COURSE PROFILE INTERVIEW: Cedar River GC By Brian Weis

COURSE PROFILE INTERVIEW: Cedar River GC

What You Need To Know: Cedar River GC

By Brian Weis

What You Need To Know: Cedar River GC

An Insightful Interview With Lindsey J Southwell, Director of Marketing lsouthwell@shantycreek.com

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 Lindsey J Southwell 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
Cedar River GC is a pleasure to play and a beauty to experience. Cedar River's glacial-carved canvas was perfect for famed course architect Tom Weiskopf to design this masterpiece as it winds through the Cedar River river valley.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
When you think of Northern Michigan golf, Cedar River GC is a must-play. Weiskopf's playful use of elevation and undulation as he carves the course through the hardwood forests of Cedar River's river valley makes every hole of this course challenging, yet playable.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Examine the landscape closely on each hole. If you take advantage of the undulation on holes #1, 5, 9, 12, and 18, you can get an extra 20-30 yards of roll off the tee.

Hole 13's split fairway makes the hole much more intimidating than it really is. It is an easily driveable par-4 if you're accurate off the tee, making birdie really acheivable. If you have a tendancy to slice off the tee, play the high road for an chip and two putts for par.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Among "America's Top 100 Resort Courses" in Golf Week and the "Top 1,000 Courses in the World" by Rolex. Along with The Legend, Cedar River is listed among Michigan's Top 20 Public Courses according to Golf Magazine.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole 18 is one of our most photographed holes, and the absolute best finishing hole at Shanty Creek Resort. The is a long par 5, with several elevation changes, finishing at the green that is surrounded by sand in the front and the back and sand a water hazard to carry over as it spills to the side of the green.

Probably the most talked about hole on Cedar River is the par-4 hole 13, which features a split fairway, spit by a large sandtrap and large oak tree. The low road is a driveable shot to the green, but requires pinpoint accuracy off the tee. The high road sets you up for a nice chip to the green for a very achievable par. This hole plays differently each time you play it, it's a fun challenge.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is the par-3 hole #14. It's the most challenging par-3 on the course, with a dramatic downhill drop to a narrow green, with the Cedar River flowing behind it. It's a short hole that packs a whole lot of punch. Too short and you're in the weeds (litterally) and too long and you're in the Cedar River. The fall colors of the river valley are absolutely specatcular from this hole's tee.

My advice on this hole is to club down. The challenge lies in the short distance to the hole and the narrow green that waits beneath. It requires sticking that green.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
You HAVE to try the truffle fries at the River Bistro, located in the Lodge at Cedar River, which overlooks the 18th hole of Cedar River GC. Ask for some garlic aoli for dipping sauce. Yum!

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
With just under 400 lodging options across four villages to fit all family sizes and budgets, Shanty Creek's reservations team will recommend which one of their options will best fit your group. Ranging from guest rooms to large family homes, Shanty Creek has your lodging covered.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6980
Slope: 135
Rating: 73.2

More Information
Cedar River GC 5780 Shanty Creek Road Bellaire, Michigan, 49615 231-533-2020

https://www.shantycreek.com/golf/courses-rates/#cedarriver_gc

Revised: 03/23/2023 - Article Viewed 3,331 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.