5085 Shanty Creek Road, Bellaire, Michigan 49615, US
(231) 533-9000
Location Map

About The Chief

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 living space. The five-bedroom Valley View home is located across the street from the course. A four-bedroom cabin called "The Roost" sits on the 18th fairway close to the Pelican's Nest restaurant. For all three options, passes to the Shanty Creek Resorts pool facility are included. The Blue Pelican Inn & Restaurant, run by the same owners, is roughly 10 miles away in Central Lake.

Facts

Price Range$$
Property Class★★★
Year Opened1996
Number of UnitsLess than 100

Amenities & Services

RestaurantsCasual
Practice FacilityYes

Rules

Is the resort pet friendly?No
Is resort stay required for a tee time?No

Golf courses at The Chief

Reviews

4.5
208 Reviews (208)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 55
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

The Chief

The Chief is a beautiful, challenging, scenic up north course!!

I would definitely recommend this course and look foreword to returning to play it again!!!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
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

The Chief and The Nest

My wife and I had drinks and a pizza at The Nest before our round. Both were delicious. The course was in great shape and had a lot of dog legs. You can’t beat up north courses for their natural beauty and The Chief is one of the best. The staff were courteous and friendly. Live music at The Nest afterwards capped it all off. We loved it!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course was great shape. Greens rolled great. Very scenic!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 16
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 17
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times 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
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Funky course. You’ll love the challenge

This course was something I haven’t played before. Being a Bermuda guy down in FL this was an experience.

The course is tricky. It was in pretty good shape though. No Bev cart was kind of a bummer though.

Make sure you pack extra balls when you play here for the first time.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 58
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

The course was challenging and well maintained.

The Chief was a good course and well maintained. The staff was friendly and helpful. The restaurant called The Nest was phenomenal. We stayed at Shanty Creek and ate their three different times. The food and staff were great all three times.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 11
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 13
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
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
Previously Played

New

Great new club house, well manicured and friendly staff. Will play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 21
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Not what I expected

A lot of target golf because of blind shots. Bunkers were unplayable

Not worth full price but if you get it a discount then it’s fair. Greens ,fairways and green were fine but disappointing were the bunkers for what is supposed to be a luxury course.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Elevations

This.track plays long because all the elevation changes. If you are used to playing.flat Municipal city coarses this will eat your lunch. You will loose balls and the chance of finding any is slim.. if you are off the fairways there is thick vegetation and deep Ravines. How they cut this track out of the terrain is really amazing. This place wore me out. Look before you hit. Alot of blind shots lead to trouble with no chance to recover. This place is a maze and definitely not walkable, even your cart will take a beating. Should of called this GC The Ravines. It is very scenic but hard. If you are a beginner take alot of old balls. I am a advanced golfer and probably lost six. The elevation change you are seeing is not always accurate, till you get to the green and look back. Good Luck

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course was in great shape, greens & fairways. People were very accommodating. Will surely play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Used cart

Great Course: Meh Service

There was no wait staff on the course, and round was 5 and 1/2 hours because nobody monitoried pace of play.

Great course, but the lack of staffing was a challenge.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great course

Nice brand new clubhouse with Trackman simulators, huge bar, pleasant staff. Course was in great shape and has a great layout. No back and forth holes. Will definitely play again. Well done to the team at The Chief.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Fun and Challenging

Difficult layout, but a really fun course. I’m a 14 handicap, and the white tees gave me all I wanted and then some. Par 3s were particularly challenging. I look forward to playing again, now that I understand a little bit about the layout.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Now Reading