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The Chief Golf Course
Rating Snapshot
About
The Chief Golf Course, nicknamed the Spirit of the North, is one of northern Michigan's premier courses. The championship course tumbles across rolling hills, providing dramatic elevation changes throughout. If you're a fan of mountain golf then this is the golf course for you. By far the toughest challenge golfers will face is the carefully sculpted mounding that borders most of the greensides. The mounds can create difficult angles for pitching and chipping. There are also a slew of strategically placed bunkers throughout. Strong mid and short iron play is important since accurate approaches are the key to this course. The unique design definitely makes it a course for shot-makers. The layout finishes with one of its most challenging holes, a par 4 with water to the left and bunkers and mounding to the right.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 71 | 6482 yards | 72.3 | 145 |
| White (W) | 71 | 6033 yards | 76.2 | 142 |
| White | 71 | 6033 yards | 70.3 | 134 |
| Gold | 71 | 5390 yards | 66.2 | 127 |
| Gold (W) | 71 | 5390 yards | 72.0 | 133 |
| Red | 69 | 4527 yards | 65.8 | 120 |
| Red (W) | 69 | 4527 yards | 67.1 | 122 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 72.3/145 | 365 | 542 | 428 | 364 | 407 | 178 | 314 | 214 | 446 | 3258 | 384 | 395 | 315 | 203 | 523 | 387 | 365 | 135 | 517 | 3224 | 6482 |
| White M: 70.3/134 W: 76.2/142 | 333 | 521 | 397 | 337 | 395 | 160 | 302 | 197 | 420 | 3062 | 369 | 377 | 306 | 172 | 474 | 364 | 328 | 128 | 453 | 2971 | 6033 |
| Gold M: 66.2/127 W: 72.0/133 | 295 | 504 | 362 | 302 | 365 | 154 | 292 | 121 | 374 | 2769 | 295 | 338 | 288 | 150 | 427 | 292 | 290 | 121 | 420 | 2621 | 5390 |
| Red M: 63.5/121 | 258 | 407 | 301 | 273 | 294 | 96 | 248 | 87 | 317 | 2281 | 256 | 249 | 278 | 130 | 402 | 278 | 265 | 111 | 372 | 2341 | 4622 |
| Handicap | 7 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 11 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 71 |
| Handicap (W) | 13 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 5 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Grill, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Hole 4 Photo submitted by wmoller on 06/29/2025
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Photo submitted by u183373765 on 08/27/2022
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Photo submitted by u183373765 on 08/27/2022
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Photo submitted by noahjurik on 09/24/2018
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Photo submitted by noahjurik on 09/24/2018
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Photo submitted by noahjurik on 09/24/2018
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Photo submitted by noahjurik on 09/24/2018
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Awesome sign! Photo submitted by TheWeaz on 09/25/2012
sprinklers on with standing water on greens
sprinklers on with standing water on greens.
Pretty course with lots of hills and long distances between holes
Awesome!
This was the first time playing the Chief. Absolutely a beautiful course, every hole offers something different and challenging as well.
We will be playing this course again...
Beautiful, enjoyable course with many changes in elevation.
I liked everything about it except that there seemed to be a lot of larger sized stones in the sand traps.
Nice course!!
Nice course was challenging the first time went back and played it a couple days later and adjusted some of my tee balls and scored a little better. Well worth what I paid!
Target golf with little room for error
Unless you play 2-3 times a week, don't waste your money on this difficult track. Unlike other Northern Michigan resort courses this one is not inviting. Beautiful scenery but brutal golf for the average resort course player.
All of the bunkers are full of rocks up to baseball size!!!
Very hilly. Hardly a flat spot on the course. Many blind shots. Drive ahead and look what's up there first. Greens were VERY hard to read.
The Chief is challenging, but fair.
Like the Chief very much. A challenging course. Don't waste time looking for an errant shot. Drop one and move on. Scenery is bonus, making the round that much more enjoyable. Also enjoyed the bar and grill after. Good food, cold drinks.
everything you hear is true
after hearing many of my golfing friends complain that the chief is ridiculously hard and they came off steaming at the ears,of course I had to play it as a warm up round for my golf vacation this year.yes,it is one of the most difficult courses I have ever played,but what surprised my wife and I was the immaculate conditioning,stunning landscape,and the plain fun of a mountainous precision shotmakers dream.we played twice on a tues,no backups had a great deal on golfnow and an even better replay rate.due to difficulty didn't even keep score the 1st round,but managed a 97 the 2nd time and some locals were actually shaking my hand for that-my wife is a very straight shooter and took home a couple low 90s-try this course and just have fun with it!
Seriously hard course!
Pretty good conditions. Greens were well kept. Woods and trees EVERYWHERE. Bring an extra sleeve of balls for the ones you lose in the woods!
We played it three times and each time it was different.
When we played we got there early and the friendly staff told us to go ahead and play. The weather was great but the course was in great condition and we have told many people to take the time and make drive down for a stay and play.We will be going there again next year and looking forward to play there again. In two words "simply great" .
Very difficult. Bring your "A" game!
Very challenging course. Someone had told be they have made it easier of the years. Must have been something. Didn't play well, but still enjoyed the course a lot. Will definitely play here again, while on vacation.
Target Golf
The Chief provides a gorgeous, albeit challenging, golf experience - particularly for first-time visitors. This course won't be muscled into submission, but players who know where they're going - and can put the ball there - will be amply rewarded.
Great Upper Michigan Course. Good Value
This is a great course to play. Reasonable but somewhat of a challange. Staff is great to work with.
Destination Kohler - To Dye Four Golf Package
