Garland Swampfire Golf Course Review

Garland Swampfire Golf Course Review

Garland swamp
Level: A-
Teacher’s comment: There is water everywhere, water. A thoughtful design.

Garland’s Swampfire has more toys than any class I remember.

Swampfire was founded in 1987 by Ron Otto. Indeed, Garland’s four courses were designed by Otto.

Ron Otto is an interesting story. When Garland was his parents’ business, Ron went on strike alone and made a fortune in the garage door industry (he reportedly invented an insulated garage door).

Ron took over Garland’s administration after his father (Herman) died in 1983 and after the gas explosion that destroyed the original hut in 1985. As part of the reconstruction, Ron Otto recreates the resort’s original thirty-six holes into four new lessons: swamp, monarch, reflection and fountain.

If I don’t know the story, I’d assume that the swamp (and the fountain on the link – comment) was designed by one of the Matthews clans. Routing makes full use of the terrain, single hole designs are firm and often smart.

As the name suggests, Swampfire travels through a mostly flat, swampy lowland area, prettier than what the “Swamp” Monicker suggests. The wetlands and their boundaries contrast sharply with the pine and hardwood forests on the edges.

Swampfire is a strategy course. Assume a playback from the right T-shirt, a put ball is more valuable than distance. Fortunately, Otto usually avoids the temptation to force players to carry a lot of water. Instead, these dangers usually extend from one side of the hole, not to depth (but to force decisions about placement) or guard the green side.

I enjoyed the process of selecting my lines and clubs at Swampfire. There are a lot of examples to study my Garmin S70. How far is that swamp finger coming in from one side of the fairway? How much space do I have on the right side of the green? What is the worst outcome and how can I avoid it?

From the trick, the swamp fire works at 6,854 yards. Given the need for accuracy on so many shots, it performs longer than the scorecard points out.

My favorite hole in Swampfire is the fourth and fourth. Starting from the raised tee, it demands a shot on a water surface. There is nothing to pay attention to, but like any water danger, it can fall into the mind of a golfer.

The fourth of Swampfire is the two bunkers left by the dog at the top. The fifth position is below, with a horseshoe-shaped crown.

From the landing area, the hole calf on the left, there are two bunkers outside. The entrance to a pond pinches the fairway from the left, so – depending on your first shot position – that approach will shoot directly on the fairway, or a portion of the pond needs to be cleared.

To add another layer, the green is raised and piled up around it. You don’t want to miss this green. Ask me how I know.

The fifth pole is a very clever three pole with a horseshoe-shaped round ground that extends from 170 to a hundred yards. In the middle of the arc, it provides almost infinite angles of rotation. Just like neatly, as the yard count decreases, the amount of water the ball needs to carry. It was not carried at all from the right leg of the shoe.

The conditions on the day I played were very good. Some serving boxes are a little beaten, but nothing to add.

Actually, my only complaint is that they won’t let me walk. This shocked me. I really want to go back and play “on the hoof”.

The Swampfire Golf Course Review was first published on March 1, 2025 and was taken in a round of photos that were played in the 2024 season. For a list of all Michigan golf course reviews for GolfBlogger, please visit the link.

The courses for the swamp fire are as follows:

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