Pros:
(2.824 Rating) A pleasant shorter wooded course.
- FUN FACTOR - A 4,200 foot birdie fest course. Recreational players are going to love the shorter distances and mild technical wooded holes. 950 rated players will likely average 8 to 10 down. Metal is going to get smashed here way more often than normal.
- RAW BEAUTY - Personally, this was my favorite part about the course. It was just such a pleasant walk through a brief meadow and then lots of woods. No diabolical stuff, just a wholesome and gentle landscape that'll make yourself at peace with the world. Overall, I scored the beauty here almost 75 percentile.
- NAVIGATION - No course map posted on site yet for my visit. However, if you can find hole (1), getting around on the rest of the layout shouldn't be too tough. Lots of intuitive transitions and the couple could-be tricky spots had a navigational sign pointing in the direction to go. I think I only looked at my map once.
- BASIC AMENITIES - Chainstar baskets and reasonably sized concrete tees.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - I brought my brother-in-law and nephew with me for this round. The lengths may have been a bit too long for the kiddo, but everyone had a good time. It probably helped that I retrieved their shanks in the woods though. But, I just wasn't going to leave one of my discs in Michigan.
- LOCATION - Almira, as of this review, is currently the second closest course to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, and it's the reason I ended up here. I had never heard of Bear Dunes growing up less than 150 miles away. So it seems Michigan has been keeping its secrets well from Wisconsinites. What an absolutely amazing place.
So-sos:
- HOLE VARIETY - Average. The first two holes are vanilla warm-up holes. After that it was generally simple wooded play with a couple breaks back out into the open. I don't think one wooded hole is much over 250 feet long. I was throwing putters off tees routinely. No par 4s, water plays or big elevation changes. I think more could have been done to make the wooded portion more appealing to a wider range of skill levels.
- AMENITIES AND EXTRAS - Beyond the basics, the amenities and extras are not here yet. No extra tees, alt basket placements or practice basket. I saw only one sitting area by tee one and the restrooms are a bit of a walk in a different section of the park
- LOW REC CHALLENGE - For Intermediate level players like me, and other higher skilled players, the challenges presented here are not earth shattering. Some of the wooded holes are way too short and simple. Seven holes are sub 200 feet long. One felt like a jump putt and was not satisfying at all. Again, I wish more had been done to appease higher skilled players.
Cons:
- OVERGROWTH - The woods portion of this course is still rather raw with vines and underbrush flanking the beat-in fairway cut. I wouldn't be surprised if there are ticks and poison ivy in there, although I didn't see any. The conditions were nothing horrible like I've seen in the deep south's wooded courses, but it was noticeable among the courses I've played up north. There are also a couple prairie grass holes that had waist tall grasses. Having to search or losing a disc is possible, although it's only a modest risk.
- TEE SIGNAGE - Too simple in my opinion. Just a hole number and distance. The wooded holes could use a description of the line on the sign.
Other Thoughts:
Almira is a really nice course in general. It finds that perfect middle ground of offering respectable rec level challenges that won't scare many beginners away. Perfect for small town leagues and players looking to have a low key fun time. Overall, I think this one fits well among the courses that I've scored between a 2.75 and 3.0. It's one that I would play routinely if I lived within twenty minutes. Not a destination level course, although most players will not be disappointed by the simpler play here when looking to squeeze in an extra round on an excursion to the region. This is still a young course with minimal infrastructure in place. With some minor tweaks, amenity adds, multiple tee adds and some alternate basket locations, I think a low 3.5 in my books is a possibility.