Another Northern Michigan Summer Trip Post

[AzSuperHack76]

Hello All,

 

Hope the winter isn't true brutal for you Michiganders this year. We actually had snow in the Phoenix Metro area yesterday, hell may be freezing over....

 

You have all been a huge help in the past and I am once again reaching back out to get some input from you all. 

 

Looking at a trip in late August. 

 

1st option would be based near Arcadia, playing Bluffs and the South Course. Looking for possible pairings in the area on the other days we are not playing Arcadia. Some of the options we are looking at would be Crystal Mt, Pinecroft, Manistee Natl. I am going to reach out to,(write a letter, heard of other people doing the same in the past with success) The Kingsley Club and hope for a miracle. 

 

2nd Option would be based around Gaylord. Play Forest Dunes & The Loop. Other pairings would be Michaywe, Black Lake, Garland or Treetop Course or 2. 

 

Looking to keep the drive time around an hour or so from mentioned "home bases". 

 

Any feedback, personal onions and experiences would be greatly appreciated. I know what I am getting when it comes to Arcadia and Forest Dunes/The Loop as I have played them multiple times. I am really looking forward to what you guys would build around those courses as well. Good food and good beer is always a plus. We will using VRBO for our housing option.

 

Thank you all in advance,

 

AA-Ron

Edited January 27, 2021 by AzSuperHack76

[Jose c.]

Squeezed Champions hill in before Arcadia last yr our whole group really enjoyed the course. 

[AzSuperHack76]

2 hours ago, Jose c. said:

Squeezed Champions hill in before Arcadia last yr our whole group really enjoyed the course. 

Awesome, I'll add that to the list! What did you remember about the course? Conditions/Layout? 

 

Thanks Jose! 

[Chanceman]

Why not head up further north to Greywalls and Wawashkemo?

[Jose c.]

AZ.                                                        Really nice elevation changes, Pretty wide open,the greens rolled tru were in good condition.  6th yr of this Arcadia trip first time playing champions definitely in our loop if we get a house in this aera.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Jose c.

[VNutz]

5 hours ago, Jose c. said:

Squeezed Champions hill in before Arcadia last yr our whole group really enjoyed the course. 

@AzSuperHack76

 

I would recommend this. When I used to do my Crystal Mountain trip we would always play this course with our 1 round off property. It's a really neat layout on a great piece of property, very affordable, definitely a hidden gem. It's very simple and not on the same level on any terms as Arcadia. A decent review and pics here: https://michigan.twoguyswhogolf.com/reviews/championhill.html

 

As mentioned, I've played Crystal Mtn. at least a half dozen times. Mountain Ridge is a cool course if you can keep it out of the trees as it's entirely tree lined. Some cool holes and elevation changes, for some reason the greens always gave me fits.

 

I've not played Manistee National, but did play Manistee Golf & Country Club. Very affordable course that has a couple cool holes along the lake ala Arcadia, but not nearly as grand. The rest of the course is very forgettable IMO and I wouldn't recommend for a destination trip.

 

Treetops courses are cool, cannot remember which 2 I played but they were fun. I've not played the Loop but a buddy did and was a bit disappointed. It's kind of love it or hate it for some.

 

My 2 cents is to stick with the Arcadia plan. If you want to travel a short while Pilgrims Run is one of my favorite courses around, but nearly a 2 hour drive from Arcadia.

Edited January 27, 2021 by VNutz

[Jose c.]

1 hour ago, VNutz said:

 

 

 

My 2 cents is to stick with the Arcadia plan. If you want to travel a short while Pilgrims Run is one of my favorite courses around, but nearly a 2 hour drive from Arcadia.

Hard to beat pilgrims thats where we finish our trip every yr. Would love to incorporate American Dunes one yr.

[AzSuperHack76]

2 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Why not head up further north to Greywalls and Wawashkemo?

Would love to play Greywalls, have heard nothing but great things about it. Unfortunately the UP isn’t in the cards this year. 

[postfold]

49 minutes ago, Jose c. said:

Hard to beat pilgrims thats where we finish our trip every yr. Would love to incorporate American Dunes one yr.

 

Another option would be to hit Ludington and play Hemlock.  That's an hour from Arcadia iirc.  We've paired that with the Bluffs.  If there were another course in Ludington that would actually be a decent place to make a full day out of, there are a couple breweries and places to eat downtown.  

 

Pilgrims is great, of course, but I'll be interested to see if people coming from/flying into Chicago to go north make American Dunes part of their plan.  We're booked to play there in May, looking forward to checking it out.

[AzSuperHack76]

1 hour ago, VNutz said:

@AzSuperHack76

 

I would recommend this. When I used to do my Crystal Mountain trip we would always play this course with our 1 round off property. It's a really neat layout on a great piece of property, very affordable, definitely a hidden gem. It's very simple and not on the same level on any terms as Arcadia. A decent review and pics here: https://michigan.twoguyswhogolf.com/reviews/championhill.html

 

As mentioned, I've played Crystal Mtn. at least a half dozen times. Mountain Ridge is a cool course if you can keep it out of the trees as it's entirely tree lined. Some cool holes and elevation changes, for some reason the greens always gave me fits.

 

I've not played Manistee National, but did play Manistee Golf & Country Club. Very affordable course that has a couple cool holes along the lake ala Arcadia, but not nearly as grand. The rest of the course is very forgettable IMO and I wouldn't recommend for a destination trip.

 

Treetops courses are cool, cannot remember which 2 I played but they were fun. I've not played the Loop but a buddy did and was a bit disappointed. It's kind of love it or hate it for some.

 

My 2 cents is to stick with the Arcadia plan. If you want to travel a short while Pilgrims Run is one of my favorite courses around, but nearly a 2 hour drive from Arcadia.

Thanks for the advise fellas, sounds like Champions Hill will be a winner. Pilgrims Run, while a drive from Arcadia certainly could be an option on the way back to Detroit on Sunday or Monday morning for us. 
 

Right now I’m leaning more towards the Arcadia option. I want revenge on the Bluffs course and I haven’t played South yet. Last trip to Arcadia I got sick and it really dampened the experience for me.
 

I love everything about Forest Dunes. It’s my favorite course anywhere, really a special place for me. I’m a sucker for a Weiskoph design as well. While I don’t think the Loop, Red or Black routing is as good of a course as FD, I still think it’s a solid layout and different than most anything we have in Arizona. With that being said every trip I’ve ever made to Michigan I play FD, and have experienced it enough to skip it this go round, but then at the same time I feel like I’d be cheating on her if I didn’t make the trip to Roscommon! Golfers problems right? 😜 Iv’e also played the courses at Tree Tops. It will be nice to get to experience the new courses in the Arcadia area. 

 

Thanks @Jose c. and @VNutz your suggestions helped with are last trip as well, much appreciated! 

[AzSuperHack76]

3 minutes ago, postfold said:

 

Another option would be to hit Ludington and play Hemlock.  That's an hour from Arcadia iirc.  We've paired that with the Bluffs.  If there were another course in Ludington that would actually be a decent place to make a full day out of, there are a couple breweries and places to eat downtown.  

 

Pilgrims is great, of course, but I'll be interested to see if people coming from/flying into Chicago to go north make American Dunes part of their plan.  We're booked to play there in May, looking forward to checking it out.

I just started to hear about American Dunes. The place looks amazing. Out of the way but if we’re driving back down to Detroit I’m sure we could detour! 

[postfold]

7 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

I just started to hear about American Dunes. The place looks amazing. Out of the way but if we’re driving back down to Detroit I’m sure we could detour! 

 

Looks like it would add about 45 minutes to a drive between DTW and Arcadia.  More freeway miles at least.  

 

I'll be super interested to see how good the conditions are -- in terms of play this is year one so you'd expect it to need more grow-in, have rock hard greens, etc, but I have heard that they could have opened last year, that all but a couple holes were grassed early in the season, so maybe it'll be more mature than your usual new track.

 

Good luck with your plans, having too many good choices is a wonderful thing.

 

[tmvander]

Not from the area so I may be off on my calculations but what about staying at Turtle Creek Casino by Traverse Bay?  You get the casino for some night time life and then play the Grand Traverse Resort courses for your secondary options.  They are more expensive then the local ones around Arcadia but are probably nicer.

 

I think it's only an hour or so from Arcadia so just make that a day trip and head back to the casino.

 

This is a future trip I'm looking into doing.

[knickerbocker]

Kingsley did not allow outside play last year due to COVID.  I am not sure on their decision this year.  I have played it a couple times and never hard to get on - usually calling them works. 

 

 

[Gdane]

I've planned a few Michigan golf trips over the years, and while admittedly haven't played all of the top courses, my experience playing Greywalls, Sweetgrass & Timberstone was incredible, and from a budget standpoint has to be hard to beat.  There is a bit of driving involved between rounds, so if you want to avoid that, I'd recommend skipping Timberstone, and instead playing a round or two at Greywalls, and then staying at the Island Resort playing Sweetgrass and the new sister course that they added a couple of years ago.

[AzSuperHack76]

5 hours ago, tmvander said:

Not from the area so I may be off on my calculations but what about staying at Turtle Creek Casino by Traverse Bay?  You get the casino for some night time life and then play the Grand Traverse Resort courses for your secondary options.  They are more expensive then the local ones around Arcadia but are probably nicer.

 

I think it's only an hour or so from Arcadia so just make that a day trip and head back to the casino.

 

This is a future trip I'm looking into doing.

Due to the COVID situation night life and casino wouldn't be in the cards for us, no pun intended. Appreciate the feedback though! 

[AzSuperHack76]

5 hours ago, knickerbocker said:

Kingsley did not allow outside play last year due to COVID.  I am not sure on their decision this year.  I have played it a couple times and never hard to get on - usually calling them works. 

 

 

Awesome, I'll give them a call and see what the situation is for this year. 

[Jose c.]

Kingsley looks like such a unique golf experience can't wait to play. Kingsley Club in the Spotlight — DeVries Designs

Edited January 29, 2021 by Jose c.

[D^2]

If you choose Arcadia, I would definitely add Hemlock.  No houses and a mix of straight forward and challenging holes.  Not usually busy mid week so pace of play is very good.  Good conditions and a neat routing.

 

I would add Manistee National as an option as well, especially the course that used to be called Cutters Ridge (they changed the course names this year.)  

 

Agree about previous poster about Manistee Golf.   The lake front holes are interesting but not so much the rest of the course. 

 

We enjoyed Heathlands in Bear Lake. 

[AzSuperHack76]

On 2/25/2021 at 6:34 AM, D^2 said:

If you choose Arcadia, I would definitely add Hemlock.  No houses and a mix of straight forward and challenging holes.  Not usually busy mid week so pace of play is very good.  Good conditions and a neat routing.

 

I would add Manistee National as an option as well, especially the course that used to be called Cutters Ridge (they changed the course names this year.)  

 

Agree about previous poster about Manistee Golf.   The lake front holes are interesting but not so much the rest of the course. 

 

We enjoyed Heathlands in Bear Lake. 

Thank you! Sorry I’m just getting back now. Will definitely look into Hemlock. 
 

We have Arcadia South and Bluffs already booked for the last weekend in August. Looking forward to coming up 18 at bluffs at Sunday with the bagpiper playing is in! 

[putterboy75]

Agree with everyone's general consensus, playing both Arcadia's is worth going out of your way for (and the $)...the Bluffs Course is only rivaled in the States by Kapalua Plantation (of those I've played of course) for the views. I think both the Bluffs & South are definitely courses you need to play a few times if you're trying to score, but you can have a good time the first go round.

 

One I didn't see mentioned which I would go as far as to say is a MUST is Belvedere up in Charlevoix. It doesn't sound like you'll be that far from there (Charlevoix is ~ 1 hour north of Traverse City) ... Belevedere is about as pure as any golf experience I've ever had. Don't take my word for it though - Tom Watson's a member and regular, they've had the Michigan Am there 1000 times, and for the purists, the World Hickory Championship has been / is held here for many years.  It's a Willie Watson design (a lesser known architect but he's better known for both courses at Olympic Club and Hacienda in CA) Also, Tom Doak, who's a Michigan native, says Belvedere is the most under-discovered gem in the state. I could go on.. but I hope you make time for a trip.

I'd happily join you depending on when you're going!

 

I liked both Champion Hills & Pinecroft, both owned by the same family and great values. Very refreshing to see that most of the courses in N. Michigan are accessible (except that one in Franklin....) - coming from N.C., this sadly isn't the case.

[AzSuperHack76]

Looks like we have things almost settled, we are going to play Hemlock on the way up on Thursday afternoon. Then Friday 36 at Manistee National or Crystal Mt. Saturday we are booked at Arcadia South in the morning and Bluffs in the afternoon, timed it to be played in by the bag piper coming up 18 at sunset. On Sunday will be catching a round somewhere on the way down or in the Detroit Metro area in that afternoon.

[AzSuperHack76]

Thanks again for all the feedback.

[Chrismydawg]

On 1/28/2021 at 6:57 PM, AzSuperHack76 said:

Due to the COVID situation night life and casino wouldn't be in the cards for us, no pun intended. Appreciate the feedback though! 

I just recently got the vaccine so I can partake. It will be nice to get back to some normalcy. Enjoy your trip!!

[AzSuperHack76]

Any thoughts on Manistee National vs Crystal Mt? We are still looking for our 36 hole option on Friday and are bascily down to these two choices. 

 

Thanks! 

[VNutz]

33 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Any thoughts on Manistee National vs Crystal Mt? We are still looking for our 36 hole option on Friday and are bascily down to these two choices. 

 

Thanks! 

Wish I could be of help but I've never played Manistee National. Crystal Mountain is a decent stop, especially if you want to play 36 on the same property, but IMO the Betsie Valley course isn't as good as Mountain Ridge as it's a little shorter and the conditions not as good. Still a neat place fully in the trees, but I'd think you could do better. I'll add I've only played it in the fall when it's pretty firm and fast, don't know what the summer conditions would be like.

[knickerbocker]

Manistee National is better than Crystal Mountain.  The course across the road is more of target golf, but still fun. 

 

But both are close in terms of quality, so you can't go wrong with either choice. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by knickerbocker

[AzSuperHack76]

11 hours ago, knickerbocker said:

Manistee National is better than Crystal Mountain.  The course across the road is more of target golf, but still fun. 

 

But both are close in terms of quality, so you can't go wrong with either choice. 

Thanks for the feedback!

[AzSuperHack76]

Hello all, will be in Michigan in less than 2 weeks now. Have to call an audible for one of the days. Just got word that one of the courses at Crystal Mt is a mess, construction and temporary greens at Bestie Valley. Did hear that Mt. Ridge was in perfect shape with no issues. We are staying at a VRBO in Crystal Mt Resort. Would it be worth the 45 minute drive to Manistee National to play 36 or play 18 at Champion Hill in the morning and then head back to Mt. Ridge in the afternoon?

 

We are playing Hemlock Thursday, had Crystal Mt courses on Friday, Arcadia South and Bluffs on Saturday.

Edited August 18, 2021 by AzSuperHack76

[Shriner]

44 minutes ago, AzSuperHack76 said:

Hello all, will be in Michigan in less than 2 weeks now. Have to call an audible for one of the days. Just got word that one of the courses at Crystal Mt is a mess, construction and temporary greens at Bestie Valley. Did hear that Mt. Ridge was in perfect shape with no issues. We are staying at a VRBO in Crystal Mt Resort. Would it be worth the 45 minute drive to Manistee National to play 36 or play 18 at Champion Hill in the morning and then head back to Mt. Ridge in the afternoon?

 

We are playing Hemlock Thursday, had Crystal Mt courses on Friday, Arcadia South and Bluffs on Saturday.

 

Champion Hill is a treat.  The layout is nice and conditions were wonderful when I played last year.  I personally think it blows away the Crystal Mountain courses.