Eagle Eye Golf Club, Lansing, Michigan ? An Upscale Links-Style Course with an Island Green Modeled After the Famous Sawgrass Hole

Eagle Eye Golf Club is a public course and part of the Hawk Hollow Community, which features 45 holes of championship-caliber golf, as well as a nine-hole walking course and 18-hole putting course. The Eagle Eye course opened in 2003 and is situated just a few minutes from the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

The 18-hole, par-72 course was designed by Chris Lutzke, in collaboration with legendary golf course architect Pete Dye, and is a rolling, links-style layout. The course plays to a whopping 7,318 yards from the longest tees, with a USGA rating of 76.4 and a slope rating of 145. The course offers golfers five different tees from which to choose, however, and the White tees play to a mere 5,928 yards.

The course has been described as visually spectacular and features the traditional links-course elements of fescue mounding and abundant sand bunkers. The landing areas are generous, but there are also numerous water hazards to contend with on 13 of the 18 holes. The greens tend to be very large and have been described as "true-rolling.''

Golfers who have played and reviewed the course have described it as very difficult, and many a golf ball has been lost to the water that's almost everywhere on this course. Some reviewers have even said that the course "asks you for a pint of blood,'' but also added that the par-3 holes on Eagle Eye will keep golfers interested.

Hole No. 2 is one of those par-3s, a very short hole at 112 yards from the Whites, and 171 yards from the back tees. This is a fairly straight hole, but the catch is carrying one of the longest bunkers that golfers are ever likely to encounter on a par-3.

Another noteworthy par-3 is No. 5, which trades sand for water. The hole plays longer at 146 yards from the White tees and 210 from the longest tees, and water runs the length of the hole on the left and the hole tends to tilt toward it, running away from the hills on the right.

Hole No. 15 is a par-4 that plays to only 394 yards from the back tees, but water starts on both sides of the fairway and follows the right side of the hole up to the green. Adding to the challenge, the hole sits atop a hill that can be deceiving. Anything short will roll down the sloping crest, perhaps even beyond the original lie.

The signature hole at Eagle Eye is the par-3 17th, which is modeled after the famous island green at Pete Dye's Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. The hole plays to only 146 yards from the longest tee, but the green sits in the middle of water and steady nerves and the right club selection are mandatory on this hole.

Since opening Eagle Eye has gotten some rave reviews and honors, including being named the 5th-best new course in America by Golf Digest in 2005. Michigan Golf Magazine also rated it the 4th-best course in the state in 2006.

Practice facilities at Eagle Eye include a two-tiered driving range and two undulating putting greens. The course also features a luxurious, 65,000-square-foot clubhouse with locker rooms, a full-service pro shop and restaurant and lounge.