Crystal Mountain Gives Golfers a Great View
THOMPSONVILLE, Mich. - Ever feel crowded on the golf course?
You know the feeling when your tee shot always finds its way to the hazards on the left or right of the fairway.
At Crystal Mountain Golf Club, they have found a solution for some of your problems.
"The fairways are wide," the club's PGA professional and director of golf Brad Dean said. "Every hole is tree-lined, yet there is a lot of room."
Now all Dean needs to do is help golfers solve their slice and hook and everything will be fine.
Despite the open fairways, Crystal Mountain offers a lot of challenges. They have two courses, including a newer set of 18 holes, which give golfers plenty of opportunities to use all of the clubs in their bag.
The new Mountain Ridge course - 7,000 yards from the back tees - offers what club officials call championship caliber golf with elevation changes that make the course more challenging.
"There is a variety of water hazards and waste bunkers," Dean said. "There are no cross hazards, so you just have to worry about the hazards on the side. You'll have to worry about penalties if you hit off line."
Like most courses in northern Michigan, the view at Crystal Mountain is something to cherish. In fact, Dean says the pines and hardwoods are perfect for a postcard.
"People have a good time when they come out here [northern Michigan]," Dean said. "It's a good get away. It's not like Florida or Palm Beach with wall-to-wall hotels. It's a very quiet, conservative area."
Crystal Mountain fits right into this stereotype of northern Michigan golf.
From a majority of the club's tee boxes, golfers can see miles in front of them into the state's beautiful nature.
On the club's other course, called Bestie Valley, creeks and ponds come into play as water is a factor on nine of the 18 holes.