TRAVEL
BOYNE GOLF
By Mike May
10 Great Courses • 1 Location
G
olfers dream about playing Pebble Beach, hope to play St. Andrews, and pray for a tee time at Augusta National. Those dreams, hopes, and prayers may never come true, but every golfer who craves a memorable golf getaway must travel to northern Michigan to play BOYNE Golf, one of America’s most appealing golf destinations. BOYNE Golf is best described with seven words: “ten golf courses, three resorts, one destination.” When you consider the key components of any stay-and-play golf getaway, it checks all the boxes: first-class accommodations, terrific weather, delicious food, genuine hospitality, and a cluster of championship golf courses. All ten golf courses are well designed and maintained with meticulous attention biggest memories from the Arthur Hills course to detail. Another bonus to the BOYNE Golf are the white pine trees that line the 5th fairway, experience is the daylight. You can play at least which is why the 5th should be called ‘White 54 holes on most summer days. BOYNE Golf Pine Boulevard’, and the stadium-like effect of has three destinations: Bay Harbor Golf Club, the pine trees surrounding the raised green of Boyne Highlands, and Boyne Mountain. Each the par four 10th. locale is strong enough to stand on its own as Donald Ross Memorial is a creative a desirable golf destination, but when they are collection of some of Ross’ finest holes from bundled together it rises to the top of anybody’s his classic golf course designs. The 18 holes wish list. are replications from the original design plans Bay Harbor Golf Club features 27-holes from 14 of Ross’ courses including the 6th hole of golf -- three nine-hole golf courses (Links, at Seminole Golf Club, the 14th at Scotland’s Quarry, and Preserve) and the scenic 18-hole Royal Dornoch Golf Club, and the 18th at Crooked Tree Golf Club is just down the Inverness Club. The 14 courses memorialized at road. Bay Harbor Golf Club is set along an the Ross Memorial have hosted 14 U.S. Opens, attention-getting stretch of Lake Michigan. 11 PGAs, eight U.S. Amateurs, and five Ryder At Bay Harbor, there are many views of Lake Cups. Members at Boyne Highlands often rate Michigan, but the best lakeside views are from The Moor as their favorite. Twists and turns are the tee of the par-three 8th hole of the Quarry and along the fairway of the par-five 7th hole of the Links. You must stay at the Inn at Bay Harbor, one of America’s most iconic hotels with spectacular views of Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan. The specifics on Boyne Highlands are impressive – four 18-hole golf courses. The Heather, which opened in 1966, was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and was named the 2019 National Golf Course Owners Association’s Quarry Course at Bay Harbor Golf Club Course of the Year. The two 8
Golfing Magazine • New England Edition
Arthur Hills Course at Boyne Highlands a common theme at The Moor, especially the front nine, which has four left-to-right doglegs. Accommodations at Boyne Highlands range from private cottages to rooms inside the Main Lodge. The Ross Cottages have that ‘home sweet home’ feeling, making it an ideal location for a golf buddy trip. Boyne Mountain features two 18-hole courses -- The Monument and Alpine -- along with the charming Mountain Grand Lodge & Spa, a family friendly destination and home to Michigan’s largest indoor waterpark. The first tees for both courses are a 10- minute cart ride to the top of the mountain from the golf shop. The course quality, mountain setting, abundance of wildlife, and the views of Deer Lake will bring you back to The Alpine. Golf historians always enjoy playing The Monument course. It was designed by borrowing the design tendencies from great golf course architects like Donald Ross, Dr. Alister Mackenzie, Pete Dye, and Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and pays tribute to some of America’s most accomplished and memorable golfers. Again, you don’t have to dream, hope, or pray about visiting BOYNE Golf, you just have choose dates, reserve tee times, and go play. www.BOYNEgolf.com
