13 Michigan golf courses ranked among nation's top 200 resort destinations

13 Michigan golf courses ranked among nation’s top 200 resort destinations

Posted by author February 3, 2025 Golf

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Michigan golf course resorts are consistently named some of the best in the country. That was reaffirmed recently on a national scale.

Thirteen golf courses at Michigan resorts were named among the top 200 resort courses in the country, according to Golfweek and its hundreds of raters.

The same 13 courses from last year’s list made the 2025 edition, with the order of Michigan’s top seven remaining unchanged.

However, a big leap came from the Masterpiece at Treetops Resort, which jumped up 45 spots to No. 147 overall and eighth in Michigan.

The original course at Arcadia Bluffs led the way for Michigan, rated No. 27 overall, followed by the two layouts at Forest Dunes ranked No. 30 (The Loop) and No. 61.

Pebble Beach Golf Links in California remained No. 1, Bandon Dunes’ Pacific Dunes in Oregon remained second, Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina stayed third and Kohler Whistling Straits (Wisconsin) took fourth. Bandon Dunes has courses ranked Nos. 5-7 and at No. 13.

We’ve long known The Mitten offers nearly unmatched “Up North” vacation golf getaways at stay-and-play resorts. Here are the best of the state’s resort courses entering the 2025 season:

Best Michigan resort golf courses, according to Golfweek

Here’s the list of 13 Michigan resort courses in the top 200, including Golfweek’s rating and the year the course opened:

27. Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs) in Arcadia: 7.17 rating, 1999.
30. Forest Dunes (The Loop — Red and Black) in Roscommon: 6.91, 2016.
61. Forest Dunes (Forest Dunes) in Roscommon: 6.65, 2002.
T66. Arcadia Bluffs (South) in Arcadia: 6.63, 2018.
T81. Bay Harbor (Links/Quarry) in Bay Harbor: 6.53, 1997.
T98. Gull Lake View Resort (Stoatin Brae) in Augusta: 6.42, 2017.
T138. Boyne Highlands (Arthur Hills) in Harbor Springs: 6.19, 2000.
147. Treetops (Masterpiece) in Gaylord: 6.15, 1987.
148. Tullymore (Tullymore) in Stanwood: 6.14, 2002.
T153. Hidden River in Brutus: 6.12, 1997.
T158. Pine Mountain (TimberStone) in Iron Mountain: 6.1, 1997.
T162. Treetops (Signature) in Gaylord: 6.08, 1993.
T168. Tullymore (St. Ives) in Stanwood: 6.06, 1995.

Golfweek rating system

Golfweek says it has more than 800 raters around the world who continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 specific criteria. Each person also submits an overall 1-10 rating on the course they play, and those numbers are averaged to produce a cumulative rating. Resort or course amenities, pricing or anything else outside the golf course does not factor into the rating.

Here is a sample of what we have previously written on some of the top resort courses in Michigan:

Arcadia Bluffs

This place is worth the visit even if you’re not a golfer. It has featured in the Detroit Free Press’ “Michigan Ultimate Bucket List” and was ranked in 2022 among the five best “19th holes” in America because of the delicious food and atmosphere, and the can’t-beat views to watch the dramatic sunset over Lake Michigan. The golf is pretty good, too, with two distinct courses offering unique challenges. The Bluffs Course along Lake Michigan has wide fairways, sandy, firm turf and bounding terrain carved through towering natural dunes with high-wall bunkers protecting large, undulating greens. The South Course, a short car ride away, unlocks a rare design in the style of golf architect legends C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, with geometric tees, bunkers and greens. The greens average more than 9,400 square feet, and are often separated into sections “using swales, ridges, slopes and isolated bumps,” according to its website. Miss the correct portion of the green, based on hole location, and a three-putt or worse is in your near future.

Forest Dunes

Forest Dunes’ original course from Tom Weiskopf has always been acclaimed, and the addition of Tom Doak’s revolutionary reversible 18-hole course, “The Loop,” in 2016 helped boost the resort’s name in the golf world. The routing plays clockwise one day and counter-clockwise the next. Forest Dunes says its parking lot serves as the Atlantic Ocean, with American-style golf on one side (Weiskopf’s design runs through woods and dunes) and European golf on the other — The Loop aims to play like a true links experience. Forest Dunes recently announced it is adding a private course named SkyFall, from the acclaimed design team of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.

Bay Harbor and Boyne Highlands

It’s no surprise Boyne Golf, which runs the 27 holes at Bay Harbor Golf Club and the Arthur Hills course among its now 11 properties, makes the cut. Bay Harbor sits on the banks of Little Traverse Bay and is a quintessential “Up North” summer spot featuring gorgeous views — the “Links” nine is affectionately called the “Pebble Beach of Michigan” — and is also a great spot for non-golfers. It’s close enough to Mackinac Island for a day trip and right next to splendid Petoskey. Meanwhile, the Arthur Hills setup at Boyne Highlands is a wild ride featuring one of the most dramatic and fun holes in the state: the reachable-in-two par-5 13th down the mountain.

Stoatin Brae

The 2021 national course of the year sits on what used to be an apple orchard. The name is translated from the Gaelic for “Grand Hill,” and that’s where the course sits: on one of the highest points in Kalamazoo County. There are some elevation changes mixed with flatter holes, with thick heather just off the fairways. It is built to play as a links course.

Check out Golfweek’s entire top 200 resort courses rankings.

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