Best public golf course in Oakland County offers all the solitude in the world

This is the sixth and final entry in a series looking at the best public golf courses in the six-county metro Detroit area.

There’s simply no getting around the massive advantage Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club enjoys. It sits on 350 acres of undulating, wooded terrain in Clarkston that sits next to a park-like retreat for Jesuits priests and brothers.

There isn’t a more beautiful and serene setting for a golf course in metro Detroit, if not the entire state, and that’s why we’re picking it as the Free Press’ Top Public Golf Course in Oakland County

If the mere setting was all that Shepherd’s Hollow offered, it still might be enough to earn it scores of accolades. But Shepherd’s Hollow is so much more than a setting.

A round here is a holistic, luxe experience that starts from the winding drive through the tall pines onto the property. It lasts until the final bite of seared scallops grenobloise and truffle fries paired with Moet and Chandon champagne during a post-round meal in the handsome white clubhouse reminiscent of South Carolina’s Low Country estates.

Between your arrival and departure, you get an exquisite taste of some of the prettiest 27 holes of golf anywhere in Michigan. Like very few other courses in metro Detroit, the scenery, undulating topography and secluded nature of the entire property make Shepherd’s Hollow feel like a true facsimile of playing Up North.

Any combination of two nines stretch past 7,000 yards. That’s long enough, but when you factor in plenty of hilly terrain, the length often feels like more than enough challenge. Yet it’s never too much because of the sheer straightforward beauty of Arthur Hills’ classic, minimalist design. There are generous fairways and large greens that make it eminently playable for anyone, as long as they stick to the right tees, because the course can also play shorter than 5,000 yards.

One of the keys to the isolated serenity is the expansiveness of the property. Shepherd’s Hollow claims another 27 holes could have fit on its 350 acres. But instead of crowding golfers, the course’s ample space has bestowed up on players the benefit of solitude. If you stay on pace, and off your phone, there are times you feel the world doesn’t exist beyond this tranquil forest of solitude.

Being located on the second-highest point in Oakland County also offers Shepherd’s Hollow the distinct advantage of providing plenty of elevated tees and dazzling views of the course. Of course, what goes up must come down, so there are some blind shots that force you to face a green mound as you imagine that lovely scenery and, hopefully, the well-placed shot you just hit.

The two holes I most often think of at Shepherd’s Hollow are the first and 18th, among the 27. The first is a long par-4, dogleg right that quickly puts the course behind you and requires a tricky approach to a tricky green that plays 50 feet downhill from the fairway. The 18th could be considered the course’s signature hole: A par-5 that bends to the right along the shoulder of a pretty lake.

If you come to Shepherd’s Hollow, make sure you aren’t rushed. Give yourself the time to enjoy the experience, in totality, of what this course offers and the exquisite manner in which it does so.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on X @cmonarrez.