BAY HARBOR, Mich. -- Bay Harbor Golf Club is one of northern Michigan's most spectacularly placed golf courses, set on bluffs overlooking Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan. The course was designed by Arthur Hills and is an upscale, semi-private facility with GPS in the golf carts and a clubhouse and restaurant overlooking the lake.
Each of the three nines are quite different from one another, from the Scottish-inspired Links nine with whispy dunes and fescue grasses, to the Quarry nine, playing around and through an old shale quarry, while finishing along the shores of Little Traverse Bay, part of Lake Michigan.
The third nine at Bay Harbor Golf Club, the Preserve, is set further inland and mostly used by the membership, while tourists generally opt for the most visually striking Links and Quarry nines, both of which feature plenty of lake views.
The Bay Harbor Inn is located just down the road and a five-star option for accommodations, and golf packages through here or the nearby Boyne Highlands or Boyne Mountain resort are available. While it's one of the most expensive daily fee golf courses in Michigan, twilight rates after 2 p.m. are highly discounted.
Bay Harbor Golf Club - Links course - hole 3
The short par-4 third hole on the Links course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays along the bay.
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Bay Harbor G.C. - Links course - hole 4
No. 4 on the Links course at Bay Harbor Golf Club is a par 3 that heads downhill along the shoreline.
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Bay Harbor Golf Club - Links course - hole 1
The par-4 opener on the Links course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays on bluffs above Lake Michigan.
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Bay Harbor Golf Club - Links course - hole 7
The par-5 seventh hole on the Links course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays high above the lake the whole way.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor G.C. - Links course - hole 9
No. 9 on the Links course at Bay Harbor Golf Club is a long par 4 that was converted from a par 5.
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Bay Harbor Golf Club - Quarry course - hole 2
The par-5 second hole on the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club is a par 3 through trees before heading out to the quarry.
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Bay Harbor G.C. - Quarry course - hole 3
The par-5 third hole on the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays along a quarry wall and requires a long carry to the green.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor Golf Club - Quarry course - hole 4
The par-4 fourth hole the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays downhill towards the lake.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor G.C. - Quarry course - hole 5
The par-4 fifth hole on the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club features a green sitting right beneath a quarry wall.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor Golf Club - Quarry course - hole 7
The seventh hole on the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club is a dogleg left par 4 that plays out towards the lake.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor G.C. - Quarry course - hole 8
The par-3 eighth hole the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays downhill to the lake.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor Golf Club - Quarry course - hole 9
The ninth hole on the Quarry course at Bay Harbor Golf Club plays along the lake at Bay Harbor.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Bay Harbor Golf Club boasts 27 holes that are divided into three completely distinct nines, played in three 18-hole combinations. Unlike the waterfront Links and Quarry nines, the Preserve plays through the woods, a more typical landscape of courses in Northern Michigan.
There are three unique nines at Bay Harbor Golf Club. The 27 holes combine to create three challenging and completely different 18-hole courses. The Quarry/Preserve Course begins by wandering through an immense shale quarry sprinkled with 40-foot gorges.
Bay Harbor Golf Club features three nines that are played in three 18-hole combinations. The Links/Quarry course first plays across stone cliffs bordering the coastline and then winds its way down to an immense shale quarry complete with 40-foot gorges.