Michigan golf trip: Sat 6/26 - Sat 7/3

[Mike_C]

I grew up in Charlevoix, I do miss the Northern Michigan summers. My old home course, Belvedere is something to consider if you have time, real old school, not much like it up there anymore. But it sounds like you have a great trip already lined up.

And its true you can play pretty late that time of year. I remember once going to Boyne Highlands in High School on their twilight rate at 3PM, and still playing 36 holes before dark......

[mbloom19]

Sounds like you have gotten some great advice and have a great trip planned.
I am not a member, but I know all of the pro's at Oakland and they are all great people. If I were you I would have your pro call just to find out. Unless there is a member tourney on the saturday you arrive, you would have a decent chance in getting out at that time. And it is only 30-40 minutes from the airport.

[bill p]

The itinerary looks pretty solid to me. I would try to sneak Little Traverse Bay in somehow it is just too pretty. I do like the fact that you get to play some real fun elevation changes in there. I live in Michigan and would love to take a trip like that. My Brother in law is playing Arcadia and Pilgrims on Wed. and Thursday and he is filling me in after that. I am hoping to finally make it over to give Arcadia a whirl this year but may have to wait till the fall rates kick in to do it. Enjoy your trip. One other thing to keep in mind is that you are going to be up there for one of the busiest times of the summer for Northern Michigan tourism so be prepared and book everything early.
Enjoy!

[larrybud]

[quote name='oliversax' date='12 May 2010 - 02:02 AM' timestamp='1273644146' post='2436470']
Man-o-man! I'm salivating at all the great choices. Meeting w/ my 2 buddies tomorrow to firm up the plans. Thanks again for all the input. I can tell you guys from Mich are proud of your golf. Too bad your season is only 6 months.
[/quote]
I can't expand on any of the other recommendations. But if you plan it right (cart cover and heater) I make the season last from March-November!

Don't forget you'll enjoy longer days in Michigan in June/July than in Texas (farther North, and in the western part of the eastern time zone). Might want to check out a daylight time calculator on the net. Lots of daylight!!!

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Get the Arcadia Tee time right at 4 pm and you should be able to finish. They are actually pretty strict at enforcing fast play there!

Bay Harbor, ONLY play it if you are staying at Boyne and getting a cheaper deal. At the rack rate, it is NOT worth the money. Trust me. i think we paid an extra $80 to play it.

We played Little Traverse Bay, True North, Bay Harbor, Hills Course, Ross Memorial and the Moor last summer.

In fact, one day we played 54, Bay Harbor, Ross and the Moor, 7:30 am to 8:30 pm! Great Day!

Forest Dunes is great, you will love it.

The Orchards is decent, and Shepherd's Hollow is awesome.

Michigan is chock ful of great golf courses!

[trendingdown]

Whatever the itinerary ends up being, it's going to be great! Make sure you let us know how the trip went.

[mrfitz]

27th, thunderstorms. Bummer, I hope you can get at least some of your golf in today. My Sunday morning skins was rained out.

[oliversax]

First off, I want to thank all the Golfwrx'ers who chimed in, but especially Chrisbellaire and Openwater32, who went above and beyond 'the call of duty' to make us feel like brothers. Summertime in upper Michigan has got to be one of the most heavenly places on earth, so lusciously green and temperate. We had a few mishaps w/ the weather but overall, what a memorable trip!

Here's a brief recap:
Sun morning got rained out after 7 holes at Arcadia Bluffs, so we quickly got a raincheck (most accommodating staff ever) and drove 3 hrs to True North to play an afternoon round. What an awesome course, lots of elevation changes, a few doglegs and blindshots, but the GPS and yardage booklet served us well.

Checked into Boyne that night (5 min away) and played Harbor Springs on Mon morning. On the 1st hole, a hailstorm hit (can you believe it?), so we hightailed it back to the clubhouse, but it blew over in 40 min, leaving us w/ 30-40 mph winds, as if the course was not difficult enough. The Links 9 starts near the waterfront and the Quarry finishes on the water. Great layout, good risk reward throughout. Way awesome.

That afternoon, we played the Ross Memorial. Whoa nelly, some of those greens have landing areas as bulgy as a VW bug, and don't forget to throw in some severely sloping front to back greens that hide the flagstick. I don't think I will be visiting Pinehurst #2 anytime soon. Mr Donald Ross ate me alive on this one.

The next few days we sampled the Heather, Hills, Monument, Crooked Tree, all with 30-40mph winds jackin' w/ us. I remember hitting 4-5 more clubs on many of these holes. The standout for our group was the Arthur Hills course which has lots of elevation changes and generous fairways. I could play the Hills again and again, skipping the rest.

On Thur, we ventured back to Arcadia Bluffs for 36 holes and the golf gods finally smiled on us: no wind in the morning round, 5-10mph in the afternoon, 65-75* under partly cloudy skies. This place is majestic, awe inspiring, breathtaking, challenging, w/ perfect conditions. I ended up shooting my best scores of the week on this day, thanks to a stellar putter and well behaved driver. Not only are the views amazing, but the shot quality was top notch. You can run the ball close to the hole if you know which knoll on the green to ricochet off of. The sod walled pot bunkers were a work of art, I almost wanted to hit in there on purpose just so I could play out of them. The staff were well trained and rightly proud of their Elysian Fields. The range was in great shape as was the pitching area. Food was top notch, including the terribly sounding but delicious 'herbal spleen hot tea.' I didn't want to leave, but the next day we were playing Forest Dunes so we needed to get a move on to Roscommon to check into our hotel.

Fri, we played at the highly ranked Forest Dunes. Unfortunately, our GPS took us down a dirt road that may not have been driven on for years. But when we saw 100s of warning signs telling us to Keep Out, Private property, we were afraid some crazies w/ shotguns would shoot us and take our rental van. All the adrenaline rushed through me during those tense 20 min through the underbrush of that dirt road until we finally found civilization w/ a paved road on the other side. I was so spent after that off road expedition that the front 9 of Forest Dunes was but a blur to me. We couldn't help but notice the regal but comfy clubhouse, the perfect conditions of the course, which had the fastest greens we'd seen all week. But the parkland layout, though pure as it may be, was quite similar to the courses we play in Texas, so we did not get that 'wow factor' like the other undulating, mountainous layouts we yearned for. All in all, a good ending to a glorious week.

Again, thank you to all the Michigan Wrx'ers. We will definitely come back and maybe cut down a bit on the golfing so we could enjoy the art festival in Charlevoix, the Cherry Festival near by, the Bay of Traverse City, the quaint towns of Petosky and Harbor Springs, and perhaps the Spa at Crystal Mountain. 36+ holes/day for 6 days straight is only enjoyable if you're in Michigan during the summer and only of you're on these amazing layouts.

Here are some pictures:

1 - Warning signs near Forest Dunes, there were 100s of these stapled on the tree trunks, in case you didn't get the mssg after the 1st 20 signs...
2 - Forest Dunes clubhouse and #9 green, a 166yd par 3
3 - Arthur Hills tee shot off #13, a 539yd downhill par 5
4 - Arthur Hills par 4 between a gauntlet of majestic pines
5 - Dirt road to Forest Dunes
6 - Arcadia Bluffs, tee shot from the picturesque #11, 594yd downhill par 5 that winds down to the edge of the lake
7 & 8 - Arcadia Bluffs, greenside pot bunker on #14, a diabolical short par 4 up hill for only 340yds
9 - True North, #16 the 'Road Hole", 185yd par 3
10 - Bay Harbor Quarry #17, 205yd par 3

[dwmiller19]

I was in that same bunker when I played Arcadia! What a beast that thing was!

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. Been up there twice to golf, and we are planning a third trip for next year. Michigan golf is quite fantastic.

[wingz9]

I play Arcadia once a year and cant wait until that day comes that I get to play, I'm sure you will get back to play it again.

[Openwater22]

Oliversax,
LMAO at your "deliverance" experience getting lost in the jackpine forest near Forest Dunes. Apologies for not joining you on Friday, out of cell and internet range to notify you of my plans changing. Glad you and your buds enjoyed Northern Michigan, it really is a special place.

[mrfitz]

I really enjoyed the Arthur Hills course at Boyne. I thought it really showed what shots were needed from the tee, it was just up to me to hit them. We typically get late season deals (being a local and all..) so when I played the Links/Quarry it was about 40 degrees, with about a 30 mph wind coming off the bay, sleet/rain coming down sideways for the Links nine, and I shot an 82. My brother and I played 36 one day on Arcadia in October. I really liked the greens. I play so many courses that have really subtle breaks, and I found the greens at Arcadia, while having some good break, there was nothing tricky about them.

Glad you had a good time.