The Inn at Bay Harbor

When it comes to resort golf in northern Michigan, the two undeniably most scenic courses are Arcadia Bluffs and Bay Harbor (I've actually written a whole column on the subject before). This most recent loop around Bay harbor was an afternoon impromptu nine on the Quarry with family.

Golf course development is at its best when the course makes use of land that's useless or run its course in another facility. In the case of Bay Harbor, the Quarry nine is carved out of an old quarry next to Lake Michigan. (It's incredible to believe this incredibly high-end and gorgeous piece of Northern MI was industrial for a long while.)

The hole variety on the Quarry nine is second to none. That said, it isn't necessarily a "resort-friendly" design. The course was originally intended to be predominantly private. First-timers here might need a little help on a few of the tee boxes, like the short par 4 6th or 9th holes. There is some strategy to consider on almost every tee shot, some of which have blind landing zones.

Holes No. 3-9 on the Quarry are all marvelously unique and scenic. Together, along with the Links nine, it may be Arthur Hills' best piece of property to work with. (That said, I think his design job at Longaberger aka Virtues in Ohio is a little better - even if the setting is inferior).

Staff was great here and shipped my clubs home with Shipsticks after I left, and the bar staff were all smiles as my 1 y/o crawled all over the restaurant.

Definitely plan on a round here if you're in the Petoskey-Charlevoix area. And combine it with a round at the more old school Belvedere for a neat yin and yang of northern Michigan golf.

I was really looking forward to play the course since the ratings i have studied prior to our trip sounded like it's a must play.

Well, it's nice but $200+ for a round? No way, it's definitely overrated. We played twilight, which still was $101 per person. Welcome at the pro-shop was nice, we were sent out as a two-some. We got told that pace of play might be a little slow because of a big group playing theere second 9 holes on the Quarry, which were our first 9 holes. What we experienced was the worst of what we ever would have expected. We started at 5 sharp and we finished the first 9 holes 3h later leaving us with around 1h15 for playing the second 9 on the Links. Not only the pace of play but moreover the group in front of us threw away their beer cans and other trash on the course, on every cart they had a getto-blaster and they were drunk. Dont asked how the story commenced but we were able to finish the second 9 on the Links in 1h15 which was a shame since the Links nine are just fabulous. We told the pro our disappointment and asked whether we could play a day later the second nine since it already was gettin dark. The pro wasn't acting that friendly ...

The Quarry is nice but it's absolutely nothing special. Only holes 8 and 9 are at the lake - need to play? No!

The Links is way better, many of the holes are on top of the lake and in true links fashion. It's fun playing it, way more that the Quarry.

The Clubhouse was ok but i would expect something different for the money. Playing it again? No!

Dunes, cliffs and a quarry. Amazing setting for a golf course. Michigan offers up some wonderful golfing options, but I only recently became aware of just how good this venue is. Combined with a few nights at the Inn at Bay Harbor and you've got a great vacation.

With the dunes and cliff-top setting, this is the closest thing to Ballybunion in the Midwest. Loved the 7th hole, one of the most scenic par 5s I've ever played. Easy to see why this combo makes the Top 100 lists every year.

The Links enjoys the most beautiful setting for any golf course on the Great Lakes

What a great combo of nines this is. With the dunes and cliff-top setting, it's the closest thing to Ballybunion (Ireland) that I've found in the midwest. No. 7 on the Links, in particular, stands out as a stellar par-5 with amazing scenery. On the Quarry side, the path through an old shale quarry is truly unique. Hopefully you can time it to hit No. 9 when the sun is setting over the lake. I will definitely be visiting again!

Arthur Hills fan here, and on this wonderful track, he certainly did not disappoint. Its amazing cliff-top and dunes setting is a thing of beauty, the Links has to have the most beautiful setting for any golf course on the Great Lakes. The 7th hole was my favorite and not just because i made a clutch birdie there in my buddies' match! It easy to see how this makes the top 100 lists consistently, good golf, great scenery and a friendly staff make this a place i can't wait to come back to. Helpful tip: try and time it so you play the 9th hole of the Quarry right at sunset, trust me, you won't be disappointed. we weren't!

Loved the 7th hole on the Links. One of the most scenic (and strategic) par 5s I've ever played. Staff is amazing and setting is second-to-none in the Midwest.

Excellent courses with some of the best water views in the U.S. Loved the dunes, reminds me of Ireland. We played 36. We like it so much we played 36 again the following day. Really great customer care. Loved the whole experience.

Course was in excellent shape. The only thing I could suggest would be yardage makers..perhaps the Kirby system.
The women handling our bags and setting up our carts did an excellent job. She is quite the worker also handling the driving range. You have a great employee.

This is great track. The course has 5 par 3's which when you look at the tees for orange are at 5900 yards. Trust me unless you can drive it 250 yards plus all the time is all the course you could ever want. My only issue is the greens. There is significant undulation and to keep them fair they are slow. Hole 2 green far too tricked up as well as 9 & 18 shared green. 18 has been improved but in my opinion both of these could be completely redone. They offer few pin placements. I still give this high recommendation with the changes to hole 16, 17 and 18 did a lot of improvements to the course feel. The views starting from 15 one are just perfect looking out to the bay. Of all the Boyne courses the staff are certainly the most friendly that is not to say they all aren't just better with exception of Bay Harbor. I can only recall one time I have played it slow play was an issue and the staff were quick to apologize after loosing track of the slow group.

Great course, we have seen a lot of courses around the states and thoses two nine are unique and different. Have to think over at every hole. Always different. Conditions could have been better since the fairways and greens have been under "aeration condition". Could be too difficult for beginners. Challenging for intermediate and exoerience golfer women inclued. We will be back for sure! One of our top ten on our listing.a must play when visiting Michigan.

Played on one of the most perfect golf weather days possible... 80 degrees w/ only a trace of a breeze on a Saturday in late September. Staff was very friendly & offered advice on several points of the course to be aware of w/ shots. VERY difficult greens as they are extremely undulated & fast. Course design is excellent w/ a lot of fairway undulations along with incredible topography & views of Lake Michigan. #16 really stands out being a par 4 with an incredible elevation change after your tee-shot. Your 2nd shot goes down to a green that seemed like 50-75 feet below.
Nice driving range perfectly situated from clubhouse & so many great holes to mention here.

HIGHLY recommend playing this course---especially with the price at $37 w/ cart!

Only recommendation I would suggest---and I told this to the staff---- is that a yardage book with hole advice on each hole is a must due to many of the blind shots you are faced with and a yardage guide would help immensely w/ club choices off tees and in some of the fairway shots.......

Played 36 holes with large group as part of ryder cup style tournament.

Links/Quarry - Links 9 is most enjoyable and very memorable. 4 holes along Lake Michigan. Can be major challenge when wind blowing, very scoreable when calm. Quarry is very unique. Couple gimmicky holes but fun overall. #8 is one of best par 3s you'll play anywhere.

Preserve/Links - Preserve is nothing special but a nice complement when playing Links.

Only combo that is worth money is Links/Quarry. Course conditions did not disappoint.

Service was awful. It was clear Bay Harbor wants to be private club and treats non-members differently. We played 48 rounds on course that day and with other high-end resorts they treat groups with utmost courtesy and appreciation. At Bay Harbor throughout the day we were treated with disdain by entire staff from ranger, driving range staff and pro shop (only exception was cart lady).

Examples - club wanted to charge $3/golfer for scorecard assistance (first time in 10 years running event a club/resort I've encountered that). Another course under Boyne did not charge for service. Group was warned about pace of play at least 1/2 dozen times...before we tee'd off. No effort to show any type of appreciation for amount of $ we brought to club.

Great course (Links/Quarrry combo), worthy of Top 10 ranking in State. But compared to other great resorts in Michigan probably not worth the $.

Made it up to North Michigan while visiting for work. Managed to get a "cheap" rate - $115 on a weekend at Bay Harbor which I had looked up and noticed was ranked a top 10 course in Michigan by Golfweek/Golf Digest.

Anyway, the course itself is beautiful and well manicured. The Preserve 9 plays like a wooded prototypical Michigan course whereas the Links 9 plays like the Scottish coast with winds whipping around and greens that run hard towards the water.

I think the course is a good test of skill but would have liked to see more from a course in this price category. First, the three 9s that make up Bay Harbor are part of a resort property and many guests like myself are playing the course for the first time. I would have benefited greatly from a GPS on my cart and would have hired a caddie if offered. Additionally, I had to wait for a place to hit balls while on the practice tee. I understand that there are also members at this semi-private property but when folks are dropping $300 per round on a weekend this should never happen. Finally, I got lost on my way to the first tee at the Preserve. They have a colored line system that helps you get to the various tees but I was camped out apparently at the wrong hole for about 10 minutes waiting on another group on the Quarry 9 only to be told I was at the wrong place. I missed playing with my prescribed group and ended up playing as a single. Normally, I like playing as a single but this kept me from enjoying the course a little bit as I was simply playing the course and not necessarily enjoying the extras that I was paying for.

All things considered, this is a fabulous property that I would love to come back to. However, I would not pay more than $150 to play here. For perspective, it costs $450 to play 18 at Pebble and this is not Pebble. Get some of the GPS carts so folks can see the course layout, layups, etc. and reduce the price to $100-$200 per round and it will be perfect.