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

4.6
220 Reviews (220)
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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

The Chief

Very slow carpet greens but well manicured. Fun elevation changes and a nice overall course. Good luck walking this course however...

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Awesome scenery, ravines to cross, great shape

Great course, forget how neat it was. #1, #5, #10, #11 all ravine/carry drives. #4 and #16 are spectacular. Some of course is tight, about 1/2.
Might be best deal in N Michigan?

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

good course for average player.

Lots of hills not a course to walk if you are a average golfer plan to lose some balls.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

Our group was SCALPED at the Chief.

very difficult course, with some strange holes. Play was Slow. Large stones in sand traps damaged clubs. There are numerous courses nearby that I will play instead of this one

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Not going back.

When we arrived at 3:30, the course had an event earlier in the day that went longer than they anticipated - there was no carts available for a few minutes. We went to the first hole only to be behind a bachelor party of 16 boys, I emphasize boys because they were acting like boys. Hooting, whistling, smoking cigars & cigarettes, apparently had been drinking for awhile. After them, there were another foursome waiting. No starter anywhere. We decided not to wait for the entire 16 boys to finish, then the other 4 - we almost turned around & left but started at the 4th hole instead. The tee boxes were hacked to heck, there were even potholes on the fairway.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

very hilly course

beautiful location, small greens, lots of elevation changes for approach shots, scary cart path driving and a lot of fun. the course beat me up but I'm not a great golfer.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

This course is the chief!

Awesome layout! One of the best in the area. Hawk's Eye beauty but more narrow! Take the rocks out of the bunkers (?sand) and add hole descriptions on the cart and would be 5 stars. Can leave driver in bag on many holes, even from the tips. Rivals Dunmaglas as one of area's toughest tests.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

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

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

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...

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

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.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

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!

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

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.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

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.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

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.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 51
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

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!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0

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!

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 39
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

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" .

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser

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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

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.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
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