By Tom Lang
In choosing a summer golf trip with my buddies we seek specific criteria. First, it has to be a summer golf destination with multiple golf courses, a place where we can play 36 holes on some days and experience a variety of different golf courses. We also want fun options for dining and lodging options that include condominiums. You see, we like to relax together in the evenings and replay all our great shots – and the more frequent almost great shots.
Recent articles in GOLFMagazine and FORBES.com confirmed my belief that BOYNE Golf would be a destination that checks off all the boxes for a great golf buddy trip vacation. BOYNE’s location in the northwest portion of lower Michigan surrounding Petoskey, where long summer days easily allow for groups to play 36 holes, or sometimes 54 if you dare. 
BOYNE Golf is home to 10 golf courses via its three resort destinations all located within 30 minutes of each other. It is the largest golf resort group in America north of the famous Pinehurst, N.C.
For diehard golf junkies like us, Boyne Highlands is the place to set up base camp. We selected the Ross Cottages, which are the perfect gathering place each night after golf. It helped that we noticed Golf.com readers selected the Highlands as the country’s “No. 1 Golf Resort for Value.”
We opened our four-day golf boondoggle with Boyne’s first-ever layout, The Heather, the 2019 National Golf Course Owners Course of the Year. The opportunity to play one of Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s early designs was a treat. The evening found us hanging out on the patio of Slopeside for pizza and drinks with a few of the tireless golf nuts playing the executive par 3 course that is under the lights and ventures up and down a ski hill. In other words, it was a perfect golf evening.
Day 2 was a golfing bonanza that started on the Donald Ross Memorial, which plays homage to one of the greatest golf course designers in history. The Ross Memorial is a wonderful rendition of 18 great Donald Ross holes from around the world, with special attention to holes and places golfers do not have the opportunity to experience. Seminole, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Pinehurst, Inverness, Bob O’Link, and Aronomick holes are among the amazing collection.
After a quick lunch in the Seminole Pub, we took on an afternoon on the Arthur Hills course. A big, bold design, it kept building in an almost suspenseful way with one fun golf hole leading to yet another. To add even more fun, we moved up a set of tee-boxes and played a combo set with the Orange and Green tees to fit our group. Boyne does an excellent job of setting tee-markers and playing it forward. Believe me, 6,100 yards was plenty for our collection of recreational amateurs.
Even the single digit handicap guys like myself found plenty of challenge and fun. Our round on the course peaked on the 13th hole, which features a downhill 150-foot drop. The view from the tee complex on the par 5 has to be the best golf view in the region. Golfers look out above beautiful hardwoods of northern Michigan for over 40 miles. Have your camera phone ready for this hole.
On that great day most of us were satisfied with 36 holes of golf, but a few of the group who obviously can’t get enough, decided to push some fun bets and take on the Moor course, which is another fun parkland style course with multiple risk-reward shots. The 9-hole two-man scramble proved to be a perfect ending to an amazing day, which concluded around 9:45 p.m.
We slept in a bit on Day 3 in anticipation of playing BOYNE Golf’s flagship property, the Inn at Bay Harbor’s Bay Harbor Golf Club. It features 27-holes (Links, Quarry, Preserve) designed by Art Hill and rated by Editor’s Choice by Golf Digest as Best Midwest Golf Resort. It is nestled dramatically along a five-mile stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline. We played the marque lineup of Links/Quarry, which was spectacular as holes ran both inland and along the bluffs overlooking the big lake.
The two contrasting nines offered an unmatched variety of holes. One minute we found ourselves playing along the cliffs bordering Lake Michigan, and the next minute we were hitting shots down through a scenic rock-quarry that finished with a peninsula par 3 reaching into the lake and a scenic closing hole wrapped along the shore.
Our fourth and final day included a stop at Boyne’s southern-most resort, Boyne Mountain, which was convenient as we were all heading south toward our homes. The Mountain offers two fun courses, the Alpine and Monument, which each offer tremendous views of nearby Deer Lake. We finished our trip on the Alpine followed by the perfect lunch setting on the patio of the Beach House, which hugs the beach at the picturesque lake.
Whether it is a group of buddies, couples, or just a trip with a significant other, Boyne is the place to go. It offers a variety of courses, lodging and package options including unlimited golf, and the best golfing value in the country with what is aptly called the Great Escape Package.
To top it off Boyne is centered amid one of America’s most beautiful vacation areas. The scenic Lake Michigan beach towns of Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, and Petoskey are minutes away, and a side trip to Mackinac Island is easily managed. Guests can enjoy award-winning spas, waterfront dining, sandy beaches, watersports, gaming, microbreweries, wineries, hiking, biking, tennis, zip-lining, shopping and more capped by the spectacular northern Michigan sunsets.
For more information on BOYNE Golf, and to plan your summer golf adventure, visit BOYNEGolf.com or call 877.741.6855
