by KLEA ARMSTRONG
BOYNE, Michigan – The only constant in life is change.
I’ve always loved that sentiment. Travel (and golf, for that matter) has a way of proving it true, usually when you least expect it. Northern Michigan, however, seems determined to demonstrate the point approximately every nine holes.
One moment you’re standing atop a mountain, looking down a fairway carved through ski country. The next, Lake Michigan is stretched across the horizon in shades of blue that feel borrowed from somewhere far more tropical. Then come forests, wildflowers, quarry walls and dramatic elevation changes before the landscape shifts again.
Welcome to BOYNE Golf—where apparently nobody told Mother Nature she needed to pick a theme.
WHERE WINTER BECAME SUMMER
The BOYNE Golf story begins, appropriately enough, with skiing.
In 1955, Everett Kircher purchased a struggling ski resort in Northern Michigan and began looking for a way to bring guests to the property beyond the winter months. A nine-hole executive course came first. Then Kircher hired legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. to create The Heather, which opened in 1966 and helped ignite what would become a Northern Michigan golf boom. Today, BOYNE Golf encompasses 11 courses across three resorts.
That history becomes wonderfully tangible at Boyne Mountain.
Playing The Alpine, you don’t simply see the mountain—you play down it. Golfers make a 1.2-mile ride to the first tee before beginning the descent, with sweeping views toward Deer Lake accompanying a layout that rewards confident shots without punishing every imperfect one.
Look up, and the ski lifts are still there. Golf below. Winter infrastructure above. Change, hiding in plain sight.
Off the course, Boyne Mountain carries that same four-season spirit. A scenic chairlift ride and walk across SkyBridge Michigan offered a completely different perspective from above, while a midday lunch at Deer Lake Beach House trades elevation for waterfront relaxation. One resort, several personalities—and we are just getting started.
THEN, THERE WAS BAY HARBOR
If Boyne Mountain feels expansive, Bay Harbor Golf Club feels cinematic.
Our Links/Quarry round brought the trip directly to the shores of Lake Michigan, and suddenly the visual language changed completely. Green fairways collided with blue water. Holes traced the shoreline. The Quarry portion moved through dramatic stone terrain before the lake returned to the frame.
There are golf views you admire. And then there are golf views that make you briefly forget you are supposed to hit the ball. Bay Harbor delivers plenty of the latter.
The experience continued just down the road at the Inn at Bay Harbor, where white clapboard architecture, gardens, Adirondack chairs and an almost impossibly blue Little Traverse Bay created the kind of setting that encourages a slower pace. Lunch at the Vintage certainly didn’t hurt. Neither did the hammocks. I conduct thorough research.
THE HIGHLANDS: EMPHASIS ON THE HILLS
Then BOYNE changed the scenery again.
At The Highlands, the newest additions prove golf doesn’t always need 18 holes—or several hours—to be memorable. Doon Brae, BOYNE’s new nine-hole short course, was designed first and foremost around fun, while the 27-hole Back Yaird Himalayan putting course turns the short game into something closer to organized mischief.
And then came Arthur Hills – emphasis on the hills.
The course’s most unforgettable moment arrives at No. 13, a par 5 dropping more than 350 feet from tee to green. BOYNE describes it as its “Everest,” and standing on that elevated tee, the comparison suddenly feels less like marketing and more like a warning.
Later, the Donald Ross Memorial changed the conversation yet again, shifting from elevation-fueled drama to a tribute to one of golf’s great architects—a collection inspired by renowned Ross holes from around the country.
By this point, Northern Michigan had made its case.
THE BEAUTY IS IN THE CHANGE
Perhaps that is what stayed with me most. Not one course. Not one view. Not even one spectacular hole. It was the contrast between them.
Mountains became shoreline. Shoreline became forest. Sunshine became storm clouds and then blue sky again. Ski slopes became golf holes. Historic architecture shared the itinerary with playful new concepts designed to make the game more accessible.
Nearly everything changed. Except the feeling that somehow, remarkably, it all belonged together.
Everett Kircher came to Northern Michigan looking for a way to turn a winter destination into something more.
More than 70 years later, perhaps that remains BOYNE’s greatest trick:
Whatever you thought Northern Michigan golf was going to be, give it a few holes.
It’ll change.
Photo credit: Natalie Bailey.
Photo Credit: Natalie Bailey
(Klea M. Armstrong is a Philadelphia native living in Saratoga Springs, NY, Klea is a freelance writer and social media maven who specializes in golf, travel, luxury lifestyle, skiing, and all things carpe diem. When not involved in these areas, she spends time with her rescue dog Cody while continuing to build her dog collar business 4orePaws, which combines her love for dogs, golf and giving back. Klea can be reached at klea.m.armstrong@gmail.com)
(Photo Credit: Klea Armstrong unless otherwise noted)
