Grand Traverse Resort & Spa - The Spruce Run Course

Hole layouts were very creative with tons of bunkers and amazing views of the resort and bay. Course conditions were pristine and the greens were rolling VERY fast. I four-putted for the first time in my whole life so that was unpleasant but still had a great time!

Well maintained and decent value. Solid course to play as a warm up to the more challenging and expensive course next door — the Bear. The greens are in great shape and fast. The layout is fairly forgiving. I had easy shots to the green after hitting a few tee shots into the trees. On the other hand, hitting into the fairway bunker on #4 forced a layup because I didn’t dare try to carry the water. Another layup was forced on #5 because of the big tree in front of me on the fairway. #7 is drivable if you can get it over the trees. The back nine was shorter (par 34) and included a couple short drivable par 4s (#12 and, if you can bend it right, #13).

This course is always overshadowed by The Bear, but I think it has a lot to offer for every type of player. It's just about as tough as the famous course on the property, with the stretch of holes 3,4, and 5 being some of the hardest I've ever played. With that being said, it's definitely more playable for people who can't make the forced carries The Bear requires you to. The resort does a very fun big-hole tournament here every October. Come here and play The Bear, but make sure you get a tee time at Spruce Run as well. I can promise you'll have just as much fun.

I just finished a trip to Traverse City where I organized a group of 16 for 108 holes in 4 days for a bachelor party & Ryder Cup type event! We had a blast and played The Bear, The Wolverine & Spruce Run. Each course was a bit different but all in great condition. The staff was incredible - we had custom scorecards for each round (2 per day), custom cart placards with tee times & pairings, had our own long drive, longest putt & closest to the pin stakes. They kept us organized and really helped make it an incredible experience. The food in the clubhouse was fantastic - I enjoyed the ceviche salad & one of their massive sandwiches.

Spruce Run is the moderately challenging course at Grand Traverse with The Bear being most challenging and The Wolverine being the easier of the 3. It was a great course for our team shamble and everyone had a great time - greens/fairways in tour shape!