Our second 18 hole round of the day in Grand Rapids was at Wendigo Golf Club, a Joel Goldstrand design that opened in 1995. We started just before 3pm, which qualified us for a twilight rate of $37 per player with cart.

When I last visited Wendigo about ten years ago, it was still under development, with a temporary clubhouse and lots of condominium construction around the entrance. Fast forward to now and you find a nice log clubhouse, a large conference center and hotel with restaurant and still more townhomes under construction.

The strange thing about this resort, though, is that it seems nearly deserted. It looks like construction has stopped on the new townhomes (or at least slowed down with the economy) and the parking lot wasn’t very full for a holiday weekend. More importantly for golfers, though, was sub-par maintenance on the golf course (and with our golf cart, which reeked of gasoline and backfired more than once).

And a strange golf course it is, too. Lots of blind shots, holes that feel out of place with the others, a unique fourth hole that plays as either a par 3 or par 4 (with different greens) and a weak finishing hole that brings the clubhouse into play off the tee. Sounds also seemed to carry everywhere, so you could hear the few people that were there throughout our round.

On a more positive note, there are some very strong holes on the course and every employee we talked to was friendly (although they double-booked our tee time). It’s hard to see how courses like this will succeed in today’s economy, however, as poor course conditioning becomes a downward spiral to increasing player rounds.

Perhaps the owners should spend less money on multi-level boulder retaining wall entrances and more on keeping the golf course in resort condition.