DESTINATIONGOLF . TRAVEL
drop ”. I ’ m not a long hitter so it doesn ’ t apply to me , but I wonder how many golfers down the years have hit their drives into the water and not known about that .
A short distance from the lodge is the Country Club of Boyne , where we play the Arthur Hills and Donald Ross Memorial courses . As the name implies , the Ross is a series of holes replicating some of the most famous by the great course designer , and it is a true joy to play . His predilection for bunkers is evident from the outset , the opening hole a replica of the par-4 6th at Seminole Golf Club in Florida and awash with sand . Although there is one hole , the par-4 10th , that is a recreation of the 14th at Scotland ’ s Royal Dornoch Golf Club , which was designed by another great , Tom Morris , and was where Ross learned his trade as a club maker , golf professional and golf course architect .
Three of the holes are taken from one of his most lauded creations , Pinehurst No 2 , which has hosted the US Open four times and which I have been fortunate to play . They exhibit typical Ross features such as small greens like upturned saucers with sneaky contours that deceive the eye .
Wide fairways that narrow , often to thin , elongated greens protected by sculpted bunkers welcome golfers on the Arthur Hills . We play early in the morning , the sun streaming through the tall stands of trees lining the fairways and cupping the greens on several holes . It is a visual delight quite apart from being very enjoyable to play , no more so than on its stunning , signature hole , the par-5 13th . Its tees progressively climb a hill to the back tee box , at 570 yards . From there you get the most majestic view down the undulating fairway , looking out towards a vista of nothing but forest , save for the tiniest sliver of one other fairway . Don ’ t just get your camera or smartphone out for a photo ; hit your drive from the brown tees . You won ’ t have many tee shots as exhilarating , wherever you play .
The final hole doglegs left around a lake and my playing partners and I have to wait for a pair of lanky , red-crowned sandhill cranes to gracefully saunter out of the danger zone before we can play our approach shots .
Skybrige , Boyne Mountain GC
Bay Harbour GC , The Links
The Moor is the fourth course at The Highlands and is said to be a favourite with members , but we don ’ t have time to play it . Bay Harbor Golf Club features three very different nines , all by Arthur Hills , that can be combined into three contrasting 18-hole options .
The club is located right on the shores of Lake Michigan , close to Boyne ’ s luxury Inn at Bay Harbor , and we play the Links and Quarry combo , regarded by some as the “ Pebble Beach of the Midwest ”.
The Links runs along bluffs high above the lake with stirring panoramas over Little Traverse Bay , such as on the par-3 4th , with its dune-lined open fairways evocative of links in Britain and Ireland .
The Quarry nine is laid out in and around an old shale quarry and makes a great foil to the coastal holes , featuring dramatic drops to deep gorges , towering stone cliffs , natural ponds and a waterfall , although its downhill par-3 8th , the penultimate hole on the combined 18 , ends in a semi-island green with Little Traverse Bay as the backdrop .
Nearby Crooked Tree Golf Club is another Arthur Hills design perched on bluffs above the bay , the fairways of its first nine holes lined by centuries-old trees .
Boyne Mountain Resort , in a mountain setting at Boyne Falls , is another all-season resort that offers golf and skiing besides other seasonal activities .
Although I stay there , it is for an event and I don ’ t get to play its two on-site courses , the Alpine and the Monument .
I do play one other course in the area – the Jones Masterpiece by Robert Trent Jones Sr , one of four 18-hole layouts at Treetops Resort in Gaylord that also includes a Tom Fazio design and two by
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