BOYNE Golf: Nationally Recognized Courses in Our Backyard
As a golf writer, I get to play at a lot of great golf resorts, far and wide. The one I keep coming back to almost annually happens to be one in our own back yard – BOYNE Golf.
Over the past 57 years, this renowned Northern Michigan golf destination has grown to become one of the largest golf destinations in North America, encompassing 10 courses and three resort properties: Bay Harbor, The Highlands, and Boyne Mountain. The combination of high-class amenities with multiple levels of affordability, and award-winning golf mixed with the feeling of home, make it a great way to enjoy time off from the rest of the world.
The lakeside resort towns of Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, Boyne City and Traverse City have long been summertime playgrounds attracting people from all over the world, including golfers. It’s no wonder, as the area offers outstanding golf and is the perfect summer trip destination.
Few places in America can you find so many world-class resort destinations, with first-rate golf and amenities within such close proximity to each other. With its 10 golf courses, BOYNE Golf is one of the most dominant players in the Midwest with a growing fan base nationwide. Last year golfers came from every state in the Union.
At BOYNE Golf’s flagship property, located along the shores of Lake Michigan west of Petoskey, the nationally esteemed Inn at Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Golf Club are high-end luxurious properties situated on the site of an old limestone quarry and cement factory.
The Bay Harbor Golf Club, designed by Arthur Hills, offers 27 holes with the award-winning Links, Quarry and Preserve courses. It features a unique combination of open links along the Lake Michigan bluffs, holes flowing in and out of a rock quarry, and through the area's hardwoods. Within five minutes lies BOYNE’s Crooked Tree Golf Club that is carved through stands of centuries-old hardwoods, while perched on bluffs overlooking Little Traverse Bay.
Across that same bay, in the historic and charming waterfront community of Harbor Springs, The Highlands has undergone an elegant transformation fitting to its Scottish Highlands appeal. The second of four phases of this reimagination includes remodeling and significantly upgrading 87 guest rooms into superb luxury accommodations fitting for golfing couples and women’s buddy trips. And don’t worry gentlemen, The Highlands still offers plenty of townhouse and condominium options for the traditional men’s buddy trips.
The Highlands’ 72 holes of championship golf collectively offer a golf experience where groups can check into the lodge and never get back into their car during their stay. The courses are led by the Robert Trent Jones Sr. classic, the Heather course, which started BOYNE Golf’s boom back in 1966.
As the National Course of the Year in 2019, the Heather is a timeless parkland experience that is a pleasant walk in the park if one chooses to. Then there’s the popular Arthur Hills course, taking golfers through a variety of landscapes including the hills of Northern Michigan reaching a pinnacle on the 13th tee with an elevated view of thousands of acres.
In recent years, BOYNE Golf began renovation work on its Donald Ross Memorial course, a classic rendition of great golf holes designed by the Hall of Fame architect. Renovations on three holes (#1, #13, #15) have been completed and will be ready to play in the spring of 2023. The fourth course, The Moor, is has recently undergone renovations that include widening fairways, expanding collection areas around the greens with tree removal – all to create a variety of more fun and playable shot options for all.
Complementing the world-class golf, The Highlands is also home to the BOYNE Golf Academy featuring nationally recognized professional instructors who have developed a variety of game-improvement programs for all levels of skill. Technology is the highlight for golfers who can experience the GEARS Golf system that can analyze your golf swing and fit you into the best-possible equipment for your game through BOYNE’s Fitting Center.
At the new and massive Trackman driving range, which marries incredible state-of-the-art technology with a classic practice facility, golfers can instantly see swing data on literally every shot they hit, as well as play many of the world’s top courses virtually while hitting golf balls.
The third BOYNE Golf property, Boyne Mountain Resort, is located 35 minutes south of The Highlands. The Mountain Grand Lodge & Spa at “the Mountain” features two 18-hole layouts, the Monument and Alpine courses, which collectively offer outstanding golf that appeals to golfers of all skill levels, and some of the most spectacular panoramas in the state. Chalet Edelweiss recently reopened after 2 years of construction offering golfing couples a luxury experience with a European flair.
Golfers can choose from a variety of additional lodging options, including the Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa or condominiums and townhouses. It features the perfect-for-families Avalanche Bay indoor waterpark (one of the largest in the Midwest) – as well as the Solace Spa, an 18,000 square foot luxury spa that offers the best seasonal treatments. It was a few years ago, but while I golfed my wife took in the spa at Boyne Mountain and said to me afterwards, ‘the best one yet.’
While you’re there, check out Skybridge Michigan, the world’s longest timber suspension bridge that opened last fall to rave reviews. It’s the kind of rare experience only a few places like Boyne cares to invest in for the sake of giving their guests the unique experiences Northern Michigan has to offer with the incredible vistas and landscapes.
It’s no wonder that the accolades keep coming in on BOYNE Golf. Publications like Forbes, Links, Golf Digest and Golfweek continuously rank BOYNE and its courses among the best in America. The variety of golf here is collectively refreshing, the scenery amazing, and the staff always welcoming. When you visit in the summer the long Northern Michigan days mean you can play all day, whether that means 36 holes every day or 18 holes and plenty of time to enjoy playing off the course after your round.
It’s a four-hour drive or less from most every point in Michigan, and your friends from all over the U.S. can now join you with direct service from 17 cities in the summer right into Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport or Pellston Airport. Yet for private jets Boyne Mountain recently invested $4 million of improvements on their 5,200-foot airport near the resort village.
To score a great golf package – or to find out more information – visit www.boynegolf.com or call to have a Guest Experience Agent assist you in planning your trip!
Upgrades to the Donald Ross Memorial Enhance the Boyne Golf Experience
The Donald Ross Memorial Golf Course has recently undergone updates to several holes by Michigan-based course designer Ray Hearn that has made it even more “Ross-like” than ever before. It furthers the mission of Boyne Resorts founder Everett Kircher, who wanted to pay homage to Ross by building a course that included some of his finest holes from his courses across the country.
“Accurately representing each hole on the Donald Ross Memorial course has always been a priority for us,” said Bernie Friedrich, Director of Golf Course Renovations and Development. “Today through technology, CAD and Google Earth, we are able to gather photos and dimensions to create an even more accurate reproduction of any updates.”
The first hole in the renovation is No. 1, a replica of the 6th hole at Seminole. In the Fall of 2020, trees were removed, and large sand waste areas were added down the left and right sides of the fairway to more closely mimic the original. In the fall of 2021, the green was completely reconstructed, increasing in size by 40 percent and all the greenside bunkers were reshaped, as well as the fairway cut around the green being extended. The angle of the green was changed by approximately 35 degrees to make it more approachable. The hole reopened in May 2022.
The 15th hole – a replica of No. 11 at Aronimink – was restored to Ross’ original plans that pre-dated what that club’s members changed a couple decades ago. Now Boyne matched it. A new set of tee boxes was added, the fairway was widened, fairway bunkers were added but reduced in size, and the entire green complex was expanded and reshaped to match the original design. The new upgraded hole will open this coming May.
Work on the 13th hole, a replica of No. 15 at Seminole, began in September 2022 and is expected to open later this spring. The green complex there was raised three feet with new bunkers placement and shapes to restore the hole to the original design of the green.
It’s just another way that BOYNE Golf is honoring the man considered the father of golf course architecture – and bring to all golfers the gems that are often found at private clubs you cannot access.
