Forest Dunes, Bay Harbor, Arcadia Bluffs, Black Lake Trip

[BG5]

Gents,

 

Day 1 of my trip started out with a 9:53 tee time at Forest Dunes which is an absolutely stunning golf facility. Staff is outstanding and exceeded my expectations. Practice area is top knotch and the golf is some of the most spectacular golf you can play on the U.S. We played Forest Dunes and conditions were flat out amazing. Fairways were firm and drives rolled out. It's basically like hitting off perfect turf on approach shots. The greens were rolling blazing fast speeds and are so pure. Very important to be below the hole out there. Bunkers were perfect and the hole presentation was phenomenal.

 

As for golf I shot a 90. Very disappointing as I was terrible putting today and managed 1 birdie. Had 3 other solid looks but just never made a solid effort and left a lot of puts short which is terrible. I feel the course is very fair and one can go low out there. The highlight came on the par 4 17th hole. Was able to make birdie which was cool. Hole 18 is a great finishing hole and the short par 3 19th hole was a great way to settle bets. Pace was great and never were pushed or had people in front. Easy 4 hour round for out group.

 

Bottom Line..... go to Roscommon Michigan and enjoy first class golf. It's one of the best golf facilities out there and I look forward to giving the Loop a look next time.

 

Now we have a 1 hour 30 minute drive to Bay Harbor. Playing the Links/Quarry at 5:10 and hoping to get all 18 holes in.

 

Pure Michigan

[chickenpotpie]

FD is one of those courses that answers the question: what would I shoot if I played in pro-like conditions. I've played my best ever golf on this course, and damn near my worst too. But had a ton of fun both times.

[BG5]

Gents,

 

Our second round of the day was a 5:10 tee time at Bay Harbor with the Links/Quarry. We paid $86 and had the time of our lives. Staff was professional and exceeded our expectations. Friendly, attentive and classy are words that describe the staff.

 

Course conditions were amazing and better than Forest Dunes. Greens were not as fast but still we're very fast and pure. I shot a 84 with plenty of good looks.

 

The scenery was as good as it gets. Looking over Little Traverse Bay was amazing and the Links 9 at Bay Harbor is right up there with the best 9 holes of any course in the State. There are others that are equally good or better but Bay Harbor Links is in the conversation for sure.

 

My child hood friend fired a 69 in what was the best round I have ever seen fired. Highlight was driving the par 4th 15th hole for him and making an Eagle.

 

Great day.... great course and a must if ur playing the best in Michigan

 

Quick side note. Members were outstanding as we golfed our round in 3 hours 30 minutes. Get up to Petoskey and play Bay Harbor.

[BG5]

Our second day started with a round at Black Lake in Onaway Michigan. We arrived at the course early and had a wonderful breakfast. It was fast and easy and the staff at the entire facility made us feel very welcome and made sure we understood rounds need to be play in 4 hours and 30 mins.

 

We teed off at 8:20 and since we were exhausted we played the Red tees. Yes, that right the ladies tees. As a result I had one of the most enjoyable rounds of my life. 350 yard par 5's and 250 yard par 4's awaited us. I had 5 birdies which made my day and at one point I made 3 in a row. The course was in great shape and I love how secluded each hole feels.

 

Pacing was fine and we played our round in under 4 hours. We jumped in our car after our round and made our 3 hour drive to play Arcadia Bluffs which we had a tee time 5:10.

[BG5]

Our second round of the day took us to Arcadia Bluffs. We had so much fun playing at Black Lake we decided to play the women's at Arcadia as well. The result was a 3 birdie front 9 for me where I carded a 40.

 

Arcadia is unbelievable and is one of a kind. It's a very demanding course and can be brutal if you hit it to the right areas. The course exceeded our expectations and we were able to play 15 holes. It got dark and we missed the final 3 holes.

 

The whole experience at Arcadia was first class. Staff was as good as it gets.... pacing is fine and the course and conditions were awesome.

 

All in all we had the trip of a lifetime. We plan to go something similar again next spring.

 

 

Now we all know rankings at BS...: mine state rankings change daily as I can never make up my mind.

 

Our group ranked the four courses as follows

 

1. Arcadia Bluffs

2. Bay Harbor

3. Forest Dunes

4. Black Lake

 

 

[Timbo Slice]

Jealous of your trip. I played Bay Harbor as well and it is currently my favorite course but I have yet to play Forest Dunes,Arcadia, or even the Boyne Highlands courses. I have also moved up tees a couple times, never the red, but sometimes to senior tees and have had fun having a Birdie or par look on every hole pretty much. Looking forward to next year already for more big courses. Currently my top 5 are...

1. Bay Harbor

2. Cedar River

3. Tullymore/St.Ives

4. Masterpiece

5. Stoatin Brae

[kkrenzke]

Jealous of your trip. I played Bay Harbor as well and it is currently my favorite course but I have yet to play Forest Dunes,Arcadia, or even the Boyne Highlands courses. I have also moved up tees a couple times, never the red, but sometimes to senior tees and have had fun having a Birdie or par look on every hole pretty much. Looking forward to next year already for more big courses. Currently my top 5 are...

1. Bay Harbor

2. Cedar River

3. Tullymore/St.Ives

4. Masterpiece

5. Stoatin Brae

Life long Michigan resident and have the following input having played all of those courses. Play Forrest Dunes many times before you take the time to play Arcadia and don't even worry about getting to Boyne Mountain or Boyne Highlands..... Just my two cents

[klebs01]

Forest dunes should definitely be way ahead of Arcadia. Tullymore is a good enjoyable course but I found St. Ives to be a waste of time on my trip. Not really a good layout nor good condition.

[Timbo Slice]

Forest dunes should definitely be way ahead of Arcadia. Tullymore is a good enjoyable course but I found St. Ives to be a waste of time on my trip. Not really a good layout nor good condition.

I've never seen St.Ives in anything but perfect conditions. I played it this year in the spring and it was awesome. I work for FedEx and my route is in Stanwood so I drive by it pretty much every day and I've never seen it anywhere close to being bad conditions.

[klebs01]

It was a few years ago, 2009 or 2010. Played Arcadia, tullymore, st Ives, and forest dunes the same weekend. St ives didn't seem to be anywhere near the level of the other three on design or conditions. May have been temporary or things may have changed.