Getting To Know: Forest Akers GC - Michigan State University By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Forest Akers GC - Michigan State University

An Insightful Interview With Bryan Harris, General Manager

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 Bryan Harris 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
Forest Akers Golf Courses on the campus of Michigan State University offer 36-Holes of Championship golf. Our West Course has hosted many prestigious events, including being named the host site for the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's National Championship. Forest Akers also offers a 20-acre practice facility that includes a national rated Top 50 driving range open year-round, equipped with TopTracer Range.

Forest Akers Golf Courses can cater to group sizes of up to 288 players, with additional Food & Beverage offerings.

MSU affiliates receive discounted rates on golf and golf shop merchandise based on affiliation.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
With two golf courses, Forest Akers offers enjoyable playing experiences for players of all abilities. Playing the West Course, guests will see that all of our trees and plants are native to the State of Michigan.

The Spartan Spirit Shops located at both of our facilities offer the finest Spartan apparel available anywhere.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
A golfer needs to drive the ball well off the tee shots and have a good ability to read the subtle breaks on the greens.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
- 22-time honoree of the Top 50 Practices Facilities in America
- "Best Campus Golf Courses-18',19', & 20'" - GolfWeek Magazine (West Course)
- Host Site
- 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Regional (West Course)
- 2021 NCAA Division III Women's National Championship (West Course)

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our 9th hole (West Course) is a Par 3 with an elevated tee and green. your tee sheet carries over a small creek to a green guarded by bunkers on the right and large tree on the left. A large green from front to back requires an accurate shot with great distance control. Subtle slopes require a precise read of the green to have a chance at making a birdie.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Our 16th hole (West Course). The 16th is not our longest hole, but is the only hole on the golf course that does not have any bunkers on it. The hole requires an accurate drive through a tunnel of trees. If the tee shot its the fairway it can leave you with a short downhill approach shot to the green.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
Located on campus is the Kellogg Center Hotel & Conference Center within a mile of the golf courses. Also on property of the West Golf Course is a Candlewood Suites Hotel.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The course record has been tied multiple times at a score of 64 (Par 71-West Course). The most notable course record holder is Luke Donald (Current PGA Tour Player)

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6990
Slope: 141
Rating: 75.3

More Information
Forest Akers GC - Michigan State University
3535 Forest Road
Suite C88A
Lansing, Michigan, 48910
517-355-1635
https://golf.msu.edu/

Revised: 01/07/2021 - Article Viewed 9,359 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.