Golf
Bluff-top links over Lake Michigan, resort courses in the hills and nine-hole town courses: 81 golf facilities from Grand Haven to Mackinac Island. Many are an easy drive from a regional airport, so you can fly in for a round.
Rankings are from published lists with their edition year. We never show green fees or tee times; book with the course. Estimated drive times from OpenStreetMap routing data, without traffic or stops.
Public · 18 holes · Grand Haven
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 26)
A Jack Nicklaus reworking of the former Grand Haven Golf Club, with sand dunes opened up across the course and profits directed to Folds of Honor.
Nearest airport: Grand Haven Memorial Airpark (3GM), about 5 min by car
Southern Gateway
Public · 48 holes · Arcadia
Golf Digest America's 100 Greatest Public Courses 2025-26 (Bluffs Course, No. 16)
Two nationally ranked 18-hole courses and a 12-hole course on the Lake Michigan shore south of Arcadia, with lodge rooms and cottages on site.
Nearest airport: Frankfort Dow Memorial Field (FKS), about 25 min by car
Ludington & Manistee
Semi-private · 27 holes · Bay Harbor
Golf Digest America's 100 Greatest Public Courses 2025-26 (No. 100, Links/Quarry)
Twenty-seven Arthur Hills holes on Little Traverse Bay, played as three nines along the shoreline, through an old shale quarry and in the woods.
Nearest airport: Harbor Springs Airport (MGN), about 25 min by car
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Semi-private · 18 holes · Charlevoix
GOLF Top 100 Courses You Can Play 2024-25 (No. 40)
A 1920s William Watson parkland course southeast of Charlevoix, private in spirit but open to outside play, and a longtime Michigan Amateur host.
Nearest airport: Charlevoix Municipal Airport (CVX), about 5 min by car
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Private club · 18 holes · Frankfort
Golf Digest America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses 2025-26 (No. 15)
A private MacKenzie and Maxwell course on high ground between Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan, ranked No. 1 in Michigan by Golf Digest.
Nearest airport: Frankfort Dow Memorial Field (FKS), about 15 min by car
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Resort · 54 holes · Acme
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 33, The Bear)
Three 18-hole courses at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme: Jack Nicklaus's The Bear, Gary Player's The Wolverine and Spruce Run.
Nearest airport: Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), about 15 min by car
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Private club · 18 holes · Kingsley
Golf Digest America's Second 100 Greatest Golf Courses 2025-26 (No. 109)
A private Mike DeVries design near Kingsley, south of Traverse City, ranked fourth in Michigan by Golf Digest.
Nearest airport: Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), about 40 min by car
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Private club · 18 holes · Williamsburg
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 14)
A private, members-only Steve Smyers course on about 300 acres above East Grand Traverse Bay near Williamsburg.
Nearest airport: Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), about 15 min by car
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Private club · 18 holes · Muskegon
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 29)
A private club founded in 1908 on dune land near Lake Michigan, with a Donald Ross redesign ranked by Golf Digest among Michigan's best courses.
Nearest airport: Muskegon County Airport (MKG), about 20 min by car
Southern Gateway
Public · Harbor Springs
Golf Digest Best Golf Courses in Michigan 2025-26 (No. 25, The Heather)
The Highlands resort near Harbor Springs has four 18-hole courses, including The Heather and Arthur Hills, plus a lit par-3 short course.
Nearest airport: Harbor Springs Airport (MGN), about 10 min by car
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Private club · 18 holes · Harbor Springs
Golf Digest Best Golf Courses in Michigan 2025-26 (No. 10)
A private Jim Engh course in the forest north of Harbor Springs, with big elevation changes and holes set apart from one another.
Nearest airport: Harbor Springs Airport (MGN), about 20 min by car
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Private club · 18 holes · West Olive
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 21)
A private club near West Olive, south of Grand Haven, designed by the Arcadia Bluffs architects and ranked by Golf Digest among Michigan's best.
Nearest airport: Grand Haven Memorial Airpark (3GM), about 25 min by car
Southern Gateway
Golf courses
81 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Public · 18 holes · Grand Haven
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 26)
A Jack Nicklaus reworking of the former Grand Haven Golf Club, with sand dunes opened up across the course and profits directed to Folds of Honor.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Shelby
A par-60 executive course near Lake Michigan west of Shelby, built on a former fruit farm where apple and pear trees still line the fairways.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Whitehall
A daily-fee 18-hole course on Duck Lake Road south of Whitehall, played through maple and pine woods, with a range and putting greens.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Muskegon
A tree-lined public 18 on Putnam Road just north of Muskegon, with a pro shop, lessons, junior programs and room for outings.
Southern Gateway
Public · 9 holes · Muskegon
A wooded nine-hole public course off Mill Iron Road in Muskegon Township, with tree-lined fairways, ponds, four sets of tees and a practice area.
Southern Gateway
Resort · 18 holes · New Era
A hilly 18-hole course in New Era, owned by Double JJ Resort, known for elevated tees and an island green on the par-3 eighth.
Southern Gateway
Public · 36 holes · Whitehall
A Whitehall course built from four nines that pair into two 18-hole loops, with tree-lined doglegs, ponds and rolling ground.
Southern Gateway
Semi-private · 18 holes · Muskegon
A semi-private parkland course on Whitehall Road north of Muskegon, in play since 1927 and open to public tee times.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Ravenna
A W. Bruce Matthews III design on Apple Avenue in Ravenna, east of Muskegon, with bentgrass playing surfaces, five sets of tees and a full practice area.
Southern Gateway
Public · 9 holes · Muskegon
A nine-hole public course owned by Muskegon Community College, formerly University Park, with two sets of tee boxes for an 18-hole round.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Norton Shores
An old-style 18-hole course from the 1920s in Norton Shores, with rolling fairways lined by large oaks and pines and several elevated greens.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Shelby
Oceana County's first 18-hole public course, a tree-lined layout near Shelby known for small, quick greens on rolling ground.
Southern Gateway
Public · 27 holes · Montague
A public 27-hole course near the Lake Michigan shore north of Montague, with three nines built across almost seven decades.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · West Olive
A family-run, links-style public course in West Olive with wide bluegrass fairways, bentgrass greens and a nine-hole footgolf layout.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Twin Lake
An 18-hole championship course in Twin Lake, set in a golf community within the Manistee National Forest north of Muskegon.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Nunica
An 18-hole public course in the hills of Crockery Township near Nunica, established in 1965, with a driving range and practice green.
Southern Gateway
Resort · 18 holes · Rothbury
An Arthur Hills course at Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, opened in 1993, routed through woods and wetlands around a cranberry bog.
Southern Gateway
Public · 18 holes · Muskegon
An 18-hole public course on East Hile Road in Fruitport Township, south of Muskegon, with water features and tree-lined holes.
Southern Gateway
Private clubs (members and guests only): Muskegon Country Club, Wuskowhan Players Club
Public · 48 holes · Arcadia
Golf Digest America's 100 Greatest Public Courses 2025-26 (Bluffs Course, No. 16)
Two nationally ranked 18-hole courses and a 12-hole course on the Lake Michigan shore south of Arcadia, with lodge rooms and cottages on site.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 18 holes · Arcadia
A family-owned 18-hole course cut through the woods of northern Manistee County, inland from Arcadia, with a relaxed, local feel.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 9 holes · Wellston
A nine-hole executive course near Wellston, with fairways cut from the forest of eastern Manistee County.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 9 holes · Mears
A nine-hole course near Mears and Silver Lake with four sets of tees, a driving range and an on-site bar and restaurant.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 18 holes · Ludington
An 18-hole Raymond Hearn design east of Ludington, opened in 2002, that works natural dunes, wetlands and woods into the layout.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 27 holes · Ludington
A 27-hole public course south of Ludington, laid out as three nines through hardwoods and wetlands beside Hopkins Lake.
Ludington & Manistee
Semi-private · 18 holes · Ludington
A semi-private club on the Lake Michigan shore north of Ludington, established in 1921, with an 18-hole course routed through old dunes.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 18 holes · Manistee
One of Michigan's oldest golf clubs, founded in 1901 on the Lake Michigan shore in Manistee and open to the public as well as members.
Ludington & Manistee
Resort · 45 holes · Manistee
A golf resort in the Manistee National Forest south of Manistee, with two 18-hole courses, a nine-hole par-3 course and a 42-room inn.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 27 holes · Hart
A 27-hole public facility in Hart, opened in 1999, with an 18-hole championship course, a short nine-hole course and a large range.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 18 holes · Bear Lake
A rebuilt 18-hole course near Bear Lake, run by Little River Casino Resort, with wide fairways and an 18-hole putting course.
Ludington & Manistee
Public · 18 holes · Beulah
An 18-hole highlands-style course on 350 acres of rolling Benzie County hills, with distant views of Lake Michigan, Crystal Lake and Platte Lake.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Public · 18 holes · Beulah
An 18-hole public course on Fairway Drive in Beulah, listed by the Benzie County Chamber of Commerce and open for the 2026 season.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Resort · 36 holes · Thompsonville
Two 18-hole courses at the four-season Crystal Mountain resort in Thompsonville, one climbing the ski hills and one in the Betsie Valley.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Public · 18 holes · Empire
An 18-hole public course on M-72 east of Empire, just south of Glen Lake and close to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Public · 18 holes · Cedar
An 18-hole Arnold Palmer design in the Leelanau hills, run with The Homestead resort in Glen Arbor and open to public play.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Public · 27 holes · Lake Ann
A 27-hole public facility in Lake Ann with three nines, Red, White and Blue, that combine into different 18-hole rounds.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Public · 18 holes · Benzonia
An 18-hole course on a former fruit farm and Christmas tree plantation above Crystal Lake, with rolling greens among mature pines.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Public · 18 holes · Cedar
An 18-hole public course on East Bodus Road in western Leelanau County, with a Cedar address, open for the 2026 season.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Private clubs (members and guests only): Crystal Downs Country Club
Resort · 36 holes · Kewadin
A Torch Lake golf resort at Kewadin with two 18-hole courses, Sundance and Torch, plus condo and villa lodging.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Mesick
An 18-hole public course on M-115 near Mesick, northwest of Cadillac, listed by the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Suttons Bay
An 18-hole public course on about 200 acres in Suttons Bay Township, opened by the Bahle family in 1999.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Traverse City
A family-run Traverse City facility with a nine-hole executive course, a nine-hole par-3 course and a large practice area.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Resort · 9 holes · Cadillac
A nine-hole course at the base of the ski runs at Caberfae Peaks, west of Cadillac, next to the resort's Mackenzie Lodge.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Cadillac
An 18-hole course on M-55 west of Cadillac, near Lake Mitchell, listed by the visitors bureau among the area's public courses.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Bellaire
An 18-hole public course on Eddy School Road near Bellaire, run by The Chief resort together with The Chief Golf Course.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Cadillac
An 18-hole public course on 46 1/2 Road in Clam Lake Township near Cadillac, one of nine public courses around the city.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 9 holes · Elk Rapids
A historic nine-hole course on the shore of Elk Lake in Elk Rapids, with daily green fees and memberships.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Traverse City
One of the older public 18-hole courses in northern Michigan, on rolling ground with views of both arms of Grand Traverse Bay.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Manton
An 18-hole public course near Manton, north of Cadillac, listed by the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau among the area's public courses.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Resort · 27 holes · Cadillac
A Cadillac golf resort, formerly McGuire's, with the 18-hole Spruce course and the nine-hole Norway course on about 327 acres.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Resort · 54 holes · Acme
Golf Digest Best in State, Michigan 2025-26 (No. 33, The Bear)
Three 18-hole courses at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme: Jack Nicklaus's The Bear, Gary Player's The Wolverine and Spruce Run.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Interlochen
An 18-hole public course on US-31 in Interlochen, between Traverse City and Benzie County.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Cadillac
An 18-hole public course on Lakewood Drive south of Cadillac, one of nine public courses promoted by the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Lake City
An 18-hole public course between Lake City and McBain, open to the public since 1970, with ponds, a creek and rolling hardwoods.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 9 holes · Northport
A nine-hole course on former farmland in the village of Northport, near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, with solar-powered carts and irrigation.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Resort · 90 holes · Bellaire
Five 18-hole courses and 90 holes at Shanty Creek Resorts near Bellaire, including Arnold Palmer's The Legend and Tom Weiskopf's Cedar River.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Bellaire
An 18-hole course on Shanty Creek Road near Bellaire, operated with the Centennial course by The Chief resort.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 18 holes · Traverse City
An 18-hole course in the hills on the southwest side of Traverse City, set within a residential golf community.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Public · 9 holes · Tustin
A nine-hole public course on Mackinaw Trail in Tustin, south of Cadillac, listed by the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau.
Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Private clubs (members and guests only): Kingsley Club, LochenHeath Golf Club
Public · 18 holes · Ellsworth
An 18-hole Jerry Matthews course south of Charlevoix near Ellsworth, with an open front nine and a back nine through woods and creeks.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Semi-private · 27 holes · Bay Harbor
Golf Digest America's 100 Greatest Public Courses 2025-26 (No. 100, Links/Quarry)
Twenty-seven Arthur Hills holes on Little Traverse Bay, played as three nines along the shoreline, through an old shale quarry and in the woods.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Semi-private · 18 holes · Charlevoix
GOLF Top 100 Courses You Can Play 2024-25 (No. 40)
A 1920s William Watson parkland course southeast of Charlevoix, private in spirit but open to outside play, and a longtime Michigan Amateur host.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 36 holes · Boyne Falls
Two 18-hole courses at the Boyne Mountain ski resort in Boyne Falls: the Alpine, which runs down the mountain, and the Monument.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 18 holes · Charlevoix
A public 18-hole Jerry Matthews course north of Charlevoix with water in play, heather surrounds and a demanding four-hole finish.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 9 holes · Charlevoix
A city-run nine-hole course on Charlevoix's north side, founded in 1896 and one of the older golf clubs in Michigan.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 18 holes · Harbor Springs
An 18-hole course east of Harbor Springs that winds through wooded ground past log homes, built by Larry Mancour.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 18 holes · Petoskey
An 18-hole course on the bluffs above Bay Harbor, with hardwood-lined holes and views over Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 18 holes · Charlevoix
An 18-hole course in the woods between Charlevoix and Boyne City, with views of Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan from several holes.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Semi-private · 18 holes · Harbor Springs
A historic semi-private course on Harbor Point with Lake Michigan views, open to public play in late spring and early fall.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 18 holes · Brutus
An 18-hole course along the Maple River near Brutus, north of Petoskey, routed through pines and hardwoods in a lay-of-the-land style.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 9 holes · East Jordan
A nine-hole public course and driving range in the rolling hills just outside East Jordan.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · Harbor Springs
Golf Digest Best Golf Courses in Michigan 2025-26 (No. 25, The Heather)
The Highlands resort near Harbor Springs has four 18-hole courses, including The Heather and Arthur Hills, plus a lit par-3 short course.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Public · 9 holes · East Jordan
A public nine-hole course near East Jordan that dates to 1923, with two sets of tees.
Charlevoix & Petoskey
Private clubs (members and guests only): True North Golf Club
Public · 18 holes · Carp Lake
A public 18-hole Jerry Matthews course at Carp Lake, just south of Mackinaw City, on wetlands, forest and rolling meadow.
Mackinac & Straits
Public · 18 holes · Mackinac Island
Grand Hotel's 18-hole course on Mackinac Island: a 1901 nine across from the hotel and a 1994 nine inland, linked by horse-drawn carriage.
Mackinac & Straits
Public · 9 holes · Mackinac Island
A nine-hole links-style course from 1898 in the interior of Mackinac Island, laid out on the site of the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island.
Mackinac & Straits
Regional airports near the courses, including general aviation fields for private and charter flights.
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