From posh hotel rooms and suites to full
cottages, the Sprawling Inn at Bay Harbor
has accommodations and amenities to
enhance any golf excursion.
The main draws, though, are its bread and
butter, though. There are two designed by
Rick Smith (Signature and Tradition) and
one each from Robert Trent Jones (Master-
piece) and Tom Fazio (Premier).
Likewise, the Otsego Club & Resort
is a multi-course site. The Classic and
Tribute courses were laid out by William
Diddel, Rick Robbins and former PGA
Tour vet-turned-broadcaster Gary Koch.
Tribute stretches along 1,100 acres, tak-
ing in elevation changes and undulated
greens. Tribute is significantly shorter,
playing no more than 6,350 yards from
the championship tees.
GRAND RAPIDS
Rees Jones has only six designs in Mich-
igan and its three bordering states (con-
versely, he has 32 in the Carolinas). So he
wanted to make Thousand Oaks count. He
accomplished it by blending magnificent
tree lines, a few elevated tee boxes, rolling
fairways and oversized greens where hole
location can change dramatically from one
day to the next.
Golf Club at Thornapple Point is going
to play surprisingly dry throughout, an
oddity of sorts considering two sides of
the property are lined by the Thornapple
River along the eastern side of Grand Rap-
ids. The course, which opened in 1997, has
clear sight lines to the fairway, but thanks
vsga.org
to numerous minuscule doglegs, elimi-
nates straight-line paths to the greens.
GREAT LAKES
Smack dab between Saginaw and Midland
in Freeland, Apple Mountain is a favorite
among locals (who may have had their
clubs in a closet all winter) because of its
wide and deep fairways and playability
standards. That wasn’t an accident, as
designer John Sanford wanted to give
people a reason to return. He challenged
players in other ways, namely water on 15
of the 18 holes and a crisp edge between
the fairway and roughs.
Huge greens, significant mounding, a
multitude of turf usage and plenty of par-
allel holes are featured throughout The
Fortress. Here, the Duke Nugent design
gives those in a few miles southeast of
Saginaw a taste of Scotland. If you prefer
a different flavor, the clubhouse hosts a
number of food and beverage events all
summer long, highlighted by the Craft
Beer Classic in late July.
Preserve and Quarry nines each present a
unique feel, going from the Scottish-style
terrain to the peace of nature to even an
“industrial edge.” All of them are within
earshot of Lake Michigan.
Thirty years before Bay Harbor’s first
nine was completed, The Heather at
Boyne Highlands was already wowing
players. And yet, all these later, it is still
doing the same. Named the 2019 National
Course of the Year by the National Golf
Course Owners Association (one year
after earning the top in-state honor), The
Heather is a true Robert Trent Jones leg-
end. He took a land adjacent to a ski resort
and turned it into one of the finest rounds
in northern Michigan.
PETOSKEY
Bay Harbor Golf Club has bragging rights
that no other Michigan course does, as it
was recently awarded a Gold Medal for
Overall Excellence from GOLF Magazine.
The 27-hole Arthur Hills design lends itself
to creativity time and again, as the Links,
All of the nines at Bay Harbor Golf Club are nestled
near majestic Lake Michigan.
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