I recently played golf in northern Michigan for the first time, and it won’t be my last visit to the shores of Lake Michigan. The Victorian towns around Little Traverse Bay, Lake Charlevoix and Walloon Lake—where Ernest Hemingway spent his first 22 summers—are charming. We stayed one night at the historic Stafford’s Perry Hotel in downtown Petoskey with views over the lake, then three nights at Boyne Highlands, a family-friendly ski and golf resort featuring four notable courses by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Arthur Hills. Boyne Highlands is often recommended for golf buddy trips, and the Boyne Golf group includes three resorts with 10 championship courses, several of which are among Michigan’s best public-access tracks.
The highlight of our trip came on the final day when we entered the gated community surrounding the elegant Inn at Bay Harbor and checked in at Bay Harbor Golf Club on Little Traverse Bay. The resort features three distinct nine-hole Arthur Hills layouts: The Links, The Quarry and The Preserve. We played the Links/Quarry combination, which is ranked among Golf Digest’s top 100 public courses. The Links hugs the shoreline with waving grasses and marshy areas, offering spectacular views across the bay. After a couple of tree-lined holes, The Quarry winds through a sprawling former shale quarry with stone cliffs, deep gorges and natural ponds. The contrast between the two nines is striking: dramatic, unusual holes you don’t often see. We didn’t play The Preserve, a more wooded and natural nine that serves as a habitat for area wildlife.
THE LINKS
HOLE 3 | 380 yards, par 4
This hole presents a split fairway off the tee. You can attempt the riskier shot across the edge of a chasm to a lower, narrower fairway on the left that sets up a favorable angle into the green, or take the safer, wider route straight ahead and approach over a deep bunker to a shallow, well-protected green.
HOLE 4 | 178 yards, par 3
Ranked the second-easiest hole on the nine, the back tees place your ball flight right along the edge of a cliff. Missing the tiered waterfront green to the left or long will find the rocky beach below. We had extra time and climbed down to the water’s edge to hunt for Petoskey stones—the fossilized coral pieces the area is known for—which make memorable souvenirs from a great round.
HOLE 7 | 500 yards, par 5
The signature hole of The Links runs along a 150-foot bluff above the lake. A wide fairway leads to a blind approach to a hilltop green, creating a dramatic finish to the stretch along the shoreline.
HOLE 8 | 225 yards, par 3
One of the most wooded holes on the nine, this tricky downhill par 3 is surrounded by trees and features a plateau green with a false front and deep bunkers guarding the left and front sides. Accuracy and control are rewarded here.
The Quarry Hole 6 © BAY HARBOR
THE QUARRY
HOLE 3 | 561 yards, par 5
The toughest hole on this nine demands a well-placed second shot to an elevated fairway, followed by a carry over a boggy gully to reach a tabletop green. From the back tees, missing to the right often results in the ball being lost in a creek below the fairway.
HOLE 4 | 435 yards, par 4
Off the tee you’ll face visual intimidation from foliage, rock outcroppings and a bunker on the right, though the fairway itself provides a reasonable landing area. The hole doglegs slightly right to a green squeezed between a pond and a deep bunker, requiring thoughtful placement on your approach.
HOLE 5 | 495 yards, par 5
This dramatic par 5 calls for a tee shot across an inland lake, then a left dogleg to a fairway that narrows and drops to a stream crossing before the shallow green. A rock wall backs the putting surface and the lake sits menacingly on the right—an intelligent hook off the tee can be an advantage here.
HOLE 6 | 332 yards, par 4
A classic target-golf challenge: overshoot the left dogleg and you may end up against a scruffy hillside, play too far right and you’ll find wetlands, while a timid tee shot leaves too long a carry into a green that won’t welcome a weak approach. Club selection and confidence are key.
HOLE 8 | 205 yards, par 3
This downhill one-shot beauty backs up to the lake and is complicated by a pond and stone wall guarding the front of the green. There’s little margin for error—shots short or long are severely punished.
Bay Harbor Golf Club
5800 Coastal Ridge Drive
Bay Harbor, MI 49770
tel 231 439 4028
bayharborgolf.com