Willow Creek Golf Center is a hidden gem in Lake Orion.A summer visit should be on your ‘to-do’ list for family fun!
Willow Run has been open since 1978 and is a family owned business. It has two mini-golf courses, batting cages ( Baseball and softball slow & fast pitch) , and several golf ranges.
Upon arrival, we went to the clearly marked main building. It is older but cozy and clean. We were greeted by a very friendly gentleman that has been there since it opened. He patiently explained our options and explained the pros and cons of each choice. We choose a single round of putt-putt golf, a bucket of golf balls, and 3 batting cage tokens. The main building has a restroom, a small selection of inexpensive prebagged (chips, pretzels, etc), a freezer with small ice cream treats, and water/pop for sale. There also is all the equipment you need if you do not have your own, included in your costs! The staff sized us up with the correct putters for mini golf, let us select a brightly colored ball, handed us a score card, and off we went to mini golf first.
The mini golf options give you the choice of two courses. First one is Sports Mountain and the second is Walk in Woods. We chose Sports Mountain. It is a fun well-maintained course with each hole themed with a sport, from bowling to hockey there is 18 holes of interesting larger than life mini golf holes !Here is a view of the beautiful grounds with a curling themed hole on the right and a kayaking themed hole on the left.
We had a great time playing golf and all the sports decorations/obstacles! Many of the holes have items you can interact with before or after you play each hole. My kids really enjoyed the hole themed for kayaking, complete with a blue putting green! The sports course included a waterfall, bridge, pretty landscaping, and lots of sunshine.
There is also a Walk in the Woods course that is nature themed and offers more shade. We did not visit that course, but it looked lovely when we walked by. It had rocks, logs , and wove through a patch of woods. On a sunny or hot day, this course would be a cooler option.
For both courses, the 18th hole is a collection of your putt-putt golf ball. Then you turn in your putter in the main building. There is a small auxiliary building near the courses for collecting putters and offering score cards during busier times, but it was not open when we went. While we were there we saw someone cleaning the grounds and picking up leaves/twigs that had fallen on the course. He was very courteous and offered to take a family photo.
A very short walk away is the batting cages. Again, Willow Creek provides all you need if you do not have your own equipment! There is a bin with a variety of helmets (required!!) to choose from, bats are lined up outside of the batting cages to pick from. It is token operated, token are purchased at the main building. The batting cages are clearly marked by speed (fast, slow, medium) and by style (softball, baseball).
Last, we visited the golf range. There are three ranges to choose from. Two grass tees and one mat tee. Two of the golf ranges were on the right side of the main building and one was on the left. It appeared that the one onto left was older and more experienced golfers.We opted for the mat tees were covered that had wooden partitions to help younger golfers maintain personal space.
Author: Amber Louchart
Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment. She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.
Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats.
She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment. She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.
