Black Lake Golf Club

Black Lake Golf Club Review

Golf Travelers Notebook

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 Brian Weis, Publisher of GolfMichigan.com, 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
Since opening in 2000, the UAW golf course has accumulated numerous awards. Black Lake Golf Club placed 34th in Golf Digest's "100 Greatest Public Courses in America" 2009-2010 rankings and placed 9th in Best Value. The course was also named one of the Top 50 public golf courses for women in the country by Golf for Women magazine.

Complementing the championship course is The Little Course, a nine-hole par 3 meant to introduce young people to the game as well as sharpen veteran players' short games. In addition, Black Lake also presents an unrivaled practice area with a 350-yard double sided bentgrass tee range, four practice bunkers and four chipping and putting greens, a clubhouse with dining room and lounge, and men's and women's locker rooms.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Black Lake is consistently ranked in the top 100 courses in the United states. If you are bucket list golfer you need no other reason.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Blake Lake offers 5 sets of tees. First and foremost play the correct tees.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
* Golf Digest - # 2 Best New Upscale Course in the U.S. in 2000. Currently, ranked #34 on "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses".
* Golf Digest - #9 Best Value on "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses".
* Golf Digest - #40 "America's Top 50 Courses for Women".
* Golf for Women - Top 100 Women - Friendly Courses in 2001.
* Golf Magazine - Top 10 You Can Play in 2000. No. 87 in Top 100 You Can Play in 2001.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
The most photographed hole is number 5. Dubbed, the Sahara Hole, this long par 3 plays over a massive natural sandpit discovered by Rees Jones. From the back tees, the hole plays over 235 yards. Play it up a tee or two and you will still be faced with a shot over 200.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Hole 17 stands out after playing the course. Golfers will be faced with the most intimating tee shot on the property. The hole angles to the right with a large pond running the entire right side. To attack this par four you will need to determine how much water you want to come into play. An aggressive line will have a small iron in your hand to attack the pin. The conservative approach will have you swing a much longer club. Any par will taste good on the 19th hole!

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Black Lake Grill offers a full menu. The Lake Perch sauteed in butter will melt in your mouth.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7046
Slope: 143
Rating: 74.8

More Information
Black Lake Golf Club
2800 Maxon Road
Onaway, MI, 49765
989-733-4653
www.blacklakegolf.com/

Revised: 01/07/2015 - Article Viewed 33,450 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.