I had a few days off and hit the road to Northern Michigan to play some golf with a friend. On Thursday, we played Arcadia Bluffs in the morning and then squeezed in Bay Harbor Golf Club in the afternoon. I didn’t review Arcadia Bluffs again since I played there two years ago, but I’ll say it is still a bucket list course!

It look about two hours to drive from Arcadia to Bay Harbor. We tried to time our round at Bay Harbor to take advantage of the twilight rate. The normal rack rate is an eye popping $350+, but drops to $165 starting at 5pm. We booked a 5:20pm time and figured we’d come close to getting in the entire round.

There are 27 holes at Bay Harbor and we played the Links nine first followed by the Quarry nine. The Preserve nine is the nine we didn’t get to, but from what I read I think the Links and Quarry are the most unique nines. Overall, things weren’t too busy and we played the Links quickly. We caught up to a threesome and finished up on Quarry right after the sun had set. It was a long day filled with some of the best golf views Michigan has to offer!

Most of the Links nine plays on top of a bluff above Little Traverse Bay. The first four holes – as well as the 7th and 8th holes – have great views of the bay, which connects into Lake Michigan. The 3rd, 4th, and 7th holes were my favorites on Links. The 3rd is a downhill par-4 with some options off the tee. The 4th is a 178 yard par-3 with a small green. The 7th is a reachable par-5 that has a wacky green and endless views of the water. Overall, I enjoyed the Links nine.

The Quarry nine is inland and the 3rd through 7th play around an old shale quarry. The idea of golfing in a quarry is cool. The backdrop and setting is nice. However, the playability left me hoping for more. There are many forced carries and areas to lose a ball. In typical Arthur Hills fashion, there are small landing areas on the greens to get shots close. The 8th is the signature hole. It is a 205 yard par-3 that plays downhill with the bay in the background. The green has water short, right, and long – very little room to miss.

We played the brown tees which are 74.3/146/6845. I’ll admit that is too much course for me, but even from the 6,228 yard tees the slope is still 142. Ouch. The course can be a recipe for a long day, no matter which tees you pick. For the most part, the fairways are generous. Some fairways narrow in the landing areas. The greens are tricky with small shelfs and false edges. Think normal design features from Hills.

Bay Harbor was a course I wanted to play and I’m glad I did. The course creeps into the top 100 public course listings these days and personally, I’m not seeing it. My friend’s take was that someone is paying a premium for the nice views when playing here – and I completely agree. Personally, I’d only recommend a round here if you can get a twilight time. Paying $350+ to play here is outrageous. There are plenty of other Michigan courses I’d rather play with that cash.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):