The Emerald Golf Course
Saint Johns, Michigan · 18 holes · par 72 · Public/Resort. Designed by Jerry Matthews, opened 1996.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 700 ft the ball carries about 1% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 149. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 14, where the green sits 25 ft above the tee and plays about 8 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 10, where the green sits 16 ft below the tee and plays about 5 yards shorter.
- Driving-zone hazards sit on the right on 4 holes and on the left on 2: a tee shot missed right costs more here.
- 16 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1 | 325 |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | 342 |
| 3 | 5 | 11 | 440 |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 149 |
| 5 | 4 | 15 | 288 |
| 6 | 4 | 7 | 370 |
| 7 | 5 | 13 | 439 |
| 8 | 3 | 17 | 105 |
| 9 | 4 | 5 | 338 |
| 10 | 4 | 18 | 289 |
| 11 | 4 | 12 | 276 |
| 12 | 3 | 6 | 138 |
| 13 | 4 | 4 | 311 |
| 14 | 4 | 8 | 318 |
| 15 | 5 | 14 | 388 |
| 16 | 3 | 2 | 125 |
| 17 | 5 | 16 | 395 |
| 18 | 4 | 10 | 339 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerald | Male | 6619 | 72.3 | 142 |
| Diamond | Male | 6106 | 69.8 | 130 |
| Gold | Male | 5404 | 74.9 | 138 |
| Ruby | Female | 5031 | 70 | 123 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 324-3 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 312 · 325 · 339front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 26yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 27 ydswide at 159
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front-left
In play
- Water right: 191 to reach, 211 to carry
- Water across the hole: 226 to reach, 232 to carry
- Bunker front of the green
Playing notes
- Water crosses the hole: 226 to reach, 232 to carry.
- Fairway water on the right: 191 to reach, 211 to carry. Drives that finish short of 191 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 27 yards wide at 159 and narrows to 21 at 209.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back-right to front-left, about 2.5%. Finish on the front-left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 344+5 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 323 · 342 · 363front · middle · back
- Green size
- 40 × 28yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 38 ydswide at 180
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front-right
In play
- Bunker front of the green
- Water right of the green
Playing notes
- Dogleg left at about 215 yards.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 38 yards wide at 180 and narrows to 33 at 230.
- The green is guarded on the right by water; miss left.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 2.5%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
- The green is 40 yards deep: a back pin can play about 3 clubs more than a front pin.
Hole 3 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 441+3 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 426 · 440 · 448front · middle · back
- Green size
- 28 × 21yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 33 ydswide at 127
- Green slope
- 3%falls to the front
In play
- Water right: 318 to reach, 419 to carry
- Bunker left of the green
Playing notes
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 33 yards wide at 127.
- Best lay-up: 70 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 31 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- The green is guarded on the left by bunkers; miss right.
- The green falls from back to front, about 3%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 35 · Par 46 · Par 47 · Par 58 · Par 39 · Par 410 · Par 411 · Par 412 · Par 313 · Par 414 · Par 415 · Par 516 · Par 317 · Par 518 · Par 4
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 41 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
- 3 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].