Michigan Golf Trip Advice

[Roger Wolfe]

We are about to embark on our 12th golf trip.  This year we are
going to Scottsdale... again.  We have been to Kiawah(2), Sawgrass(1),
Kohler(1), Pinehurst(2), Broadmoor(1), Sea Island(2), Scottsdale(3).  Vegas is out... Pebble is out... Bandon is reserved for a foursome in the Fall.  We fly in
Wed AM, play 18 Wed, 36 Thu, 36 Fri, 36 Sat, fly home Sunday AM.  Group
of 8 players ranging from scratch to 18 handicap.

We need a new place to visit in May 2010.  We have been considering
Michigan for some time.  I understand Arcadia Bluffs is well worth it.
In an effort to keep driving to a minimum and hit the "must plays"
how would you organize the trip?  The courses need to be "places
you can play."  We always go the week after Mother's Day.

1.  Where would you fly into?
2.  Where would you stay (base of operations)?
3.  How would you organize the days?

Here is the top 20 list to jar your memories.  THANK YOU!

1. Arcadia Bluffs, Arcadia
2. Bay Harbor (Links/Quarry), Bay Harbor
3. St. Ives (Tullymore), Stanwood
4. Lakewood Shores (Gailes), Oscoda
5. Forest Dunes, Roscommon
6. Black Lake, Onaway
7. Marquette (Greywalls), Marquette
8. Shepherd's Hollow (2nd/3rd Nines), Clarkston
9. Pilgrim's Run, Pierson
10. Eagle Eye, East Lansing
11. Elk Ridge, Atlanta
12. Treetops North (Rick Smith), Gaylord
13. Treetops North (Tom Fazio), Gaylord
14. Treetops (Robert Trent Jones), Gaylord
15. Red Hawk, East Tawas
16. TimberStone, Iron Mountain
17. The Orchards, Washington
18. Boyne Highlands (Arthur Hills), Harbor Springs
19. Legend at Shanty Creek, Bellaire
20. Wilderness Valley (Black Forest), Gaylord

[Frank Sullivan]

Hey Roger!

I imagine it would be possible to play the Kingsley Club.  That should be your first priority!!!!!!!

Greywalls, Tullymore, and Arcadia would be next IMO.

Don't forget about Lost Dunes...a very enjoyable Doak design.

[Bill_McBride]

Fly into Traverse City.  Call the GM at Kingsley Club, they were very accommodating when I did in 2007, I doubt it's changed.  Everything is about 45 minutes away but Traverse City has nice restaurants for night time.  The group I went with had a great time.  We played Arcadian Bluffs, Kingsley 2x, Forest Dunes, and were fortunate enough to play once at Crystal Downs, which immediately entered my Top 10 lifetime list.  Forest Dunes is the sleeper of that group, Arcadian the over-rated IMHO.

[ed_getka]

Roger,
   When you say minimize driving what is the max driving time the group would tolerate?

[Roger Wolfe]

Roger,
   When you say minimize driving what is the max driving time the group would tolerate?

Trying to keep it around an hour... but will make exceptions for something special of course.

[ed_getka]

Flying into Traverse City is expensive, but that is probably your best bet for proximity to golf. If you set up base a bit south of TC that brings Arcadia Bluffs, Kingsley (great people there, it doesn't hurt to ask), and High Point (if they get it reopened). North of TC you could check out True North by Engh and Belvedere. There is a Nicklaus course right near High Point that is a brute in his early style that you guys might find interesting.
   Arcadia Bluffs is overpriced to me so I haven't played it, but non-architecture junkies would probably enjoy it and the setting is pretty spectacular.

[Chris_Blakely]

Greywalls, Kingsley Club, Forest Dunes, Tullymore and Arcadia Bluffs are must plays.  I found all of those courses to be very good.  I enjoyed Arcadia Bluffs very much - great location on Lake Michigan.

If playing Greywalls and you want to play another course the day you are there, Marquette CC's orginal course the Heritage has some decent Langford & Moreau holes.

Other courses to consider:

Belvedere GC Charlevoix, MI
Angels Crossing GC Vicksburg, MI

[ed_getka]

The other area of Michigan to consider is Grand Rapids. That would bring The Mines and a couple of other DeVries courses in range. A bit south from there is Angels Crossing which is certainly worth checking out.

[Niall Hay]

We are about to embark on our 12th golf trip.  This year we are
going to Scottsdale... again.  We have been to Kiawah(2), Sawgrass(1),
Kohler(1), Pinehurst(2), Broadmoor(1), Sea Island(2), Scottsdale(3).  Vegas is out... Pebble is out... Bandon is reserved for a foursome in the Fall.  We fly in
Wed AM, play 18 Wed, 36 Thu, 36 Fri, 36 Sat, fly home Sunday AM.  Group
of 8 players ranging from scratch to 18 handicap.

We need a new place to visit in May 2010.  We have been considering
Michigan for some time.  I understand Arcadia Bluffs is well worth it.
In an effort to keep driving to a minimum and hit the "must plays"
how would you organize the trip?  The courses need to be "places
you can play."  We always go the week after Mother's Day.

1.  Where would you fly into?
2.  Where would you stay (base of operations)?
3.  How would you organize the days?

Here is the top 20 list to jar your memories.  THANK YOU!

1. Arcadia Bluffs, Arcadia
2. Bay Harbor (Links/Quarry), Bay Harbor
3. St. Ives (Tullymore), Stanwood
4. Lakewood Shores (Gailes), Oscoda
5. Forest Dunes, Roscommon
6. Black Lake, Onaway
7. Marquette (Greywalls), Marquette
8. Shepherd's Hollow (2nd/3rd Nines), Clarkston
9. Pilgrim's Run, Pierson
10. Eagle Eye, East Lansing
11. Elk Ridge, Atlanta
12. Treetops North (Rick Smith), Gaylord
13. Treetops North (Tom Fazio), Gaylord
14. Treetops (Robert Trent Jones), Gaylord
15. Red Hawk, East Tawas
16. TimberStone, Iron Mountain
17. The Orchards, Washington
18. Boyne Highlands (Arthur Hills), Harbor Springs
19. Legend at Shanty Creek, Bellaire
20. Wilderness Valley (Black Forest), Gaylord

If you end up based in Traverse City then playing Forest Dunes, Kingsley Club, Crystal Downs and finishing up at Arcadia Bluffs is the rotation we do and the best for minimal driving and being able to play a variety of great golf courses.

[ed_getka]

Greywalls doesn't meet your driving criteria, but it is certainly worth the drive in my estimation.

[Niall Hay]

Fly into Traverse City.  Call the GM at Kingsley Club, they were very accommodating when I did in 2007, I doubt it's changed.  Everything is about 45 minutes away but Traverse City has nice restaurants for night time.  The group I went with had a great time.  We played Arcadian Bluffs, Kingsley 2x, Forest Dunes, and were fortunate enough to play once at Crystal Downs, which immediately entered my Top 10 lifetime list.  Forest Dunes is the sleeper of that group, Arcadian the over-rated IMHO.

Agree with Bill 100%! Spot on....with every single point.

[Roger Wolfe]

  Arcadia Bluffs is overpriced to me so I haven't played it, but non-architecture junkies would probably enjoy it and the setting is pretty spectacular.

Ed... your quote above sums up several members of my group perfectly... all form... no substance (as far as golf is concerned).  I am going to add the term, "non-architecture junkies" to my list.  Thanks!!

[George Freeman]

Roger,

I would say Traverse City is your best bet for a base.  Good restaurants and summer nightlife/things to do; also on the water.  It also happens to be where I grew up, so if you decide to go with it and have any questions, let me know.

From there courses inside an hour and a half:

Kingsley - shouldn't have too much of an issue gaining access as noted earlier, and a MUST PLAY
Crystal Downs - Obviously much tougher, but it's there if you can get access
Forest Dunes
Arcadia Bluffs
Belvedere
Bay Harbor
True North
Black Forest @ Wilderness Valley
Grand Traverse Resort Courses
Treetops Resort - 4 courses and a really cool par 3 course
Lochenheath - Smyers (if open)
High Pointe (if magically open)

Over 1.5 hours:

Tullymore - under 2 hours
Greywalls - 5 1/2
Pilgrim's Run - 2 1/2
Eagle Eye - 3
Lost Dunes - 3 1/2
Angel's Crossing - 3 1/2
numerous courses in the Metro Detroit area - 4 hours

[Bill_McBride]

Fly into Traverse City.  Call the GM at Kingsley Club, they were very accommodating when I did in 2007, I doubt it's changed.  Everything is about 45 minutes away but Traverse City has nice restaurants for night time.  The group I went with had a great time.  We played Arcadian Bluffs, Kingsley 2x, Forest Dunes, and were fortunate enough to play once at Crystal Downs, which immediately entered my Top 10 lifetime list.  Forest Dunes is the sleeper of that group, Arcadian the over-rated IMHO.

Agree with Bill 100%! Spot on....with every single point.

Thanks, Niall, that's a first! 

[Jfaspen]

I'd fly into Detroit.

Drive to Lansing, Play Eagle Eye on the afternoon on Day 1.

Day 2, wake up early, drive to Arcadia Bluffs, play in Morning, Kingsley in Afternoon.  I'd stay at Grand Traverse Resort (2 good courses there, not sure if Lochenheath is still in existance).  While there, I'd play The Bear, True North, Belvedere.

Day 4, If there's time I'd shoot over to Gaylord to play Black Forest and one of the Treetops courses (Smith Signature), or hop down to Forest Dunes.

[Andy Troeger]

I would definitely make an effort to see Tullymore--most of the others have already been mentioned multiple times. One good option would be to fly in to Grand Rapids and out of Traverse City (or the other way around) if prices are reasonable.

Around GR you can play Tullymore, Pilgrim's Run, The Mines, Angels Crossing, St. Ives and then the Traverse City area courses have been pretty well documented already.

Michigan is an interesting state because there are so many good public options and generally very little agreement as to what's best to play. The ones at the top of the list you posted often get mixed reviews here, but there are the hidden ones that won't make the list that GCA'ers tend to like. Once you get a working list of options, my suggestion is to pay a visit to the course websites and that should help you figure out where to go for your group.

[Chris_Blakely]

I'd fly into Detroit.

Drive to Lansing, Play Eagle Eye on the afternoon on Day 1.

Day 2, wake up early, drive to Arcadia Bluffs, play in Morning, Kingsley in Afternoon.  I'd stay at Grand Traverse Resort (2 good courses there, not sure if Lochenheath is still in existance).  While there, I'd play The Bear, True North, Belvedere.

Day 4, If there's time I'd shoot over to Gaylord to play Black Forest and one of the Treetops courses (Smith Signature), or hop down to Forest Dunes.

Lochenheath is not currently open.

I would skip the Grand Traverse Resort courses - there are better courses to play around there at more reasonable rates:  Dunmaglas, Belvedere, True North ($50 currently), Black Forest, etc.

Chris

[Niall Hay]

Your list and mine are identical even to place to stay...

[Jon Heise]

A couple options...

1- Upper Peninsula:  Greywalls in Marquette NO DOUBT (as well as the Heritage course, pretty nice!).  From there you can loop around the UP (clockwise) and play Wild Bluff (near Sault Ste Marie), maybe stop on the other side of the bridge and play Bay Harbor, the west to Escanaba for Sweetgrass, then to Iron Mountain for Timberstone, then back up to Marquette.  There may be weather issues in May.  Not even sure Greywalls has even opened for the season yet.  Im actually making a trip to the UP this weekend, so I freakin hope so!

2- Kingsley, Crystal, Arcadia Bluffs.  Might take a little work to get Crystal Downs in there, but you wont find 3 better courses within an hour ANYWHERE.  Plus, there are numerous high quality backups in the area if you cant/arent able to play one.

3- Gaylord area.  Treetops, Otsego Club, Black Forest, Black Lake, Elk Ridge, Forest Dunes (a bit south...).  Not as "big name" as the other two trips, but some great courses, probably more affordable.  Northern Michigan at its best.

[Richard Hetzel]

I have found that it can be tough to hit ALL of the must plays in Michgan and at the same time limit the amount of driving time.

I have already played almost everything within the vicinity of Traverse City

Last summer be stayed at lakewood Shores and played Gailes, Serradella, Blackshire. We also tossed in Forest Dunes and Red Hawk for good measure. Both of my friends whined about the driving...

That said, we are planning to play somewhere this summer where we can get the most golf in without driving in between.

After checking Garland, Treetops and Boyne, it looks like we are settling on the following:

Boyne Highland (Heather, Ross, Moor and Hills). We will also play True North and Little Traverse Bay.

Do your research on driving time....I would go Arcadia, Kingsley et. al, if this is your first time in Michigan...

[Jason McNamara]

Say you've got two rounds at Treetops.  Which courses do you pick?

(Not counting the Par 3 emergency nine...)

Thanks.

[Greg Clark]

Roger,

This was my golf buddy trip last year.  When I get a moment this evening I'll add my thoughts.

Jason,

We played 3 of the 4 (didn't play the newer Smith course - cant remember the name, but it isn't viewed as one of the top 2 there).  I liked the original Smith course (Signature?) quite a bit more than the other two, and it would definitely have made it in the top 2 (at that resort, not in the area) for our group.  It is worthy of playing in my view.  I would put the Fazio at second.  Solid, but not spectacular, and one I would not go out of my way to play again. 

The Trent-Jones course (Masterpiece?) probably would have been the consensus favorite at Treetops for our non architectural junkies group.  I hated it with a passion.  Contrived, silly and difficult for difficult's sake, it was a complete mess to me.  By a mile my least favorite course of the 9 courses played on the trip.  The par 3 course is very fun to play once (we passed on a second go round) on such a trip.

[David Neveux]

Roger,

How many days / rounds will you try and play?

[Jim Thompson]

Rich,

Re Boyne Highlands, see if you can trade that one round on the Moor for a second shot on the other courses. If your group is into looks over substance choose the Hills course, if they like to gamble choose  the Ross, and if they get architecture and love great golf choose the Heather.

Greg,

You are one of the first folks I've ever heard really like the Smith Signature Course.  Please tell us what you enjoyed about it?  I agree the Jones is just silly tough.  The Fazio has always been fun to me, not really sexy given the way it is maintained but a lot of fun.

Jason,

I'd pick the Fazio and the second choice would depend on my group.  Candy lovers like the Jones, have everyone move up at least one set of tees, and if the group wants to play the game then go to the either of the Smith courses.

Cheers!

JT

[Jason McNamara]

Greg & Jim -

Thanks for the useful recs.