Unique design traits add character to Sweetgrass Golf Club in the Upper Peninsula
HARRIS, Mich. -- Sweetgrass Golf Club is the newest addition to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, part of the Island Resort & Casino.
The golf course was designed by Michigan-based architect Paul Albanese, who worked under Jerry Matthews for many years.
The course plays on gently rolling and at most points wide-open land -- that's a change from nearby Greywalls and Timberstone, which feature great elevation changes. Sweetgrass Golf Club gets its character from its unique design traits, like a rare island green on the par-3 15th hole, a severely sloping "biarritz" green on the par-3 12th, as well as a handful of rescued bridges recovered throughout Michigan that take golfers over streams throughout the course.
The golf course gets its name from the plant found around the course which was used among Native American tribes as a sacred healing plant. Sweetgrass opened for play in the summer of 2008.
![Sweetgrass Golf Club features wide landing areas on many holes like the par-4 second.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20287.jpg)
![Sweetgrass Golf Club is set on gently rolling land with tall heather and fescue lining many holes.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20288.jpg)
![The fifth hole at Sweetgrass Golf Club is nicknamed "The Serpent and the Flood."](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20289.jpg)
![The par-3 island green 15th hole features one of a handful of recovered bridges used throughout Sweetgrass Golf Club in Harris, Michigan.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20290.jpg)
![The par-3 12th hole features a "biarritz" style green with two high tiers and a middle low tier at Sweetgrass Golf Club in Harris, Mich.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20291.jpg)
![Sweetgrass Golf Club's par-4 14th hole is short at under 400 yards and features a large waste bunker down the right side.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20292.jpg)
![Sweetgrass Golf Club opened in the summer of 2008 and is located next to the Island Resort near Escanaba, Mich.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20293.jpg)
![The 16th and 17th hole play through trees, unlike most of the rest of Sweetgrass which plays wide open.](/departments/photo-galleries/images/small/20294.jpg)
- Feature: Sweetgrass sweetens UP golf in Michigan
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