Last week I traveled to Northern Michigan with eleven other gentlemen (ahem) to enjoy the delights of one of Northern Michigan's finest golf resorts, Treetops. It was my ninth visit to the resort but first since 2007. And I must say, the resort is aging well.

Because the golf courses are open to the public, it is not necessary to stay at the resort to have access to golf. For that reason, we chose to stay at a 3850 sq. ft. log home in the Michaywe residential community several miles south of the resort. Needless to say, there was plenty of room.

Our late summer sojourns to Michigan's finest resorts normally run from Sunday to Wednesday. Sunday is our "travel north" day and many in the group choose to play golf on the way up. This year, we selected The Nightmare in West Branch, an hour south of the log home, and were delighted with our choice.

We played at The Treetops from Monday to Wednesday before leaving for home.

The Nightmare is one of two courses owned by brothers Tom and Dan Courtemanche. Their story is interesting. Their father Art, owner of a small trucking business that included some trucks, a bulldozer, a front-end loader and excavator, built a golf course in the late 1960's in Pinconning, MI. with the help of his sons. His sons shared a dream to own and operate their own course and when they finally acquired property in 1994, built their first course. The called it The Dream and it opened for play in 1997.

Five years later, another piece of property one mile west of The Dream became available and their second course, which could only be named The Nightmare, opened for play in 2003.

Our weather was spectacular, upper 70's with light winds and we thoroughly enjoyed the course. The course was in tip-top condition, play was light, and we payed a bargain rate of $45. And we were stunned when we discovered the course allows beverages to be carried onto the course and that coolers and ice are provided!

The Nightmare has gently rolling terrain with a good amount of elevation change, bent grass fairways, and extremely large greens with some undulation. There are only five water hazards that are in play and for the most part, large hardwood trees border the fairways.  

​I have no doubt we will return to play The Dream during a future trip.

​In 1987 the last major golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. opened for play at the Sylvan Ski Resort (soon to be renamed The Treetops). Called The Masterpiece, this course is my favorite of all the courses in the Gaylord area. It was the very first course I played on my very first "buddies trip" in September,1989. It's also the most challenging at Treetops. This course was also the course that jump-started Gaylord's place as one of the best golf destinations in the Midwest. There are now fifteen courses to choose from in Gaylord and in addition to Jones, Sr., there are designs by Jones, Jr., Rees Jones, Tom Fazio, Rick Smith, Jerry Matthews, and Gary Koch.

The Jones Masterpiece course is the only Treetops course on the original property. The remaining four are located at a separate property less than ten minutes north.

On Monday, we played the Smith Signature course. It was an overcast day with pleasant temperatures. The course was designed by Rick Smith, one of Phil Mickelson's former instructors, and is his first 18 hole design. Opened for play in 1993, the course was rated as high as 23 on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 You Can Play" list before dropping off in 2000. It is still rated a Top 50 Course for Women. The course features stunning elevation changes and has tough undulating greens. Some people consider it the toughest of the courses at Treetops but the fairways are wide and the course less punishing for that reason. It is unique in that it has a par of 70.​

Tuesday was our day for multiple rounds. We played the Fazio Premier course in the morning. In the afternoon, I played the Smith Tradition course (as I had yet to play it) while the others played The Threetops Par 3 course. Like Sunday, we had fantastic weather all day.

​The Fazio Premier is the only Fazio design in the entire state of Michigan. It was rated as high as 24 on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 You Can Play" list before falling off the list in 2002. I think it's the most fun of all the courses at the resort. It too has wide fairways. And many of the fairways funnel drives away from trouble. The Fazio has more elevation change than the Smith Signature and you will find several holes where the green is quite a ways above the fairway. So too, you will find holes where the tee is way above the green. For instance, the seventh, a short par four, requires a shot to an elevated green; the eighth, a par three, requires a shot to a green 80 feet below the tee; and the ninth, a par four, requires a drive down into a valley and a second shot up to a narrow elevated green. One of my favorite holes is the short par four 15th, a dogleg right with a two tiered green. It is a boomerang shaped green with the back half of the green ten feet below the front half.

When Fazio was asked to name a signature hole, he quipped "All of them."

The Threetops gained notoriety when it became the site of ESPN's made for television Par 3 Shootout featuring the likes of Nicklaus, Palmer, Trevino, Couples, Floyd and Mickelson. Trevino famously aced the 7th hole to win one million dollars. It is Rick Smith's first design and features unbelievable elevation changes. The third hole is known as "Devil's Drop" and is the longest hole on the course at 219 yards. But the drop from tee to green is 145 feet so the hole plays considerably shorter. You can only imagine how long the ball stays in the air. The Threetops is fun to play...once.

The Smith Tradition, opened in 1997, was originally intended to be a walking only course. This is the course I played while the others played Threetops. It pays homage to golf's early beginnings and features short wooden pins, pennant flags, and wooden rakes. The Tradition is a little rough around the edges by design and relatively flat. Tees are in close proximity to the previous green. The greens are somewhat small and most of the fairways are huge. It's the shortest course of the four regulations courses and the easiest. It plays to a par of 70/71. It was nearly empty the afternoon I played it.​ As an added point, since it was originally only for walkers, there are no cart paths.

I won't soon forget the long drive from the clubhouse to the first tee. It easily took ten minutes and is one of the longer treks from clubhouse to first tee you will find in the game of golf.

Wednesday was the day for our biggest challenge, the Jones Masterpiece. And the weather took a turn for the worse. While we had bright sunshine as we teed off on hole one, the day became overcast and by hole eight, we were subjected to light showers and a bit of wind.

But the course is absolutely awesome. It is located at the headwaters of the Pigeon River and features natural valleys and ravines. There is significant elevation change, especially the par 3 sixth. It is the signature hole on the course, the resort, and maybe in all of Michigan. It features a 120 foot vertical drop from tee to green. It was while standing on the sixth tee that Jones coined the name "Treetops" as you can see miles and miles of tree tops from that vantage point.

You need to drive the ball well on this course as the fairways are not golfer friendly like the Fazio course. Errant drives will be thrown into wooded areas, many times into deep ravines. The course begins and ends with a par five hole. Hole eight has a peninsula green and hole nine has an island tee. Big hitters will try to drive the fifteenth green as the tee is high above the fairway. The last 200 yards of hole eighteen plays through a natural ravine to an elevated green. The Masterpiece has a slope of 147 from the tips. Deservedly so.

I love this course and can't wait to play it again. It is one of the courses I play many times in my mind. But I must say, if you are like most people, you will recall the beauty of the course before you will recall any of the holes.

While there are dining options at the resort, I wasn't blown away by our Sunday evening meal at Legends on the Hill, the resort's sports bar. It wasn't very crowded yet service was poor.

There are many dining options in downtown Gaylord. There are two microbreweries (Snowbelt Brewing Company and Big Buck Brewery) and numerous restaurants.

​We ate dinners at Tap Room 32 (very good) and the Iron Pig Smokehouse (just OK). And there are several cafes open early for breakfast.

It's never a good idea to pass up the opportunity to play golf courses new to you. At the tail end of my quick trip to the new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs, I was able to add three more courses in Muskegon and Grand Rapids.

Having left Fort Wayne at 4:30 AM on October 16, I covered the 314 miles in just over 4.5 hours and reached the South Course in Arcadia, MI at 9:00 in time for a 9:30 tee time. I am telling you, it was the windiest day of the year with gusts over 40 MPH. You can read my review of the South Course elsewhere on this site.

I want to focus on the three courses I played following the South Course.

I spent the night in Muskegon near many chain restaurants.

An hour southeast of Muskegon is the Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe. I had the first tee time and of course, was able to enjoy a leisurely round. It was a calm, overcast day with the temperature in the upper 40's.

The Thornapple River is the backdrop for the course that has bentgrass fairways and tees, gently rolling hills, and hardwood lined fairways.

The carts are equipped with a GPS system much like many of today's upscale courses. I paid a senior rate of $30 to play the track. Of course, this was a fall senior rate and during the high season, the rate will be in the mid-50 dollar range.

Thornapple Pointe was the best of the three courses I played to end my northward excursion.

Seven miles south of Thornapple Pointe in Alto, MI was the final course of the trio, Saskatoon Golf Club, a 36 hole complex with four nines cleverly named Red, White, Blue and Gold. This late in the season, course maintenance had closed the White and Blue nines so I played the shorter Red/Gold combination at a little over 6000 yards.

Like the other courses, Saskatoon plays through hardwood and pine trees but is speckled with quite a bit more water. The Red nine opened in 1964 and is the shortest nine at just over 3000 yards. It has gently rolling hills with water in play from holes four to seven. The Gold nine is a traditional European-style links course that plays up to 3300 yards. It opened in 1992. Two of the holes have water. Number two is a fabulous risk/reward hole over water where you decide just how much you want to bite off with your tee shot. Number eight is a short par 4 that plays to a green surrounded by water.

While I did not play the White nine, it is carved out of towering pines and is the longest of the nines at 3440 yards. It is usually paired with the Blue nine which plays a short 2900 yards with water on holes five through eight.

I paid a senior rate of $30 for my round.

The course was virtually empty so I played in just slightly over two hours. 

I was home just 36 hours after I left Fort Wayne having played a course at Arcadia Bluffs that is going to receive many accolades and could even make it onto some of the Top 100 lists followed by three more fine golf courses in midwest Michigan.

I've now played 146 unique courses in the state of Michigan and as I've stated many times on this blog, Michigan remains my favorite state to play golf. I can't wait to sample more of its offerings in 2019. 

Last fall, I played the newly opened South Course at Arcadia Bluffs. While obviously not yet mature and not even assigned a slope or course rating, it's a beauty. I LOVE THIS COURSE! It will be one of the more unique courses you have played. It stands in stark contrast to the crown jewel at Arcadia Bluffs, the Bluffs Course overlooking Lake Michigan.

This course has a feature extremely important to me: walkability. Previous greens are in the proximity of the next tee and the elevation changes on the property are not extreme. And the course facilitates walking with a fleet of pull carts if you don't want to put your bag on your shoulder.

I've been a long time fan of the Bluffs Course at Arcadia Bluffs. Opened in 1999 and ranked 13th on Golf Digest's 2017 "America's Greatest Public Courses" list and 36th on Golf Magazine's 2016 "Top 100 You Can Play" list, it's an absolute "must play" course. And now you have two reasons to make the trip as the South Course has made its debut.

I first played the Bluffs Course in 2000 and whenever I'm in northwest Michigan, I try to make it a stop. Sometime in 2016, I learned a second course at Arcadia Bluffs, the South Course, was in the works. It is about a mile south of The Bluffs course and on the east side of M-22. When I last played the Bluffs Course in summer, 2017, the new course had been shaped and plans were in place for a Fall, 2018 opening.

The South Course will have its own clubhouse which was under construction at the time of this writing and scheduled to open late summer of 2019. And more lodging options are in the works.
​
While the Bluffs Course might beat you up a bit, the South Course is much more playable. Each nine plays in a loop so you will play in all directions, north, south, east, and west during each nine. The fairways are wide and run fast. If you can avoid the many varied bunkers, you will score. With one caveat: the greens are HUGE! Good putters will have an advantage as three and four putts will be common until you understand which zone of the green on which to place your approach shot.

Let me back up a bit and provide some background on the course. The course is built on 311 acres of sandy ground that was once the site of an apple and peach orchard. Resort owner Rich Postma hired architect Dana Fry (who had previously worked on gems Erin Hills and Calusa Pines among others) and partner Jason Straka. Fry recommended the land be cleared and injected with design features in homage to Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor, titans of early 20th century course design. Rich Postma loved this idea as it just so happens he is a big fan of the Chicago Golf Club, Macdonald's 1896 gem in Wheaton, IL that was later renovated in 1923 by Raynor.

I will not give you a hole by hole breakdown. But here is what you will see on this course:

Rectangular tees with sharp right angles.

Huge greens averaging 9400 square feet. Squared-off greens (not every green but you will see greens with right angles - for instance, the second green is square in front with rounded back edges; this green also has a Y-shaped swale through its heart for diverting water but it does a better job of diverting golf balls); a square green with rounded edges facing you like a baseball diamond (the sixth); a rectangular green minus the front left quarter which is consumed by an L-shaped bunker front and left (the eighth); a horseshoe shaped green with a bunker inside the horseshoe (the twelfth); a punch-bowl green with a trench across the surface that's like a Biarritz green (the thirteenth); and a humpback green (the fifteenth). Many of these greens have edges that funnel into green-side bunkers.

There are many flat-floored fairway bunkers, pit and pot bunkers, Spectacle bunkers 50 yards or so short of the ninth green in homage to Carnoustie, even a set of bunkers on the seventeenth hole that mimic Oakmont's church pew bunkers. The bunker faces are not severe. If you end up in a bunker (and it is likely you will on this course), you have a chance to recover. I don't think I saw a bunker deeper than six feet.

Massive fairways (up to 70 yards wide) framed by rows of tall fescue that run and run.

Closely mowed aprons that extend well off the greens that invite all kinds of creative short game options.

The South Course is firm and plays fast. I am in love with this style of course. Think of Chambers Bay, Erin Hills, Sand Valley, Mammoth Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Gamble Sands and Mossy Oak without the elevation changes. Good comparisons from an elevation change and fast/firmness standpoint include Tom Doak's The Loop in Roscommon, MI, his Old Macdonald course in Bandon, OR and his Blue Course at Streamsong in Florida.

Although easier than its sister Bluffs course, the South Course won't be tamed on your first try. It is a course that will not beat you up but it is one that needs to be studied. I fell in love with it during my first loop but I am sure it will need to grow on most golfers.

From a rate standpoint, your best bet is the Fall rate beginning early October with a walk-on rate of $75. During peak summer times, the rate is $160 with a Tuesday senior rate of $100.

All in all, this is a terrific addition to the resort.​

​A little over two years ago, The Loop, Tom Doak's reversible golf course in Roscommon, MI opened for limited public play. The date was June 27, 2016. The course, or should I say courses, is a part of the Forest Dunes Resort and in fact, is right across the street from the resort's signature course.

There is nothing like it in North America and while certainly there may be other examples, I am aware of only one other 18 hole example in the entire world--arguably the most iconic course in the world, The Old Course at St. Andrews, was built to be played in two directions.

I was scheduled to play The Loop in August, 2016 along with several friends but an unfortunate medical issue caused me to surrender my slot. My friends who did get to sample the course reported it was not quite ready for public play as there were many areas of the course that lacked grass.

Fast-forward to the last week of August, 2018 when I finally was able to see the course for myself.

​I was a part of a group from Coyote Creek Golf Club in Fort Wayne, IN who scheduled a three day, two night stay at Forest Dunes Resort. We would stay in one of the cottages onsite and play one round of golf on the Forest Dunes course each day from Monday to Wednesday. And I, as the only walker in the group who had yet to play The Loop course, would add a morning round on Monday and Tuesday before joining the others for the afternoon round.

​My round at The Loop's Black Course was scheduled to begin at 8:03 A.M. Monday. We were staying in Mt. Pleasant, MI and severe storms began during the overnight hours. I left the hotel at 6:00 A.M.for the 80 minute drive and drove at a reduced speed through persistent thunderstorms nearly the whole way. When I arrived at the resort, I immediately checked with the pro shop to determine the likelihood I'd be able to play. Having already played the Forest Dunes course several times, my plan was to forgo rounds on that course if necessary to be sure I could play both the Black and Red routings of The Loop.

I had the good fortune of being the only scheduled round on the course until 10:30. I knew I could walk the course in two and a half hours and still make the afternoon tee time with the rest of the group. So that gave me some time to allow the rains to subside a bit.

There's nothing like a final, late summer excursion to put the lid on the year's travel season.

​I was a part of a group from Coyote Creek Golf Club in Fort Wayne, IN that scheduled a three day, two night stay at Forest Dunes Resort in mid-Michigan. We would stay in a spacious five bedroom home onsite and play three rounds of golf on the Forest Dunes course (a Tom Weiskopf design ranked number 21 on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list and the number one public course in the state of Michigan), one each day from Monday to Wednesday. And I, as the only walker in the group who had yet to play The Loop course (Tom Doak's reversible course tapped by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest as their Top New Course for 2016) would add a morning round on Monday and Tuesday before joining the others for the afternoon round.

​​We left Fort Wayne in the morning of the last Sunday in August. We were headed for Mt. Pleasant, MI where we would play an afternoon round at Buck's Run Golf Club. While the weather was perfect that day, we knew there was severe weather to the west that would impact our trip.

We arrived at Buck's Run well before our twilight tee time and took the time to enjoy a few beers and appetizers at the course's Quarry Grill. We sat on the deck overlooking the Putting Island at Buck's Run, an 18 hole grass putting course in the middle of a large lake.

The course sits on 290 acres spread across natural wetlands, wooded areas, river frontage, and beautiful lakes. It has four sets of tees and plays at 6765 yards from the back tees with a slope of 130 and course rating of 72.0.

Tom Putman, one of the members of our group decided to be bold and rented one of Bucks Runs' golf boards. The bag sits at the front of the board and you control the board by leaning left or right. Tom explained it was quite a bit more physical than he imagined and he was more tired at the end of the round than the others.

Bucks Run is not an easy course for the first time player but over time, familiarity with the course will lead to better scores. It is important to select the correct set of tees. Each nine starts with an easy hole and ends with a hole where water comes into play. The course is a Jerry Matthews design and in my opinion, is the top golf course in the Mt. Pleasant area.

​We left the course and spent Sunday night in Mt. Pleasant. While the Soaring Eagle Casino is less than 4 miles west of the course, we stayed close to the campus of Central Michigan University which required a bit of backtracking.

​Most of us would make a leisurely drive the next morning to the resort for the Monday afternoon round at Forest Dunes.

Everybody but me, that is. My round at The Loop's Black Course was scheduled to begin at 8:03 A.M. Monday. Severe storms began during the overnight hours I left the hotel for the 80 minute drive to Roscommon at 6:00 A.M. I drove at a reduced speed through persistent thunder storms nearly the whole way, especially after a bit of hydroplaning. When I arrived at the resort, I immediately checked with the pro shop to determine the likelihood I'd be able to play. Having already played the Forest Dunes course several times, my plan was to forgo rounds on that course if necessary to be sure I could play both the Black and Red routings of The Loop.

I had the good fortune of being the only scheduled round on the course until 10:30. I knew I could walk the course in two and a half hours and still make the afternoon tee time with the rest of the group. So that gave me some time to allow the rains to subside a bit.

​I took the time to get settled in the house before heading to The Loop hoping the weather cooperated.

Where do I begin? Let me just state right off the bat that Michigan is far and away my favorite state in the union to play golf. It's a shame the Michigan golf season is no longer than eight months and that's stretching it. Michigan trails only California in courses that are on or have been on Golf Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list. California has 19. Michigan is tied with Arizona with 15.

I've played 139 courses in Michigan, by far the most of any state. And as far as the one course I'd select to play for the rest of my life, it's the Heather Course at Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs, MI. It's challenging, it's fun, and has some of the toughest greens to read in the country. The Heather was on Golf Magazine's list from 1996 to 2000 and is a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. design that opened in 1968.

A group of golfers from Coyote Creek Golf Club in Fort Wayne, IN took a brief four day trip to Michigan the last week of July, playing five different courses in Western Michigan.

We began with a Sunday round at Pilgrim's Run, a well-conditioned and fun to play course in Pierson, MI. Pilgrim's Run made a brief stop on Golf Magazine's 2002 list at number 98. It plays through tall pines and black oaks and sports seven different sets of tees and will provide a comfortable round for you.

The University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, MI was ranked 79th on Golf Magazine's very first "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" list, published in 1996. And it has never been ranked again. Designed by Alister McKenzie and opened in 1931, it is a true gem. While considered a private golf course, it is open to people with a University of Michigan affiliation.

Less than three hours from Fort Wayne, IN, I didn't play it until July 5, 2016. And I have no good excuse that it took me so long. My brother has the affiliation required yet, I never took the time to play it.

Shame on me. What a gem! I've played several other McKenzie courses, most notably Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz, CA and Crystal Downs in Frankfurt, MI.

One of Crystal Downs' many notable features is the boomerang green of the seventh hole. It's higher on the upper right than the front of the green but McKenzie designed the surface in such a way that a skilled golfer can use the contours of the green to get close to a hole no matter where his ball lies in relation to the hole. All three times I played Crystal Downs, I took the time to hit many putts from one end of the seventh green to the other. It is genius.

​Imagine my surprise when I discovered the sixth green at the University of Michigan course. It too is a boomerang green. Much larger in size than the one at Crystal Downs, it sits at the end of a short par four that plays 308 yards from the back tee. Like Crystal Downs, it wraps around a large bunker, is much higher in back than front but runs to the left as opposed to the right at Crystal Downs.

When it opened in 1931, it became just the fourth course located on a college campus. It's right across the street from the Big House. An early 1990's renovation was completed by Arthur Hills, a University of Michigan graduate, in 1994.

Just six weeks before I played, a brand new 23,000 square foot clubhouse was dedicated. A patio complete with a fire pit and outdoor seating and a new practice green sit between the clubhouse and holes 10 and 18.

There is only one other McKenzie course on a college campus and fittingly, it's Ohio State University's Scarlet Course, also opened in 1931.

If you are in the area, find a way to play this course.

With my trip to The Loop, Tom Doak's reversible golf course at Forest Dunes Resort, less than ten weeks away, I can't help thinking about my only brush with Doak's Renaissance Golf Design in Traverse City, MI.

Although based in Ft. Wayne, IN, I am a long-time Michigan golfer. With over 950 different courses in 48 different states under my belt, I can say definitively the state of Michigan is my favorite. I've played all over the state and am always looking for ways to play its most iconic courses.

One of these courses is one of the most critically acclaimed in the world and also one of the more difficult courses at which to secure a tee time. I'm talking about Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, MI, an Alister Mackenzie and Perry Maxwell design, rated number one in the state, 11th on Golf Magazine's Top 100, and 13th on Golf Digest's America's Greatest Courses. The course sits on a 100 foot sand ridge overlooking both Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan. Mackenzie drew up the routing shortly after completing his work at Cypress Point and a few years before his work with Bobby Jones on Augusta National.

Incredibly, I've now played Crystal Downs three times and indirectly, have Tom Doak to thank. Here's the story.

My good friend, Karl Mess has two daughters who played college golf. His oldest, Sara, a former Michigan State golfer, secured a job with Doak at Renaissance Golf and has participated in the development of several courses around the world. In 2005, Karl, knowing that I and another good friend, Steve (Seve) Ramp had salivated for years when thinking about playing Crystal Downs, communicated to us a unique way to play the course. Doak, a member at the course, told Sara to simply play the course the day after it closes for the season (usually November 1) or on the days before it opens for the season (usually before May 1).

We watched the weather closely as this is not a plan that works every year. Northern Michigan can be very cold, even snowy in late April and early November. In late October, 2005, the forecast was looking fabulous for early November. So we started planning. Karl would stay at Sara's apartment in Traverse City and Seve and I would stay in the intern's quarters above Doak's Renaissance Golf building.

For a warm-up, Steve and I played the back nine at nearby Champion Hill Golf Course before heading out to Crystal Downs. The course was virtually deserted. Shortly we were joined by Sara and Karl and soon, bags on our back, we headed to the first tee. What a treat! You would think the greens would be somewhat slow but the growing season was over. Just cut for a final time on October 31, the greens were fast and true...and difficult!

We spent a great deal of time at the famous horseshoe seventh green (where it is possible to hit a 90 degree putt from the front of the green to a back pin and vice-versa). We were stunned at the difficulty of the uphill par 3 ninth. And also the 11th green, a green horrifically sloped from back to front that looks flat from the tee. And we agonized over our tee shots on the 311 yard par 4, deemed by many the greatest par 4 in the world.

What a day!

And as luck would have it, a warm spring in 2007 afforded the opportunity to play the course on back to back days on 4/28 and 4/29.

I can't say for sure if this technique is still valid...but it never hurts to try. Just make sure you are prepared to carry your bag and navigate the elevation changes. And watch the weather.

Thank you Sara Mess! And thank you Tom Doak!

Footnote: Of course the clubhouse and Pro Shop were closed for the year. So I was unable to obtain a logo ball. But good friend Karl took care of that the next season on a trip to visit Sara. Thank you Karl!