The 5,000 acres of Shanty Creek Resorts are spread among three villages - Cedar River, Schuss and Summit, each with at least one golf course, restaurant and accommodations galore. The Summit is arguably home base with the Lakeview Lodge housing the Lakeview Restaurant, the spa and the Legend and Summit golf courses. The resort added the Hawk's Eye…
The Chief is one of three golf resorts within close proximity of one another in Bellaire - Hawk's Eye Golf Resort and Shanty Creek Resorts the others. It offers several accommodation choices. The golf cottages along the fifth fairway are executive quality with upper and lower units. Each one sleeps eight (four double beds total) with a kitchen and…
Hawk's Eye, a very good John Robinson design across the street from Shanty Creek Resorts, was purchased by Shanty Creek in 2021 and brought into the fold, bringing the resort to 90 holes. Its accommodations are a collection of houses and condos surrounding the course and rooms above clubhouse.
The A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort (pronounced Ah-Ga-Ming) in tiny Kewadin north of Traverse City has blossomed into one of Michigan's largest and most impressive golf resorts. Its original Torch course overlooks the popular Torch Lake, redesigned by major champion Chick Harbert in 1986. Since then, guest lodging, real estate developments and three courses…
The 900-acre Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme became a Michigan landmark in the 1980s on the outskirts of Traverse City as its distinctive 17-floot glass tower was built adjacent to The Bear, a notoriously tough course by Jack Nicklaus. Guests have so many choices among 600 guest rooms and condos, five restaurants and lounges, the Gallery of…
The 36-hole Boyne Mountain Resort is the most family-friendly of the three Boyne Resorts properties in northern Michigan. The Avalanche Bay waterpark and beach at Deer Lake are perfect for children and families. There's also an events lawn with a putting course, tennis courts, villas and tiki bar adjacent to the beach. The Grand Mountain Lodge is…
The Cottages at Dunmaglas reside in two buildings lining the 18th green near the range. These eight spacious three-room condos feature two bedrooms with full baths and individual balconies separated by a kitchen, living room, third full bath and laundry. Separate front entrances to each room offer ease of access and privacy. The 6,897-yard course…
The Loon Golf Resort has grown to include a second location in Gaylord: The Ridge, formerly the Marsh Ridge Golf Resort. The Loon offers a townhome village with four-bedroom/four-bathroom units with full kitchens just steps from the clubhouse restaurant and the course. The Ridge is more versatile with hotel-style rooms, suites and free-standing…
The Otsego Club, which started out as Michigan's first private ski club, is made up of four different lodges, totaling 68 rooms, and chalets. The Bavarian-themed resort offers 36 holes at The Classic and The Tribute, designed by Rick Robbins and Gary Koch. At the heart of the resort is the award-winning Duck Blind Grille, which overlooks the…
Pine Cone Vacations is a series of rental homes, condos and chalets spread through the Michaywe community. Guests will have access to the community's outdoor pools and the restaurants Inn The Woods at the golf clubhouse. Michaywe Pines offers a classic layout that's fun to play for all ages and skill levels. It's much flatter than most of…
With 81 holes, Treetops Resort in Gaylord is one of the world's largest resorts and one of the Midwest's finest getaways. Treetops offers 226 guest rooms and suites among five separate locations on property. There's also a spa and 25,000 square feet of meeting space. The six different dining options range from buffets to casual dining serving 17…
The Inn at Bay Harbor made a splashy debut in 1998, instantly becoming one of Michigan's grandest resorts. The 116-inn, which includes one-, two- and three-bedroom suites, as well as 35 cottages, became a part of Marriott's Autograph Collection Hotels in 2016. Guests get pampered with a full-service spa and salon, two restaurants and a cafe, a…
Traverse City is not often the first place that comes to mind when thinking of U.S. vacation destinations but this hidden gem of a city has earned a spot in Fodor's "Ten Best Small Towns in America" and Bon Appetit has also ranked it as one of the country's "Top Five Foodie Towns."
Gaylord is situated at the center of the northern Lower Peninsula, putting the city in the heart of northern Michigan and its scenic beauty. The area's shimmering lakes and flowing rivers were sculpted by glaciers millions of years ago and are now surrounded by beautiful, mature forests and lush valleys.
Golf in northern Michigan can be incredibly picturesque as well as challenging. You'll find lots of great par 5s at courses such as the top-ranked Arcadia Bluffs Golf Course or Bay Harbor Golf Club, both of which grace the bluffs over Lake Michigan. We've narrowed it down to five par 5s that won't disappoint.
The signs of recession still linger in this tiny outpost in northern Michigan. So how does Bellaire state such a strong case as one of the area's best golf destinations? The recipe starts with Shanty Creek Resorts.
When asked to come up with my 10 favorite golf courses in northern Michigan, I took a mulligan and included 15 -- I just couldn't narrow it down! Don't consider this a "best-of" list, merely a personal guide to the 15 courses I love to play.
Boyne Resorts is one of Michigan's premier stay-and-play destinations. If you're a buddy trip captain, you're invited on an exclusive scouting trip for your group!
Belvedere Golf Club in northern Michigan spent most of its existence as a private club, but it opened to the public for limited play about a decade ago. The club, which has held 39 Michigan Amateur and boasts a hole that is among golf legend Gene Sarazen's all-time favorites, isn't long by today's standards -- but it isn't a pushover, either.
Golf Channel travel expert Matt Ginella played golf with some of northern Michigan's most interesting people on some of the area's best courses during a recent journey.
Over the past decade, Traverse City has separated from the pack as northern Michigan's most trendy, tourist-friendly city. None can match its diverse collection of restaurants, bars, shops, beaches, festivals, galleries, wineries (a half-hour's drive to the Leelanau Peninsula), golf courses and a casino. Golfers have plenty of choices, such as Bear at the Grand Traverse Resort and Manitou Passage, among others. Here are the five best places to play.
It isn't until you've narrowed down your next summer golf trip to the destination of northern Michigan that the real decisions begin. Here are 10 of the best options for northern Michigan golf resorts and what sets each apart.
Traverse City, Mich. is one of the great family vacation spots in the U.S. Picking just 10 courses to highlight is a fool's errand. Be that as it may, these 10 serve as an introduction to the area.
Recent improvements and restorations to Belvedere Golf Club, an historic course in Charlevoix, northern Michigan, have made this Willie Watson classic better than ever.
With 17 courses in the Gaylord Golf Mecca, getting a good deal is never a concern. There are price points in all ranges. In fact, a three-day golf trip spending $200 or less on green fees can be done even in high season.
Other than missing a handful of big-timers, northern Michigan features a list of golf course designers as good as any destination in the country. All the usual suspects who dominate top 100 lists are well represented. But what are the best of the best? Jason Scott Deegan offers up northern Michigan's 10 best "designer" golf courses.
For sheer convenience and depth of quality courses, no summer vacation destination beats the Gaylord Golf Mecca in northern Michigan, a golf hub unlike any other in the Midwest. Native son Jason Scott Deegan offers his list of the 10 best golf courses in Gaylord. Drum roll, please ...
Golf in Michigan is arguably the best in the nation. If you're making your way to the Gaylord Golf Mecca for the first time, here are six (and a half) must-plays to get you acclimated.
Summer golf is grand in Michigan, but fall might be the best time to tee it up. The courses are more affordable with fall rates kicking in. You can play some top 100-type courses for half the price you'd pay in summer. The courses are less crowded, too.
The hillside of flowers spelling out "The Legend" and the gorgeous downhill opening tee shot on a risk-reward par 5 provide a fantastic first impression on The Legend at Shanty Creek Resorts. Once golfers survive the tricky second hole, The Legend unveils golf as good as northern Michigan gets.
Cedar River is the newest -- and many would say best -- of the four golf courses at Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire, Mich. Opened in 1999, this dreamy Tom Weiskopf design roams through a magical northern Michigan hardwood forest, where deep bunkering, streams, ponds and elevation drops and climbs challenge players of all abilities.
The Black Forest Course at Wilderness Valley in Gaylord is set on 400 acres of native Michigan evergreen and hardwood forests and cuts through the land naturally. The Tom Doak design gets golfers on the greens and in the bunkering (there are more than 100 bunkers here, and no two look alike). The greens have that classic look, like they were crafted by hand. The bunkers, meanwhile, are true hazards, so they are to be avoided at almost any cost.
The Tribute Course at the Otsego Club in Gaylord, Mich. runs up and down and around the Sturgeon River Valley, with plenty of panoramic views off the tees and natural forest framing the holes. With four to six tee boxes on every hole, the Tribute plays to all levels, but is a stiff test from the tips. Nearly every tee is elevated, and some offer views of more than 30 miles.
It may be the most interesting golf course in the state. Designed by Michael DeVries, a protege of Tom Doak, the 6,956-yard Kingsley Club in northern Michigan is a course where players have infinite options on how to play the holes. But if they hit in the wrong place, recovery can be at best difficult. It's a golf course you don't want to pass up if you have the opportunity.
The private Kingsley Club, located 20 minutes south of Traverse City, is the second-best private golf club in northern Michigan. Jason Scott Deegan tells how -- and why -- to play it.
There might not be a more diverse 27-hole course in the world than Bay Harbor Golf Club. The Links nine dances upon the cliffs along Lake Michigan and Little Traverse Bay. The Preserve ambles through the backwoods northern Michigan is known for, with a few wetlands and a lake view for added effect. Bay Harbor's Quarry nine, cut from an old rock quarry, boldly rolls out a demanding test of target golf.
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