Eagle Crest Golf Club, located at 1275 S. Huron, is an 18 hole course that offers superior views and superior playability, but it offers much more than that. Eagle Crest is a gem that not many students at Eastern Michigan University know about. So let’s fill in the details.
Eagle Crest’s rates are VERY student friendly
Eagle Crest has been featured on “Detroit’s Dream 18,” but the price is what catches the eye. Students with an ID can play the full course during the weekdays for just $15 or $10 for nine holes walking. On the weekends, it’s $34 to walk the full course and $52 to ride a cart. That’s not just EMU students either. Any student, including high school, can use these rates.
“We get a lot of students from the University of Michigan. We get a lot of students from Washtenaw Community College. We get a lot of students from Wayne State,” said Wes Blevins, Director of Eagle Crest Golf Club. “Obviously our students can’t go play at U of M, but U of M students can play here.”
Eagle Crest attracts students from Michigan State, Wayne State, and the University of Michigan.
Eagle Crest has become very player friendly with renovation
Eagle Crest has been renovated over the past four years to improve their customer’s playing experience. Designed by Jim Lipe, who was an architect for golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Eagle Crest has become one of the most played courses in the state. Lipe developed a master plan.
“We started renovations in 2012,” Blevins said. “We did holes one, five, six, and seven. We did all new tee complexes, new bunkers and addition to greens. We did roughly $275,000 worth of renovations in the first phase.”
“In 2013, we worked around the clubhouse,” noted Blevins. “We did a lot of landscaping and added a range tee. In 2014, we went back to work on the golf course. We did holes 10 and 12. On hole 10, the big hitters would take it over the conference center. It was dangerous for the Marriott employees, so we dropped the tee down 10 feet and moved 70 feet to the left. Then we took the earth that we moved and took it over to 12 and built the right side of the fairway because the fairway used to look like a 45 degree angle. So that was our scope of work that took about $250,000. Last year we did nothing. This year, board approved, we’re going to hopefully work with around $100,000. We’ve got two cart paths that we really need to move on hole two an hole 18.”
“We get a lot of people [since we’ve been doing renovation] that haven’t been here in 5,6,7,8 years that come and play just to see what we’ve done for the change,” said Blevins. “These people come in and they’re like, ‘We love what you’re doing here!’”
Eagle Crest plays host to many events
In addition to offering great rates and improving player experience, Eagle Crest has hosted multiple tournaments and events for charity. In total, Eagle Crest plays host to approximately 28,000 rounds of golf a year for various corporations and charities.
“We have EMU alumni, MAC sports, EMU wrestling, the Golfweek Tour, the Korean Society of Ann Arbor, the Michigan Bankers Association, and the LPGA Tour Monday Qualifier here which was really cool,” Blevins said.
Eagle Crest looks to have big future…
Even though Eagle Crest attracts thousands of golfers a year, Blevins hopes to bring in more golfers by renovating to host the Mid-American Conference tournament soon.
“We’ve never had a MAC [tournament] here,” Blevins said. “We would love to partner with the University of Michigan and host a tournament here and a two-day event where one would be here at Eagle Crest and the other one over a the Blue Course where the folks would stay over a the hotel. You got to be a certain length to host a MAC tournament. That’s one of the reasons we’re renovating the course is to make it longer. We’ve talked about it in board meetings and maybe with some help from the athletic department we could make that happen.”
Eagle Crest Golf Club is a hidden gem that is both friendly to your game and friendly to your wallet. The course offers a nice breeze from Ford Lake and potential on every hole. So grab your clubs and hit these links before the season is over.
