Golf in Farmington

The Huron-Clinton Metroparks is regional park system with 13 spectacular parks with eight golf courses in Southeast Michigan.

A sunny afternoon's work of putting putter to ball does more than bring up latent emotions about middle-school health class—it also brings up a hunger for fine dining. The lunch and dinner menus at the newly opened Fountain View Restaurant feature freshly prepared provisions that pair perfectly with the restaurant's view of Tanglewood's verdant greens. As you gaze at the links and begin to strategize through Fountain View's windows or bat lashes at the landscape from the outdoor patio, appease your grumbling food box with an order of scampi-style shrimp ($9), served over capellini in a mushroom-tomato broth, or a flatbread pizza and grilled veggies ($8), with fresh mozzarella and toasted oregano. With your mouth woken and wide eyed, direct its attention to a Fountain View specialty, the salmon roulade, a decadent buttery fish feast stuffed with shrimp, lobster, spinach, and jack cheese and served with mushroom risotto and asparagus ($14 for lunch, $19 for dinner). If you're collecting bones from your meals to complete your Rube Goldberg machine, order a bone-in “cowboy” rib eye—16 succulent ounces of Angus beef smothered in a bourbon demiglace with pearl onions and mushrooms and served with a jumbo baked potato and broccoli ($34 for dinner only).

Use of this Groupon is transferable; it can be redeemed individually across several visits or all at once by a group.

Bearers of a Taylor golf VIP pass can groom their golf game with a regimen of golf lessons and six rounds of golf at two scenic courses designed by prolific course architect Arthur Hills. Players can bolster their technique before hitting the links with a set of 10 one-hour small-group clinics, where classes no larger than 10 pupils learn how to control their ball flight and bend 9 irons into coat hangers from one of the courses’ resident aces.

Working at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 1994 World Cup are a few of the sporting events on camp director Shelly Watkins's resumé, which she draws on to run a summer camp for kids of all ages. A mother herself, she believes in giving each child individual attention, recognition, and respect, rewarding campers with high-fives and compliments for jobs well done. Together with assistant camp director Cortney Spiegel, she runs fun-packed day camps focused on arts, sports, field trips, and specialty programs. Professional counselors work with pintsize Pacinos in the Lights, Camera, Action class to make short films; kick off Nerf-themed sports events in the Nerf Extravaganza class; or venture out to bowling, movies, rollerblading, and laser tag during the Mega Adventure Field Trip. Shelly and her friendly crew also lead precamp and aftercamp activities for early-morning and evening supervision, and junior camp for campers aged 4¬–7 or 10-year-olds having their pre-preteen life crisis.

Designed in 1929 by Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Wilfred Reid—a British immigrant who studied golf-equipment design under Tommy Armour's father, outdueled Gene Sarazen to win the 1924 Augusta Open, and crafted a multitude of courses on both sides of the Atlantic—Bald Mountain's championship golf course spans 6,624 yards of undulating, timber-lined fairways. Though sand traps are sparse throughout the round, the layout counters with obstacles including greenside swales, grassy thickets, and deranged windmills invading from the nearest mini-golf course. Well-manicured greens sit at the end of each hole, providing a fair, true roll for par-seeking putters.

Novice players may prefer Bald Mountain's nine-hole executive course, where seven par-3s ease beginners into the game or allow aces to boost the probability of netting an elusive hole-in-one. Bald Mountain also encompasses a grass-tee driving range, a practice green, and a banquet area that can host up to 250 people for bridal showers, graduation parties, or group therapy meetings for short-irons that feel like drivers on the inside.

Championship Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Wilfred Reid
• 18-hole, par-71 course
• Length of 6,624 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 71.5 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 121 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Link to scorecard