Tourists far and wide plan “color tours” to soak in many of Michigan’s natural resources.
Golfers can do the same while enjoying the game the love.
Michigan’s rich mix of hardwood trees that turn a wide variety of colors against a backdrop of evergreens, majestic lakes and river valleys can even turn shooting cruel golf scores into a pleasurable outdoor experience.
The course tour below is simply a small collection of award-winning courses, and others that are less known but still wonderful places to play when considering multiple factors like: golf challenge for various skill levels, elevated views of Michigan’s grand natural resources, variety of trees for extra color and unique overall outdoor experiences.
Editor’s note: Leaf color peaks are predictions only, based on yearly averages.
Southeast Michigan:
Shepherd’s Hollow, Clarkston
248-922-0300
www.shepherdshollow.com
Overview: Shepherd’s Hollow is a 27-hole layout on more than 350 rolling acres, situated on one of the highest points in Oakland County with some of the most dramatic elevation changes you’ll find anywhere in SE Michigan. Towering pine and oak trees, among other hardwoods, make for a great fall color experience in a very tranquil setting. The property has made it onto Golf Digest’s top 100 public courses list in the past.
Color peak: early to mid-October.
Fox Hills, Plymouth
734-453-7272
www.foxhills.com
Overview: What jumps out the most at Fox Hills is that golfers of all ages and skill levels have a chance to experience the game in many formats. There’s the 18-hole championship course of Golden Fox, plus the original 27-hole layout of Fox Classic – both of which tunnel through the colorful trees surrounded by farmland. Then there is the Strategic Fox, an all-par 3 Ray Hearn design that also doubles as the property’s Foot Golf course. Players can also sharpen their game at the Fox Hills Learning Center with its top-teaching pros and dedicated short game practice area.
Color peak: mid-to-late October.
Huron Hills, Ann Arbor
734-794-6246
Overview: Huron Hills opened nearly a century ago in 1922, laid out by golf course pioneer Thomas Bendelow. The muni is a great golf course for all age levels and skill sets – calibrated at par 67. Yet if your short game is off line, scores will reflect that of a much longer par 72 course. The first seven holes are wide open, with a creek to navigate, situated on the flat land near the Huron River. Then cross the street for the final 11 holes and everything changes. Rolling hills, drop offs, elevated greens and tree-lined fairways challenge even the best golfers, who are treated to some very nice views of the river valley.
Color peak: mid-to-late October.
Others: Northville Hills, The Orchards, Boulder Pointe, Dunham Hills, Kensington Metroparks, Links of Novi, Moose Ridge, Timber Trace.
Mid-Michigan
PohlCat, Mt. Pleasant
989-773-4221
www.pohlcat.net
Overview: The PohlCat has one of the most peaceful inland views in Michigan golf from the clubhouse veranda looking back up 18 toward the par 3 signature 17th hole. The Chippewa River winds throughout the property – designed by former PGA Tour pro Dan Pohl who has returned to Michigan full time as director of golf operations – and comes directly into play on holes No. 2, 17 and 18. The layout has a good mix of open holes, but most are cut through the trees. Don’t just play the par three 17th hole; first relish the view.
Color peak: typically mid-to-late October.
Eagle Eye/Hawk Hollow, East Lansing
517-641-4570
www.hawkhollow.com
Overview: Eagle Eye often ranks in national magazines’ top 15 courses in Michigan, and it’s most famous calling is the par three 17th island green hole, an exact replication of the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour Players Championship. While Eagle Eye is an excellent, open, links style course on the front nine, the back goes into a stand of colorful trees and doesn’t come out until the 15th. Yet across the road at Hawk Hollow, golfers can choose from 27 holes with the majority surrounded by trees. The property also owns and runs Woodside a few miles away. It’s Michigan’s only 12-hole course and the parkland setting is great for fall golf, too.
Color peak: typically mid-to-late October.
Others: Groesbeck, Timber Ridge, The Emerald, Buck’s Run.
West Michigan
Stoatin Brae, Gull Lake
269-220-3976
www.gulllakeview.com
Overview: One of the newest courses in Michigan, Stoatin Brae means “Grand Hill” in Gaelic. The well-designed links-style course sits atop a long ridge above the north branch of the Kalamazoo River and surrounding valleys – one of the highest locations in Kalamazoo County. Despite the fact only a few trees are on the property, because the high-point views in every direction over the valleys below are nothing but trees, fall colors will be an absolute delight. The overriding sensation at Stoatin Brae is that golfers can literally see for miles.
Color peak: mid-to-late October.
Thornapple Pointe, Grand Rapids
616-554-4747
www.thornapplepointe.com
Overview: With 7,000 feet of frontage along the beautiful and serene Thornapple River east of Grand Rapids as a backdrop on several holes, it’s hard to resist fall golf among the many hardwood trees lining most of the 18 wide fairways. If you are an aviation buff, all the better: the course is under the flight path to Gerald R. Ford Airport. If not, there is plenty of natural beauty to keep your eyes on the ground.
Color peak: late September to early October.
Diamond Springs, Hamilton
269-751-4545
www.diamondspringsgolf.com
Overview: Diamond Springs is frequently referred to as one of the best values in the state of Michigan, especially because it has all the design and conditioning elements of an upscale course – but at a low price. Diamond Springs has amazing natural features not often found in a generally flat region as at least six holes are affected by a sizeable ravine, partially created by an old mill that was once on the land. Yet while the ravine gets most of the attention, the long, linear eskers that go across the property allow the routing of many holes to play up and down. All-in-all a real treat and colorful play in the fall months.
Color peak: mid-to-late October.
Others: Arcadia Bluffs and South Course, Pilgrim’s Run, Thousand Oaks, The Mines, Angels Crossing, Bedford Valley, Harbor Shores.
Northern Michigan:
Boyne Highlands, The Hills, Harbor Springs
231-526-3029
www.boyne.com
Overview: Designer Arthur Hills utilizes Michigan’s beauty about as well as anyone in his designs, and The Hills course is no different. The front nine is relatively level and highlights the geographic area’s abundance of sand. But turn the corner on the back nine and No. 10 is nothing but tall, stately Michigan pines. Keep playing and the long cart ride to the par five 13th tee takes golfers to the top of ‘Boyne’s Everest’ for one of the best inland, non-water-views in all of Michigan. The remainder of the property features the bedrock Heather course as well as The Moor and The Ross.
Color peak: late September to mid-October
TreeTops, Gaylord
989-732-6711
www.treetops.com
Overview: For those who enjoy the Tim Allen-narrated “Pure Michigan: 14 clubs” television commercial, thank TreeTops Resort’s Smith Signature course. It is the host site for those beautiful TV views as the course meanders up and down Michigan’s northern rolling hills and valleys, providing several elevated sightlines of rich Michigan forests in the area. There is more golf variety on site with the best par 3 nine-hole course in America, and Robert Trent Jones, Sr.’s Michigan masterpiece.
Also of note, Gaylord is the highest city elevation in the Lower Peninsula, and it sits at the 45th Parallel, the halfway point between the earth’s Equator and the North Pole – making for several great fall golf choices in the region.
Color peak: early October
Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville
231-378-2623
www.crystalmountain.com
Overview: The Mountain Ridge course is host to the Michigan Women’s Open each summer, but even non-pros enjoy the grand views and challenges at the family resort. The entire course is cut through hardwood forest at the base of, and traversing down, the namesake Crystal Mountain. On the long, winding journey from 15 green to the 16th tee near the top, make sure to stop for a couple minutes at the scenic overlook along the cart path, or at the 17th tee. Both locations feature nothing but tens of thousands of colorful trees as far as you can see to the west toward Lake Michigan, about 15 miles away.
Color peak: early-to-mid October.
Greywalls, at Marquette Golf Club, Marquette
906-225-0721
www.marquettegolfclub.com
Overview: Arguably the most unique course in Michigan, Greywalls has a mixture of wide open fairways, dramatic elevation changes, rock formations, rolling terrain and occasional views of Lake Superior. Often ranked in the top 100 public courses in the nation by GolfWeek, the layout utilizes the natural resources of the U.P.’s rock shears, especially surrounding the green of the 5th hole. Acclaimed Michigan course designer Mike DeVries also used boulder formations as fairway obstacles to avoid. The course’s dynamic color comes from a vast supply of maple trees, mixed in with birch on the lower part of the course.
Color peak: mid-September to early October.
Others: Michaywe Pines, The Loon and The Lakes, Black Lake, Grand Traverse Bear and Wolverine, Red Hawk, Hidden River Golf & Casting Club.
