Golf - Northern Michigan Style

Golfing is one of the many attractions that draw tourists and residents alike to northern Michigan.

Many consider a vacation incomplete without spending some quality time on the greens. With an abundance of golf courses to choose from, here are a few of the best and some lesser known ones you're sure to enjoy:

There are many high-profile, nationally ranked golf courses in northern Michigan. You'll find challenging courses that are immaculately groomed with spectacular views to accompany the bigger greens fees. These golf courses are so magnificent, they need to be experienced at least once in a lifetime!

Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club
Arcadia Bluffs resembles a seaside links course, with rolling terrain and windswept natural fescues throughout. Players will be reminded of their favorite holes at Lahinch and Ballybunion, while enjoying breathtaking views of Lake Michigan from all points on the majestic layout. The Rick Smith-Warren Henderson design, which plays 7,300 yards, sits on a huge coastal dune. This links-style course provides a once-in-a-lifetime playing experience on the bluffs 225 feet above Lake Michigan.

Arcadia Bluffs is a daily-fee golf club, open to the public seven days a week, from mid-April to mid-November each year, weather permitting. There are no private memberships, and every design aspect of the facility fosters enjoyment for guests of all golfing abilities. In addition to the premier layout, guests can enjoy a full practice range and separate short-game facility. GPS-equipped golf cars are available, or you may take advantage of the caddy program.

Bay Harbor Golf Club
Shoreline bluffs, dunes, rugged rock outcroppings and peaceful woodlands are what you'll find at the three nine-hole courses offered at Bay Harbor. Each course possesses a distinct personality that is unique and memorable.

Renowned golf architect Arthur Hills planned every detail of all three challenging nine-hole courses. This course is already a classic on the short list of must plays for any golf devotee. In the inaugural season the Bay Harbor Golf Club ranked 8th in the country - "Best Courses You Can Play" - GOLF Magazine.

Forest Dunes
Located in Roscommon and set amidst the sand dunes, pine forests, birch groves and grasslands of the Huron National Forest, golfers will find a Tom Weiskopf Signature Course design at Forest Dunes. The breathtaking 7,104-yard course is nestled in stillness, a mile past the entrance gate.

The pairing of nature with perfect contours and changes in direction yields a traditional-style course with thoughtful shaping, sand scrapes and rugged, scrubby areas. The natural sand dunes blend through native grasses and century-old conifers. From 2003 until the present, Forest Dunes was certified as the first Gold Audubon International Signature Sanctuary in Michigan and one of only twenty-one worldwide! Forest Dunes also boasts an outstanding 15-acre practice facility with short game targets and a two-acre putting course.

The Bear
Designed by golf great Jack Nicklaus, The Bear is one of the toughest courses in the Midwest with a challenging 7,078 yard layout. The links-style course features Scottish terraced fairways, tiered greens, grassy roughs, and deep bunkers. With the course set amidst ponds, forests, streams, and fruit orchards, there is an array of features that you rarely see on one course. What makes this course unique is that no two holes are similar, and the wildlife found throughout the course is plentiful.

Many say that The Bear is a very penal course. It may be challenging and fun for a low handicap player but it can be brutal for an inexperienced player. Approach shots are the key on this track. The green complexes are heavily guarded with sand and grass bunkers, if not a pond or weeds. The state's top pros test their skills at The Bear each June for the Michigan Open. Rates aren't listed on their website – you must call, email, or submit an RFP.

Some of the lesser know golf courses offer challenging play while supplying panoramic views of northern Michigan's beauty. Sometimes, you don't always get what you pay for - you get so much more!

Belvedere Golf Club
The Belvedere Golf Club was founded in 1925 with the course opening for play in 1927 and is one of the truly great old courses in Michigan. Characterized by its beautiful views set amongst contoured fairways, fair greens and heather in the deep rough, to play the Belvedere is to enjoy the product of a proud, meticulous golf course designer, Scotsman William Watson. Today, his attention to detail and respect for the land is evident in the carved fescue fairways and seaside bent greens. Belvedere is an old style course, which plays to a par 72, on 6715 yards. It is viewed as a tournament caliber course, having hosted many prestigious events throughout its long history including 39 occasions in which it was the site of the Michigan Amateur Championship.

Hawk's Eye Golf Community
Hawk's Eye has been ranked as the 12th greatest public golf course in the state of Michigan. It is a beautiful semi-private, championship golf course that is the centerpiece of Hawk's Eye Golf Community located in beautiful northern Michigan. Opened in 2004, the course was voted "4th Best in the State of Michigan" by the readers of Michigan Golf Magazine and has continued to impress golfers of all levels.

It was designed by John Robinson, who was recently named to the top 50 golf course architects in the country. Hawk’s Eye was built in the beautiful countryside of Bellaire, Michigan. The course meanders along windswept hills and into tree lined valleys. There are plenty of elevated tee shots, rolling, rustic terrain and good conditions tee to green. The beginner will find the huge fairways and greens forgiving and enjoyable and the seasoned player will find the course challenging because the course has been designed with a risk/reward strategy in mind. In short, it is fun for everyone. It’s also highly affordable.

A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort
A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort is spectacularly situated on high bluffs overlooking Torch Lake, spreading gracefully over 500 acres. It meanders over hill and dale, through stately pines, mature hardwoods, and across swift-flowing creeks. Appealing to the more casual golfer, A-Ga-Ming is known for being a medium priced yet world-class quality of golf.

A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort offers two distinctive playing opportunities set in what can only be described as some of the best lake views in the state. Torch is a traditional woodlands course cut through mature hardwood, cedar swamps, lots of elevation changes and water in play on eight holes. Sundance is an outstanding links style resort course with 118 bunkers, wide fairways and big greens. Sundance's inaugural year resulted in rave reviews and continues to receive accolades. Both courses are meticulously manicured.