Garland Lodge and Golf Resort

Day 2 of a trip to Garland. Day 1 on Monarch was a disaster. Horrible bunkers and very poor pace of play.
Fountains worth the premium. Fewer players and a reasonable pace. Great greens with multiple pin locations. Bunkers OK but not great; maintenance below average. Enjoyed the views from many elevated tees.

Very disappointed in the course conditions and the pace of play. Course was full of groups and we waited constantly. Finally drove in from 16. 4 foursomes on the 17th.
The bunkers were a disgrace. Full of coarse sand and pebbles / stones. The power rake used by course maintenance left ruts in most bunkers. Players were not smoothing their tracks. I talked to a staff member who admitted that when they play they lift their ball, rack the sand and then replace their ball before playing. Good strategy, almost a must.
The resort caters to groups - 8, 12, 16 whatever. Unfortunately this has a huge impact on others out for pleasure. Often the group members are playing from the wrong tees; move up, enjoy, and play faster.

Course is the longest of the Garland courses and like Swampfire has water on most of the holes. Great conditions, great greens and great fun all made for a great day!

By the courses name alone you should expect water. What I did not expect was a unique layout with large undulating greens and the need for strategic shots to score well. This course exceeded expectations and i highly recommend it.

Course conditions were some of the best (outside of Boyne) that I have played this year. Many of the holes have no homes in them and you feel one with nature.

Reflections can be the most challenging course at Garland, if you're not hitting the ball decently straight. A lot of places to get behind trees or disappear into the woods. A few holes have the water come into play. Several blind-ish tee shots are always a little daunting. May not be my favorite course at Garland, but still a great golf course. Be on the lookout for the eagles nest in the pines to the left between Reflections #10 and Monarch #11.

Fountains is such a nice course! The course tends to stay a little wetter than the others, but it is also the newest course. So perhaps it just needs a bit more time to settle in. But, the conditions are great other than that. More elevation change than Monarch or Swampfire. I have trouble deciding between Fountains and Monarch as my favorite at Garland.

Monarch is a fantastic course. The longest and possibly hardest course at Garland. Great layout. Great condition. Maybe my favorite course at Garland.

Beware of the water. What else can you say? So many holes with water in play. Making it through 18 with 1 ball is a miracle. Some of the coolest holes at Garland are on Swampfire, including the Par 3 #11. Picturesque! I always need to prepare myself for a battle when we're playing Swampfire.

Took nearly 5 hours to get our round in - groups were stacked up like cord wood in the morning. Waiting to play every shot become burdensome and easier to get out of rhythm. Contrasted to our afternoon round on Reflections which took the same 3 of us 3 hours and 23 minutes to play.

Didn't score as well as 2 years ago, but still had fun and it is my favorite of the 4 Garland courses available.

Our first course to play for our weekend (Friday afternoon); traps were being updated so we were urged to play pick up, rake and place balls back in the bunker - no issues. Condition of fairways and greens: outstanding.

The course was great except for the bunkers which had grass growing in them which means they don't ever get groomed by the grounds keepers. They also had lots of pebbles and stones in them. These bunkers are an embarrassment to an otherwise nice facility and course.
We will not be back...too many nice courses in Michigan who actually maintain the bunkers!!!!!

The course was great except for the bunkers which had grass growing in them which means they don't ever get groomed by the grounds keepers. They also had lots of pebbles and stones in them. These bunkers are an embarrassment to an otherwise nice facility and course.
We will not be back...too many nice courses in Michigan who actually maintain the bunkers!!!!!

The course was great except for the bunkers which had grass growing in them which means they don't ever get groomed by the grounds keepers. They also had lots of pebbles and stones in them. These bunkers are an embarrassment to an otherwise nice facility and course.
We will not be back...too many nice courses in Michigan who actually maintain the bunkers!!!!!

The course was great except for the bunkers which had grass growing in them which means they don't ever get groomed by the grounds keepers. They also had lots of pebbles and stones in them. These bunkers are an embarrassment to an otherwise nice facility and course.
We will not be back...too many nice courses in Michigan who actually maintain the bunkers!!!!!

It was the 3rd course we played in our mini excursion and my least favorite in terms of the general condition of the course.The tee boxes and fairways more chewed up than the other 2 we played, which were pristine.

Fun track and impeccably maintained - much more hilly terrain than the Monarch - this was the 2nd course we played in our mini getaway and enjoyed it very much; greens (bent grass) ran true. I will come back and play again.