Getting To Know: Hawk's Eye Golf Resort By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Hawk's Eye Golf Resort

An Insightful Interview With Jay Stanula, Director of Golf Operations

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 Jay Stanula 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
No matter your ability, once you have played Hawk's Eye Golf Course, you will want to experience it again and again. The challenge, the beauty, and the sheer enjoyment of a round at Hawk's Eye makes this resort a must for your golfing bucket list. Golf Advisor just named Hawk's Eye the 24th Best Golf Course Layout in the United States in 2017.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Hawk's Eye is truly a course where everyone is welcome, an avid golfer to a bogey golfer to a beginner to a leisure golfer. We love the game of golf and understand that sometimes courses can be intimidating. We want you to feel welcome, to feel comfortable, and to enjoy the beauty of the course and the game. We also believe in making golf an experience and not just a round of golf. We have daily leader boards that reward golfers with a beverage in the pub, we partner with a app that makes the day's round a social event if chosen to, we offer a free closest to the pin contest everyday and reward with prizes, we run prizes for the best "selfie of the week" on the course. We try our hardest to make it a golf experience. We also like to give back to our communities with programs such as "Water Fore Flint" and "Putts for Mutts". Lastly, we want everyone to experience Hawk's Eye and we try to make golf affordable to everyone. We offer so many deals such as, Deal of the Day, Pay per Hole Program, and 2 Fore 1 Wednesdays.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Every green is either up or down one club, so be sure to pick the correct club. Also, there are a few false fronts so make sure to get the ball to the center of the green.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
This year we are welcoming a new Head Superintendent, Terry Geelhoed. He comes to Hawk's Eye with a lot of experience in the golf industry and we are looking forward to seeing his "grass magic" this summer.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Golf Advisor just named us the 24th Best Golf Course Design in the United States. We are truly honored and humbled by the award that was given to us by real golfers that play all around the United States not a journalist.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
The number one hole is our signature hole among many unique holes. Number one is a dog leg left with a safe shot to the fairway to the right but leaving you with a longer shot into the green. Why everyone loves the hole is the large pond that challenges golfers to clear the 261 yard carry over the pond leaving you with a short shot into the green. The green grass mixed with the turquoise blue water makes up a gorgeous landscape of the golf course.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My personal favorite is hole seventeen. The longest hole on the golf course but also the highest elevation hole on the golf course. We named the hole, Epic, as this hole usually has everyone standing on the tee box for just a few moments to soak up the beauty of looking out to the horizon of mother nature. The hole itself, is the longest on the course but the fairway slopes down and away from the tee box giving golfers a chance at a huge drive. The second shot is either a play it safe PW to the end of the fairway or, depending on how huge of a drive, a challenging but rewarding shot at the three tiered green with a pond guarding the right edge of the green.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Chipper's Club, although a classic, is the perfect sandwich after the round. To add a delicious unique Chipper's twist on the sandwich it is make with a pesto mayo sauce that is nothing short of spectacular. To sit back and relax on the back deck over looking #18 with a drink in your hand has to be one of our signature drinks, "The Cherry Capital". It is mixed perfectly with cherry infused Jim Beam Red Stag and Northwoods Soda Blackcherry Cream Soda a local Traverse City pop company.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The course record is a 66 from the tips. Unfortunately, we do not have the golfers name or any details because he came in as a single and played the entire course in 2 hours and left very quickly. The bag staff had his scorecard and brought it into the Pro Shop. So technically it is unofficial as we weren't able to confirm with him but it is the lowest score recorded to date. On a fun side, the course record for the highest score is a 145, and the guest said he had the most fun in his life.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7011
Slope: 148
Rating: 75.4

More Information
Hawk's Eye Golf Resort
5820 Shanty Creek Road
Bellaire, MI, 49615
231-533-4295

https://www.golfbellaire.com/

Revised: 02/03/2020 - Article Viewed 12,291 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.