Northern Michigan: Long Weekend Golf Guide (3 Days)

Northern Michigan is a driving destination, and the geography rewards a focused itinerary. The region's best courses are spread across a corridor that runs from Traverse City north to Petoskey and inland to Roscommon, with drive times between properties ranging from thirty minutes to two hours. A three-day trip cannot cover everything, but it can capture three of the region's strongest courses with reasonable logistics and minimal wasted time on the road. The Northern Michigan complete guide covers the full range for longer trips.

Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) in Traverse City is the primary commercial gateway, with seasonal service from several major hubs. Pellston Regional Airport (PLN) near Petoskey serves the northern portion of the region. A rental car is non-negotiable; public transit between courses does not exist in any practical form.

Day 1: Arcadia Bluffs

The Rick Smith and Warren Henderson design plays across open, windswept terrain that draws comparisons to links golf, though the sandy soil and fescue grasses do the work of evoking that character rather than any forced imitation. The par-3 twelfth, playing directly toward the lake from an elevated tee, is among the most photographed holes in American golf.

Arcadia Bluffs sits on a bluff 180 feet above Lake Michigan, south of Frankfort, and it is one of the most visually striking courses in the Midwest.

An arrival at TVC on the morning flight allows a 75-minute drive to Arcadia and an afternoon tee time. Walking with a caddie is the recommended format; the bluff-top terrain has elevation change that feels substantial, and the caddie's wind reads are valuable on a course where the lake breeze affects every club selection. The course is in strong condition from June through September, with July and August offering the warmest temperatures and longest daylight.

Arcadia Bluffs now offers on-site lodging, making it possible to stay at the course and eliminate the evening drive. The accommodations are comfortable without pretension, and the on-site dining is adequate for a post-round dinner. The sunset over Lake Michigan from the clubhouse terrace is the kind of experience that requires no editorial embellishment.

Day 2: Forest Dunes and The Loop

The drive from Arcadia Bluffs to Forest Dunes, near Roscommon, takes approximately two hours inland. The landscape transitions from lakeshore bluffs to dense pine and hardwood forest, and the character of the golf changes accordingly. Forest Dunes is a Tom Weiskopf design that routes through towering pines with a routing so natural it appears to have been discovered rather than constructed. The fairways are generous, the bunkering is strategic, and the conditioning is consistently excellent.

A morning tee time on Forest Dunes allows an afternoon round on The Loop, Tom Doak's reversible course that plays clockwise one day and counter-clockwise the next. The Loop is a singular achievement in course design. The same eighteen greens serve both directions, but the experience changes so dramatically between routings that they feel like entirely different courses. Whichever direction is running on the day of play, the round is worth the trip on its own.

Forest Dunes offers on-site lodging in cottages and a small lodge. Staying on property is the efficient choice, as the nearest town, Roscommon, is modest in scale. The resort's dining is competent, and the atmosphere after hours is quiet. This is not a nightlife destination; the focus is the golf, and the evenings are for recovery.

Day 3: Bay Harbor and Depart

Bay Harbor Golf Club, designed by Arthur Hills in Petoskey, occupies one of the most distinctive settings in American golf. The Links nine and the Quarry nine are the strongest combination, playing along the water and through a former stone quarry, respectively. The elevation changes through the quarry section are dramatic for Michigan golf.

The 27-hole facility includes a nine-hole stretch along the Lake Michigan shoreline that is among the most scenic in the state.

The drive from Forest Dunes to Bay Harbor takes roughly two hours north, making an early departure and mid-morning tee time the practical approach. A 27-hole facility playing 18 allows for a comfortable pace and a finish by early afternoon.

Petoskey itself is worth a brief visit. The downtown district, centered on Gaslight Village, has a walkable collection of shops and restaurants that reflect the area's history as a summer resort community. Lunch in Petoskey before the drive to the airport provides a fitting transition from the golf to the journey home. Pellston Regional Airport is twenty minutes north of Petoskey; TVC in Traverse City is about an hour and fifteen minutes south.

For groups based closer to Traverse City or with different course preferences, the Northern Michigan best courses guide provides alternatives that fit various routing plans.

Budget Overview

When to Go