#1 at Royal Scot Golf Club

Royal Scot Golf Club sits in Lansing, Michigan, designed by Ray Hearn and opened in the 1960s. Hearn, a Michigan-based architect active during the mid-century golf boom, created numerous courses throughout the Great Lakes region, typically working with the rolling terrain and wooded corridors common to southern Michigan. The course occupies land characteristic of the area's glacial topography, with moderate elevation changes and mature tree-lined fairways that define playing corridors and frame approach shots.

The routing moves through a mix of open and wooded sections, with several holes playing along natural drainage patterns. Water features come into play on select holes, and the bunkering reflects the straightforward design principles of its era—strategically placed to challenge tee shots and guard greens without excessive ornamentation. The greens themselves offer enough contour to require thoughtful approach play and careful reading on the putting surface.

Royal Scot serves as a daily-fee facility accessible to the Lansing golfing community. The course provides a traditional parkland experience representative of Michigan's public golf landscape from the 1960s development period. Its design emphasizes playability for a range of skill levels while maintaining enough strategic interest to reward course management and accurate shotmaking. The layout remains a fixture in the local golf scene, offering a straightforward test of golf in a wooded, rolling setting typical of the region.