Getting To Know: Hawk's Eye GC By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Hawk's Eye GC

An Insightful Interview With Lindsey Southwell, Director of Marketing

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Lindsey Southwell who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Adding to Shanty Creek's golf reputation, this John Robinson design features incredible vistas, water hazards on 9 of 18 holes, and putting greens to challenge golfers of all levels. Named among "Michigan's Top Courses" from GolfAdvisor and the "Top 25 Course Layouts in the US."

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Hawk's Eye is a true Northern Michigan golf course layout. The course is carved out of natural landscape of the Cedar River valley, sculpted through dense hardwood forests, with elements of elevation and undulation, and water and sand hazards, that challenge all golfer types.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
Shanty Creek aquired Hawk's Eye GC in the spring of 2021. Since the addition of Hawk's Eye to the resort's 90-hole collection, Shanty Creek has spent countless hours working on the conditioning and care of Hawk's Eye, applying the resort standard of fast, firm and fair to each hole on the course. If you haven't played Hawk's Eye recently, you should add it to your bucket list. it's really turned into a gem of a course.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Named among "Michigan's Top Courses" from GolfAdvisor and the "Top 25 Course Layouts in the US."

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
One of the most talked about holes on Hawk's Eye is it's 17 hole. Elevated tees provides spectactular driving opportunities - not to mention some of the most scenic views on the course. The view of the Cedar River valley from this hole is one of the best at the resort - especially in the fall.

One of the most photographed holes on the course is hole 7, a long par-5 that gives you the option of taking the high road or the low road to get to it's peninsula green. The hole plays differently each time you play it, with a peninsula looks more dramatic than it reallly is. A fun play.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Holes 2 and 3 combined are my favorite on the course. A pond splits the two fairways, coming into play on both holes, but more so on the 3rd hole. The 2nd hole plays slightly uphill making it feel longer than it is distance-wise. Grab an extra club length on your approach and you'll thank me later. The 3rd hole plays true, but is intimidating as water covers a lot of area on this hole. Thee combination of the two holes are just such a stunnng sight.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Bellaire's Short's Brewing Company is just 3 miles down the road. Take Shanty Creek's complimentary shuttle to downtown Bellaire and choose from one of their many, many brews. Litterally everything on the menu is fantastic - but I especially recommend the Exactly Where I'm At, which is a pesto spinach artichoke dip that melts in your mouth.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
With just under 400 lodging options across four villages to fit all family sizes and budgets, Shanty Creek's reservations team will recommend which one of their options will best fit your group. Ranging from guest rooms to large family homes, Shanty Creek has your lodging covered.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7011
Slope: 148
Rating: 75.4

More Information
Hawk's Eye GC
5780 Shanty Creek Road
Bellaire, Michigan, 49615
800-678-4111

https://www.shantycreek.com/golf/

Revised: 06/08/2022 - Article Viewed 6,217 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.