Crystal Downs Country Club
About Crystal Downs Country Club
Crystal Downs Country Club occupies high ground above the Lake Michigan shoreline near Frankfort, where the hilltop setting on which the clubhouse stands reminded early visitors of an English "downs" — the comparison that gave the club its name. Benjamin P. Merrick, a Grand Rapids lawyer who saw the property in 1926, is credited with the name, while the land itself had captivated Mr. Ewing on a hiking trip in 1912.
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A nine-hole course opened in mid-1927, but Ewing felt the design fell short of the ground's character. After corresponding with golf architecture author Robert Hunter, he was introduced to Dr. Alister MacKenzie, then completing Cypress Point, and persuaded MacKenzie and his associate Perry Maxwell to break their cross-country train journey and visit northern Michigan.
The resulting layout follows the natural, hilly terrain without artificial features; the limited earth-moving required was done with a pond sledge and a team of mules under Maxwell's direction.
At a glance
- Access
- Private
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 70
- Length
- 6,509 yards
- Tees
- 7 tee boxes
- Course rating
- 73.0 / 142 slope
- Opened
- 1929
- Difficulty
- Average
Scorecard
| Tee | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Out | In | Total | Par | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 35 | 70 | ||
| Handicap | 1 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 12 | |||||
| BLUE | 461 | 422 | 194 | 409 | 342 | 381 | 335 | 541 | 174 | 391 | 194 | 422 | 479 | 146 | 327 | 583 | 309 | 399 | 3259 | 3250 | 6,509 | 70 | 73.0/142 |
| WHITE | 451 | 417 | 161 | 399 | 334 | 346 | 330 | 536 | 159 | 386 | 184 | 414 | 432 | 137 | 322 | 575 | 303 | 378 | 3133 | 3131 | 6,264 | 70 | 71.6/139 |
| WHITE/GOLD HYBRID | 451 | 371 | 161 | 399 | 334 | 285 | 330 | 536 | 159 | 386 | 142 | 379 | 432 | 137 | 322 | 460 | 303 | 378 | 3026 | 2939 | 5,965 | 70 | 70.3/135 |
| GOLD | 436 | 371 | 151 | 387 | 259 | 285 | 292 | 393 | 142 | 380 | 142 | 379 | 373 | 127 | 277 | 460 | 242 | 362 | 2716 | 2742 | 5,458 | 70 | 68.0/123 |
| RED | 436 | 371 | 147 | 387 | 219 | 285 | 292 | 393 | 103 | 380 | 142 | 379 | 373 | 94 | 277 | 460 | 242 | 362 | 2633 | 2709 | 5,342 | 70 | 67.4/121 |
| RED/SILVER HYBRID | 309 | 275 | 147 | 387 | 219 | 216 | 292 | 393 | 103 | 249 | 142 | 267 | 373 | 94 | 207 | 460 | 242 | 250 | 2341 | 2284 | 4,625 | 70 | 64.1/112 |
| SILVER | 309 | 275 | 147 | 276 | 219 | 216 | 292 | 280 | 103 | 249 | 79 | 267 | 279 | 94 | 207 | 354 | 242 | 250 | 2117 | 2021 | 4,138 | 70 | 62.4/109 |
Tee and scorecard data retrieved from the USGA GHIN course database
Course handicap at Crystal Downs Country Club
How many strokes you get from each tee, by handicap index.
| Tee | Rating | Slope | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE | 73.0 | 142 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 28 | 34 | 41 | 48 |
| WHITE | 71.6 | 139 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 26 | 32 | 39 | 46 |
| WHITE/GOLD HYBRID | 70.3 | 135 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 43 |
| GOLD | 68.0 | 123 | -2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 20 | 25 | 31 | 37 |
| RED | 67.4 | 121 | -3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 30 | 36 |
| RED/SILVER HYBRID | 64.1 | 112 | -6 | -1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 24 | 30 |
| SILVER | 62.4 | 109 | -8 | -3 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 27 |
Work out your exact course handicap here, or calculate your handicap index.
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