthur Hills Thoroughbred Golf Club By Brian Weis

Golf Course Overview: Arthur Hills Thoroughbred Golf Club

Insights From An Insider With Chris Cullen, Head Golf Professional ccullen@doublejj.com

By Brian Weis

Local and traveling golfers love to research courses before playing them, whether it is to gain some local knowledge or to set an expectation before their upcoming round. Below is an interview with Chris Cullen who shares some valuable insight about the property, its most talked about holes and the signature dish/drink to consume at the 19th hole.

Provide a brief description of the golf course/property, the terrain and best times of the year to play.
The Arthur Hills Thoroughbred opened in July of 1993. The course is spread out over 350 acres of beautiful rolling terrain. The property has numerous natural water hazards that include a lake, cranberry bog, and marshes. The course has 5 sets of tees to accommodate players of different ability. Fairways tees and greens are bent grass. A must play course and one of Arthur Hills personal favorites

Any tips on playing and reading the greens?
Come prepared to use all of your clubs. I suggest you warm up before you play for sure as the first few holes are tough. Thoroughbred is course you need play a few times to learn how to score on it. Several holes will tempt heroics. (Use caution) The greens are big so proper club selection to improve proximity to the hole would be the greatest benefit to putting

Starting on hole #1, are there any tips to get your round off on the right foot?
If you haven't seen this hole before I suggest you go up and look at the landing area #1 is a sharp dogleg left that is kind of blind. The hole plays downhill to the green. A good drive rewards a right right to left ball flight. Do not automatically grab driver. Depends on which tees you're playing from

What is your favorite par 5, and how would you recommend playing it?
18 is an often mentioned finishing hole. It is one long dogleg left around Carpenter Lake. Cutting the corner is tempting on tee shot. Unless to can drive it past a huge oak on the left there's no advantage because you wouldn't have an angle to the green in two. Play conservative. The player who stays dry on this hole usually collects.

What is your favorite par 3, and how would you recommend playing it?
The 9th hole is a great par 3 that can play 194 from back tee. It is slightly down hill so it plays a little shorter but the green is still elevated so you still need to fly it all the way. One of the trickier greens at Thoroughbred as it is pitched from right to left.

In your opinion, what is the hardest hole and do you have any tips on playing it?
The second hole is the toughest at the Thoroughbred. Maybe in Michigan. You need a well placed tee shot preferably on the left side. From there you're rewarded with 170-200 yards over a cranberry bog with no really good bail out. This par four is tough.

As a golfer plays the final three holes, is there a chance for salvation? (any tips on closing out the round?)
16 is the easiest hole on the course. Straight shortish par 4. The green is very wide and very narrow in depth but should be attacked with a short iron. 17 is a good par three that has a bunker and marsh guarding the right side. Play for center of this green and get out with three. 18 was discussed earlier. Many wagers are settled on 18

Contact Course
Arthur Hills Thoroughbred Golf Club
5900 Water Rd
Rothbury, Michigan, 49452
(231)894-3939
DoubleJJ.com

Revised: 04/16/2019 - Article Viewed 11,765 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.