Course Review – Crystal Downs in Frankfort, Michigan

How many of us have gone to a place to play and been awestruck right at the start? Well, that is the way I felt at Crystal Downs. The course is situated just a little north of the small tourist village of Frankfort, Michigan. The setting is between Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan. The thing you always have to watch for in this part of the state is the cold, but also the fierce winds off of Lake Michigan. I have been fortunate to see the course three times. Twice it was perfect, the other day was dominated by 40 mph breezes from off the water and 40 degrees. It was cold and almost unplayable.

Because most people have never heard of the place here is a little background. The course was designed by Alister Mackenzie and Perry Maxwell. The duo met there in 1928 and laid out the front nine and Maxwell began construction. Over the next three years Maxwell would live in Frankfort for six months at a time and eventually get the course done, including the back nine.

The front nine holes run over a rumpled piece of ground with the pro shop and clubhouse sitting on elevated locations that allow views of the entire side of the course. From the first tee, Crystal Lake is visible to the south and on a clear day, Lake Michigan can be seen in the distance over the tree tops. From the elevated first tee all of the front nine is in view. Below is what I consider the best opening hole I have ever played. The terrain runs from left to right and rolls to a valley below. The green is a mid-iron away and runs steeply from back to with three distinct levels to the putting surface. A challenge on the opening hole is harder to come by while also being representative of the course that follows.

The best known stretch of holes at Crystal runs from the fifth through the eighth. Some consider each hole world class. The fifth features a wide driving area on a dogleg hole with the challenge deriving from the amount of courage the player has on the tee. The further left one goes, the farther they must hit it off the tee and deal with the Three Sisters, a trio of bunkers on the left side of the hole. The green is perhaps the one aspect that was the most difficult to deal with on that blustery day as the pin was on the high left side and nothing would stay on that part of the green. The sixth is another narrow dogleg with the famous Scabs bunker protecting the fairway. Again, almost unplayable in the gale we faced. But the green was a Maxwell masterpiece as it featured the large putting surface on the course and two large humps within the edges of the green. One of the five best greens I have ever seen. The seventh is a drive and pitch to a green from a plateau, but the unique part of the hole is famous Boomerang shaped green. This stretch is capped by the par five that many consider one of Mackenzie’s finest. The holes goes up and down along edges of hills and provides very little hope a level lie. The small green is among the most steeply sloped on the course. If one can get through this stretch without pulling their hair out, you are better than I.

The back nine then runs mostly along the Lake Michigan lakeshore. Hole thirteen was a personal favorite. It is perhaps the toughest hole on the course. The green features a section that runs off to the right. The entire hole runs from left to right off of a ridge with the green ultimately set into an amphitheater. This was my favorite hole on the course. The fourteenth is the shortest par three and has the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in the distance. It is a very gorgeous little hole and tests the short iron play of anyone. Accuracy and distance are both at a premium. Anything less than good leaves an impossible up and down.

After two flattish holes, another striking hole is presented. The seventeenth is the most controversial hole on the course. At only 300 yards, you can play anything off the tee, but the best bet is to try and clear the depression below or you will be left with a difficult at best uphill approach. Beyond the green is a great view but death as the drop-off is dramatic. The final hole doglegs around a group of birch trees with some beautiful bunkering leading up to the green.

I could sit here and write about every hole in great detail, but even on a course like Crystal Downs that would be come tedious. The raw beauty of the course, along with the wonderful routing and excellent greens make this easily among the top two courses I have ever played. Whenever anyone asks me to name my favorite Maxwell courses this is at the top of the list followed closely by Prairie Dunes.

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