Michigan destination tops USA Today’s golf list

Step aside Pinehurst and Bandon Dunes, there’s a new No. 1 in USA Today’s list of the best U.S. golf destinations – Boyne Golf, a collection of 11 courses spread among three affiliated resorts in and around Petoskey, Michigan.

On top of that, one of Boyne’s properties – The Highlands at Harbor Springs – comes in at No. 2 in the newspaper’s list of the country’s best golf resorts, behind only Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks region.

Alabama’s Gulf Coast – Orange Beach and Gulf Shores – are ranked No. 6 on USA Today’s best-destinations list.

The distinction between a golf destination and a resort works in Boyne’s favor. Its three properties – The Highlands, Boyne Mountain and the Inn at Bay Harbor – and their 11 courses are no farther apart than a 40-minute drive.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by USA Today 10BEST, alongside some of the best golf destinations in the country,” said Josh Richter, a PGA professional and senior vice president of golf operations for Boyne Golf.

Boyne Golf’s flagship property, situated along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, is the nationally recognized Inn at Bay Harbor and the Bay Harbor Golf Club, a high-end property located on an old limestone quarry and the site of a former cement plant. The Bay Harbor Golf Club, designed by Arthur Hills, offers 27 holes, the Links/Quarry and Preserve nines.

Boyne Mountain, is located 36 minutes south of The Highlands, features a variety of lodging options, including the Mountain Grand Lodge, condos, and the new Chalet Edelweiss, a ski-themed hotel located on a hillside above the main resort. Boyne Mountain has two 18-hole courses.

Boyne’s resorts are near Petoskey, Michigan

All of the Boyne courses are: the Monument, Alpine, Heather, the Bay Harbor Club’s Links,Quarry/Preserve courses, the Donald Ross Memorial, The Highlands, The Moor, the Doon Brase short course and the Crooked Tree Golf Club.  

Along with Arthur Hills, designers of courses at Boyne include Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Donald Ross, the last in the sense that the Donald Ross Memorial Course is a collection of 18 holes that have been replicate in exacting detail taken from Ross’s designs at courses that include Seminole, Aronimink and Charlotte Country Club.

Here’s the full USA Today list of the best golf destinations:

1. Boyne
2. Lake of the Ozarks
3. George, Utah
4. Coastal Mississippi
5. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
6. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama
7. Tucson, Arizona
8. Pinehurst, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, North Carolina
9. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
10. French Lick, Indiana

Here is the full USA Today list of the best resorts

1. Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Missouri
2. The Highlands at Harbor Spring
3. The Omni Homstead Resort, Hot Springs, Virginia
4. Four Seasons Resort Lanai, Hawaii
5. Innisbrook Resort, Palm Habor, Florida
6. French Lick Resort, Indiana
7. Barnsley Resort, Blairsville, Georgia
8. Nemacolin Resort, Farmington, Pennsylvania
9. The Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast, California
10. Bandon Dunes Resort, Bandon, Oregon

Dan Vukelich is the Online Editor of Alabama Golf News. Reach him at dan@alabamagolfnews.com

Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email editor Gregg Dewalt at bamagolfnews@gmail.com

Featured image pf Bay Harbor Golf Club  courtesy of Boyne Golf