Arcadia Bluffs — South Course

The South Course at Arcadia Bluffs is Dana Fry's 2018 inland counterpoint to The Bluffs. Where the original course gets its character from Lake Michigan and the wind, the South turns away from the water and into a homage to golden-age American architecture, with square-shaped tees and greens that reference the geometric formalism of early 20th-century design. It feels older than it is, in the right way.

You're playing 7,412 yards, par 72, slope 132. That's a full hundred yards longer than The Bluffs but a notably gentler slope, because the inland setting removes the lake wind that makes The Bluffs so demanding. Length is the primary challenge here. The par 4s are long and direct; the par 5s reward genuine distance off the tee.

The greens are where Fry imposes precision. Squared edges with internal slopes direct misplaced approaches into specific collection areas, and recovery from the wrong side of the putting surface matters considerably more than proximity to the pin. The conditioning is firm and fast, consistent with the design philosophy, and the ground game works.

Walking is mandatory. The transitions are short, the terrain doesn't have the elevation that would make it arduous, and the walking-only rule sets a pace that suits the architectural intent. Take a forecaddie on a first visit. Recognising the collection areas and reading the bunker placements before they catch you saves real strokes.