Northern Michigan Golf Weekend

Traverse City/Gaylord MI area

  The 594-yard 11th hole at Arcadia Bluffs, the start of a Midwestern Amen Corner along Lake Michigan.
Golf Digest, 9/09

T&L Golf, July/Aug '04

Northern Stars
Edited By Matt Ginella
Golf Digest September 2009

Forest Dunes Golf Club, located in the middle of the fingers of mitten-shaped Michigan, is beyond secluded. Just trying to find the one-mile driveway to its clubhouse, a road of cracked pavement flanked by fields of blown-down trees, I couldn't help but doubt my dashboard navigator. But once you get there, be prepared for a big payoff: bright-white sand, superb conditions, fast and true greens, endless waste bunkers, a 20-acre practice facility, a bet-settling 19th hole [it made GD's 2008 Best 19th Holes list] and the most impressive clubhouse I've seen since the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

The Tom Weiskopf-designed Forest Dunes, ranked No. 18 on Golf Digest's list of 100 Greatest Public Courses, was my last stop on a challenging itinerary of eight rounds on seven Michigan courses in four and a half days. That's 144 holes in 108 hours. With the exception of four-star Black Forest at Wilderness Valley -- which should have a higher rating, in my view -- all have at least 4½ stars in Golf Digest's Best Places to Play reader ratings.

A highlight of my trip was playing five-star Arcadia Bluffs, an hour Southwest of Traverse City. Think of Arcadia Bluffs as the Pebble Beach of Michigan, and Forest Dunes as its Spyglass Hill. Designed by Warren Henderson and Rick Smith, Arcadia Bluffs has a stunning stretch of holes along a 180-foot cliff leading down to the lapping waves of Lake Michigan. Had I been blindfolded and dropped onto the property unaware of the setting, I would've been certain it was an ocean. The 594-yard 11th, the 431-yard 12th and the 190-yard 13th make up Arcadia's version of Amen Corner -- my favorite stretch of three consecutive holes on this trip. Given that Arcadia Bluffs is ranked No. 10 among the 100 Greatest Public, I decided to play it twice.

If I had a mulligan, I'd play Forest Dunes twice instead. I've always thought Spyglass Hill, from start to finish, is a better course than Pebble Beach. Likewise, I would contend that Forest Dunes is a more complete course than Arcadia Bluffs, though it's not nearly as impressive visually.

My favorite hole at Forest Dunes is the 278-yard 17th, a classic Weiskopf reachable par 4. Although it looks vulnerable from the tee, the small green is protected by bunkers, and there's plenty of room for a big score. (Typical of my round, I hit my drive into a greenside bunker and made double bogey.) Stubborn but fair, combining high risk with rare reward, Forest Dunes joins Bethpage Black in New York, Pasatiempo in California, Pine Needles in North Carolina and Pacific Dunes in Oregon among my top-five public courses in the country.

It's all the more amazing when you realize Forest Dunes was almost left for dead a few years ago. The property fell into foreclosure soon after being built in 1999, but it was acquired by the Detroit Carpenters' Pension Trust Fund and subsequently weed-whacked back into playing shape by 2002. The plan was to turn it into a private club, but that's on hold for now: Yet another example of how we, the golfing public, derive at least some benefit from this brutal recession.

The biggest surprise, and best value, of this trip was Black Forest at Wilderness Valley in Gaylord. Before architect Tom Doak gave us Pacific Dunes, Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand and restored Pasatiempo, he designed this course in 1991. Doak, who lives in Traverse City, says this is where he started experimenting with some of the bunkering concepts he uses today. With inconsistent conditioning and all-dirt cartpaths, Black Forest is not as polished as Arcadia Bluffs or Forest Dunes, but it's just as much golf course. And for $75, it's about one-third of the price. One worthy observation from Doak: "If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have made it so hard." Which is a hint to move up a set of tee boxes. If you make a par 5 on the 532-yard 10th, which is as long and narrow as Yao Ming, you should get your next four rounds for free.

Filling out my itinerary was The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa by Jack Nicklaus; the Signature and Premier courses at Treetops Resort by Rick Smith and Tom Fazio, respectively; and the Links/Quarry at Bay Harbor Golf Club by Arthur Hills. These are four above-average resort courses by quite an ensemble of architects, though none approaches the level of Forest Dunes and Arcadia Bluffs.

I stayed at several hotels along the way, including Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme and the Otsego Club in Gaylord. My pick as the area's best lodging option, Bay Harbor, is on Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay. The resort's owner, Boyne USA, operates eight nearby courses.

  Grand Traverse

[Fat Guy Note:  Conversely Matty G. named Grand Traverse as his #4 Most "Affordable" Golf Hotel in the country in 2010 (apparently his definition differs from mine):  "Ranked No. 48 on Golf Digest’s list of the Top 75 Golf Resorts in North America, Grand Traverse Resort (pictured above) features three courses, one by Jack Nicklaus and one by Gary Player, and a Jim McLean Golf School. If I had to pick one course, the Nicklaus is my favorite. Best Deal (based on double occupancy): From April 16--June 3 they offer the 'Championship Golf Package-Weekend,' which is two nights, two rounds of golf, two breakfasts, range balls and a replay rate of $35."]

If you're looking for affordable golf from June through September -- with weather so fantastic that locals consider it their payback for those difficult Midwestern winters -- I can't see why you'd look anywhere other than Michigan.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
THE SCOOP
Moomers Homemade Ice Cream in Traverse City offers more than 100 flavors, including "Cow-a-bunga": two large-size scoops of ice cream covered with hot fudge and Oreos, topped with whipped cream, a brownie and a cherry (www.moomers.com, 231-941-4122).

MEAT AND EAT
Located in downtown Traverse City since 1975, Mode's Bum Steer specializes in award-winning steaks and ribs, homemade sauces, old red chairs and hospitality (www.modesbumsteer.com, 231-947-9832).

BOMBES AWAY
On the 16th floor of the Grand Traverse Resort, the Aerie Restaurant & Lounge offers endless views of Grand Traverse Bay and the surrounding golf courses. The seasonal menu features local produce and a rip-out-the-fillings dessert: the Snicker Bombe (www.grandtraverseresort.com, 800-236-1577).

Match Play in Michigan
T&L Golf, July/Aug '04, by Cameron Morfit

When the world arrives here for the Ryder Cup this fall, it will discover a land rich with links.

Michigan is the pits (the state leads the nation in cherry production), the Pistons (Detroit's revitalized hoopsters) and Pam (Anderson, Motowner Kid Rock's former squeeze). It's also a premier place for pasture pool. Seized by a golf course building boom in the 90's—153 new tracks in the last 10 years—Michigan has surpassed TX and now trails only CA and FL with 855 courses in all, a whopping 705 of them public. Nowhere has the boom been more bountiful than in the untamed north, an hour flight from Detroit, the city that will host the 35th Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club in September 2004.

Northern Michigan is coastal stunners like Bay Harbor, where during the mid-summer twilight players can relish a blazing sunset over Little Traverse Bay at 10 p.m., and Arcadia Bluffs, where the coastline is too rugged to walk. It's old inland classics like Belvedere Golf Club, one of Tom Watson's favorites, and new ones like Black Lake and Forest Dunes, 2 of the best neophytes in the country. It's golf meccas like Treetops Resort—itself a member of the Gaylord Golf Mecca, a consortium of 24 courses all within a 45 minute drive of Gaylord—and top instructors like Rick Smith, the man who rebuilt Phil Mickelson's game this year. Indeed, the sheer number of highly challenging, stellar resort courses here, and the quality of their amenities, is, in a word, silly.

ORIENTATION

Take the connecting less-than-one-hour flight from Detroit into Traverse City's Cherry Capital Airport, serviced direct by Northwest. It's worth the extra airfare, and without the four-hour drive from Detroit you'll arrive fresh enough for an afternoon eighteen.

Besides the copious golf courses, there's not much up here in the way of development; you can spend an entire week in the region and not see a single Starbucks. It's a relaxed getaway for unpretentious Midwesterners who enjoy the outdoors. Visit in July for Traverse City's National Cherry Festival, or come in April for the National Trout Festival in Kalkaska. Lake and river fishing are as much an epidemic up here as golf, and Boyne, Garland and other resorts provide guides.

BACK TO SCHOOL

There are almost as many top-notch ways to work on your golf game in Northern Michigan as there are first-rate places to play. The Crystal Mountain Golf Schools (231-378-2000; www.crystalmountain.com) are run by two-time Michigan Section PGA Teacher of the Year Brad Dean, who offers weekend instruction, short-game clinics and a junior golf camp. Crystal's women-only packages are among its most popular offerings. Treetops part-owner Rick Smith, teacher to the stars, runs the Rick Smith Golf Academy (989-732-6711; www.treetops.com), where he maintains a two-to-one student-teacher ratio. Jim Flick is a resident and dean of instruction at Boyne Highlands (231-526-3028; www.boyne.com/golf), and the Jim McLean Golf School at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa (800-236-1577; www.grandtraverseresort.com) can be found just six miles outside Traverse City.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

Day-trippers, especially those with families in tow, will want to take the ferry to historic Mackinac Island (www.mackinac.com). Cars are forbidden on the island, which makes it easier to hear the clip-clop of horses pulling carriages. Activities on Mackinac include traffic-free hiking, bike rides (Island Bicycle Rental, 906-847-3211) and historic walking tours. For those looking to make more than just a day of it on Mackinac, the stately and historic Grand Hotel (800-334-7263) is the island's most elegant lodging option—and even offers a spot of golf in the form of a sporty 5,445-yard course called the Jewel.

BELVEDERE GOLF CLUB

Charlevoix; 231-547-2611, www.belvederegolfclub.com. Yardage: 6,715. Par: 72. Slope: 129. Architect: William Watson, 1925. Greens Fees: $48-$80. T+L GOLF Rating: ****1/2

You're likely familiar with the Lake course at San Francisco's Olympic Club and Minnesota's Interlachen Country Club, both designed by Willie Watson. Although Watson's Belvedere may be less famous, it's every bit as fine—18 holes of classic, old-school cool built by 150 men and 5 teams of horses. Here, golfers are greeted not by a bag boy wearing a headset but by a modest pro shop with barely enough room for a few clubs and caps. No frills? No worries. The course stands on its own. Greens are small and fast, and fairways are gently sloping (almost everyone walks at Belvedere). All holes are straightforward but memorable, especially the 18th, a 430-yard par 4 with a huge maple tree left of a mounded green surrounded by native grasses and flowers. Belvedere, frequent home of the Michigan Amateur, has played host to Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour and Sam Snead. Tom Watson used to frequent the course in summer and is still an honorary member. Ken Venturi once showed up out of the blue on the advice of a friend, who told him the course was a must-play. The friend? Gene Sarazen.

FOREST DUNES

Roscommon; 989-275-0700, www.forestdunesgolf.com. Yardage: 7,104. Par: 72. Slope: 140. Architect: Tom Weiskopf, 2002. Greens Fees: $85-$125. T+L GOLF Rating: ****1/2

Weiskopf's work is consistently solid, but this is one of his finest courses. The fairways are framed by pines, oaks and rugged dunesland; bent-grass greens are smartly designed (challenging but fair); and the bright white sand is positively Augusta-like. Weiskopf clearly sweated the small stuff while including characteristic touches such as a drivable par four (the 302-yard seventeenth). Originally conceived as a private club, Forest Dunes went broke even before it opened, but with a new commitment from the Detroit carpenters pension fund, the club debuted as a semiprivate layout in 2002. Two fun flourishes: a 117- yard par-3 19th hole and junior tees that add up to 3,084 yards.

ARCADIA BLUFFS GOLF CLUB

Arcadia; 800-494-8666, www.arcadiabluffs.com. Yardage: 7,300. Par: 72. Slope: 143. Architects: Warren Henderson and Rick Smith, 1999. Greens Fees: $75-$175. T+L GOLF Rating: ****

It's coastal. It's roller coastal. Arcadia Bluffs, named for its 3,100 feet of shoreline high above Lake Michigan, features water views from every hole. That's the good news. The bad: This sprawling, vertiginous track can mulch your ego with its humps, hollows and 245 acres of uneven lies, its elephant-graveyard greens and its forced carries. By the time you reach the 12th hole, a 431-yard par-4 along the bluff, you may have the urge to hurl your clubs over the precipice toward Wisconsin. Still, for big-game hunters, Arcadia is irresistible with its sod-walled bunkers with stairs, collection areas for imprecise approaches and one green (#5) so diabolical a two-putt should merit a free round. It may win more beauty contests than playability points, but Arcadia is an imaginative design with some of the finest scenery in the Midwest.

Best Bar Nearby: From Golf Digest's 2008 50 Best 19th Holes list. "At the Sunset Grill, perched above the 18th, it appears you can see "all the way across Lake Michigan to Whistling Straits."

BLACK LAKE GOLF CLUB

Onaway; 989-733-4653, www.blacklakegolf.com. Yardage: 7,046. Par: 72. Slope: 140. Architect: Rees Jones, 2000. Greens Fees: $45-$85. T+L GOLF Rating: ****

Inland gem Black Lake stands out first for its redwood, cedar and Wisconsin stone clubhouse inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and built by the United Auto Workers union. (The UAW financed the club, part of a 1000-acre retreat for workers and their relatives.) The course is just as artfully crafted by Rees Jones: tree-lined holes through wetlands, a big par-5 (the 590-yard 9th) and enough sand and water to make you think. Mostly you'll wonder: How can so much sand (77 bunkers) be so perfectly raked? The bunker on the 14th, a 235-yard par-3, stretches all the way from the tee to the green.

BOYNE HIGHLANDS RESORT, HEATHER

Harbor Springs; 800-462-6963, www.boyne.com. Yardage: 6,890. Par: 72. Slope: 136. Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr., 1967. Greens Fees: $79-$129. T+L GOLF Rating: ****

Built at the request of late skiing pioneer Everett Kircher, the Heather is billed as the course that began Northern Michigan's transformation from downhill destination to "America's Summer Golf Capital." A mainstay on top-100 lists since it opened in 1967, the Heather calls for players to work the ball both ways off the tee, features two uniquely short but tricky par-4s (#s 3 and 8) and has plenty of water. The 451-yard par-4 finisher demands a mid-iron approach over a lake filled with enough balls to keep two scuba divers busy—little comfort to those who splash their Stratas here.

TREETOPS RESORT, FAZIO PREMIER

Gaylord; 888-873-3867, www.treetops.com. Yardage: 6,832. Par: 72. Slope: 136. Architect: Tom Fazio, 1992. Greens Fees: $60-$110. T+L GOLF Rating: ****

[Note: Golf Digest named Treetops' Stay & Play package including 4 hours of lessons from Jason Guss, a GD Top 20 Teachers-Under-40, one night at the resort, and unlimited play--note that with dusk falling around 9:30 PM for much of the summer in Northern Michigan, you could theoretically get in 108 holes a day here--all for $665, as one of the best deals in golf.]

Treetops Resort's 81 holes on more than 4,000 acres high above the Pigeon River Valley keep golf-crazed guests on the go. The user-friendly Fazio course is the best place to find your swing at the start of your trip. Known for his beautiful, natural designs, Fazio gives players wide fairways that bank toward center, big greens and "pro pointers" for every hole (on the scorecard). And don't fear the silly-sloped "Himalayas" practice green; the greens on the course are more than fair.

TREETOPS RESORT, RICK SMITH SIGNATURE

Gaylord; 888-873-3867, www.treetops.com. Yardage: 6,653. Par: 70. Slope: 140. Architect: Rick Smith, 1993. Greens Fees: $60-$110. T+L GOLF Rating: ****

Native vegetation creates the sensation that this course plays through an enchanted meadow, while elevated tees afford the eponymous treetop vistas. The 520-yard par-5 6th tests both accuracy and commitment: Players can aim tee shots over the center-cut fairway bunker, short of it or up the alleys left and right. 2 of the 3 par 5s are within reach with 2 shots. Seasoned Rick Smith Signature hands know the sloped greens well enough to aim away from the hole, as at Augusta, and watch shots roll slowly toward it.

BAY HARBOR GOLF CLUB

Bay Harbor; 800-462-6963, www.boyne.com. Yardage: Links, 3,432; Quarry, 3,348; Preserve, 3,378. Par: 36 apiece. Slope: 141, 145 and 143, respectively. Architects: Arthur Hills and Stephen Kircher, 1996 (Links); '98 (Quarry and Preserve). Greens Fees: $129-$199 for 18 holes. T+L GOLF Rating: ***1/2

Three wildly different 9-holers: The Links course offers Irish-style golf with views of Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan; the Quarry is a postindustrial adventure over shale cliffs; and the Preserve winds through a hardwood forest. The Links gets the kudos but the Quarry is more interesting, if a bit zany. Local knowledge is vital on its par-5 3rd hole, where a ravine cuts off much of the fairway on the blind 2nd shot; aim for the Irish stone way left. And while you'll be tempted to try to drive the 332-yard par-4 6th, unless you're Phil Mickelson—who cleared the huge wetland hazard during a Shell's Wonderful World of Golf match in 1998—you'll almost surely butcher it.

BOYNE HIGHLANDS RESORT, DONALD ROSS MEMORIAL

Harbor Springs; 800-462-6963, www.boyne.com. Yardage: 6,814. Par: 72. Slope: 136. Architects: Everett and Stephen Kircher and Jim Flick, 1988. Greens Fees: $76-$109. T+L GOLF Rating: ***1/2

1 of 4 courses on the west side of Little Traverse Bay, the Ross Memorial evokes both Scotland and North Carolina, and that's the idea. With each hole a replica of a classic Ross design, Boyne's Ross course is the best way to soak up Scioto Country Club, Pinehurst and other famous courses designed by the prolific late Scotsman without going bust on airfare and greens fees. Was that Oakland Hills we just played? Inverness? The scorecard doesn't say, creating a game within the game: testing your knowledge of the classics.

GARLAND RESORT, FOUNTAINS

Lewiston; 877-442-7526, www.garlandusa.com. Yardage: 6,760. Par: 72. Slope: 130. Architect: Ron Otto, 1995. Greens Fees: $75-$120. T+L GOLF Rating: ***1/2

Garland's Fountains course keeps you guessing with 6 par 3s, 6 fours and 6 fives, while water comes into play on half the holes, including the 580-yard par-5 7th. The newest of the four 18-hole courses at Garland, Fountains features par-3 9th and 18th holes and the longest single-span log bridge in the country, located between the 1st green and 2nd tee. The par-5 15th is a classic risk-reward hole: At only 469 yards from the blues and 485 from the blacks, it's short enough to be reached by some in 2 with a mid-iron—but with a green 2/3 surrounded by water, it had better be a good mid-iron.

SHANTY CREEK RESORT & CLUB, CEDAR RIVER GOLF CLUB

Bellaire; 800-678-4111, www.shantycreek.com. Yardage: 6,989. Par: 72. Slope: 144. Architect: Tom Weiskopf, 1999. Greens Fees: $70-$145. T+L GOLF Rating: ***1/2

There are 2 leitmotifs going on at hilly Cedar River: one in which every hole is so framed by trees that it feels like you're the last civilized being on the planet; and another in which you encounter condos. Cedar River is 1 of 4 18-hole courses at Shanty Creek, and if it doesn't quite hold together, it is still the best of the lot, a solid test of golf that hosts the Michigan Section PGA Championship. As is his wont, Weiskopf tempts players with a drivable par 4, the 285-yard thirteenth, where the play is to aim directly over a tree 70 yards in front of the green. It's the kind of hole you'll either love or hate and more than likely still be talking about after the round.

Greywalls Course, Marquette Golf Club (public)
Marquette, MI This stretch of Michigan's Upper Peninsula is marked by thick forest and exposed rock, yet somehow Mike DeVries managed to tackle a site that would give most architects the willies. The opening hole alone is worth the journey: a tumbling par five that, on clear days, offers views for fifty miles across Lake Superior to the multicolored sandstone cliffs known as Pictured Rocks. But that's just for starters. Gird yourself for tees perched on granite pinnacles and greens framed by sheer sixty-foot-high walls of native rock.
Architect: Mike DeVries. Yardage: 6,851. Par: 70. Greens Fees: $85–$125. Tee Times: 906-225-0721, www.marquettegolfclub.com.

OTHER NOTABLES

Threetops at Treetops ($50; 888-873-3867) is a 9-hole par-3 course with jaw-dropping 90- to 145-foot elevation changes. The Arthur Hills course at Boyne Highlands ($84-$134; 800-462-6963) is one of his finest, a dramatic, big-shouldered track with downhill par fives. The Jones Masterpiece at Treetops ($60-$110; 888-873-3867) is one of the toughest par-71s in the Midwest. Grand Traverse Resort and Spa's The Bear ($50-$140; 800-236-1577) is a challenging links-style layout and one of Jack's best. It was named the #18 Toughest Course in America by Golf Digest 2007: "The owner told Jack Nicklaus to give him the toughest golf course in the country. He got a bear--along with some six-hour rounds."