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

4.6 out of 5 stars
239 Reviews (239)
Reviews 13
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

New

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

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 4.0
Layout 3.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Review 1
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 5.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Played

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.

Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
3.0
3.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 3.0
Value 3.0
Layout 2.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 19
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
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

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 3.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 4.0
Amenities 4.0
Review 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

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

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Review 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played

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.

Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Used cart
3.0
3.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 2.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 3.0
Pace 1.0
Amenities 1.0
Difficulty 4.0
Review 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played

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.

First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played

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.

First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 4.0
Reviews 21
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Played
First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 4.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 3.0
Reviews 20
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 5.0
Layout 2.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 4.0
Reviews 2
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

Interesting Layout......Hilly, Challenging Course!

First time playing this course. Front nine is not as penal as the back nine. The back nine is basically cut out of woods with lots of elevation changes, few flat lies, and fairly narrow fairways/landing areas. I would think that a high handicap golfer would struggle on the back nine especially if they did not play from the correct tees. If you have trouble hitting the ball straight you could loose a lot of balls on this course, balls hit off line are hard to find and even if you could see it , it might be impossible to get to. I would say this course is not possible to play without a cart, i'm not sure if they even allow walkers. The course was in very nice condition and although it kicked my butt, I was glad to have played it.

First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 4.0
Pace 4.0
Difficulty 5.0
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played

Fantastic course! Pretty challenging, but not super long.

First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
Recommended
Played
First Time Playing
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 4
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 4.0
Value 4.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Recommended
Played
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
5.0
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 5.0
Value 5.0
Layout 5.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 5.0
Reviews 60
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
Recommended
Played

Nice course

The course was in pretty good shape. However, the greens were a little slow and the "slits" from the fall areations had not filled in yet. The course can be quite a challenge if you don't stay true. It was a bit windy and still chilly for this time of year. The new clubhouse looks great.

Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
4.0
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conditions 3.0
Value 4.0
Layout 4.0
Friendliness 5.0
Pace 5.0
Amenities 3.0
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