SkyBridge Michigan has become a popular tourist attraction at the Boyne Mountain Resort. It stretches 1,200 feet in length and hangs 120 feet above the valley below. SkyBridge Michigan can be accessed via the historic Hemlock Scenic Chairlift, the first chairlift built in the United States and installed at Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1938. It was later transferred to Michigan and rebuilt at BOYNE, in 1948. The bridge offers spectacular panoramic views, plus the glass floor in the middle of the bridge enhances the views of the Valley floor. The number of guests that visit year-round has exceeded all expectations. The views of the surrounding Northern Michigan landscape in September and October, when the fall colors are at their peak, provide the best times to visit Michigan SkyBridge. “It’s so much about how the valley looks then,’’ said Griffin, “He added the bridge’s popularity has exceeded even our lofty expectations.” The Ross course is not a project to be taken lightly. The BOYNE hierarchy takes these renovations very seriously and wants each hole to be as accurate as possible. A fact that is reflected by the work that has been finished on the 15th hole – a replica of No. 11 at Aronimink in Pennysylvania. The original version at The Highlands had five bunkers. Now, after renovation, it has 22. “We thought what we had was the original, but it wasn’t,’’ said Griffin, “so we moved it up the line and redid it.’’ The Bay Harbor Golf Club offers three nine-hole layouts, The Links, Quarry and Preserve. The Links/Quarry combination, designed by the late Arthur Hills, may be the best of BOYNE’s 10 courses, but Crooked Tree may be a bigger success story. Harry Bowers was the original architect, and Boyne purchased the course from the family that had built it. “It’s the only of one of our 10 courses that we didn’t build.’’ said Griffin. “The last three holes (16, 17 and 18) were not good holes. Ten years ago, Crooked Tree recorded the lowest number of rounds compared to the other BOYNE courses, however, after a redesign by Arthur Hills it has become one of the top three courses guests want to play, along with the Heather and the Hills Courses.’’ BOYNE Resort is in a class by itself in the Mitten State and management’s commitment to consistent improvements will keep it so a long time in the future. American Golf Journal
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