By Barry Cronin, Editor Chicago District Golfer
The first part of Barry Cronin’s Michigan Golf Odyssey can be found in March issue of Michigan Golf Journal and featured Gull Lake View Resort, Tullymore Golf Club, St. Ives and Forest Dunes.
Forest Dunes was my last stop in Part 1. Heading about 90 miles farther north through Michigan’s tall pines and forgotten small towns sits the granddaddy of all the great Michigan golf resorts, BOYNE. It’s welcoming halo extends across the state with 10 Magnificent Courses and is the biggest resort in the state.
BOYNE was originally a haven for skiers, but over the last half-century it has evolved. Today, in addition to being a premier winter destination, it now owns 10 golf courses, known collectively as Boyne Golf, that serve golfers of all levels from the single digit handicapper to beginners and “infrequents” who pick up their clubs strictly while on vacation.
In 1966, BOYNE founder Everett Kircher hired Robert Trent Jones, Sr. to design the resort’s first course, The Heather, to provide a summer activity for guests and to keep his work force busy, once the ski season ended. The Heather turned out so well, it was recognized by Golf Digest and Golf magazines for its excellence. In 2019, the Heather was recognized as the ‘Course of the Year’ by the National Golf Course Owner’s Association.
Over the years, Kircher and his successors continued to build and acquire more courses. In addition to The Heather, golf aficionados will appreciate The Hills, the Donald Ross Memorial and the ridiculously spectacular 27 holes at the Bay Harbor Club, which plays along Lake Michigan and Little Traverse Bay. You can say the views at Bay Harbor are breathtaking, magnificent and awe-inspiring, but all would be an understatement.
Something new for 2024, a nine-hole short course, Doon Brae, plus a Himalayas-style putting green are under construction near the Main Lodge at The Highlands location and will open for play later this summer.
BOYNE has the resort thing down and can easily handle family vacations, couple’s escapes, buddy’s trips and girl’s getaways. Rooms feature uber-comfortable beds made especially for the resort by a manufacturer near Detroit.
The 15-year veteran omelet cook in the restaurant at the Main Lodge worked with the speed, efficiency and quality of Tom Brady diagnosing an opposing defense.
Plus, there is plenty to do beyond golf at BOYNE. Do we really need to play 36 a day?
Forget about your three-putts with a walk on the new Skybridge Michigan, the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge overlooking Boyne Mountain and environs. BOYNE also has multiple spas at Boyne Mountain and Bay Harbor, as well as The Highlands.
There is also a Zipline Adventure, chairlift rides and fishing, as well as hiking and biking.
If you enjoy five-star accommodations, book a room at Chalet Edelweiss; you’ll think you’re at the Four Seasons. Want to hit the local community? A 10-minute drive takes you to the sparkling waterfront resort village of Harbor Springs, where art galleries, restaurants, fudge shops and clothing retailers conspire to make you wonder why you don’t stay all year.
After spending time at BOYNE Resort I didn’t think my trip could get any better, but there is so much wonderful golf in Michigan to completely sate an golfing appetite.
A short 40-minute drive from Boyne to Charlevoix brings you to the historic Belvedere Golf Club. Designed in 1923 by storied architect William Watson, Belvedere is the course that has definitely survived the test of time and a who’s who among golf’s great champions have played.
A young Tom Watson honed his skills at Belvedere while on summer family vacations. Watson and his father played their final round together here. I was told that Tom Watson had come to play the course by himself, just three weeks before my visit and he still has a locker in the members’ clubhouse.
Belvedere’s signature hole is № 16 and the assistant pro told me an interesting story. When Ken Venturi was playing a Senior PGA Tour event in Traverse City in the early 1990’s, he came into the tiny white clapboard pro shop and announced that a friend had told him he just had to see the 16th hole, a classic short par 4. “Who’s your friend?” the head pro asked. “Gene Sarazen,” Venturi replied. He was promptly taken to № 16.
Belvedere is a private club, but non-members are allowed to play. Contact head pro Marty Joy, who helped oversee Bruce Hepner’s 2017 course renovation after William Watson’s long lost original plans were discovered in a building in Charlevoix prior to its demolition. He also maintains the small shop that is more like a museum of the Hall of Fame golfers that have played at Belvedere.
Watch for Part 3 of Barry Cronin’s Most Excellent Michigan Golf Odyssey in our May issue.
Reprinted by permission from Barry Cronin and Chicago District Golfer.
