BOYNE Golf - Always Raising the Bar
The best and biggest golf resort in America? A good argument could be made that Northern Michigan’s BOYNE Golf is among the best, especially with the efforts each year to improve what has already been fantastic.
With ten championship golf courses, the addition of a premier short course and putting course, and annual improvements to the golf, lodging, and restaurants, BOYNE Golf continues to raise its own very high bar year after year from a history now that goes back more than 75 years.
The lineup includes Bay Harbor, often called the “Pebble Beach of the Midwest” because of its breathtaking holes and views off the shores of Lake Michigan. And then there are the courses of The Highlands and Boyne Mountain properties, all unique and characterized by elevation change, incredible views, classic designs, and sterling conditions.
The destination is also known as “America’s Summer Golf Capital” for its long days and cool summer temperatures. Golfers can easily fit in 36 holes or more daily, playing well into the evening hours. BOYNE Golf is all about playing some of the best and most intriguing courses across the country.
It all started a half-century ago
Everett Kircher founded Boyne Resorts in 1947 by acquiring 40 acres of land with a modest ski hill for $1. Since then, it has become the largest family-owned golf and ski company in North America.
In the 1960s, Kircher saw a demand for golf that warranted a championship layout from a renowned architect, which, at the time, was Robert Trent Jones Sr., who created The Heather course. It opened immediately as one of the top public golf courses in the country and would be the beginning of one of the world's premier, world-class golf destinations.
Today, Kircher’s vision has been passed on to his son Stephen, an accomplished golfer who continues elevating the BOYNE Golf experience.
Recent significant upgrades to The Highlands
The Highlands, located just north of Petoskey near Harbor Springs, is undergoing the most significant transformations on and off the course. The iconic ivy-covered Main Lodge has been transformed into a high-end boutique hotel with a future spa and steakhouse planned. These upscale accommodations are reminiscent of an English country estate with Scottish Highlands charm.
The Highlands’ 72 holes of championship golf collectively offer a perfect golf experience. Groups can check into the lodge and never get back into their cars during their stay. It’s that good.
A significant part of the resort’s golf transformation occurs at the Donald Ross Memorial, built in 1989, a composite recreation of classic golf holes that Ross designed in the early part of the century at some of his most renowned courses.
Working with Michigan-based architect Ray Hearn, a Donald Ross expert, the BOYNE Golf team is making significant renovations, bringing the holes closer to their original Ross creations.
The Donald Ross Memorial has become a favorite among members and guests even while this project is ongoing. All the holes – including renditions from famous Ross courses such as Oak Hill, Oakland Hills, Pinehurst, Seminole, and Aronimink – have an “authentic” Ross look and feel.
"Our objective with every hole has been to more accurately follow Ross’s original designs; we reshaped the fairways, creating additional angles into the greens and improving shot values,” said Bernie Friedrich, Boyne Resort’s director of golf course renovation and development. “We are thrilled with how these memorable holes have turned out.”
“The opportunity we now have through technology makes this process so exciting,” he continues. “We now have more access to Ross’ original drawings, Google Earth data (past and present), CAD drawings, and, maybe most importantly, Lidar maps.”
The new short course, Doon Brae (Doon means going down into a valley, and Brae means steep bank or hillside in Scottish), will open in the spring of 2025. It was built on the former Cuff Links nine-hole par-3 course site, which is set along the hillside and doubles as a ski slope during winter.
Although the course is routed on a ski hill, Hearn focused on minimizing walking uphill. It measures 993 yards from the back tees and 678 yards from the forward tees. It features a variety of fun yardages with downhill, flat, uphill, and sidehill lies, generally moving horizontally back and forth across the slope. Holes range from 57 to 150 yards, and there are design features you might see on Scottish courses, including a Biarritz green (a large two-tiered green with a valley in the middle). A large Himalayan-style putting green will complement the short course.
“As far as I know, this is the first modern golf course ever built on a ski hill,” said Friedrich. “What excites me most is how beautiful and different it is. There are five stacked wall bunkers, and the greens are inspired by some great ones overseas. There's a lot of excitement about short courses. We want to keep people excited about golf and wanting to play. If playing 18 or 36 holes is not enough on any day, this gives golfers another option.”
The Moor Course at The Highlands, which is very player-friendly, is widely regarded as one of the members’ favorite tracks. It has also undergone renovations, including widening fairways, expanding collection areas around the greens, and tree removal. The Arthur Hills Course takes golfers through a variety of landscapes, including the hills of Northern Michigan. It reaches a pinnacle on the 13th tee with a 350-foot drop from tee to green, overlooking 4,000 acres without a building in sight.
BOYNE Golf’s flagship property
Located across Little Traverse Bay and along the shores of Lake Michigan, west of Petoskey, is the nationally esteemed Inn at Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Golf Club. Situated on the site of an old limestone quarry and a cement factory. Bay Harbor Golf Club is an Art Hills design that includes the award-winning 27 holes of Links, Quarry, and Preserve courses. It features a unique combination of open links along the Lake Michigan bluffs, holes flowing in and out of a rock quarry, and through the area’s hardwoods. Within five minutes and perched on a bluff overlooking Little Traverse Bay lies Boyne’s Crooked Tree Golf Club. The course, recently renovated, is carved through stands of century-old hardwoods offering scenic views of Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan.
Boyne Mountain is a great golf choice
The third BOYNE Golf property, the Alps-inspired Boyne Mountain, is 30 minutes south of The Highlands. The Mountain features a variety of lodging options, including the Mountain Grand Lodge, condos, and the newly renovated Chalet Edelweiss, located right on the hillside. Chalet Edelweiss offers several perks to guests, including a 24-hour self-serving spa with a steam room, sauna, and cold plunge.
The two fantastic 18-hole layouts—The Monument and The Alpine courses—offer outstanding mountainside golf and some of the state's most spectacular panoramas. The variety of golf here is refreshing, and the scenery is amazing, overlooking beautiful Deer Lake.
In addition to Boyne’s three resorts, the region’s Norman Rockwell-like lakeside resort towns of Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, Boyne City and Traverse City have long been summertime playgrounds for those in the know – attracting people from all over the world, including golfers. It’s no wonder, as the area offers outstanding golf and is the perfect buddy trip or family destination.
And it’s getting easier and easier to get to Boyne, with nonstop flights from 22 U.S cities now offering service to Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport, short connections through Chicago or Detroit to Pellston Airport in Emmet County, or private service directly into Boyne Mountain’s Airport with a 5200’ runway that recently underwent a four-million-dollar upgrade. The destination remains easily accessible by car throughout the Midwest. To score a great golf package – or for more information – visit BoyneGolf.com or call 877.269.8034.