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Rating Index Rating
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4.6
220 Reviews (220)
5 Stars
118
4 Stars
74
3 Stars
21
2 Stars
7
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.5
Layout
4.4
Friendliness
4.7
Pace
4.6
Amenities
4.3
90.7%
Recommend this course
192 out of 220 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.7
7 Reviews (7)
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.9
Value
4.9
Layout
4.9
Pace
5.0
Amenities
4.8
StaffFriendliness
4.9
100.0%
Recommend this course
7 out of 7 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
32 Reviews (32)
5 Stars
23
4 Stars
6
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.5
Layout
4.5
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.5
StaffFriendliness
4.8
90.6%
Recommend this course
29 out of 32 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
The Chief delivers a challenging, scenic layout with well-maintained fairways and greens that consistently impress recent golfers. A brand-new clubhouse featuring Trackman simulators and a welcoming staff elevate the overall experience.

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Resort
Par 71
Length 6482 yards
Slope 145
Rating 72.3

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.

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The Chief Golf Resort
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Course Details

Year Built 1996
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season April - November
Architect John F. Robinson (1996)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted Visa, MC, AMEX, Discover card(s) Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed No
Dress code No Swimwear or Beach Attire

Food & Beverage

Bar, Grill, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse
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Reviews

4.6
220 Reviews (220)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 6
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 15
Forced Carries 15
Bunkers 14
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 13
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 10
A Weekend Splurge 7
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 9
At a Resort 8

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Decent course, fun round

The Chief is a decent course but could be better. It is a little gimmicky at times with a few too many blind shots and no information on the tee boxes or scorecard to let you know what kind of tee shot you need to hit at times. Would be easy to add some small signs to inform players of layup distance, etc. They have also rearranged the holes since I played there last and the course doesn’t always flow great now and the signage between holes is definitely lacking.

All that being said... it is a fun course! There are some really good holes with some great downhill approaches to greens. We had a good time and will play again if price is below $50. The course also was not super busy so pace of play was good... especially after we got past a 6some. :)

The bar and patio area looked nice but they were not open before or after our round.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

Challenging design

Nice layout in Northern Michigan woods. Course was very wet in places due to several days of rain last week.

Greens painfully slow.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful Course

It is a challenging but beautiful golf course. Great views and in good condition.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Quirky but fun

Lots of elevation changes. The layout was a bit weird but the course was marked well. It felt like desert target golf set in northern Michigan. We had a fun round and the price was right. The course was in pretty good condition.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Hardest course in the region...(by far)

Course maintenance is slacking off...,the holes have been re-arranged and the various gps apps don’t work.....still a lot of fun...several carry holes. Must be an accurate golfer.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Quirky layout with tiny greens

We played the course again in a large group. There are simply too many blind tee shots and forced carries over hazards. Some holes seemed "tricked up" instead of making them fair difficult holes. As other reviewers have said, the course layout changes made GPS difficult; but the managers did give us a GPS cheat sheet to help. The holes were often pretty and well maintained. Greens were quite spotted in places. It will be many years before I go back again. Too many better choices in Northern Michigan.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Disappointing Trip

We booked through The Chief for our annual golf trip. We were told we would be golfing The Chief, Hawk's Eye, and Sundance. We started on The Chief. The course was in decent shape, but they had moved all the holes around and the woman at the desk did not say a word about it, so none of the GPS's worked. The greens were so slow that I could not get myself to physically hit the ball as hard as you needed to in order to get it anywhere near the hole. The course was difficult and most of the guys in the group (not great golfers) lost many, many balls. After the Chief, we were sent to Atrium Dells, a nice course, but not Sundance, and on the final day, Mike (the guy who set up the trip) had us for a tee time at 1 P.M. on departure day as Hawk's Eye had leagues on Tuesday and did not even open to the public until then. We ended up at Centennial Farms and this course was a joke. I contacted Mike to give him the opportunity to make things right, and he ignored me as well as other group members. If you are planning a trip to the area, do not go through Mike at the Chief.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good layout, fun to play! One issue with starting the round.

One issue when starting my round. Booked as a single, arrived 50 minutes early. Was told there were a couple groups ahead of me and said to hang out at the putting green and would let me know when it was time to proceed to the first tee. No one around to get me started at all. One group went off right away but there was at least a 30 minute gap between groups. I had to wait the entire 50 minutes then just proceeded to the first tee without any direction. Ended up playing through all of the groups anyways, but found it ridiculous I couldn’t start sooner. Most courses I’ve been to would be more accommodating. I did find the course fun to play but man did the greens SUCK!! Still had some aeration marks and did not roll very well.

Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Didn’t care for the new layout of holes. #1 is now # 16. Liked the original layout better

Great course but for advanced golfers only. Lots of target golf. We enjoyed it very much

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Really Gone Downhill

This course is in awful shape. Greens are not well kept and overall we were really disappointed. The summit course was in way better shape and less $. The staff at the restaurant were way below average. took almost 25 min to get our fish fry on Friday night. Music was probably the highlight. I will not be returning.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

The Chief

Very helpful informative staff, the greens are difficult and the hilly course is truly cut right out of the woods. You rarely see others while you are playing as the holes are spread out. Not for the weak or beginner golfer due to carries and hills. The only concern was the greens could be in better shape and consistent imho.

Definitely will go back.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
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Golf Packages

Shanty Creek Stay & Play Package

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BELLAIRE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Shanty Creek's Lakeview Hotel or Lodge of Cedar River and golf at Shanty Creek - Cedar River, Hawk's Eye, Legend, Schuss, or Summit Courses.

Destination Kohler - Champions' Trail Golf Package

FROM $617 (USD)
KOHLER, WI | Enjoy 2 nights’ accommodations at The American Club or the Inn at Woodlake and 3 rounds of golf at Blackwolf Run (River or Meadow Valleys Course) and Whistling Straits (Straits or Irish Course)

Destination Kohler - To Dye Four Golf Package

FROM $557 (USD)
KOHLER, WI | Enjoy 3 nights’ accommodations at The American Club or the Inn on Woodlake and 4 rounds of golf at Blackwolf Run (River & Meadow Valley Courses) and Whistling Straits (Straits & Irish Courses).
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