Pin itFour nights, four courses, and a road trip across the two properties that have placed Northern Michigan on the national golf map.
Patrick Koenig · Forest Dunes Golf Club · Partner
5 Days
Bucket List Trip
$2500–$4000/person
4
Moderate
This trip pulls together the four courses that have lifted Northern Michigan from a regional market to a destination of national standing. Arcadia Bluffs and Forest Dunes operate on different terrain and from different architectural philosophies, and the contrast between them is one of the most instructive experiences any serious golfer can have. The structure is a road trip with two bases, moving from the Lake Michigan coast to the inland forests of Roscommon.
Northern Michigan, Michigan
Trip at a Glance
Fly into Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City and pick up a rental car. Rather than racing to the first tee, drive 30 minutes west to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for an afternoon at one of the most visually arresting landscapes in the Midwest.
Drive 45 minutes southwest to Arcadia Bluffs for a morning round on Arcadia Bluffs, The Bluffs. The Warren Henderson and Rick Smith links-style layout sits on 200-foot bluffs above Lake Michigan.
Return to Arcadia Bluffs for a morning round on Arcadia Bluffs, South Course, Dana Fry's 2018 inland design that serves as the architectural counterpoint to The Bluffs. The South Course references golden-age design with square tees and greens, and it plays walking-only through terrain that could not be more different from the lakeside bluffs of its sibling.
Morning round on Forest Dunes, The Loop, Tom Doak's reversible design that plays as the Black Course on odd calendar days and the Red Course on even days. Walking is the only option, and the pace of a walking round is essential to grasping what Doak has built: a single set of fairways, greens, and hazards that produces two fundamentally different 18-hole experiences depending on the direction of play.
Drive about 90 minutes northwest to Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City. The route through the centre of the lower peninsula crosses forest and farmland and gives the trip a quiet conclusion.
Trip Logistics
Plan the Practicalities
The two-base structure (first two nights near Traverse City, final two nights near Gaylord/Grayling) minimises driving on course days. The longest single drive is the Day 3 transfer from Arcadia to the Forest Dunes corridor, around two hours. A rental car is essential throughout. The Arcadia Bluffs courses encourage walking with caddies. Forest Dunes is walking-only on The Loop and walking-encouraged on the Forest Dunes course.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our editorial recommendations.