Rave Reviews - Ravines Golf Club

Arnold Palmer Signature

By Brian Weis

The Ravines, in Saugatuck, is the only Arnold Palmer Signature in Southwest Michigan. Unlike other courses in the area, the championship style course flows through meadows, forest, wetlands and ravines. With a slope of 142, the course is remarkably fair with generous fairways, expansive landing areas and fast true greens. Palmer's trademark is giving golfers risk versus reward scenarios. Trust me, every round will face opportunities for great shots and/or great disasters. If you enjoy secluded golf on a well-designed golf course, a 4 star golf experience awaits.

Notable Holes

Joe Rebone, course manager, summed up the course by sharing, "The Ravines is a wonderful yet challenging layout that is always in great shape and fun to play. You feel as if you are by yourself when playing Ravines due to the secluded nature of the course. My favor hole is number nine. With a big drive the green is reachable in two. But there is water running the length of the fairway making this a great risk versus reward hole.

Standing on the 14th tee, it became apparent that this was the signature hole. While several holes play over or around ravines this massive crater defines the course. A solid tee shot is needed to clear the abyss.

Arnold Palmer called the ravine on #17, the orchestra pit. A well struck mid iron will be needed to hit "the stage". Do not be intimated by drop off and elevation drop. Club down and attack the pin.

Arnie's Cottage

Arnie's Cottage at the Ravines is a casual dining option after your round. The menu is filled light fare, sandwiches and burgers. The Kobe Burger served on a pretzel roll is almost as good as a 10 foot birdie putt.

Recent Awards

Best Conditioned Course In Michigan, 2009/2010 - Golf Digest
Best Places To Play - 4 Star - Golf Digest
Top 10 Drive To Destination - AAA Michigan
Must Play In Michigan, 2009/2010 - Golf Digest

The Skinny
4 Tees: 7132, 6600, 5992, 5045 yards
Slope/Rating: 142/74.6
18 Hole Weekend Rate: $85

Ravines Golf Club
3520 Palmer Drive
Saugatuck, MI 49453
(269) 857-1616
www.ravinesgolfclub.com

Article Tags: Ravines Golf Club

Revised: 06/12/2011 - Article Viewed 31,753 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a 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). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.