Boulder Pointe a tasty treat in metro Detroit

It’s been years since I’d tee it up at Boulder Pointe Golf Club & Banquet Center in Oxford.

And unfortunately, by getting older, I can’t always visualize golf courses hole by hole like I used to when I was a young buck with a memory as sharp as a tack.

I knew there were some solid holes at the 27-hole facility off of Telegraph Road 10 miles north of The Palace of Auburn Hills, but I just couldn’t get a grip on how much I liked it. I’d written stories in the past ranking the Conroy/Dewling design among the top 10 public courses in metro Detroit, but just how good is it? That’s what I set out to prove.

Last week’s round rekindled my love affair with the place. It plays firm and fast, just like I love. It has some sweeping terrain and some dynamic elevated tee shots, another favorite of mine. Several of the par-3s are down-right knee-knockers, another thumbs up from me. The water-laced the 197-yard third and the 141-yard fourth, both on the Peaks nine, come to mind.

The Peaks-Dunes combination provides the best 18 holes. The Peaks is my favorite with a unique mix of challenges. The first hole demands a blind wedge shot to a green protected by water in back. A peninsula green on the par-5 third juts out into the water. The short par-4 ninth provides an opportunity at birdie, provided you don’t choke on the wedge shot over a marsh pond like I did. The Dunes has some nice land, but the killer stretch of five par-4s over 400 yards in a row is too repetitive for me. The last of them, the 453-yard seventh, is one of the toughest holes in metro Detroit with a monumental carry over water to approach the green.

An A-list clubhouse completes the amenities of Boulder Pointe, tucked inside a huge residential subdivision. Nowhere on the course, though, did I feel crowded or intimidated about tight quarters. At the spring rate of $40-$50, playing Boulder Pointe is a steal.

Golf season in Michigan officially here

The e-mails are streaming in one by one pronouncing the wonderful news.

Golf, in the upper Midwest, is open for business. I’ve gotten e-mails from some of the best public courses in metro Detroit – Boulder Pointe in Oxford, Moose Ridge near Brighton and Shepherd’s Hollow in Clarkston to name a few – that they’re open or will be by St. Patrick’s Day. The biggest surprise opening announcement came from Hawk’s Eye Golf Resort in Bellaire. That’s four hours north of Detroit, a northern Michigan outpost where snow usually reigns supreme until late April.

This is the earliest season opening I can remember since I began covering golf in Michigan 15 years ago. There could be a snow storm sometime in the next month. So far, though, the spring has been fantastic. Here’s the irony in all this: One local course, the Jackal at Mount Brighton, hosts a snowmobile race annually this weekend. With the forecast, it’s safe to say the race will be cancelled for the second straight year.

On a whim last week, I called my local golf course to see when it might open.

The phone rang and rang. Two thoughts crossed my mind: They’re so busy with the fabulous weather that nobody is answering the phone, or no luck, nobody’s working yet. On the second try, somebody answered and said the golf course might be open by the weekend.

Unfortunately, all weekend it rained like crazy. That might sound like a real bummer. However, it actually was a great way to rid the area courses of the record snow fall we received in February. Normally courses open anywhere between April 1 and April 15, depending on the snow and rain.

Instead of sulking for another month, I can tee it up for 18 and then grab some green beer Wednesday to celebrate March Madness. Sweet!