No. 7 green at Doon Brae with a view
Chip Henderson Photography
Seems as if you cannot visit any top golf resort these days without encountering a short course to complement the full-length layouts. Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst Resort and Pebble Beach all have one. And now you can add The Highlands at Harbor Springs, Mich. to that list. Part of the mega-popular BOYNE Golf in Northern Michigan, the brand-new par-3 Doon Brae course is located on the backside of the main lodge, right across the parking lot from the highly acclaimed Heather course that just hosted the Epson Tour鈥檚 Great Lakes Championship this month. Doon Brae is the first modern golf course to ever be built on a ski slope.
鈥淪hort courses have been coming along nationally, and places like ours should have them,鈥 says Josh Richter, senior vice president of golf operations at Boyne Resorts. 鈥淲e certainly like to be on the front side of trends. We ultimately selected this site, in part because it’s on property with four of our courses and main lodge, where we typically experience the most golf package-related stays. And the uniqueness of this space adds plenty of ambience. Doon Brae gives guests and members the opportunity to play a round of golf in about an hour. It’s also a really good golf course for people to learn on, whether that be children or brand-new golfers.鈥 As a seasoned golfer, I can personally attest after playing it this week that it can be challenging and fun for any skill level.
Designed by renowned Michigan course architect Ray Hearn, the first seven holes gradually zig-zag up the hill and the last two back down 鈥 it was designed to be an easy and steady climb. Each green is inspired by a famous golf green around the world. A large sign on each tee box displays a map of the hole, as well as a blurb about the green. And it鈥檚 actually all pretty interesting. Officials encourage golfers to play their tee shots from anywhere on the tee box they want. That way, smaller children can enjoy the course even more while low-handicaps can make it an extremely challenging experience. Holes can play from 57 yards and up to 150, depending on where you tee it up. The traps are well placed.
Because officials here have high hopes for the course, they are mowing the grass at the same height as all of their other courses. The greens were also in amazing condition when I played the course. Yes, there are a couple of surprising breaks because of the hillside, but the greens are deliberately set up to roll a little slower so that balls don鈥檛 start rolling off the greens on putts encountering undulation. I think my favorite green is on the 9th hole 鈥 inspired by the Biarritz at Chicago Golf Club 鈥 and has two flagsticks, one near the front and the other in the rear. Very creative and again should enhance the fun. And the views from up top are spectacular 鈥 you can see for miles.
Richter says the course was planned around the Harbor Springs/Petoskey community as a place where throngs of people visit all summer. In other words, you don鈥檛 have to be a hotel guest to come play. In fact, the course provides short clubs and a Sunday-stye bag for those who don鈥檛 have clubs. And if you want to bring your own clubs, you can borrow a throwback Sunday bag, as well. Green fees are priced dynamically between $50 and $60. And to add a nice ambience, music is piped in over speakers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just playing golf, it鈥檚 an experience,鈥 says Richter.
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Doon Brae is flanked by the Back Yaird (Scottish spelling for 鈥測ard鈥), a 65,000-square-foot, 27-hole Himalayan-style putting course featuring three nine-hole combinations. Inspired by great putting courses like the Himalayas at St. Andrews and Thistle Du at Pinehurst, it features subtle slopes and swales, and is a blast to play. As it鈥檚 just off the back patio of the hotel鈥檚 Slopeside restaurant, our group ordered dinner and then held a putting contest while we waited for dinner to be served. I can truly say that of all the massive putting greens I鈥檝e played, this is far and away the most fun and fair.
The Links nine at Bay Harbor Golf Club flanks Lake Michigan
Nile Young Photography
And honestly, I would expect nothing less from BOYNE Golf. This 11-course, four-location golf resort offers every type of golf experience you can imagine. This week, I played the Alpine and Monument mountainside courses at Boyne Mountain, followed by the Links and Quarry nines along Lake Michigan at Bay Harbor Golf Club, followed by the Heather and Ross Memorial courses 鈥 as well as Doon Brae 鈥 at the Highlands. I have been visiting Northern Michigan to play golf most of my life and feel like BOYNE Golf perpetually offers a collectively amazing golf variety for any Northern Michigan visitor. The courses always seem to be in spectacular condition from tee to green, very playable, and with excellent and friendly service all along the way. The short course is icing on the cake.
No. 8 at the Ross Memorial course
Daniel + Roberts Photography
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