Getting To Know: The Pines Golf Course By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: The Pines Golf Course

An Insightful Interview With The Head Golf Professional

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 the Head Pro at The Pines Golf Course 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
The Pines Golf Course is set on beautiful Lake Isabella in Central Michigan. As the name implies, pine trees frame most of the holes making accuracy off the tee imperative. We feature a fair but challenging 18 hole layout tipping out at about 6,800 yards.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Pines Golf Course is kept in wonderful shape with competitive prices and staff who are always friendly and helpful.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Putts on most greens tend to pull to the east. Keep that in mind when navigating the greens.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
We are adding about 80,000 square feet of cart paths this spring. We are also updating our pro shop. Our most exciting change is the full renovation of our restaurant/bar, which is targeted for completion around late spring.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
The Pines Golf Course has a very loyal local following with customers who have played here for decades. We strive to make sure every experience they have is better than the last one.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our 15th hole is certainly our signature hole. Guests can overlook most of Lake Isabella from the top tee box. This can make for some beautiful views but also for some tough tee shots when the wind is blowing.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Our 7th hole is short but tricky. A large tree shields the right side of the fairway encouraging a cut for most right handed players. The fairway slopes right to left, so successful tee shots favor the right side of the fairway. Tee shots down the left naturally feed into the trees. The second shot plays quite a bit uphill and is always about a half club longer than the yardage.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Pines Golf Course started serving pizza for the first time last year, and it is incredibly delicious. It's a great treat to share with your friends after a round. We also have a fully stocked bar with many great craft beers on tap.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
We do not have lodging onsite, but we have a sister golf course in Mt. Pleasant that does. Riverwood Golf Course books villa packages that allow guests to play there as well as here at The Pines. We also partner with the Doherty Hotel in Clare as well as Bucks Run in Mt. Pleasant for many other package deals.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The lowest round recorded in competition to date is a 67. We would welcome anyone trying to go lower!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6752
Slope: 128
Rating: 72.4

More Information
The Pines Golf Course
1022 Clubhouse Drive
Lake Isabella, MI, 48893
989-644-2300

www.thepinesgolfcourse.com

More Information »

Revised: 07/07/2021 - Article Viewed 2,058 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.