LOCATION: East of I-196 at Exit 41 at Saugatuck on 136th Avenue to Palmer Drive ADDRESS: 3520 Palmer Drive, Saugatuck 49453 YARDAGE: 5,054/7,132; 4 sets of tees ARCHITECT: Arnold Palmer YEAR OPENED: 1999 PHONE: (269) 857-1616 WEB SITE: www.ravinesgolfclub.com

A TRULY UNIQUE GOLF ENCOUNTER APTLY APPLIES TO THE RAVINES GOLF CLUB IN SAUGATUCK. NOTHING RIVALS ITS DEMANDING
Arnold Palmer design or natural landforms. Couple this with an expansive practice area, a charming clubhouse – Arnie’s Cottage – and award-winning food selections from the restaurant and you’ve experienced a day at the links unlike any other.

The Ravines is a bon-a-fide Michigan Monster, measuring 7,132 yards from the tips with a slope of 142 and course rating 73.9. Shot placement is critical from the tee on virtually every hole.

The golfer is immediately confronted at hole No. 1, measuring 409 yards, with a forced carry of 100-150 yards from the tee. Thankfully there’s a more-than-generous area to land the ball in the fairway. Another forced carry is required to reach the green. If you’re playing the blues, or third set of tees, a good drive can reach the hazard that crosses the fairway about 100 yards from the green.

Hole No. 4 is the first of the Fab Fives. It’s a bold 590 yards long and requires a big drive to make the corner of the right dogleg that sits almost exactly halfway between the tee and the green. This is a great golf hole but not the equal of the 529-yard No. 9 par 5.

This gem requires a skillfully placed drive to avoid the trees to the right and the water hazard dead ahead. The best approach here is to play a couple of 200-yard shots from the tee and fairway leaving you a wedge into a green that’s neatly tucked behind the pond that’s accompanied you the length of the fairway.

Ravines Golf Club earns its lore on the backside where the namesake ravine resides. The gorge, if you will, is first witnessed at the par 3 twelfth hole. It measures 165 yards over the escarpment and you do not want to miss the green to the left. Not that there’s much room to the right, front or behind this green.

The ravine doesn’t really come into play along the right side of the No. 11 fairway, a great golf hole by the way. But you will have to contend with the Michigan marvel on hole fourteen. This is a par 5 to beat all challengers.

A cathedral of pine trees lines both sides of the fairway of this 623-yard hole. But before you enjoy a walk in their early morning or late day shadows, you’ll need to blast a 250-yard shot from the tee to clear the 60-foot deep ravine. A fairway wood played to the right side of the fairway allows for a wonderful approach shot over a wetland to a fairly large green.

The homeward par 5 is a shot maker’s layout that is best played as a three shot hole. Come tee it up and enjoy.