Ohio Golf Journal September 2020

Speaking of Golf: Three golf experiences are included in the Getaway Package Ohio Golf Journal is currently holding a drawing for – at Thunder Bay, plus Red Hawk and Black Lake – three courses designed as a loop to hit Red Hawk in Tawas on the way north, two nights at Thunder Bay, then finish at Black Lake to the northwest on day 3. But they can be played in any order golfers desire. Thunder Bay doesn’t have a famous designer’s name affiliated with the layout, but it’s a nice parkland style course surrounded by trees, outside of Hillman. The first three holes start out with tree-lined fairways before Holes 4-7 open up on a piece of land across the street with wider fairways and large greens. Once the routing goes back across the same residential road, you’ll never encounter a straight fairway again, sans the par 3s. Every hole 8-18 has some amount of turn in them that in all but one case hides the green from view of the tee box. Ponds dot the course to serve as drainage and hazards. Reaching the 3rd, 8th and 11th greens requires going over the edge of ponds, while 12 and 17 require full-flight approaches over water. Although it was abundantly clear Thunder Bay is a buddies’ trip destination, lots of couples were also out playing together, a refreshing change from most courses. Red Hawk is an excellent Arthur Hills design north of Tawas situated on a gorgeous track of land. Holes 2-4 might be my favorite run of holes, but that certainly doesn’t mean the fun stops early. The second hole is a drivable par 4 to an elevated green surrounded by bunkers so if your sand game still needs work it’s best to layup off the tee. No. 3 is a stunning par 3 with a huge drop off from the tee. It’s tempting to club down for that very reason but it’s still a good poke to get your ball there. No. 4 is a beautiful par 4 that turns right to left as it glides downhill – just a picture-perfect setting (which honestly can describe plenty of holes on the course). Ohio Golf Journal