BOYNE Golf is an International Attraction, Right in Our Backyard
By Tom Lang
It is a safe bet that every golfer living in Michigan has heard of Boyne Resorts.
But what does every golfer really know about BOYNE Golf… even if they have already played there? Do they really know very much about the Up North location that helps put the Great Lakes State’s golf industry on the international map?
Let’s start out 2024 by looking at a long list of potential “I didn’t know that’s…”
Why do golfers return so often?
In a word: “variety.”
Within three closely located resort ‘hubs’ – Boyne Mountain, The Highlands at Harbor Springs and the Inn at Bay Harbor – BOYNE Golf encompasses 10 golf courses, with an 11th coming this year called Doon Brae, a new 9-hole short course set on the side of the ski mountain at The Highlands.
“While all are in proximity, no other golf experience in the U.S. provides a variety of mountain courses, lakeshore courses, parkland courses, courses set in wetlands, and pine forest courses, all on the same vacation,” said Boyne’s director of golf marketing, Ken Griffin. “Even other nationally recognized multi-course resorts offer similar settings with less course variety.”
At all 10 Boyne courses, including the two most awarded courses – The Heather, the 2019 National Golf Course of the Year; and the Links/Quary course at the Inn of Bay Harbor – golfers will always find very good conditions to play. It’s a point of pride for Boyne and they live up to it. Very late in the fall season I played The Alpine at Boyne Mountain and found it to be in great shape. The only time I have not had that experience was understandably forgiven – when select holes on the Donal Ross Course were under renovation and some temporary adjustments needed to be considered.
BOYNE Golf stays ahead of the competition with ongoing improvements:
Griffin said that Boyne Resorts has made more reinvestment into their properties the last two years than any other course or group of courses in the Midwest.
Here are some examples:
5 holes on the Donald Ross Memorial have seen extensive investment to better replicate Donald Ross’s original designs. This is in part because, since the replica holes were originally built a few decades ago, more exacting equipment, aerial photos, blueprints and construction measuring scales have become available.
The Moor, The Alpine, and Crooked Tree Golf Club have all benefitted from wider fairways that have been extended toward the tee boxes. The fairway cuts also now encompass more of the area around the greens, allowing for additional shot options onto the greens.
Tree removal and extensive trimming of trees at The Monument (at Boyne Mountain), as well as the Links/Quarry and Quarry/Preserve courses at Bay Harbor Golf Club, have returned the original sight lines off the tee boxes while improving the sunlight available to the tee boxes and greens to improve their health.
5 new high-efficiency irrigation pumps to improve course maintenance and playability. Two are at Boyne Mountain, two at The Highlands and one at Bay Harbor.
For a sweeter ride in all aspects, Boyne also added 8 miles of new cart paths. They additionally upgraded all power carts with E-Z-Go Pace Technology to improve golfers’ on-course experience, including flyovers before each hole, yardage reading distances to hazards and pins, scoring, ordering food, and dialing up your favorite playlist via Bluetooth!
Boyne is an easy-access location:
In less than a 5-hour drive from any corner of the Great Lakes State, and only half that time for hundreds of thousands, golfers can be at Boyne’s front door. But that’s just the start. If you have friends or family wanting to join you from outside Michigan, Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City offers direct flights from 18 U.S. cities – like Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta and Dallas – and hundreds of connecting flights nationwide.
For private pilots or those lucky enough to charter, the airport at Boyne Mountain recently underwent a $4-million upgrade, allowing up to 16-passenger jets and with all-weather glid slope capabilities.
Great lodging options of all price levels:
My golf show broadcast partner Jack Ebling out of Lansing (The Drive with Jack) has often mentioned that he hears from some people that Boyne might be too expensive, and he assures them that they would be surprised if they researched the options. So many various choices and special days and daily tee times make for almost any budget to have a great time at BOYNE Golf.
Other factors:
Boyne Resorts offer over 3,400 beds in a wide array of lodging options, from standard hotel rooms, condominiums on and off the courses, or townhouses and cabins on the courses – to a Marriot Autograph Collection hotel on Little Traverse Bay overlooking Lake Michigan.
Over the past two years, the Main Lodge at Boyne Mountain, The Highlands and Chalet Edelweiss have undergone extensive renovations to provide higher quality lodging than had been available previously at The Highlands or Boyne Mountain and is better for couples and women’s golf vacation experiences.
Off the course offerings for non-golfers and golfers alike:
While BOYNE Golf Vacations are golf-centric, they are not golf-exclusive. People of all ages and interests can enjoy all that Northern Michigan offers. A few examples are:
Exploring the northern Michigan lakeside towns of Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne City, and Walloon Lake for dining or shopping.
Bike riding, horseback riding, hiking, zip lines, swimming indoors and out – and the ultimate for kids at Avalanche Bay indoor waterpark at Boyne Mountain.
Visiting one of the 13 wineries and distilleries located between and around the Boyne courses.
Experiencing SkyBridge Michigan, the world's longest, tallest timber suspension bridge located at the top of Boyne Mountain, near the first tees for The Alpine and Monument courses. Unique food options are also located at SkyBridge.
In Summary:
It took the span of many years combined, but I have been lucky enough to play every BOYNE Golf course at least once. Of course, some designs stood out over others for my game, but not once was I disappointed with a golfing experience at Boyne.
Personal highlights include:
The 13th tee on The Arthur Hills course at Highlands, looking out over the downhill par 5 and many miles across the most expansive non-water view in northern Michigan. Top-3 best fall-golf view in Michigan.
The highly-elevated first tee at the Monument and the Alpine on Boyne Mountain. You just know it will be the start of a fun round.
The Links course as it meanders along the natural coastline high above the surface of the Little Traverse Bay with views of Lake Michigan to the west.
Navigating through the rock-lined tall valley walls of The Quarry.
Climbing the hill to the elevated 9th green and trying to navigate over the huge water hazard approach to the 18 green on The Heather, the course that launched the Northen Michigan resort golf industry in the 1960s. The Heather will also host the 2024 Michigan Amateur championship, for the fourth time since 2006.
If we covered something you already knew about BOYNE Golf — great.
And if you learned something new, all the better way to start 2024.
To score a great golf package – or to find out more information – visit (Link to come) or call to have a Guest Experience Agent assist you in planning your trip!
