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Two Fabulous BOYNE Golf

Properties Await in Maine

By TOM LANDERS

Ihad the opportunity to visit the Sunday Since it opened in 2005, the track has can find yourself over-reading breaks. Pick River and Sugarloaf resorts early this fall won raves from reviewers and recreational the right line and they run true.” and came away duly impressed with two golfers alike for its beauty, superb routing Jones worked his magic and incorporated of the best courses in New England, both set and challenging holes. In fact, Jones, Jr. the natural terrain and its various physical amid the wild beauty and laid back living has said that Sunday River was one of his features into the design of Sunday River, western Maine offers to visitors. most pleasurable undertakings to date. The which plays over 7,000 yards from the tips Boyne Golf, which has a splendid cache course sits on a hillside and offers sweeping and is rated as one of the toughest layouts in of resorts and golf courses in Michigan, views across the Sunday River Valley to the the Northeast. Each hole is pleasingly selfacquired Sunday River and Sugarloaf last Mahoosuc Mountain Range. contained and there are numerous elevation year. Special Play and Stay packages are I had the pleasure of playing a round changes as the course winds up and down available, allowing you to experience both with head pro Jerry Roman, who gave me the hillside. There is no water to speak properties, as well as Belgrade Lakes (not the lowdwn onn this special layout. “Sunday of and both the fairways and greens are a Boyne Golf property) in Belgrade as an Rier is an excellent routing with generous generous. But there are lots of bunkers and option. A nice golf vacation would be a fairways that make the holes approchable for forced carries over waste areas that demand two-day stay at Sunday River followed by all players. It’s playable for the mid- to high- precision off the tees and on approaches to a similar length stay at Sugarloaf with a handicap golfer, with plenty of challenge for the undulating putting surfaces. round of golf at Belgrade Lakes thrown in the single-digit handicapper.” The par-threes, several of them playing as one travels between the two Boyne Golf Jerry told me that driver is usually never from dramatically elevated tees, as well properties. out of your hands on the tee boxes and can be as the par-fives, are a strength of Sunday Tucked into the unspoiled landscape employed on almost every par-four and par- River. The 499-yard par-five first hole sets of western Maine near the Mahoosuc five. “The shorter your approach shots, the a stunning tone for the remainder of the

Mountain Range is one of the best golf better your chance you have to score here,” round. The fairway runs downhill to the courses ever designed by Robert Trent Jones, he said. “Bring your best putting stroke, the green and the putting surface can be reached

Jr., Sunday River Golf Club. greens are slopped and can be quick. You in two shots, providing you play your ball

10th Hole at Sugarloaf Golf Course

down the right side and avoid two bunkers on either side of the green.

The 425-yard-par four fifth plays shorter than its length because it’s all downhill, and the ninth, a 339-yarder, is a great example of a superb, short par-four. The tee shot and approach must carry waste areas.

Number 14 is a demanding, 213-yard par-three that is all carry over another waste area to a redan-style green.

While the downhill holes allow big hitters off the tee to approach the putting surfaces with short or mid-irons after a good drive, Jones followed a downhill hole with one working its way back up the hillside. The most notable climbs are found on numbers three, seven, eight and 15, and all call for at least one or two more clubs to get to the right yardage.

The par-four 17th is a beast from every tee marker, and according to Jerry has been

BOYNE Golf near Petoskey, Michigan

is one of the premiere golf destinations in the country for any type of golf getaway. What is important when you chose a golf vacation? A variety of quality courses, beauty of the landscape, the quality of service, affordability and accommodations are all on the list and BOYNE Golf checks all the marks.

BOYNE Golf’s ten courses and resorts in the northwest portion of Lower Michigan provides perfect summer weather and long summer days, allowing you to play 36 holes or more very easily or 18 and plenty of time to enjoy a Pure Michigan vacation. In the summer their Million Dollar Sunsets are as late as 10pm.!

BOYNE Golf has 10 magnificent courses in its impressive cache, including two in the Golf Digest Top 100 and has three distinct resorts located within 30 minutes of one another. BOYNE Golf can accommodate the needs of the most avid golfer and the casual golfer. It is the largest golf resort group in America north of the famous Pinehurst in North Carolina.

birdied only once from the back tees.

Sunday River features a comprehensive practice range with six target greens ranging from 75 to 265 yards in distance, as well as a large putting green.

The resort has over 700 condominiums, ranging from studio condos to three-bedroom townhomes, all with access to indoor and outdoor pools and saunas. Sunday River offers attractive stay and play package at the property’s Jordan Hotel, which is just two miles from the golf course.

The litle towns that dot the area have quaint shops and restaurants, while hiking and bike trails abound. There’s fishing, kayaking and canoeing for apres golf.

There are special golf courses that define and embody a region. Pebble Beach reflects the stunning beauty of the Monterey Peninsula. Augusta National sums up the charm and grace of the South. Bethpage

BOYNE Golf is comprised of three separate resorts, Boyne Mountain

Resort, Inn at Bay Harbor and Boyne

Highlands Resort, each offering unique guest experiences and activities. Guests can choose from standard hotel rooms to 5-Star accommodations at the Inn at Bay Harbor, A Marriot Autograph Resort. Or choose from condominiums, townhomes and cabins on the courses, on the water, or on the mountain.

Nearby Traverse City’s Cherry Capital airport offers direct flights from 17 major U.S. cities including Boston, Newark, LaGuardia, and Philadelphia, making BOYNE Golf an easy destination for the Northeast golfers. Other northeast airports such as Hartford and Manchester connect through Detroit or Chicago to Traverse City. A scenic 90-minute drive from Traverse City along Lake Michigan gets you to Petoskey in time for an afternoon round of golf.

Visit BOYNEGolf.com for details or call 844.884.4374

Black embodies the tumult and challenge of New York City.

Tucked into the western mountain region of Maine is a course that brilliantly captures the awesome natural beauty of northern New England: Sugarloaf Golf Club in Carabaset Valley.

One of the most scenic and challenging golf courses to be found anywhere, the Robert Trent Jones, Jr. wonder has six holes on the back side where the crystal clear Carabassett River comes into play, including the simply incredible, 216-yard par-three 11th. The tee shot is from a dramatically elevated area that offers a oneof-kind view of the blue-tinged mountains and plays across the Carabassett River to a large green.

The 401-yard 14th and the 178-yard 15th also play across the Carabassett River. It’s no wonder this stretch of holes has been called “The String of Pearls.”

I had a tough time concentrating on the golf as I played “The String of Pearls”, it’s just that gorgeous a routing. But you need to be sharp because there are forced carries that demand you hit the ball crisply and accurately. But even if don’t play well, you will leave with a truly lasting memory.

The course is consistently ranked the best in Maine and New England and among the top 100 courses in the country by various publications and rating services.

Jones, Jr. called the course, “One of the most spectacular courses I’ve ever been associated with.” The layout offers challenge Sunday River Golf Club, Hole 17

to golfers of all abilities, and shot values at Sugarloaf are high, rewarding golfers for good strikes. It’s no wonder individuals make annual treks to the resort during the summer and early fall to not only enjoy the course but also sample the multitude of recreational offerings the area has to offer.

It’s difficult not to be impressed and inspired by Sugarloaf. It is not exageraiton for me to say that the views and scenery, as well as the pure playing experience derived from “The String of Pearls”, are alone worth the price of admission.

The resort serves as an ideal base camp for all kinds of outdoor fun and frolic beyond great golf. The property has pristine views and access to the Maine wilderness, while its many lodging offerings provide a comfortable place to relax at night.

Guest services at Sugarloaf, as at Sunday River, are consistently rated among the best in the industry, ensuring an enjoyable stay for all visitors. And, like at Sunday River, nature is all around you.

Be sure to put these two courses on your must play list for 2021.

www.SundayRiver.com www.Sugarloaf.com.