The North Star Beckons

Boyne Golf’s three resort, 11-course suite puts Northern Michigan on the map for a golf getaway

By: Jon Rizzi | Photos By: Kevin Frisch

The 17th hole at Michigan’s august Oakland Hills Country Club — a 200-yard uphill par 3 with an inscrutable Donald Ross green girdled by six yawning bunkers and wedge-grabbing rough—almost cost Colorado’s Steve Jones the 1996 U.S. Open. His bogey from the thick stuff in the final round dropped him into a tie with Tom Lehman, which Jones proceeded to break with a par on 18 to become the national champion.

I, too, bogeyed that 17th hole, only I didn’t have to win a USGA qualifier or know an Oakland Hills member to do so. My experience came some 250 miles northwest of Oakland Hills at the Donald Ross Memorial Course, a tribute to the grandmaster that includes replica holes from Seminole, Pinehurst No. 2, Scioto, Aronimink, Royal Dornoch and other golf meccas.

The Ross is one of 11 courses spanning the three resorts — Highlands, The Inn at Bay Harbor, Boyne Mountain — that comprise Boyne Golf. Located an hour’s drive north of Traverse City, the properties sit within 30 minutes of each other and embrace the scenic waterfront and wooded country that some might recognize from Hemingway’s early Nick Adams stories or the provocative “Up in Michigan.” You may also have heard that renowned course architect Tom Doak runs his Renaissance Golf firm from Traverse City or that Phil Mickelson’s longtime former instructor Rick Smith was based in nearby Gaylord. But did you know that the region’s golf-friendly microclimate also spawns so many cherries that its nickname is Cherry Capital, USA, and that Cherry Capital Airport receives direct flights from Denver?

Those flights began in April — just in time for golf season. And that’s no coincidence: just as Michigan produces more Montmorency cherries than any other state, it also leads the nation in number of public golf courses (653 at last count), with arguably the most scenic and varied concentration appearing in Boyne Golf’s offerings.

HIGHLANDS SWING

Boyne, like many Colorado mountain properties, started as a ski resort in 1947 and later added golf to provide year-round amenities, anointing itself “America’s Summer Golf Capital.” In 1966, the Highlands resort became the first beneficiary when The Heather, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, opened at the base of the ski run. It continues to epitomize the best in parkland golf, its strategic layout standing up admirably to the modern game as it threads more than 7,000 heavily bunkered yards through dense copses, skirting wetlands and forcing carries. Three other 18s have followed—The Moor, Arthur Hills and aforementioned Donald Ross Memorial. Each is eminently worthy of four hours of a golf holiday. The delightful Moor has more doglegs than you’d find at the local kennel—including two on the closing hole—while the Arthur Hills layout tips out at more than 7,312 yards and sports some of the widest fairways, vastest bunkers and prettiest views (particularly from the tee on the par-5 13th) of the 72 holes at the Highlands.

Yes, the Donald Ross Memorial pays a faithful homage, but it also makes you pay—for misreading the greens, misjudging false fronts and failing to heed the nuances and angles of attack inherent to his genius. You’ll want another crack at it. If you can ignore the scorecard, you’ll leave humbled but happy. That last emotion describes the vibe at Doon Brae, the nine-hole short course that opened last year behind the Main Lodge at the Highlands. Fun for families or friends who want to shore up their short games after a beatdown from Donald Ross, Doon Brae also invites golf under the lights after the sun sets around 9:30 during the summer. Another nice touch is the Back Yard, a 27-hole, 1.5-acre grass putting course inspired by the famed Himalayas at St. Andrews.

With its ivy-covered Tudor exterior, the Main Lodge at Highlands suggests an English country estate. Recent room upgrades have eliminated any “dated” elements (the Lefroy Brooks shower apparatus was particularly invigorating), and the hotel’s Slopeside restaurant — one of five on-premises eateries — turns out great meals. For lodging of groups of four or more, consider the Ross Cottages, Arthur Hills Townhomes, Heather Highlands Townhomes or the Alpine Village cabins.

BET ON THE BAY

Of the Boyne courses, Bay Harbor Golf Club justifiably gets the most notoriety. Located south of Highlands, the Arthur Hills course is actually three nines — Links, Quarry, Preserve — which combine (à la Pole Creek) to create three different 18s. The Links/Quarry combination perpetually ranks in Golf Digest’s Top 100 Public. It clocks in at a 146 slope from the back tees and differs markedly from anything else at Boyne.

The first four holes border Little Traverse Bay before moving inland and leading back to the water for the 500-yard par-5 7th, a stunner that tightropes along a cliff high above the bay. Things start getting dramatic when you enter the former shale quarry on the par-5 3rd (12th). Intimidating tee shots, plunging elevation changes, forced carries and multitiered greens seem to lurk on every hole — as do difficult risk-reward options. The finishing holes return to the water and some stunning panoramas. The par-3 17th suggests the 7th at another seaside layout, spawning the course’s sobriquet: “Pebble Beach of the Midwest.”

Another picturesque par 3 finishes the Preserve 9, which finally reveals the bay after leading you through the hardwoods for eight holes. Repair to the Links Grille and wash down a whitefish sandwich with an Everett’s IPA — named for Boyne Resorts founder Everett Kircher. The Bay Harbor Inn sports elegant rooms, spacious suites and charming cottages, as well as a spa, beach club, and multiple dining options, including the swank Vintage Chophouse.

And if 27 holes isn’t enough here, Boyne Golf offers another 18 less than three miles west at Crooked Tree Golf Club, an underrated cliffside layout combining old-growth trees with stunning views of Little Traverse Bay.

MOUNTAIN DO

At Boyne Mountain Resort, you can also get an icy Everett’s from the food truck serving those who traverse Skybridge Michigan, the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge. Accessible via ski lift from the resort, the 1,200-foot span affords 360-degree panoramas of the surrounding landscape and glass-bottom views of the forest floor 118 feet below.

The food truck parks near the first tee of Boyne Mountain’s Alpine Course, which along with its Monument Course, was designed by Michigander Bill Newcomb. Its 7,045 yards mostly trend downhill, adding length to your drives. Local architect Ray Hearn recently widened the fairways to increase forgiveness. While not a cupcake course, it can boost your ego.

Though it starts near the Alpine, Monument is a bit different. It borrows traits from designers like Ross, Mackenzie, Jones, Fazio and Dye, with holes dedicated to noteworthy players such as Byron Nelson and Sam Snead and such key contributors as Everett Kirchner (whose hole has a donut-shaped bunker in the landing area of the fairway). You can learn about each hole’s provenance near its teeing area.

The Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa presents an impressive number of lodging options. I stayed in the earworm-inducing (at least for Sound of Music fans) Chalet Edelweiss. The Clock Tower Lodge and Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa also have charm, as do villas, cabins and condos of every size and description.

That kind of variety applies to the amenities as well. There’s fly-fishing, ziplines, e-biking, watersports, pickleball, horseback riding, tennis, spa and indoor waterpark.

I loathe the cliché “hidden gem”—especially when describing a facility whose 162 holes trail only Pinehurst’s 189 among U.S. golf resorts. But in a world of Pinehursts, Bandons, Pebbles and other pricey bucket-list golf destinations, it’s not such a bad idea to go under the radar with your buddies or treat your family to an affordable location that delivers a rich variety of golf, lodging and amenities—all served with hearty helping of Midwestern hospitality.