Northern Michigan Courses

I am heading Up North next week and I have one free day to play a round, I want to make it worthwhile. Any suggestions for Northern Michigan courses that are within a one hour drive of Bellaire, MI?

Looks like The Legend at Shanty Creek ranks highest in the area, anyone familiar with the course?

Here are some other choices to ponder - all good to great courses, depending on your personal preferences

Forest Dunes - 75 minutes

Hidden River Golf & Casting Club - 75 minutes

Bay Harbor - 50 minutes

Black Forest* - 45 minutes

Hawks Eye* - 10 minutes

Schuss Mountain* - 10 minutes

footnote: 110 minutes - longer than you want, but the most picturesque public course in the state

* - Note I have not played these courses, but they have been recommended to me by several friends

We have gone to Shanty Creek for the past 4 years...tee it up at Cedar River or the legend!  You wont be disappointed.

This year we are stopping at Forest Dunes on the way up from Toronto. 3 weeks to go...counting down the days.

I really enjoyed the Legend.  My understanding is Cedar River is equally nice although I have not played there yet.  If you want to save a bit of $$, Schuss Mountain is a good alternate but a notch or two down the rankings.

If you want to drive further, then all sorts of options exist.

Which course are you referring to here? Sounds fantastic. [quote name="Wyldewood43" url="/t/83834/northern-michigan-courses#post_1184590"]We have gone to Shanty Creek for the past 4 years...tee it up at Cedar River or the legend!  You wont be disappointed. [/quote] Enjoy. The Legend is less than 10 mins from my cabin, that may be the front runner here. [quote name="bkuehn1952" url="/t/83834/northern-michigan-courses#post_1184750"]I really enjoyed the Legend.  My understanding is Cedar River is equally nice although I have not played there yet.  If you want to save a bit of $$, Schuss Mountain is a good alternate but a notch or two down the rankings. If you want to drive further, then all sorts of options exist. [/quote] Thanks. Yeah. The Shanty Creek resort is just a few mins from me. If it's on par with everything else I may see no reason to drive much further.

LOL - I forgot to put the name as I was posting my list - that would be Arcadia Bluffs at just under 2 hours from Bellaire

I ended up playing Hawk's Eye yesterday. Beautiful course. I chose it because they were willing to accommodate a tee time for a single and it was just 10 min from my cabin. It was half the price of The Legend. I had the first tee time of the day as a single. Had the place to myself. What an incredible experience. Ran into a few other singles late in the round. They all confirmed Hawk's Eye as a hidden gem up here. One described it as "each hole is a masterpiece." I'd have to agree. Thanks for the help and suggestions. I'll have to plan a specific trip up here sometime to hit all of the best tracks.

I have been to Northern Michigan on several occasions. There are a lot of great golf courses but they are SPREAD OUT so keep driving distance in mind.

Arcadia Bluffs

Forest Dunes

True North

Little Traverse Bay

Belvedere

Dunmaglas

Black Lake

Grand Traverse Resort (Nicklaus and Player Course)

Lochenheath 

Leelanau

Boyne Hills Course

These are all EXCELLENT golf courses that are worth playing