America’s Summer Golf Capital

Teeing Up Spectacular Memories

Who would have thought that one of the most northern States in the USA would rank #5 in most courses per State! Only Florida, California, Texas and New York have more than Michigan! When it comes to summer golf seasons there are not many places in the USA that has a more desirable climate and world class golf than Northern Michigan.

Spanning approximately 60 miles from one end to the other and a driving time of approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes are 3 golf destinations, Traverse City, Boyne Golf and the Gaylord Golf Mecca, that make up America’s Summer Golf Capital.

It is Northern Michigan’s premier golf experience, a collection of 8 resort properties representing 26 golf courses, designed by some of the world’s finest golf architects, including Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Fazio, Smith, Matthews and Tom Weiskopf. We will give you a sampling of a few.

Flying or driving, getting here is easy. Traverse City a community connected by water and nature, on the south shore of Grand Traverse Bay, part of Lake Michigan could be considered the gateway to the region. Its Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) has developed into one of the most welcoming boutique style Airports.   The little airport that just keeps growing, today, welcomes nonstop flights from 20 cities across the United States.

You only have minutes to go from the airport in Traverse City to get to Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, one of Michigan’s premier golf resorts. At first site you will be awestruck by the golden Tower rising high above the lush surroundings of the resort, its three championship golf courses, views of Old Mission Peninsula and East Grand Traverse Bay.

The Bear was the only course we got to play on this visit. A Jack Nicklaus design, opened in 1985, year after year it continues to be ranked as one of the toughest in Michigan. Nasty Nicklaus as I like to call it, but still love it. Golf Digest had ranked the Bear as the 18th toughest in America!

The Wolverine a Gary Player’s signature course offers two very distinct nines.   Much tamer than The Bear, the front nine is constructed on lowland terrain with water and wetlands. The back nine is constructed on highland terrain with hardwoods, rolling hills, and views of East Grand Traverse Bay. Spruce Run the Resort’s original resort course winds among rolling hills and large woodland trees that surround the Hotel.

Accommodations are a plenty at the Resort. Whether it be in the Hotel, the Tower, or a spacious condominium, you are sure to find a setting that provides comfort and ease.

Resort guests can enjoy the 100,000-square-foot Health Club featuring indoor and outdoor pools, cardio and weight rooms, plus indoor and outdoor tennis/pickleball courts. The Spa at Grand Traverse is a full-service spa, includes a head-to-toe list of services that will have you feeling refreshed.

For more information on Grand Traverse Resort: Grand Traverse Resort and Spa

Approximately 45 minutes to the south of Traverse City in a 1,500-acre Village setting you will find Crystal Mountain a 4-season family resort. One of Michigan’s most popular ski destinations, and for golfers, home to 2 exceptional and distinctly different golf courses.

The premier Mountain Ridge course, whose fairways are carved out of the majestic pines of northern Michigan, taking you from a valley setting to where you will enjoy panoramic vistas as you transition to the heights of the mountain. Fairways are generally wide and receptive, tightening as you climb. Considering the mountain setting greens are pure, not crazy with undulations.

The Betsie Valley Course with its recent renovation is more scenic and allows one greater opportunity for lower scores. Here you will find tree lined fairways, smaller greens are well protected by strategically placed bunkers and of course you are always distracted by the views. Located right out the Pro Shop door golfers are welcome to ride in a cart or walk Betsie Valley.

Both courses have received the prestigious 4-Star rating from Golf Digest Magazine, with Mountain Ridge playing host to the Michigan PGA Women’s Open for over 20 years.

The village of Crystal Mountain is designed as pedestrian and bicycle friendly.  Park the car and forget about it! All the different summer activities are within the 1500-acre property as are restaurants and shops.

The resort offers a variety of lodging options, from spacious townhomes at the top of the mountain, a cottage tucked away in the peaceful woods, or a cozy hotel room at the Inn at the Mountain. My personal favorite would be a cozy condo in the Scottish style castle, Kinlochen which just happens to be above the Golf Pro Shop, steps from the first tee of the Betsie Valley Course and the fine dining of The Thistle.

For more information about Crystal Mountain Crystal Mountain Golf & Spa Resort

At the eastern end of the region is Gaylord, MI, roughly one hour and 20 minutes from the Traverse City airport, approximately 3 hours north of Detroit and conveniently located off I-75. The Gaylord Golf Mecca is anchored by 2 resorts, Treetops Resort with 5 courses and Garland Lodge & Golf Resort with 4 of their own. The Mecca boasts 16 courses and 20 lodging partners.

You can call it a town; some might like to refer to it as an Alpine Village. Not to be overlooked is the fantastic collection of 19^th holes in downtown Gaylord. The Alpine Tavern & Eatery is a fun stop with great food too, or one of the local breweries – Big Buck Brewery and Snowbelt Brewing Co. both are 2 great hangouts for ales and a great meal. Mexican on your mind? Maybe a super sized margarita and delicious food, El Patron is right on the main street. Golf Gaylord Michigan / Golf Mecca

At Treetops, the Robert Trent Jones Sr. The Masterpiece the first course here and The Premier a Tom Fazio design were on our itinerary.

The Masterpiece: the most challenging and arguably the most unforgiving course at Treetops. Fairways weave you through natural beauty enhanced by elevation changes and newly renovated bunkers. Keeping your tee balls in the center of the fairways is critical to a good round. Stray tee shots and you could find yourself in deep ravines or water hazards. Greens are fairly large and undulating, be prepared for mountain style drifts.

The Premier: As a fan of Fazio designed courses this was a little more to my liking with big wide rolling fairways, plenty of doglegs, risk reward holes and elevation changes to deal with as well.   Greens are large and undulating to say the least. Some might be considered to have their own elevation changes.

Threetops: It is just something that you have to do at Treetops. It’s 9 of the most scenic and fun Par 3 holes that you may ever play. There is a reason why it is consistently rated as the #1 Par 3 Course in America.

At Treetops, everything is right there, from fine dining, a couple of Taverns and a Sports Bar with a sunset! There are accommodations to satisfy all, from hotel style at The Inn or Lodge, cottages, chalets and condominiums. Treetops Golf Resort

You would not be the first to be mesmerized by the enormity of the log cabin style lodge at the Garland Lodge and Golf Resort, about 35 minutes south of Gaylord in Lewiston.

Set on a natural backdrop of 3,000 acres of unspoiled Michigan wilderness, Garland’s four world class courses all play out of one pro shop. Each course weaves through pristine terrain teeming with wildlife, rolling meadows, lakes, streams, mature hardwoods, and towering pines are the framework.

Two, of the 4 courses here challenged our skills, if we can call what we have skills.

Monarch Course: The longest at over 7,100 yards and arguably the most challenging. Fairways are lined by pine forests dissected with streams and dotted with ponds, small lakes and bunkers.   Fear not the greens are large and not nearly as undulating as those in a mountain setting.

Fountains Course: With six par 3s, six par 4s, six par 5s, there is plenty of water in play. What would you expect with a name like Fountains! Beautiful and maybe the most fun to play.   You won’t find much in the way of elevation changes on this course or any at Garland. The Fountains greens were large, undulating and plenty with double breaks.

Garland offers 3 primary refuelling options at the heart of the resort. The Tiki Bar with its large outdoor bar is a golfer’s favorite, just as you come off the course. Antlers Bar and Grill has that sports bar feel and for some finer dining, Tamarack Dining Room.

The main lodge is a stunningly beautiful building that proudly hails as the largest log structure east of the Mississippi. In addition to guestrooms in the main lodge Garland offers a wide variety of villas and cottages throughout the property ensuring that accommodations are available to fit the needs of any guest or group.

For more information: Garland Lodge & Golf Resort

You could consider Boyne Golf, the center piece of America’s Summer Golf Capital. It’s 10 courses and 3 resorts are located northwest of Gaylord (30 minutes) and depending which resort you are destined for at Boyne. From Traverse City, the most it would take you is about 1 hour and 10 minutes, to the northeast.

A smorgasbord of great courses. Minutes from what might be considered the main resort at Boyne, Boyne Mountain Resort you will find in a mountainside setting The Alpine and The Monument perfect to ease you into your Boyne Golf vacation.

The meat and potatoes of Boyne Golf is played out of The Highlands Resort about 20 minutes from the Boyne Mountain Resort in Harbour Springs. Two favorites we did not play on this trip:

The Heather: The 1^st course at Boyne designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1966.
The Donald Ross Memorial: an unforgettable experience, playing 18 of Ross’s best-known holes from some of the most renowned courses in the world.
The Moor: Parkland in style and with wider fairways more in the “fun” fashion of resort courses. One of the flatter layouts but it certainly makes up for the lack of elevation change with doglegs galore.

And here we played my favorite out of the Highlands: Arthur Hills encompasses everything that Northern Michigan golf has to offer, generous fairways winding through thick forest, a great selection of holes with plenty of sand and water to keep you on your toes throughout the round. Looking back, what you don’t forget here is your uphill climb from the 11^th green to what could be the highest peak in the State. Boyne’s Mount Everest – the 13th tee and signature hole. It’s all down hill from here, in a good way! Guessing that it is at least a couple of hundred feet of drop. I liked this hole so much I played it twice, and talk about spectacular panoramic views! A fun Par 5, and yes even I was able to get there in 2, twice!!! The closer, 18, is the Monster at 577 yards. Big drive sets up a delicate second shot where you have a small lake and narrow landing area to flirt with. A long narrow green protected by large bunkers on the right and water to the left. Cold beer tastes mighty fine right about now.

The Boyne Highlands Resort partially ivy covered, reminiscent of an English country estate is certainly a most convenient place to stay with all the dining options you might want. Four of the 10 Boyne courses play out of Highlands, from the Lodge you can walk to The Heather, the Donald Ross Memorial Course. Arthur Hills and The Moor Course play out of clubhouse minutes away. Here you will also find a massive practice complex here to get you ready for your round.

The creme dela crème of Boyne Golf. Three very different nines designed by Arthur Hills play out of the Bay Harbor Golf Club.   We played the Links / Quarry combination which might be considered the Pebble Beach of Northern Michigan. The Links is situated on the beautiful Lake Michigan shore, accented by towering bluffs, windblown dunes, with miles of uninterrupted views up and down the lakefront.

The Quarry epitomizes Arthur Hills’ unique ability to leverage existing terrain in the creation of something distinctive – and spectacular. Located in and around the remains of a massive shale quarry, this one-of-a-kind course claims some of the golfing world’s most dramatic features, from 40-foot gorges and stone cliffs to natural ponds and a gentle waterfall. Bay Harbor Golf Club

Only minutes away from the bay Harbor Golf Club on the shores of Lake Michigan is the spectacular Inn at Bay Harbor, an Autograph Collection Marriott Hotel with panoramic views overlooking the lake. There are not enough words that can do justice to this property or setting, from the oh so well-appointed rooms, suites and cottages, the fine dining, to the surrounding beauty. An experience unto itself. For more information about the Inn at Bay Harbor: Inn at Bay Harbor

For complete information on Boyne Golf: BOYNE Golf

For information on America’s Summer Golf Capital: America’s Summer Golf Capital