FOUR! – A Northern Michigan Swing
By Jack Ebling
It’s my own fault.
Born and raised in ‘The Mitten’ and a proud Michigander for 72 ½ years, there was really no excuse. I love the game of golf, even when it doesn't like me. And with friends and associates like Tom Lang, ‘Mr. MIgolfjournal,’ I don't know what I was thinking.
Obviously, I wasn't.
Northern Michigan's glorious golf scene, on a par with any resort collection on the planet, deserved much more love than I gave it. It should have been a regular spring or summer stop for me over the past six decades.
All I could do was thank the golf gods and accept a travel and tourism mulligan – a four-day swing that, much like my best drive, wasn't long enough.
The idea began as an offshoot of "The Long Drive," a spring and summer segment of my weekday afternoon radio show, "The Drive with Jack," on the Spotlight Media Network.
Like most good things in that half-hour segment we do each week, the idea was Tom's. At first I thought, ‘That might be fun. . . Too bad it'll never happen.’ But as I should've known, if you give Tom a challenge, sit back and watch what happens! This wasn't the first time and won't be the last.
Before long, Tom had secured mid-May commitments and sponsorships from Boyne Golf, Shanty Creek Golf Resort and Traverse City Tourism. That brought four remote broadcasts and great golf opportunities at the Arthur Hills Course at Boyne, Cedar River at Shanty, Sundance at A-Ga-Ming and Betsie Valley at Crystal Mountain.
Looking for a third player, a backup driver and a fill-in producer, we were joined by golf historian and Princeton letterman Burton Smith, a Michigan transportation human computer.
Together, we hit some memorable shots and many more that reminded us why we'd all had day jobs. Tom, a.k.a. ‘Captain Hybrid,’ played with a smoother tempo than I'd seen – between bathroom breaks. Burton, a loquacious lefty, didn't bring his ‘A’ game with him but did talk incessantly. He was the only player that Lee Trevino would've told to stop yapping. And I hit a few good drives and some lucky putts, about all I had a right to expect between exclamations of "Wow! Look at that!"
The course records were all safe. But we had four days of big fun and enough laughs to last the whole year. And isn't that what golf is all about?
A Monday night ride from Lansing to the Petoskey area wouldn't have taken more than three hours if we hadn't stopped to eat at The Emerald in St. John's. It turns out "The Long Drive" was a show segment, not a trip description.
Tuesday morning, we began at the Hills Course, a pristine jewel in "Michigan's Magnificent 10." I felt as if I'd stumbled into the filming of a Pure Michigan ad.
If there's a complex with more variety of layouts than Boyne's 180 holes, I'd really like to see it – Pinehurst and Brandon Dunes included. Those 10 Boyne courses will soon welcome an 11th option, the Doon Brae short course, plus a new Himalayan-style putting challenge.
The Hills' 13th hole was unforgettable. A 350-foot foot drop from tee-to-green was more than picturesque. It was also a great way to get the day's steps in. But who's counting?
If you follow the Hills cart paths and never stop to hit a shot, it takes 45 minutes to get back to the clubhouse. And if a shoulder or knee injury keeps you from making birdies, you can pick your spots. The course design and pace of play allow that.
Of course, we played a lot of more forward tees, as our ages and skill sets suggested we should. But that was another plus at every course we visited. Multiple teeing areas made the challenge as tough as you wanted it to be, from confidence-building to masochistic.
Wednesday was Cedar River day. And if designer Tom Weiskopf didn't know we were coming, he gave us a track we could all appreciate. Elevation, undulations, woods, water and choices – even when some balls had minds of their own.
Hole No. 5 is as hard a par-4 as I ever need to see, thank you very much. And the 13th, a pick-your-poison, two-way approach to the green, leaves you thinking, "I'll par that the next time!"
Blessed with nearby Lake Bellaire, Shanty's 90 holes offer something for everyone. “The Phenomenal 5” – distinctly different layouts in a five-mile radius, are something every player should see. Based on the accommodations we had, it's definitely land for all seasons.
Thursday's test was Sundance at A-Ga-Ming, the 2023 Michigan Golf Course of the Year. The Jerry Matthews design, 18 of the 72 holes, featured lots of dogleg-left par-4s and plenty of chances for shareable moments. Memorable and playable, Sundance is a festival of fun.
With time to explore between golf and the 2-hour show, we stopped at historic Elk Rapids Golf Club, about to celebrate its 100th birthday. The walkable, nine-hole Donald Ross gem is the longest continuously operating business in the village and an unsung treasure.
That left Thursday night for a great dinner at Bradley's at Interlochen Golf Course and a terrific stay at Crystal Mt., which felt like family from the time we arrived. I'd like to come back with four friends. We could all stay in the unit I had to myself.
Our last round of the week was at Crystal's Betsie Valley course, a perfect place to end the tour. A lot of trees had been removed, reducing the stress level even further – and it was low from the moment we got there.
I'm sure near-perfect weather and mid-season conditions helped. But so did Tom's detailed preparation and every stop's warm hospitality. Special thanks to Ken Griffin at Boyne, Lindsey Southwell at Shanty, Mike Kent of the Traverse City CVB and Brittney Primeau at Crystal. I'll return for a round with Brittney when her son is born and I think I can compete with her.
My dad always used to say, "Kid, when are you going to get a real job?" I heard that from my first day I was a sportswriter to the week he died when I was on a different road trip. If he'd been with us on this tour, I never would've heard the end of it.
I know he would've said, "You'd never played these courses before? . . . Not one of them? . . . Where Nicklaus and Palmer did the layouts? . . . Kid, you're crazy!"
Can't argue with that. But as another Arnold famously said, "I'll be back!"
