Swartz Creek Executive 9 Golf Course Review

Swartz Creek Executive 9
Flint, Michigan
Grade: D+
Teacher’s Comments: As with its bigger sibling, the Swartz Creek Executive 9 has unrealized potential.

Swartz Creek’s Executive 9 sits adjacent to the Flint municipal golf facility’s eighteen hole course. Routed over mostly flat terrain in the Swartz Creek valley, it features six par fours and three par threes.

This is one of those courses where the (unstated) goals play heavily into my final grade. I imagine that it is intended as a friendly, value-oriented loop for beginners, juniors, families and people looking for a quick golf fix.

In that, Swartz Creek’s Executive 9 somewhat succeeds. As with it bigger sibling, the Swartz Creek 18, it could be a real gem if not for some poor conditions.

The par fours range in distance from 320 to 444 yards, averaging 354 yards; the par threes range from 142 to 165 yards.

The first, a 284-yard par 4 is a wide open downhill shot into the Swartz Creek valley. From there, it winds through four really too-tight-for-beginners holes before opening up again for the final four. The ninth is a sharply uphill par three from the valley to the ridge above near the clubhouse that serves both the full eighteen and the executive nine.

To the course design’s credit, only two of the par fours are straight shots. The others are doglegs of varying degrees, including the right angle fourth.

The Executive 9 is a par 33 and plays at 2, 576 yards from the tips. The men’s slope and rating are 94/30.8. For women, it plays at 96/31.9.

The third at Swartz Creeks’ Exective 9 is a 142-yard par 3.

As hinted at above, conditions on the day I played were not great. The tee boxes were beat up and the fairways were subpar, even for a lower priced muni. The greens were ok, though.

While grounds crews have taken good care of the edges of the full 18, the Executive 9 needed a push back on holes two through four. The foursome of beginners ahead of me were hitting every tree possible.

As there was no one behind me, I took advantage of the slow play to work on my wedges.

I wish the city of Flint had the budget — and the will — to invest in upgrading conditions on the full eighteen and on the executive nine. There is so much potential.

Five at Swartz Creeks’ Executive 9 is a 144-yard par 3.

The final grade on the Swartz Creek Executive 9 really depends on the player. If you’re looking for a relatively cheap, low pressure, quick nine, it’s a C-. For more serious players, however, it’s a D-. If you’re already playing the Swartz Creek 18, you could — as I did — get in another nine afterwards. It would be ok for that as well.

If you’re looking for a nice experience none hole experience in the Flint area, I found Holiday Meadows, a nine-hole course just 15 miles up the highway from Swartz Creek to be a gem.

The Swartz Creek Executive 9 Golf Course review was first published on February 26, 2026 from notes and photos on a round played in the fall of 2025. For all of GolfBlogger’s Michigan Golf Course Reviews (and some elsewhere, including North Carolina, Texas and Morocco!) follow the link.