Orchard Lake is a private country club northwest of Detroit, with an 18-hole layout originally designed by Charles H. Alison in 1927. Set on undulating parkland close to a beautiful lake, the golf course here features a number of steeply angled green complexes and a series of testing holes routed either east-west or north-south across the attractive slopes and hills.

While Alison’s layout is full of genuine quality, over the course of the last few decades the property has become terribly over planted and many of the holes are now stiflingly narrow and unduly penal. The bunkers and green shapes have also changed considerably over time. Thankfully a restoration project started in 2012 and led by architect Keith Foster has begun to address these issues, and Foster’s task is to polish the jewel here and restore the finer points of the Alison design.

Although Orchard Lake is a rung down from the best courses of this era, and the best courses from this designer, at its core are a number of really fine golf holes and an overall routing flow and intimacy that has plenty of charm and appeal. The back nine holes on the southern portion of the club’s property are especially notable for the consistently undulating nature of their fairways, and a number of strong green sites angled to reward golfers able to drive into the most dangerous fairway areas. Once these holes are opened up further, and the bunkers and green shapes restored, this section will have even greater appeal. As will the two closing mid-length par fours, both built with truly sinister green sites leaning sharply toward the low point of the fairway. The 17^th, in particular, is a fine hole already and less cluttered by trees and awkward ground contours than the somewhat uncomfortable 18^th.

On the front nine, holes like the 1^st, 6^th and 8^th only need some space and sensible refinement to really elevate into the elite class. The short holes here are also really strong, and especially noted for their large and boldly angled green settings.

Orchard Lake is a fantastic club and during this exciting restoration period we will watch Foster’s work here closely. While it doesn’t quite have the celebrity or prestige of places like Oakland Hills and Franklin Hills, there is no doubt that if the work done at Orchard Lake is successful the club will once again own a golden age golf course every bit as fun and impressive as any in the greater Detroit area.