Leslie Park Back 9 is open!
Mother Nature has not been nice. Not only have all the golfers in Michigan been held back from enjoying their favorite pastime, but our construction crews have held back by first frozen ground, now saturated grounds.
From a work perspective, we only have seven solid days of work to complete the project...once we get solid soil to work off from. With this being said, we have been saying this for over two weeks now, so we went ahead and opened the back with 95% of the construction completed. This last 5% though is the most cosmetic. It is what you see and what impression you walk away with. We kindly ask that all golfers look through this last phase of grow-in and see the true beauty of wonderful project we are just finishing up.
For those of you who are curious to what you will face on the up-dated back 9, here is a brief hole by hole glimpse:
Hole #10
For the spring (until Memorial Day) all play will begin at a temporary tee that was installed in the fall of 2012. The total length of the hole is just over 200 yards. We will be using the temporary tee because the beginning half of the fairway, as well as the main tees were raised about 12 inches to facilitate drainage. The fairway in this areas is sodded with bentgrass and the rough was seeded with a bluegrass/ryegrass mix.
Once you cross Traver Creek, you will notice a new stone retaining wall on the southeast corner of the green. This was to stop the creek from further eroding the soil near the green. An additional benefit of this wall is that shots that are just short of the green have a better chance of staying out of the hazard.
Hole #11
The first thing you will notice upon setting up on 11 tee is the forced carry over the new wetland. While it may look intimidating, it is only between 150 and 200 yards long, depending on which tee you are hitting from. There is a new forward tee that will be completed this spring, which will eliminate this forced carry for the high-handicappers. It is located just to the left of the new boardwalk wetland crossing.
In the landing area for the second shot, you will notice a reshaped and raised fairway that was re-sodded with bentgrass sod. This is to spread the amount of play that this location receives over a wider area.
Hole #12
Looking toward the green on #12, you may not realize that the water level has been lowered. This was done to give the pond mo re stormwater retention. The nearly century-old dam structure where the creek flows under the road has also been replaced.
You can also see a new stone block wall that reinforces the creek bank near the green. The creek was also redirected so that further erosion would take place away from the green. This also gave a more forgiving landing area for those balls hit to the left of the green. There was a large willow tree here that gave some golfers fits. It was intended to remain after the project, but high winds in November toppled this ancient tree over.
Hole #13
Much like hole #11, you will be hitting over a new wetland between the tee and fairway. The carry over this portion of the wetland is not nearly as long. You will also notice that the wetland 100 yards from the green is no longer there. This is because it is now the wetland that you are hitting over from the tee. You may want to aim for the lone pine tree on the left side of the fairway, since the creek has widened on the right. The new hills on the left should direct balls hit this way back into the fairway.
Hole #17
On #17, the largest block wall is really prevalent. Just like on #10, a shot that is short of the green has a much better chance of staying out of the water.
Hole #18
Before this project, #18 was flat and straight. It is still straight but standing on the tee, you will see the fairway framed by mounds on the left and right. There is also a new rock wall on the back left of the green. This was added to keep shots that go to toward the road from falling off the back edge.
Attention Individual Senior Golfers!
We have openings for individuals interested in joining our new Ann Arbor Senior League (50 and above) at Huron Hills, Tuesday mornings between 7:30 - 9:00 am. This league is a 20 week league, starting the last week of April. Cost only $10 to ride 9-holes, Best Deal in Town!