Groesbeck Golf Course was Lansing’s first – and today it is Lansing’s last municipal course still standing. For 100 years it’s been a beacon for golf and recreation inside the Capital City limits – including having a wonderful snow sledding hill on the backside of Hole 3 come wintertime.
Groesbeck became the first public golf course built in Lansing, named after Gov. Alexander Groesbeck, who helped open the iconic municipal layout to the public 100 years ago in June. The great Walter Hagen also played some exhibitions in the earliest years.
I became one of those hundreds of thousands of golfers who have played the public property since, growing up less than two miles away. The course was my favorite place to be most summers, so much so I would throw my golf bag over my shoulder and ride my bike to the course. More than half of its life ago, I was a regular at Groesbeck…