Michigan Resorts Earn High Honors With Golf Digest
PETOSKEY, MI - The State of Michigan continues to gain momentum as one of the leading golf destinations in the world. Golf Digest Magazine, a leading golf publication, has selected five Michigan golf resorts to be included in its "Top 75 Resorts in America" listing in the March 2002 issue.
Golf Digest's panel of 700 raters where asked to rank over 225 of the leading golf resorts in the country for the first time ever in the publications history. Raters assigned scores of 1 ("very bad") to 10 ("absolutely perfect") in determining the top 75. A resort had to be named on at least 35 ballots to be included in the top 75.
The heart of Michigan's golf resort industry is Northern Michigan, where long warm summer days allow golfers to play well into the evening hours. Leading the way in Michigan for the Golf Digest top 75 is Boyne USA, owners of the Inn at Bay Harbor (#20), Boyne Highlands (T-#42), and Boyne Mountain (T-#42). Following Boyne USA is Treetops Resort at (#32) and Shanty Creek Resort at (#59) respectively.
Elegantly nestled along the Lake Michigan shoreline west of Petoskey, the Inn at Bay Harbor and Bay Harbor Golf Club utilize the striking terrain and elevation features of an old limestone quarry. Its turn-of-the-century-style hotel reflects the elegance of San Diego's Hotel Del Coronado and the quaint splendor of a grand Victorian inn. The Bay Harbor Golf Club features three distinct nine-hole combinations-The Links, Quarry and Preserve.
Across the bay in the historic waterfront community of Harbor Springs, Boyne Highlands Resort lures golfers with 72 holes of championship golf lead by the Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed Heather Course. Complementing the Heather are the Moor Course, the popular Donald Ross Memorial, and its newest addition, the Arthur Hills Course, featuring large sand waste areas and dramatic elevation changes.
Located 30 minutes south of Boyne Highlands is the quaint Boyne Mountain Resort. Boyne Mountain features 36 holes of golf with the Alpine course and the Monument course. Future plans are underway for a new Grand Mountain Lodge and a Pete Dye designed golf course.
"This rating just reinforces the fact that the national golf media continues to recognize the quantity and the quality of golf we have in Northwest Michigan. It is an honor to be on this list with our Michigan resort properties" said Stephen Kircher, General Manager for Boyne U.S.A..
Shanty Creek Resort encompasses three distinct villages-Cedar River, the Summit and Schuss Mountain. The new Cedar River Golf Club and Lodge at Cedar River emerge as the centerpiece of the massive 4,500-acre resort.
The Cedar River Golf Club was the first Tom Weiskopf design in Michigan. Many golfers claim it's the most enjoyable course in Northern Michigan for any skill level. Cedar River was not shanty Creek's first big name course. The Legend course, designed by Arnold Palmer at the Summit Village, has been voted one of the top resort courses in the country. It winds through beautiful hills and ridges, offering stunning views of Lake Bellaire and surrounding Northern Michigan forests.
Treetops Resort's brace of four championship courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., Tom Fazio, and the resort's own star, Rick Smith, the acclaimed teaching guru, makes for some of the best golf on any one property anywhere. With panoramic views that on some holes go for 30 or more miles over deep-forested valleys, these golf courses have pure holes that are as artistic as they are breathtaking in their natural beauty.
These awards, along with a Golf Digest determination that Northern Michigan is the 12th best golf destination in the world- 8th best in the United States, continues to give Michigan the credibility to be called "America's Summer Golf Capital".
February 14, 2002