Silver Lake Golf Course

Situated on a mere 125-acre plot, tight and hilly, Silver Lake is a shot maker's course with a lot of promise. Under new management since 2007, what was once a hardscrabble layout with serious drainage problems and holes obscured by overgrown vegetation, is now a tidy little course that's fun to play. The current owner/superintendent has steadily improved playing conditions, enlarging greens and clearing trees that had choked the original footprint, including several holes abutting the eponymous Silver Lake. He recently added a pond on hole No. 5, and has even planted an acre-and-a-half vineyard on the course with a plan to produce wine. In the meantime, a renovated clubhouse features a restaurant called ‘The Veranda’, so golfers can soften the blow of a bad round with cold beer, juicy burgers and nice views. Oh, and the problem with the squirrels, who were burying and then digging up their nuts from the putting greens? That's been solved. Two pairs of hawks have taken up residence at Silver Lake—poor little squirrels.