We concur (mostly) with Golf Digest’s list
Golf Digest magazine in 2018 came out with its top nine public courses in Michigan every golfer should play at least once.
While people may or may not agree with their nine, or the order they are listed, Michigan Golf Journal believes it’s an excellent overview of all the great styles of golf found in the Great Lakes State. Golf Digest also wrote: When a state has almost 800 golf courses, picking the best one can be like choosing a favorite child.
If nothing else, it’s a nice list showing our state’s wide variety of options that range from our phenomenal, majestic shorelines to nationally-renowned “up north” golf – to an in–land gem carved from a former sod farm.
Let’s look at what Golf Digest says, with some MGJ commentary added to each:
1) Arcadia Bluffs, Arcadia
The panoramic lake view from the picture window at Arcadia Bluffs’ clubhouse might be the best in golf, but that’s not where the feast for your senses ends. The Warren Henderson design features two distinct nines that take remarkable advantage of their real estate at the top of the 200-foot bluffs facing Lake Michigan. Framed by fescue and swept by lakeshore breezes, The Bluffs is a links course where you can spend dollars instead of (English) pounds. A highly-anticipated sister layout, The South Course, opened for limited play in late summer 2018.
MGJ: Hard to not consider Arcadia as a top public course, which happens to be celebrating 20 years in 2019. The new South Course is a 180-degree flip in style from the Bluffs, featuring an incredibly-unique layout using geometric shaping and design elements to treat the eye and test anyone’s game.
2) Bay Harbor Golf Club, Petoskey
To make your way through the three lakeside nines at Bay Harbor is to marvel at what’s possible with heavy machinery and a gigantic budget. The former home of a cement factory and quarry, the site has been transformed from an eyesore to one of Northern Michigan’s most prestigious resort addresses. Each Arthur Hills-designed nine provides a wildly different experience—from the Quarry’s journey between and around raw rock facings to the Links’ position directly on rocky Lake Michigan beach to the mature hardwoods lining the Preserve’s fairways.
MGJ: Hard to pick a favorite 9 of the three, but the Links features the most tremendous views high above the water’s edge, also overlooking the Inn at Bay Harbor properties – one of the most luxurious resorts found in the Great Lakes region. All in all, Bay Harbor Golf Club is Boyne’s flagship of 10 course offerings in the Petoskey area.
I love photographing golf courses along the water from the air. Depending on the light, there are some many different perspectives to capture and often times you don’t realize it until you have your camera and drone airborne or are up in the helicopter photographing the beautiful golf holes. This is an early morning shot of the 4th hole of the Links at Bay Harbor Golf Club.
3) The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, Acme
Some of Jack Nicklaus’ resort designs can be downright accommodating, with plenty of buffer for even the most dedicated slicer. The Bear is not one them. The legendarily-difficult design has been a monster since the day it opened, in 1985, and has been the traditional proving ground for state’s best at the Michigan Open. If you like to bring your approach shots in along the ground, get ready for a long day. Mounds, fescue and deep bunkers around the green take away what little benefit you might get from some room off the tee. If you’re looking for a test, this is where you sign up.
MGJ: a couple years ago, Jack Nicklaus told MGJ the story of how he fought hard against the original owner’s request to create the toughest golf course in Michigan. Nicklaus ended up relenting and did create arguably the hardest public course in our state. The Bear has stood the test of time and tested golfers’ patience – but has also brought mostly praise.
4) Tom Fazio Premier at Treetops, Gaylord
The only Tom Fazio design in Michigan has all of the quintessential Fazio traits – harmonious routing, multiple angles of attack for players of various skill levels and impeccable conditioning. To steal the name from one of Treetops’ other courses, Fazio’s greens are 18 individual ‘masterpieces’ vexing you with tiers and undulations that turn a 10-footer for birdie into a three-putt. And if your friendly wagers are all square after 18, you can settle things at what may be the best par-3 course in the world – the adjacent Threetops.
MGJ: Treetops no doubt offers a wide variety of options from designers Fazio, Rick Smith and Robert Trent Jones across the rolling terrain outside of Gaylord. Threetops certainly is world-class as well and we hope the made-for-TV par 3 pro challenge returns there one day. Management is also willing to try new things and has received many awards for its help toward active military and veterans.
5) Tullymore Golf Club, Stanwood
Northern Michigan (rightfully) gets plenty of attention for its array of wonderful courses, but the central tier of the state shouldn’t be left out. For half the drive from Detroit to Traverse City, you can get every bit of the same quality at the Tullymore Golf Resort, in Stanwood. The Tullymore course is newer and more highly rated than its older sibling, St. Ives—but both are fantastic tests and screaming bargains. The Jim Engh-designed Tullymore was named America’s Best New Resort Course in 2002, and it sprawls out through more than 800 acres of forest and wetlands.
MGJ: What pops out as unique at Tullymore is the bunkering. The bottom of each bunker has very little sand. However, when factoring in the tall, steep, generous mounding around every sand trap – which catches golf balls and sends them tumbling downward – it essentially doubles or triples the circumference of each one. There’s a great assortment of hole designs throughout the woodlands and lakes region. An overnight stay in the luxurious Residence Club and a meal in the clubhouse restaurant are must experiences, especially for groups.
6) Stoatin Brae Golf Club, Augusta
A course located in Augusta has a lot to live up to, even if we’re talking about a town in Southwest Michigan instead of Northeast Georgia. The newest course at the Gull Lake View Resort, Stoatin Brae, can certainly handle the attention. With the wide-open, 360-degree views cascading down from the highest point in the county, you’d never know you were on a former apple orchard. Designed by a team of associates who work under Tom Doak at Renaissance Golf Design, it’s a worthy member of the extended Doak family.
MGJ: This is one of our favorites, and it’s a very affordable treat. The newest of the courses on this list, Stoatin Brae is playable, fun and challenging all rolled into one – and the wonderful views will distract golfers, too.
7) Eagle Eye Golf Course, Bath
Mid-Michigan isn’t known for its rolling terrain, which makes what Chris Lutzke and (input from) Pete Dye were able to do at Eagle Eye even more impressive. Giant, fescue-covered mounds serve as sentries around many of the greens – and just when you’ve gotten tired hacking out of the tall grass, you have to contend with the island green at the par-3 17th (exact replica of TPC Sawgrass). Tipping out at 7,380 yards, Eagle Eye is ready for whatever big-headed driver you plan to bring with you.
MGJ: pull out the driver, yes, but keep the ball in the wide fairways or it will be a long round. The former sod-farm-turned-rolling-terrain, Eagle Eye is one of the top examples anywhere of what man-made earth-moving can accomplish. It’s one of the best treats we have in the state that is not an ‘Up North’ course.
8) The Loop at Forest Dunes, Roscommon
It’s not often you can say that a Top 100 course can be overshadowed by its new sibling, but that’s the current state of affairs at Forest Dunes – where the original Tom Weiskopf design has been joined by Tom Doak’s exciting new Loop. Named the nation’s best new course by both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, The Loop is designed to be reversible – playable in either clockwise “Black” or counterclockwise “Red” directions. It is truly a throwback, with undefined teeing areas and a robust caddie program to accompany its walking-only policy.
MGJ: The Loop should be higher on the list, top-5 minimum, sans the likes of Greywalls in Marquette missing from this list. That said, The Loop is not the most aesthetically-pleasing course to the eye; the fun of playing it is the sheer genius of how well the reversible design works. Fantastic, one-of-a-kind golf course… which this year adds a new twist. The course started out walking only the first few years but will add electric power carts in 2019 as an option. I played with a really cool gentleman from Cleveland last summer who was on his way to The Loop with his buddies but knew his injured knees wouldn’t make it walking 18, so he planned to let his friends go without him. For people like him, power carts make sense – but for those who can walk it, do so. You’ll be thrilled you did.
9) Belvedere Golf Club, Charlevoix
Michigan’s golf boom picked up in the 1990s, but by then, Belvedere Golf Club had already blown well past its 50th anniversary. Built in 1927 as a getaway for the Chicago and Detroit swells summering at the tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, the William Watson design was ahead of its time with its large scale and almost 7,000 yards of length. Even in the heart of peak season, you can ride 18 for less than $100 and play the same fairways as Walter Hagen, Sam Snead and Tom Watson – who considered Belvedere his summer home course during his family’s annual visits throughout his teenage years.
MGJ: This semi-private property is one of the best traditional old courses in Michigan, public or private. It’s not overpowering but has proudly hosted our state’s top players in dozens of Michigan Amateur Championships. Belvedere is gorgeous, is routed through wonderful peaks and valleys, and is simply a great way to spend a half day in one of the most beautiful regions of Michigan.
