17th Green at the Michigan Tech Golf Club Portage Lake - Houghton, Michigan |
Portage Lake Golf Course Review
Portage Lake is a top quality 18 hole course affiliated with Michigan Tech University. It overlooks Portage Lake, which is part of the body of water connected to Lake Superior which bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula making it actually an island. It has a modern and attractive club house and pro shop. The course is mature, nicely landscaped and well-maintained. The original nine hole course opened in 1902. It is now the back the nine. It is shorter than the front nine, featuring rolling terrain and smaller, somewhat trickier greens. The front nine was added in 1972. The fairways are tree lined but open. The greens are generally angled toward the fairway and feature a generous apron of short, tight grass between the fairway and the green, giving the golfer an opportunity to practice his or her chip and run shot. The rolling terrain, mature oak and maple trees, woods, water, occasional Lake Superior views, and very good maintenance make this a very scenic and enjoyable course to play. The course is 6278 yards playing the black tees and has a slope rating of 126.
The pro shop was well outfitted; the sandwiches in the club house were excellent. The driving range was adequate but small, would handle only four or five golfers at a time. One strange note. We played the course on a Saturday, a beautiful, sunny fall day in the seventies . . . but the facility was seriously understaffed. Apparently someone called in sick and the manager wasn't available to pinch hit. So the young lady who normally runs the beverage cart and helps out on the grill had to handle the pro shop, golf tee times, the phones, plus the bar and the grill. Fortunately for all of the customers, she was one of these enthusiastic, triple-threat players who rise to the challenge. She did an excellent job covering all the bases. The only one she couldn't cover was the beverage cart which couldn't make the rounds that day!
One other knock on the facility is there is nothing printed showing the individual hole layouts and the overall course layout. The lack of these references hampered our navigation from hole to hole as well as finding the green location on some of the holes. We also noted that the sprinkler heads lacked the yardage numbers found on most other courses. Despite these noted drawbacks, Portage Lake Golf Course is an excellent golfing facility and in the medium price range a decent golfing value.
See more course information & our detailed course rating
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Golf Course Review Rating Card |
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Portage Lake Golf Course, Houghton, MI |
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Price | $ $ |
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