You've Said A Mouthful When Talking About The Fortress Golf Club

By Jason Scott Deegan, Senior Staff Writer

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. - Normally chicken dinners aren't known as the meal of choice after a good round of golf, but at the Fortress Golf Club in Frankenmuth, it's a must.

The Fortress, a par-72 championship golf course, offers several great package deals with the nearby Zehnder's Restaurant, which is famous for its family-style dining with an early American theme and some tasty chicken entrees.

Of course, you can do one or the other when you're visiting Frankenmuth, a quaint town of 4,400 residents 90 miles north of Detroit, but to make a good day trip great, do both. There is a shuttle that runs between the course and the restaurant.

For as little as $55 or at a high of $75 depending upon the day of the week or the season, you can play 18 holes at the Fortress and eat a hearty chicken dinner at Zehnder's, which annually serves more than 700 tons of chicken a year.

Another packages for couples, which ranges from $200-$235, includes an overnight stay at the Zehnder's Bavarian Haus, breakfast and dinner for two and 18 holes of golf for two at the Fortress. You can't beat the food or the price, but more importantly, you can't beat the golf.

The Fortress was designed by Dick Nugent and opened to local fanfare in 1993. Frankenmuth has long been known for its multitude of specialty shops with a bavarian motif in the downtown area.
Just a few miles away, the Birch Run outlet mall attracts millions of shoppers a year. It is one of the most heavily traveled exits on I-75, which runs from Michigan to Florida. The course thrives in its prime location, attracting visitors from all over the state.

The Fortress plays to 6,813 yards from the tips with a rating of 73.6 and a slope of 138. The course also offer two other sets of tees, the middle set at 6,271 yards and the ladies' tees at 4,837 yards, but in reality those numbers are flexible with the long, flowing tee boxes Nugent created on several holes. The tee box on No. 6 winds for nearly 50 yards.

Nugent patterned the course after the Scottish links courses where the game originated. Mounding, matted with gorse-like fescue grasses, separates most of the slithering, winding fairways and will quickly swallow an errant drive, as will the rough, which course officials always keep several inches thick.

Many of the bent grass greens are incredibly large, averaging 7,500 square feet each, leaving you some challenging putts. Water comes in to play on 10 of the holes. When Nugent finally sprinkled in 69 bunkers, including 39 on the back, he had manufactured one tough test of shot-making. Golfweek proclaimed the course one of "America's Best Golf Courses" in 1993.

The Fortress begins with a bang, a 494-yard par-5 (all yardages are from the middle tees). This skinny, rolling fairway introduces you to the challenges that lay ahead -- a fairway bunker to the left and ball-hungry rough everywhere else.

The par-3, 140-yard second hole and the 120-yard fourth hole are mirror images of one another. Both require an accurate tee shot over a valley with a creek down below. Front and back bunkers with steep faces guard two narrow, wavy greens, where potential 3-putts loom.

The fourth hole is where things become a little crowded. While on the fourth tee box, be wary of errant tee shots from No. 15, which is hidden by trees. Also, the fifth hole, a short par-4, is home to the course's only major flaw. The tee box is situated right next to the tee on No. 15. To avoid being distracted by people on the other tee, many golfers usually wait to hit until the rival tee box is clear, which can slow up play.

The front nine finishes with three solid holes, which introduce you to the course's other minor annoyance, the lingering unpleasant odors from the nearby farms. Over time, these three holes will transform into terrors as the fledgling pine and maple trees that line their winding fairways grow into formidable obstacles.

The back nine is where the course really becomes a gem, starting on No. 13, a 410-yard par-4 that doglegs left between two giant ponds. Bring a mulligan ball in case your daily hook or slice shows up. A poor approach could find the water on the left again, or if you're lucky, you'll land in one of the four bunkers instead of the deep gorse on the mounds behind the green.

After a break on No. 14, where there's a photogenic view of a church steeple in the distance, you're back at No. 15 with a better understanding of why balls tend to drift toward the No. 4 tee. The view from this tee is intimidating. There's only a narrow opening between a set of trees on either side of the fairway, which is guarded by two bunkers about 170 yards from the tee.

Before the fairway is a large washout area filled with brush. Still more trouble, a river, awaits those who try to cut the dogleg to the left too tight. Since the hole is only 309 yards, playing an iron off the tee is the smart play.

You might want to hit an iron off No. 16 as well. It plays 380 yards to a razor-thin fairway that bends left. To hit the green, you need to clear another small valley, which is about 30-40 yards wide.

If your confidence has survived these two holes, you're ready to tackle the course's signature stop, the island green at No. 17. There's little margin for error on No. 17's long, narrow green. It is guarded in front by a large pond and on the back by the same meandering river that might have stolen your ball on 16. Four sets of descending tee boxes can make the hole play anywhere from 172 yards to 89 yards.

The finishing hole is the day's longest, a 510-yard par-5, and also is home to nine bunkers, the most of any on the course. After the first shot, it turns sharply left to an elevated green. No. 18 caps off one of the best three or four-hole stretches you can play anywhere in the state.

The course's amenities have everything you'd expect from a first-class outfit. Workers greet you upon arrival and take your clubs to your cart and carry them back after the round. The barn-style clubhouse is home to a small restaurant/bar area and a pro shop. Outside, a covered pavilion can more than handle a large outing on a hot summer day.

The warm-up area features a separate chipping and putting green, along with a target-style range. The course is well-marked with yardage indicators on the cart paths, on posts near the cart path, and on numerous sprinklers throughout the fairways. All that, along with the pin sheets in the carts, make it easy to select your club. The carts even have their own personal ball and club washer.

The Fortress' director of golf Mark Black, a PGA Class A master professional, is available for private and/or group lessons. Special events, like the Cigar Golf Classic scramble in September, tournaments, clinics and junior programs are held throughout the year.

The 18-hole greens fees vary during Michigan's short golf season, ranging from $39-$59 on Monday through Thursday and $39-$65 on Friday-Sunday and holidays. The 9-hole rates are from $25-$39 on Mon-Thurs. and $25-$41 on Fri.-Sunday and holidays. For tee times, call either (800) 652-0460 or the pro shop at (517) 652-9229. For more information, visit www.zehnders.com.

If you're hungry for some good golf, and maybe a tantalizing meal, Frankenmuth and the Fortress will appease your appetite for either.

August 1, 2001