Leelanau County boasts fine, fun golf

Photo: Manitou Passage golf course

By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

Avid golfers are in luck when it comes to Leelanau County. With five courses to choose from, offering a variety of scenery and different degrees of difficulty, there is no lack of doglegs, water hazards and treacherous greens to deal with.

If that makes it sound challenging, well, welcome to golf. It is at once the most exasperating and the most addictive sport. Any round will typically include a shot that makes you cringe. Maybe it’s that putt that fell off at the last minute, or that drive that somehow hooked to the left even though you thought you hit it perfectly.

On the other hand, there was that chip shot that backed up perfectly, leaving a gimme for a birdie. Or that long putt that snaked around the cup before dropping in. And you find yourself hooked once again.

So read on for brief descriptions of Leelanau’s links. Then get out there and have some fun.

Bahle Farms Golf Course

It’s tucked away in the rolling hills and cherry orchards of Leelanau Peninsula. No wonder Lorraine Ball from the pro shop calls the course a hidden gem. “It’s not on your route. It’s off the beaten path,” she says.

But while being hidden is one thing, it’s the course’s layout and condition that leads her to call it a gem. “It’s not typical. There’s a lot of elevations. The course is so well maintained,” Ball says.

The elevations offer views of Suttons Bay and Lake Michigan, while the entry way and holes 13 and 16 are in the midst of working cherry orchards – the quintessential Leelanau experience. Time your round right and you can pick a couple, while deciding just what club is right to hit the green.

The 18-hole course is located at 9505 E. Otto Road, Suttons Bay. Call (231) 271-2020.

Dunes Golf Club

No, there aren’t any dunes, but there are sand traps – not quite the same, but still. The family-friendly 18-hole course is located just east of Empire on M-72. It opened in 1983 as a nine-hole course, with the second nine opening eight years later.

It boasts rolling fairways, picturesque natural surroundings, and smooth, true greens. The front nine plays to 3,152 yards, while the back nine is shorter (2,578 yards), but its narrow, tree-lined fairways means players have to adopt a more precise strategy. All told, the course provides a blend of relaxation and challenge. Isn’t that what golf is all about?

The Dunes Golf Club is located at 6489 W. Empire Highway, Empire. Call (231) 326-5390

Manitou Passage Golf Club

Manitou Passage is one of only two golf courses in northern Michigan designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer. A decade after opening, the Arnold Palmer Design Company, internationally acclaimed landscape design firm Peridian International and Wadsworth Golf Construction Company, which worked on golf courses around the world, collaborated on a renovation to bring the course in line with Palmer’s original vision.

The result earned the course Golfweek’s “Best New Courses” award. It also boasts a 97.4% favorability rating from Golfpass. The course’s varied topography includes meadows, hardwood and pine forests, expansive ridges, and views of Lake Michigan and the course’s namesake Manitou Passage. Palmer himself said the course “offers a fantastic golf experience in a beautiful setting.” General Manager Joshua Schlump echoes that, and says the course is in excellent condition.

The course is located at 4600 Club Drive, Cedar. Call (231) 228-6000.

Northport Creek

It may not be on an island, but like its namesake village, you won’t find Northport Creek on your way to anywhere else. The nine-hole course is actually within the village limits, just a few blocks from Northport Marina. It was designed by famed golf course architect Jerry Matthews.

Diminutive in size, the course makes up for it with its beauty and its setting within the similarly cozy village, as well as its one-of-a-kind status as the first solar powered golf course in the country. Both its carts and its irrigation system are powered by the sun.

The course itself offers a variety of challenges, including the narrow opening – just 40 to 50 yards wide – on #7, requiring golfers to thread the needle on their tee shots. It is located at 355 W 8th St, Northport. Call (231) 386-1088

Sugarloaf – The Old Course

The Old Course takes its heritage seriously, with several windmills and silos on the property, recalling the region’s agricultural roots. Its cozy target greens make it a challenge, and one unique feature is the double green on #2 and #5, connected by a narrow neck, with a bunker between the two.

Number 17 is the infamous Rock Pile Hole, one of the longest par 5s in the state, listed at 618 yards from the back tee. “Your second shot has to navigate over or around the rock pile that sits in the middle of the fairway,” says General Manager Kris Wakeman.

Golfers will want to try to keep the ball on the tight fairways, as beyond the maintained rough is the even less-forgiving native rough. Of course, the native hardwoods, spruce, trilliums, daffodils and award-winning day lilies and irises make the scenery beautiful should you find yourself venturing far afield.

Sugarloaf The Old Course is located at 4512 South Townline Road, Cedar. Call (231) 228-2040.