Michigan on Your Mind…Northern Michigan Should Be!

Thoughts – Road Trip!
 
Golf Digest: Bay Harbor among Best Resorts in the Americas

In the winter we head south to escape the cold. Makes sense that in the summer we escape the heat and stay north, of course we welcome southerners to check out some of the great golf we have in these parts. All the great golf in America is not in the southern states as our friends in Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri and Michigan will attest too!

Boyne Resorts has been named one of North America’s “Premier Resorts” by GOLF Magazine. The Inn at Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Golf Club, Boyne’s flagship properties, feature 45-holes including three golf course combinations designed by Arthur Hills and the scenic Crooked Tree Golf Club, with one of the most beautiful and iconic hotels in America.

The Inn at Bay Harbor has received an Editor’s Choice Award by Golf Digest as one of the Best Golf Resorts in the Americas. The listing recognizes resorts throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Canada.

The scenic Inn at Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Golf Club, located along a seven-mile stretch of Lake Michigan in Northern Michigan, has joined other elite destinations from the Midwest including The American Club, Erin Hills, Forest Dunes, French Lick Resort, Giants Ridge, and Sand Valley.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by Golf Digest,” Bernie Friedrich, Boyne Resort’s senior vice president of golf operations, said. “The combination of these two unique properties, their spectacular location along the shores of Lake Michigan, and the service level provided to our guests makes this one of the top golf destination experiences in the country.”

Named a “Top Resort” and “Top Spa” by readers of Conde Nast Traveler, the Inn at Bay Harbor has been a must-experience destination since opening in 1998. It became a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection Hotels in 2016.

The shoreline destination, which takes guests back in time to an early 20th century resort experience, features 123 rooms including 84 suites, 22 lakeside cottages, 13 Crooked Tree cottages, world-class spa amenities and a variety of dining options and meeting space.

Complementing the beautiful Inn at Bay Harbor are 45 scenic golf holes overlooking Lake Michigan. Bay Harbor Golf Club (Golf Digest Top 100 Public Course) features 27 holes designed by Arthur Hills, which plays as three different course combinations.  The (Links/Quarry, Quarry/Preserve, Preserve/Links) combinations meander along the bluffs of Lake Michigan, trek through a rugged old limestone quarry, and wander through beautiful northern Michigan hardwoods. Crooked Tree Golf Club is perched on bluffs high above Bay Harbor. The course was sculpted through century-old hardwoods and the back nine opens to breathtaking views of Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan.

Beyond the world-class golf Boyne is centered amid one of America’s most beautiful vacation spots. The scenic Lake Michigan beach towns of Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, and Petoskey are minutes away, and a side trip to Mackinac Island is easily managed. Guests can enjoy award-winning spas, waterfront dining, sandy beaches, watersports, gaming, microbreweries, wineries, hiking, biking, tennis, zip-lining, shopping and more capped by the spectacular northern Michigan sunsets. For more information, visit BOYNEGolf.com.

In all Boyne Highlands, features 72 holes of premier golf design. The Heather was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., while the Hills Course was crafted by Arthur Hills.  In addition, the resort features The Donald Ross Memorial, which is a rendition of the legendary architect’s great holes from around the country, and the always-fun Moor course. The Highlands is the perfect buddy trip destination for golfers who like to play as many holes as they can during the long summer daylight hours northern Michigan features.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a Perfect 4-Some Golf Destination

Just a little further north, golfers seeking to escape the stress of the big city and experience a scenic and peaceful golf vacation among the rugged beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula should visit Island Resort & Casino.

Michigan has long been known as one of the top states for golf and the scenic Upper Peninsula region has quickly joined the ranks as a top golf destination with the creation of the “Perfect 4-Some” package at Island Resort & Casino, which is now available for booking.

The Perfect 4-Some package combines the best golf in the region led by the Island Resort & Casino with its Sweetgrass course and the new Sage Run course, which is scheduled to open Summer 2018. Package that with the highly acclaimed Greywalls course in Marquette, and TimberStone in nearby Iron Mountain, and golfers have the opportunity to experience a truly one of a kind golf vacation.

The Perfect 4-Some is a fully customizable package offering 3, 4, and 5-night lodging options with four rounds of golf. Package prices range from $350 – $758 depending on the time of year and single/double occupancy. Golfers will also receive $5 promo cash, $5 Bingo coupon, $5 drink coupon, $5 dinner coupon per night, and $5 off spa services at the new luxurious Drift Spa.

Golfers on the package will stay at Island Resort & Casino, 13 miles west of Escanaba, one of the Midwest’s largest golf, casino and entertainment resort destinations. The resort features 328 guest rooms including suites and a 42 –site RV Park.

Sweetgrass, designed by Paul Albanese and ranked among Golfweek’s Best Courses, as well as recognized by GOLF Magazine and Golf Digest as a Best in State ranking, features an open layout with some of the game’s most fun greens to putt (Redan, Biarritz, Island, and Double-green). In addition, the course features some wonderful strategic holes including the famous island green No. 15, and some spectacular finishing par 5 holes on each side.

Sage Run joins the celebrated Sweetgrass course at the resort for the Hannahville Indian Community and offers a contrasting style and design by Paul Albanese. The new course meanders through beautiful Upper Peninsula hardwoods and open vistas with very dramatic views. A natural drumlin, or elongated hill or ridge formed by glacial ice long ago, is the primary feature on Sage Run. Golf holes were routed up and around the hill offering a scenic variety of shots creating a fun thrill ride for golfers.

Greywalls Golf Club, designed by Mike Devries, is a part of the Marquette Golf Club, a traditional stopping point for great golf in the region for many decades. Greywalls spreads over 230 acres and combines views of Lake Superior with several natural rock outcroppings. Rounding out the foursome is the scenic Timberstone in Iron Mountain. It is one of the finest works of architect Jerry Matthews, a prolific and award-winning Michigan course designer known for fitting the course to the natural contours of the land.

Complementing the world-class golf is the variety of amenities at Island Resort & Casino, including one of the largest gaming casinos (50,000 square feet) in the Midwest, the luxurious Drift Spa and dining options for any and all tastes.

The destination is easily accessible via a pair of regional airports in Escanaba and Marquette connecting through Detroit, Saginaw, Lansing or Grand Rapids.

Island Resort & Casino also include the luxurious Drift Spa offering a variety of high-end spa services with access to the resort’s salt water pool, steam rooms and sauna.  Multiple dining options will satisfy any and every pallet!  The Island regularly hosts headline entertainment in the intimate 1,315 seat Showroom as well as weekly bands and comedy entertainers in Club 41.

For more information, visit www.islandresortandcasino.com.