Birchwood Farms Golf & Country Club (Woods/Farms)

Overview: Woods/Farms gives Birchwood Farms golfers a pairing of the club’s newer nine with one half of the original layout. The Woods travels across more dramatic northern Michigan ground, with elevated starting points and views toward Lake Michigan, before The Farms returns the round to mature hardwoods and the club’s more established parkland character. That change of mood is the appeal of this exact routing. It offers the visual drama of Jerry Matthews’ later work without abandoning the quieter, traditional corridors that define Birchwood as a whole.

History: Birchwood began with an 18-hole course created by Bruce Matthews Sr. and Jerry Matthews in 1972. Jerry Matthews added The Woods in 1998, making a 27-hole club and allowing the current Woods/Farms combination to exist. The course’s history is therefore a story of expansion rather than replacement: the later nine was fitted into the land to provide a new visual and strategic counterpoint to the original pair. Current club information describes Birchwood as a private community, so this routing belongs in a members-and-guests context rather than a public destination-fee category.

Did You Know? The Woods nine was added in 1998, but its identity is not only about being newer. The official club description highlights the Lake Michigan views that begin at its first hole, making this combination a deliberate contrast between open outlooks and the older Farms woodland.