A Variety of Golf at its Finest: BOYNE Golf
By Tom Lang
Whether it’s words from a pastor, a friend, or even my wife – now and then I get reminded that sometimes the best things in life are right in front of me and I did not notice.
That made me think of what the golfing equivalent could be for others, and my answer was BOYNE Golf could very well be it.
Many golfers think they have to travel far and wide for great golf, when there is nationally-ranked golf right in our backyard, where Northern Michigan is no doubt a national destination. Each of the last three years, Boyne Resorts in northern Michigan has hosted golfers from all 48 contiguous United States.
“People from all over the nation come here to golf, by flying in or making multiple day long drives because it’s so good, but (Michiganders) can do this in a short 3-4-hour drive,” said Ken Griffin, Boyne’s Director of Golf Marketing.
One reason why was backed up merely months ago when BOYNE Golf was chosen by USA Today readers as No. 1 among the 10BEST Golf Destinations in the U.S. for a golf getaway. In addition, The Highlands was ranked No. 2 in the 10BEST Golf Resort category. Also in 2025, the International Association of Golf Tourism Operators (IAGTO) named BOYNE Golf the Resort Destination of the Year for North America.
The Bay Harbor Golf Club offers 27 holes with the award-winning Links/Quarry and Preserve courses. It features a unique combination of three nines that provide open links along the Lake Michigan bluffs, some holes flowing in and out of a former rock quarry, and through the area's hardwoods. The three nines were designed by Arthur Hills. The Links course opened for play 30 years ago, in late 1996, followed by the Quarry and Preserve courses the following season in 1997. Nearby Crooked Tree Golf Club is carved through stands of centuries-old hardwoods perched on bluffs overlooking Little Traverse Bay. The entire Bay Harbor experience has been nicknamed by many as the ‘Pebble Beach of the Midwest.’
Two of the most memorable holes on The Links are No. 3 and No. 7. Hole 3 is a par 4 at 380 yards. It’s where golfers get their first wide look at the shoreline and of Bay Harbor Village. Playing out to the right will add a club or two on the approach, but the shot is from a similar elevation to the green, rather than a little below it if you go left. A huge bunker in front can be torture.
Hole 7 is iconic. It’s a 500-yard par 5 in which the entire right side hugs a cliff high above Lake Michigan. It seems to go on forever but what a beautiful journey it is.
I have known Griffin for almost 10 years now, and he doesn’t get all excited about a high ranking that comes out once in a while, “but when you keep showing up in the top three of all these tests and rankings, more than one person thinks it’s okay. It’s not just one opinion,” he said.
Michigan pro tour golfer Ryan Brehm, who has won multiple times on the Korn Ferry Tour and once on the PGA TOUR, has nothing but fondness for Boyne — and he tells other pros about it too.
“I’m reminded of some of my favorite memories with my family and friends during the numerous events and vacations that have brought me to all of the Boyne locations,” Brehm shared through a recent email. “Too many to share and some that I shouldn’t share publicly! Haha.
“And as I travel around playing tour golf, Boyne is at the top of my recommendations to play golf anywhere! It’s truly ‘God’s country’.”
The Best Golf Variety in America:
When people question why BOYNE Golf is ranked with the best courses nationally, such as Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, or a Whistling Straights experience, the quality of the courses puts Boyne in this category. And the diversity of golf courses is Boyne’s differentiator on the national level.
They asked if the golf is great at other locations, why come to Boyne? Answers all along have been the long days of daylight and the wonderful mild temperatures with low humidity, but nobody else, anywhere, has the diversity of courses.
The best example may be Pinehurst. The courses at Pinehurst are iconic, but it’s all sitting in a pine forest with sand, very little variety. Bandon Dunes is fabulous sitting on the Pacific Ocean shores but it’s all the same terrain. There is no other location in the country that has a diversity of terrain like Boyne does. For example, there’s less than 10 courses in America that are truly built into old quarries. So that distinction drastically reduces all the other choices.
Boyne’s terrain variations include:
Numerous lakeshore holes along Lake Michigan (Bay Harbor Links and Quarry)
Mountain courses with dramatic elevation changes (Boyne Mountain)
Wetland holes routed (The Heather) through an old blueberry bog. It celebrates 60 years old this 2026 season and is credited as the initiator of championship golf in Northen Michigan
A quarry course carved into a 150-year-old shale and limestone quarry (Bay Harbor Quarry)
The Hills Course (at The Highlands) featuring a 9-mile cart path, a 10-story drop from tee to green, and views of 4,000 acres of unspoiled forest with not a single building in site
“I love the variety the Boyne Golf experience provides,” Brehm added. “There are golf shots that bring you right along the shoreline of Lake Michigan and there are also tree lined holes that bring wildlife and nature to the forefront. It’s a testament to the numerous and diverse architects that have carved out their own vision around the property.”
Brehm has played in a lot of high-level competition at Boyne over the years, going back to his Junior Golf days.
“For me, Boyne Golf brings back many memories both recreationally and competitively. I can remember playing the AJGA events as a junior, the Michigan Amateur, the Tournament of Champions and many other rounds of golf with family and friends,” he said.
BOYNE Golf regularly hosts competitive events on the same courses the public plays. In addition to those Brehm mentions above, there is the State Pro-Am, and for the second time in 2026, the Great Lakes Championship for the LPGA Epson Tour returns. With a footprint featuring 11 golf courses, the resort can host such elite events year after year while maintaining ample opportunity for public play to commence uninterrupted.
“We get more social media interactions during and after the AJGA events, nationally, than we get with anything else we do all year long,” Griffin said. “It’s always been that way. We gain more new followers because of it and exposes us to that 12–18-year-old age group of a lot of golfing families.”
Such a lineup of championship courses all ‘under one roof’ also affords a treasure trove of consistency when one agronomy crew is overseeing it all. Griffin told me that their team stemps all the courses’ green speeds weekly with the goal of providing a consistent putting experience from course to course.
What’s New:
The unique and popular Donald Ross Memorial course at The Highlands has been experiencing some updates the past several years – and six holes have been updated over the past three years and are now complete. So, in 2026, all 18 holes will be fully open with no construction interruptions.
For those unaware about the revamping project, Boyne made the decision to update these Ross designs taken from other locations across the country, now that better technology allowed them to create a more accurate reproduction of Ross’ classics. This was needed as some prior unavailable original blueprints and reliance on old Polaroid images couldn’t match what today’s GPS mapping can in recreating holes down to within inches of accuracy of the Ross classics.
This will also be the first full season of the new short course, Doon Brae, that’s built on the side of the sky hill at The Highlands.
Upcoming is also the first golf season where the luxury Inn at Bay Harbor is now under Boyne Resorts umbrella rather than a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel, allowing for more expanded golf packages (we’ll explore this more in the February magazine). (Note: We have always owned it, it was just flagged as a Marriott property the past 20+ years)
Going Off Course:
Like any normal good business, Boyne wants all its guests to have a wonderful time and to do so at their properties. But they also support getting off the resort and enjoying all that northern Michigan has to offer. It’s less than one hour to Mackinaw, and much shorter to many locations along Lake Michigan.
The region offers 14 wineries and three distilleries if that’s your ‘cup of tea.’ A thriving craft beer industry and hundreds of local restaurants are conveniently located between all three resort locations and the vibrant lakeside towns of Petoskey, Boyne City and historic Harbor Springs.
As a traveling media member, I have had the occasional privaledge of visting several golf resort locations across the country. I enjoyed each one for various reasons, but in many cases, they offer great golf but not much else. Golf is their focus and that’s cool.
“At any of our three locations, you’re no more than 7 miles from a town,” Griffin reminded me. “You can reach lakeshore towns of Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Walloon Lake, and Boyne City within 10 minutes or less. We love it when you stay on property, but I’ve had media tell me that we’re the only place that says it’s okay to tell others they should try our local neighborhoods. We want you to experience it all. We want you to experience Northern Michigan.
“We think the local hospitality of Northern Michigan is second to none. The people who live and work here might be giving up something else they love (found in large cities), but it’s because they love the lifestyle here and they want to share that lifestyle. Many of the comments we hear is that people in the area are so warm and welcoming.
“You can return to Boyne time after time, and you’ll have whatever experience you want and each time it can always be different, with golf being the consistency.”
More information to be found at: https://www.boynegolf.com/
