Michigan’s Boyne Resorts Continues to Grow and Renovate
By Neal Kotlarek
Golf Chicago
At a time when so many golf properties across the country have settled in to enjoy the fruits of America’s post-pandemic embrace of the game, the myriad of golf courses, hotels and amenities that make up the Boyne Golf properties have been continuously expanded, upgraded and a few even created from scratch.
Boyne Golf incorporates three hotels across a relatively short expanse of Michigan that includes Boyne Falls, Harbor Springs and Bay Harbor. Stationed at or around the hotels are 10 delightful, challenging and amazingly diverse golf courses, including two Boyne Mountain courses, Crooked Tree Golf Club, the multiple Highlands courses and three 9s at Bay Harbor. Ask someone who has played any or all of them over past years and they will tell you that all 10 are picture-postcard-perfect in beauty and conditioning. That said, each course has either recently received marked improvements or is slated for such in coming months and years.
How do you improve perfection? Bernie Friedrich, senior vice-president of Boyne Resorts (and 2023 PGA Executive of the Year) laughed at the question when interviewed in early May.
“Like everything else in life, golf courses change as they mature,” he said. “Maybe the bunkers have filled in. Maybe the greens have gotten smaller than the architect originally intended. Maybe a course’s drainage system needs to be improved . . . With 10 courses to manage, we try to stay on top of how we can provide the optimal golf experience for our guests and members. So that involves critical assessments of each aspect of the courses—from the design to the maintenance to the playability to the tree coverage.”
Friedrich cited the famed Donald Ross Memorial Course at the Highlands at Harbor Springs as a prime example of this process. “Technology has really help us understand the subtleties involved in the architecture of Donald Ross,” Friedrich said. When that course was built, famous Ross holes from around the world were emulated to provide players with the look and feel of a Ross design. “But all these decades later, we were provided access to the original drawings of these famous holes and even received satellite imagery of what those holes look like at their origin courses.”
The course employed prominent Michigan architect Raymond Hearn Golf Course Design to review each course in the portfolio and provide input on ways to improve the player’s experience. “Regarding the Donald Ross Memorial Course,” Hearn said, “we talked about providing guests with a true ‘Donald Ross Experience’ that hopefully provides insights on how Ross challenged players particularly on approach shots.” Given access to original sketches, maps and photos of some of the greatest Ross courses, the architect was able to convey the intricacies of Ross designs.
“The fact is,” Hearn said, “most of us will never have the chance to experience some of the great Ross works at those great private clubs like Aronimink, Seminole and Inverness. The single goal of the renovation project was to provide players with the next best option.”
Fans of great golf architecture are treated to the works of many of the world’s premier designers on any extended trip to Boyne Resorts. In fact, the Monument Course at Boyne Mountain incorporates holes inspired by the greatest holes of Dr. Alister Mackenzie, George Fazio, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and Pete Dye. And speaking of Jones, Sr., his 1966 masterpiece The Heather Golf Course is located at The Highlands at Harbor Springs and remains one of Michigan’s premier layouts.
Along with The Heather and the Donald Ross Memorial Course, the Highlands at Harbor Springs Resort also features the roiling and rolling Arthur Hills Course. Any golf trip should necessarily include this track on the itinerary as the par-5 No. 13 begins from a tee built on top of the world and descends across and over a valley before climbing up and then down a knoll toward a massive green.
“As everyone knows, the golf industry has experienced an amazing growth spurt following the pandemic years,” said Ken Griffin, director of sales and marketing. “We’ve seen new interest in golf by couples, women, juniors and groups. Golf has always been a social game of inclusiveness. We have responded to these new channels with an entire reimaging of our properties, including expanded spa services, new luxury accommodations at The Highlands at Harbor Springs and Boyne Mountain Resort, and food offerings that span all preferences from grab-and-go to fine dining.”
Along with amenities that include swimming pools, an indoor waterpark, ziplining, horseback riding and Segway tours, the resorts continue to expand with a European Spa and a steakhouse in development at the Highlands and a 1,203-feet-long pedestrian Sky Bridge at Boyne Mountain to provide exhilarating views and light displays of that vast property.
“We pride ourselves on creating unique ways to enhance the Boyne experience,” Griffin said. “We want to provide ‘wow experiences’ to both new guests and return guests.”
Golf, of course, remains a point of emphasis at all three Boyne Resorts. Located in Boyne Falls, Boyne Mountain is renowned across all of Michigan for its popular ski hills. Parts of those hills serve double duty during spring, summer and fall in the designs of both the Alpine and Monument courses.
Players get to understand the size and scale of both courses right out of the gate as the ride between the clubhouse and the first tee takes you up the mountain for a magnificent view and tees us towering drives toward fairways below. The Monument Course incorporates the aforementioned tribute holes while The Alpine Course – which serves as annual host to the Michigan PGA’s Tournament of Champions — offers up breathtaking views on holes lined with soaring trees.
Designed by Art Hills, the 27 holes at Bay Harbor are actually three unique 9-hole courses each with different landscapes. The Links takes players alongside cliffs hugging Lake Michigan. The Scottish links-inspired course is highlighted by the stunning par-5 No. 7 that serves up a huge tee shot landing area in between mounds and thick rough. Following a well-placed second shot which avoids the perilous right side of the fairway, the approach must keep to the right side of the putting surface which hovers above the lake. You will need an additional few minutes following the hole to take photos of your foursome standing behind this green seemingly on the edge of the world.
The Quarry nine is a reminder of that property’s humble roots as grounds of a cement factory that was decommissioned in the 1980s. One hole calls for a tee shot over a 40-foot gorge while others weave around the quarry and around natural ponds and wetlands. The par-3 No. 8 features Lake Michigan as both a backdrop and a hazard behind the green. No. 9 is a memorable finishing hole lined by the lake on the left and drops down to a huge green protected on the right side by a massive bunker.
The Preserve is nestled in hardwood forest and abounds with wildflowers, native wetlands and an abundance of wildlife. Following 8 holes through the woods, the course ends on a 186-yd. par-3 featuring a sloping green postured above the crystal blue waters of Lake Michigan.
Located just across the highway from Bay Harbor, Crooked Tree Golf Club provides 18 perfectly manicured championship holes perched high on bluffs overlooking Little Traverse Bay. No trip to Bay Harbor is complete without drinks and dinner at the opulent Inn at Bay Harbor, a Marriott Collection Hotel. A gourmet dinner on the veranda overlooking the lake will make for the most memorable meals of your year.
In 2025, two new golf experiences will open at The Highlands at Harbor Springs. The highly anticipated Doon Brae Short Course and a massive Himalayas-style putting green. Designed by Ray Hearn, the Doon Brae par-3 course is built along the base of the property’s sprawling ski hill. The new putting green will also be located right off the backside of the Main Lodge.
In coming years, possible additions include a music venue, an outdoor sports complex, a new beach house and perhaps even a new Pete Dye-designed golf course that was planned for the property years ago.
“Our vision of Boyne Resorts goes well beyond 2030,” said Friedrich. “If you like what we have offered golfers, families and couples up until now, stay tuned for even greater and better experiences in coming days, months and years.”
To book a trip or for more information, visit here or call 855.586.0290 to speak with a Boyne Golf Experience Agent
