Northern Michigan Golf Trip

[DaddyCaddieIU]

Group of 12 went to Arcadia Bluffs last year and we have been to French Lick in the past. Our next trip is either going to do Boyne or Forest Dunes. Any thoughts on either? Looking for maximum golf, playing 90 holes in 3 days is the plan.

List of Importance....

Best Golf CoursesGroup housing or ability to stay together or nearbyCost/Ease of access to courses. We want to have as little driving after we arrive as possible.Please Help. Looks like Forest Dunes is around 1,200-1,300 for 3 nights and 5 rounds. How much would Boyne cost for unlimited golf? WOuld it be substantially less than 1,300?

[irishmike27]

Depending on your lodging, yes it could be substantially less. Been a few years since my group did Boyne (2016) but we played 18 Friday, 36 Saturday and Sunday, 18 on Monday with 3 nights lodging for just under $500 per man in late July. We stayed in Bartley House at Highlands, which is the most basic offering they had, but since we were on course most of our time anyway, it worked fine. We also did not play Bay Harbor.

[VNutz]

Depends on what time of year you plan on going. Peak summer is going to be a difference at both places, but you should be able to get a pretty clear quote from Boyne if you contact them. I did Boyne about 10 years ago with buddies and I know they wouldn't pay anywhere near the rates mentioned for Forest Dunes. That said it was only 2 nights I believe and 4 rounds, and in the fall during their discounted season, but surely less than $500 per man total. FWIW the concept of "Boyne" as one entity is a little misleading as it's really 3 different sites under the Boyne name, so if you don't want to drive much as mentioned you might want to take that into consideration. We stayed at Boyne Mountain and were pretty unimpressed with the lodging, the apartment/condo style placed that "sleeps 8" was extremely crammed, with guys sharing beds and a pullout sofa. As our first time there we probably should have pushed to stay at Boyne Highlands where there are more and better courses and closer access to Bay Harbor, as it's about a 40 minutes between Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands. If I had to do it again I'd skip the Boyne Mountain property altogether; we played Alpine and it was fine but nothing special. Boyne Mountain is a skiing first facility where Boyne Highlands has a better emphasis on the courses IMO.

 

In terms of better courses, it all depends on what you plan on doing. If you play Bay Harbor I think the variety of other courses and BH makes it something of a push. I've not played FD but I've only heard good things, but if you're playing 5 rounds over 3 days on there and The Loop, that might get repetitive.

[DaddyCaddieIU]

We are looking at August 6-9.

[newoodky]

As someone who has played both properties I would say Boyne Highlands. Slip in a round at Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs.

[Dave Saylor]

I have played both and I would say only go to Forest Dunes if cost was not an issue.  I love Forest Dunes and the Loop, but the Boyne Highland courses are not much of a step down and more than half the price.    If you would like to play Forest Dunes but keep costs down, I might recommend playing 36 at FD on the way up then drive to Treetops stay and play the next 2 days there.  It’s only about an hour drive from Forest Dunes to Treetops. Treetops is about the same price as Boyne these days, my group has been to both several times and I would say the group split down the middle as to what's better, I myself have a hard time picking between the two.  We do the same trip as you 36 - 3 days. We typically play 36 somewhere on the way up to Boyne or Treetops and do the rest there. That would still keep the price way under 1200. You would probably be around 400 for the 3 nights and 2 days of golf plus your tee times at FD.  

 

 

[Tarantula18t]

"Slip in a round at Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs"

 

Unfortunately LTB was sold, and will cease to be a golf course any longer. The pro (former) Matt just told me this last week. He said there is a VERY slight chance the new owners will keep it open, but word is they already have plans to turn it into lots, etc.

 

[cwb12]

There is a tournament happening at Forest Dunes that same weekend, wont take up all your tee times but will hinder your choice of rooms.

[newoodky]

Wow....That is terrible news

[3_Jack_Par]

That is a serious bummer. It has a couple of goofy holes, but LTB is/was a pretty fun course.

[cassel191919]

That is awful news, we are starting to lose some gems in this state.

[1puttTUT]

My trip is also August 6-9. We're doing Boyne Highlands. 8 guys in a condo, all with their own beds. Playing five rounds over three days, including the upcharge for Bay Harbor our cost was around $780 per person.

[Mi-Golfer]

Seriously! Was it #18 that was straight uphill? We played there this summer and they said the owner was “done” after 30+ years and was selling. I was hoping the new owners were going to keep it open but I guess the draw of million dollar homes with a “view of the bay” was too much to pass up. Really bummed!

[3_Jack_Par]

I think 9 and 18 both went straight up the hill -- I remember hitting well struck tee shots that looked like they only got about 10 feet off the ground! I don't understand where all these people come from who have all this money to spend on a second home and that there's really a market for a bunch of new ones. If the economy takes a dump, there's going to be a ton of for sale signs going up around there.

The weekend of August 8-9 seems popular -- that's also the week my group of 8 is going up. That must be why we've struggled to find a lot of great options for houses to rent.

[Jose c.]

The houses will sit vacant for 9/10 months a year,capitalism at its best!

[swine7777]

For better golf try to stay away form a ski resort that has added golf courses. It's up and down golf. http://michigan.twoguyswhogolf.com/

[3_Jack_Par]

That's not common with northern Michigan courses. There are many resorts that do golf and skiing, but I can't think of any of them that really use ski hills as part of the golf course. Many courses up there do have some dramatic elevation changes in spots, but it's not like you're playing down the black diamond run.

[1puttTUT]

I can say for sure that's not the case with Treetops, Shanty Creek, or Boyne Highlands. I haven't played any of the Boyne Mountain courses yet.

[3_Jack_Par]

The opening tee shot on both courses is down a big hill. I don’t ski, so I don’t know if they use that particular hill for skiing, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for Northern MI golf, and there’s no other really crazy ups and downs that I can think of.

[1puttTUT]

So not like that course in Brighton...what was it called the Jackal?

[tjblue]

Not many places you can play a 257 yard par 3 with a seven iron (number 9).

[3_Jack_Par]

Lol, now that place is ridiculous, at least the few holes up and down the ski hill. I think they renamed it a few years ago to something boring like The Golf Club at Mt. Brighton or something like that.

[1puttTUT]

I played it once when I bought some card that included some of the nicer courses around metro Detroit back when I first moved here...never again lol

Found this picture on google and it sums the course up pretty well...at least the stupid holes.

[3_Jack_Par]

Yeah, I played it years ago when it was "The Jackal" (stupid name, lol) because we got a GolfNow deal, and once was good for me for that place.

[DaddyCaddieIU]

Update...ended up changing location of trip due to cost. Boyne must be booked 12-18 months in advance for best housing for a large group apparently. We are staying at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor. On the way up we are playing Warren and the next two days we have 36 at Point O Woods and Harbor Shores. On the way home we are deciding between South Bend Country Club, Blackthorn, Whittaker Woods, or Chikaming CC.

6 Rounds and 3 nights for $1115/person.

[VNutz]

Yikes, surprised Boyne needs that much time in advance. Between the last 4 I've only played Chikaming. It was a neat old little club but probably not anything special. Typical old school club type vibe, but that was probably 15 years ago now.

[AzSuperHack76]

Look into a VRBO/Air BnB.

 

We've rented houses the last couple years in Northern Michigan and it wasn't more than a couple hundred a man for a 4-5 day stay split between 8 guys.

[reperna]

ive lived here my whole life and im about 45 mins from brighton. I am a little interested haha

[3_Jack_Par]

This is what my group of 8 did last year and we're doing it again this year. Assuming you can find a place in an area with several golf options nearby, it's a great way to put together a trip for quite a bit less than you'd pay for a package at one of the resorts. My group prefers to have lodging where we can all stay under one roof so we can hang out, play poker, etc., and a lot of resorts either don't have that option, or it's significantly more expensive than putting together your own package by booking the lodging and tee times separately yourself. It's a bit more work, but I've put together 72 hole, 2-night trips for around $360/person the last two years, and the best quote we got from anywhere else this year was about $440.

[AzSuperHack76]

2 years ago we got a cabin in Interlochen, played Arcadia, Forest Dunes, and Bahle Farms. Kingsley was only a few minutes from where were as well. It was a great location.

 

Last year we rented a house in Gaylord, played Forest Dunes/The Loop, Tree Tops, Sig./Premiere and had a warm up round at Ostego. Black Lake isn't too far either, would have loved to hit that up as well.