Crystal Downs, a private Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell course near Frankfort, is the highest-ranked of the best golf courses in Michigan: No. 15 on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 list of America’s 100 Greatest, with Oakland Hills’ South Course at No. 20. For courses you can book, start with Arcadia Bluffs, Greywalls, Forest Dunes and its reversible Loop, and Belvedere.
Michigan may be the best state in America for a golfer who doesn’t belong to a club. The National Golf Foundation counts 868 golf courses here, and 748 of them, 86%, are open to the public. No other state has as many public courses, and nationally the share is 72%. The two private clubs at the top of the rankings are wonderful, and almost nobody reading this will get on either of them. It matters less than you’d think. The public courses one rung down are as good as anything in the Midwest, and Arcadia Bluffs, the state’s most famous public course, tops out at a reported $285 in high summer, about half of the $550 that TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course was reported to charge at peak.
The catch is the calendar. Michigan golf runs from May to October, and the best of it sits Up North, in the lake, dune and forest country of the northern Lower Peninsula, and across the Mackinac Bridge in the Upper Peninsula. Plan around those two facts and you’ll get more good golf per dollar here than almost anywhere in the country.
How we built this. The rankings come from Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest and America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses (2025-26), GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the U.S. and Top 100 Courses You Can Play (2024-25), and Golfweek’s Michigan lists (2024 edition). We compare the national lists in our guide to every major golf course ranking. Green fees come from each course’s own rate page where one is published, checked in October 2026, at the end of the 2026 season; most Michigan courses post next year’s rates in spring. Where a figure comes from a third party, or from a rate page we could only read second-hand, we say “reported”. We haven’t played every course here. Where a note leans on the rankings, published data and the architecture rather than our own scorecards, we say so.
At a glance
- Best golf course in Michigan: Crystal Downs, Frankfort, private; No. 15 on Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest and No. 1 on Golfweek’s Michigan private list
- Best course you can play: Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs Course), No. 16 on Golf Digest’s public list and No. 1 on Golfweek’s Michigan public list; reported at $135 to $285 with a cart
- Best value among the ranked courses: Belvedere in Charlevoix, a 1925 course, $75 walking in spring, $120 in autumn and $150 in summer
- Best for architecture fans: The Loop at Forest Dunes, Tom Doak’s reversible course, played clockwise one day and counter-clockwise the next
- Best in the Upper Peninsula: Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club, $145 to $235 with a cart, routed over bare granite above Lake Superior
- Cheapest good round: Rackham, a Donald Ross course owned by the City of Detroit, $38 walking Monday to Thursday
- Best months: mid-June to mid-September for conditions; late May and late September to mid-October for shoulder rates
The best golf courses in Michigan at a glance
The table lists the national top 100s first, then the best public and resort courses by region. “Access” is what a golfer without a membership can expect: private means members and their guests only; resort means the course belongs to a resort but outside golfers can book; public means anyone can book; “muni” marks a city-owned course.
| Course | Region | Access | Architect (year) | Green fee (Oct 2026) | Ranking or note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Downs | Frankfort | Private | Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell (late 1920s) | Members’ guests only | GD U.S. No. 15; GOLF U.S. No. 23 |
| Oakland Hills (South) | Bloomfield Hills | Private | Donald Ross (1918); Gil Hanse restoration (2021) | Members’ guests only | GD U.S. No. 20; GOLF U.S. No. 20 |
| Kingsley Club | Kingsley | Private | Mike DeVries (2001) | Members’ guests only | GOLF U.S. No. 99 |
| Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs) | Arcadia | Public | Rick Smith and Warren Henderson (1999) | $135-$285 with cart (reported) | GD public No. 16; Golfweek MI public No. 1 |
| Greywalls | Marquette | Public | Mike DeVries (2005) | $145-$235 with cart | GD public No. 55; Golfweek MI public No. 2 |
| The Loop (Black and Red) | Roscommon | Public | Tom Doak (2016) | $145-$215; cart $30 | GD public No. 63 and No. 68; GOLF you-can-play No. 30 |
| Forest Dunes | Roscommon | Public | Tom Weiskopf (2002) | $145-$215; cart $30 | GD public No. 37 |
| Arcadia Bluffs (South) | Arcadia | Public | Dana Fry and Jason Straka (2018) | $90-$185 with cart (reported) | GD public No. 53; GOLF you-can-play No. 50 |
| Belvedere | Charlevoix | Public (not noon-2 pm) | William Watson (1925) | $75-$150 walking; cart $30 | GOLF you-can-play No. 40 |
| Tullymore | Stanwood | Public | Jim Engh (2002) | $100-$195 with cart | GD public No. 70 |
| Bay Harbor (Links/Quarry) | Bay Harbor | Resort | Arthur Hills (1996) | Not published; after 4 pm from $155 | GD public No. 100 |
| The Heather (The Highlands) | Harbor Springs | Resort | Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1966) | Not published (online booking) | Slope 147 from the back |
| Treetops (Masterpiece) | Gaylord | Resort | Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1987) | Not published; twilight from $50 | Slope 147 (reported) |
| The Bear | Acme (Traverse City) | Resort | Jack Nicklaus (1985) | $95-$200; hotel guests $80-$160 | Slope 150 from the back |
| Harbor Shores | Benton Harbor | Public | Jack Nicklaus (2010) | $135-$245 with cart | Senior PGA Championship venue |
| Sweetgrass | Harris (UP) | Resort | Paul Albanese and Chris Lutzke (2008) | $80-$90 with half a cart | Golfweek MI public No. 9 |
| University of Michigan GC | Ann Arbor | Affiliates; package for others | Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell (1931) | Package $185 (reported) | Golfweek MI public No. 15 |
| Rackham | Huntington Woods | Muni (City of Detroit) | Donald Ross (1920s) | $38-$63 | Ross for under $40 walking |
Rankings: Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest and 100 Greatest Public (2025-26); GOLF Top 100 in the U.S. and Top 100 You Can Play (2024-25); Golfweek’s Best Michigan lists (2024). Fees checked October 2026 from each course’s rate page except where marked “reported”.
Three things stand out. First, Michigan’s two national top-20 courses are both private, about four hours apart by car, and neither sells a tee time. Second, seven of the eight Michigan courses on Golf Digest’s public list are Up North or in the Upper Peninsula, and five of the eight sit on just two properties, Arcadia Bluffs and Forest Dunes. Third, the prices are fair by national standards. Every big name that publishes its rates tops out under $300, and most of the ranked public courses drop by a quarter to a half in spring and autumn.
What is the best golf course in Michigan?
Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, a private Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell design, is the best golf course in Michigan by most measures: No. 15 on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 national ranking and No. 1 on Golfweek’s Michigan private list. Oakland Hills’ South Course is a close second and edges it on GOLF’s list.
All three courses at the top of Michigan’s rankings are private, and we don’t list green fees or course ratings for them: none sells tee times or publishes rates, so these notes lean on the rankings, the clubs’ histories and their architecture.
Crystal Downs Country Club
Frankfort · private · Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell (late 1920s) · Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest No. 15; GOLF Top 100 in the U.S. No. 23; LINKS 100 No. 13 · members and their guests only
Crystal Downs sits on a high, sandy ridge between Lake Michigan and Crystal Lake, a few miles north of Frankfort, and it’s the course Michigan golfers mention in a slightly lowered voice. Alister MacKenzie routed it in the late 1920s, around the time he was building Cypress Point, and Perry Maxwell, who later designed Southern Hills and Prairie Dunes, stayed on to build it. The routing moves from open, heaving ground near the clubhouse into wooded hills, and the greens are what everyone remembers. They tilt and fold so hard that a putt from the wrong side of the hole can run off the front, which is why the course’s shorter holes are where good rounds tend to fall apart.
It isn’t long by modern standards, and it doesn’t need to be. That’s a big part of why architects revere it: it tests the best players with angles and slopes rather than yardage. Our guide to Alister MacKenzie golf courses puts it alongside his other American work.
Verdict: if a member ever invites you, cancel whatever else you had planned.
Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course)
Bloomfield Hills · private · Donald Ross (1918); Robert Trent Jones Sr. changes (1951); Gil Hanse restoration (2021) · Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest No. 20; GOLF Top 100 in the U.S. No. 20 · members and their guests only
Oakland Hills is Michigan’s championship course. The South Course has held six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup, and its most famous moment came in 1951, when Robert Trent Jones Sr. toughened it for the U.S. Open and Ben Hogan, having won, called it a monster he’d brought to its knees. The nickname stuck. More recently, Gil Hanse peeled back decades of changes to bring back Donald Ross’s green contours and bunkering, and the restored course hosted the 2024 U.S. Amateur. The club lost its century-old clubhouse to a fire in February 2022, and the USGA has chosen it for the 2034 U.S. Open.
Verdict: the most important course in Michigan golf history, and still a brute. You need a member to play it.
The Kingsley Club
Kingsley, south of Traverse City · private · Mike DeVries (2001) · GOLF Top 100 in the U.S. No. 99; Golfweek Michigan private No. 3 · members and their guests only
The Kingsley Club is the best modern course in Michigan: firm, sandy, rolling ground, wild greens and very little that looks built. Mike DeVries, who later designed Greywalls in Marquette, made a course that wants the ball on the ground, where bounces and slopes matter more than carry distance. It has a national membership, and you’ll need an invitation.
Golfweek’s Michigan private list continues with the Dunes Club in New Buffalo, Mike Keiser’s private nine-hole course from before he built Bandon Dunes; Franklin Hills in Franklin; Meadowbrook in Northville; Lost Dunes in Bridgman, a Tom Doak design; Indianwood (Old) in Lake Orion, host of the 1989 and 1994 U.S. Women’s Opens; Orchard Lake; and Barton Hills in Ann Arbor. Two more Detroit clubs have big stories: the Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, where Arnold Palmer won the 1954 U.S. Amateur, and Detroit Golf Club, a Donald Ross club that has hosted the PGA Tour’s Detroit event since 2019. On the southwest shore, Point O’Woods in Benton Harbor was long the home of the Western Amateur. None of them sells public tee times.
Which of Michigan’s top-ranked courses can you play?
Anyone can book all eight Michigan courses on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses: Arcadia Bluffs (No. 16) and its South Course (No. 53), Forest Dunes (No. 37), Greywalls (No. 55), both routings of The Loop (No. 63 and No. 68), Tullymore (No. 70) and Bay Harbor (No. 100).
GOLF’s 2024-25 list of the top 100 courses you can play has three Michigan entries: The Loop at No. 30, Belvedere at No. 40 and Arcadia Bluffs’ South Course at No. 50. Golfweek’s Michigan public list runs 15 deep and puts Arcadia Bluffs first, Greywalls second and The Loop third. And the regional tourism group Golf Up North counts 22 of the 30 courses on Golf Digest’s Michigan best-public list in northern Michigan. That’s where most of your money should go.
The rest of this guide goes region by region. Every course with its own heading gets a data line: location, who can play, architect and year, par and yardage, course rating and slope from a named tee where one is published, the green fee with the date we checked it, and walking and booking details. Course rating is what a scratch golfer is expected to shoot; slope measures how much harder the course plays for a bogey golfer, on a scale where 113 is average. The USGA explains both, and our guide to course rating and slope rating shows how to use them to pick tees.
Why does Michigan have so many public golf courses?
Michigan has 868 golf courses and 748 of them, 86%, are open to the public, the most of any state, according to the National Golf Foundation’s March 2026 figures; nationally, 72% of courses are public. Summer resort golf Up North, plenty of affordable land and a deep daily-fee tradition all play a part.
Some of it is geography. The northern Lower Peninsula has been a summer escape for families from Detroit, Chicago and Ohio for more than a century, and resorts built courses to keep them busy: the Heather at Boyne Highlands, now The Highlands, opened in 1966, Grand Traverse Resort’s Bear in 1985 and Treetops’ Masterpiece in 1987. Then came a boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when developers put ambitious daily-fee courses on sand, bluffs and rock: Bay Harbor (1996), Arcadia Bluffs (1999), Forest Dunes and Tullymore (2002) and Greywalls (2005). Most of the Michigan courses that rank nationally today come from that run.
The other part is money. With a season of five or six months, full-year private dues are a hard sell outside the big suburbs, so much of Michigan’s private golf clusters around Detroit, and most of the rest of the state runs on green fees. That short season also explains Michigan’s pricing: courses have a few months to earn their keep, so they charge what the market will bear in July and cut rates hard in May and October to fill the tee sheet. The NGF puts golf’s economic impact in the state at about $3 billion a year.
Arcadia Bluffs, Crystal Downs country and Traverse City
The northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, from Arcadia up the Lake Michigan shore to Frankfort and on to Traverse City, has the best concentration of golf in the state. Crystal Downs is here, and so is the Kingsley Club, and so is the best public course in Michigan. Our guide to Traverse City golf courses covers the Grand Traverse Bay courses in more depth, and a separate guide to Arcadia Bluffs green fees sets out the rate card season by season.
Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs Course)
Arcadia · public · Rick Smith and Warren Henderson (1999) · Par 72, 7,300 yards; 75.7/146 (Championship) · Green fee reported at $135 to $285 depending on season and time, cart and range included (2026 rates) · walk or ride at the same price; caddies available
Arcadia Bluffs is the Michigan public course that golfers from other states fly in for. It sits on bluffs high above Lake Michigan and plays like a links that someone has tilted toward the water: fescue fairways, sod-walled bunkers, big tumbling greens and wind off the lake on almost every shot. The holes along the bluff edge are the ones you’ll see on postcards, and they live up to it. At 7,300 yards from the back with a slope of 146, there’s a lot of golf course here, and the wind decides how much of it you get.
Which tees: a 10-handicap should play somewhere around 6,300 to 6,500 yards; an 18 around 5,800 to 6,000; a 25 the forward set. If the wind is up, move forward again. Carries over fescue that are routine in calm air become very long into a lake breeze.
Verdict: worth it, even at the top of the range in July, if you play only one public course in Michigan. If price matters, go in late May or October, when the rate drops toward $135 and the course is quieter. Take a caddie the first time; the lines off the tee aren’t obvious.
Arcadia Bluffs (South Course)
Arcadia · public · Dana Fry and Jason Straka (2018) · Par 72, 7,513 yards; 75.6/132 (Black) · Green fee reported at $90 to $185, cart and range included (2026 rates) · walk or ride
The South Course sits inland from the bluffs on open, former farmland, and it’s a very different day out: wide fairways, enormous greens and holes built in a Golden Age style, with template holes in the manner of Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor. A template hole borrows the strategy of a famous original; the best known is the Redan, a par 3 whose green slopes away from the golfer behind a deep front bunker. The South is longer on the card than the Bluffs but plays far kinder, with a slope of 132 against 146. In July 2025 the club also opened The Dozen, a 12-hole course (reported).
Which tees: play one set further back than you would at the Bluffs. The fairways are generous and the trouble is around the greens.
Verdict: a better round than the Bluffs for most 15- to 25-handicaps, and $100 cheaper at peak. Play both if you can. If you can only afford one and would rather enjoy the day than survive it, play the South.
The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort
Acme, east of Traverse City · public and resort guests · Jack Nicklaus (1985) · Par 72, 7,078 yards; 76.1/150 (back tees) · Green fee $95 to $200 for outside golfers and $80 to $160 for resort guests; twilight $65 to $105 (2026 brochure) · cart policy not stated
The Bear is the course that made Traverse City a golf town. Nicklaus built it in 1985 with terraced fairways, deep bunkers and plenty of water, and for years it had a reputation as one of the hardest courses in the Midwest; a 76.1 rating and 150 slope from the back tees still back that up. The resort’s other courses are the Wolverine, a Gary Player design with a 140 slope from the back, and Spruce Run, the gentlest of the three at $55 to $110.
Which tees: unless you’re a single-digit player, the back tees are a punishment. A 10-handicap should be around 6,200 yards; an 18 the next set forward; a 25 the front.
Verdict: a fair price for a hard, famous course. Higher handicaps will enjoy the Wolverine more.
Charlevoix, Petoskey and Harbor Springs
An hour north of Traverse City, the resort towns around Little Traverse Bay have been summer golf country for a century. Belvedere is the old soul of the area; Bay Harbor and The Highlands are the big resort operations. Our guide to the best golf courses in Northern Michigan covers the region in more detail.
Belvedere Golf Club
Charlevoix · public; outside golfers welcome except between noon and 2 pm · William Watson (1925) · Rating and slope not published · Green fee walking $150 in summer, $120 in autumn, $75 in spring; cart $30 extra (2026, official) · walking is the default
Belvedere is the course Michigan golfers recommend when you ask where to play for under $200. It’s a 1925 design by William Watson, the Scottish architect who also laid out what is now TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, with rolling, tree-lined fairways and old-fashioned greens, and it’s been a regular host of the Michigan Amateur. Nothing about it shouts. GOLF still ranks it No. 40 among all the courses you can play in America, ahead of plenty of resort courses that cost twice as much.
Which tees: it isn’t long. Choose the tees that leave you mid-irons into the greens, because the greens are where par is protected.
Verdict: the best-value ranked course in Michigan. At $75 walking in spring, it’s one of the great bargains in American golf.
Bay Harbor Golf Club
Bay Harbor, near Petoskey · resort course open to the public; also members · Arthur Hills (1996) · 27 holes: Links, Quarry and Preserve nines, par 36 each; Links/Quarry 6,845 yards (Brown); rating and slope vary by combination · Green fee not published (online booking only); late-afternoon rate from $155 after 4 pm · run by BOYNE; closes for the season October 11 (2026)
Bay Harbor is three different nines on one dramatic stretch of shoreline. The Links nine runs along the bluffs above Little Traverse Bay, the Quarry nine drops into an old shale quarry, and the Preserve nine heads into woods and wetland. Golf Digest ranks the Links/Quarry combination No. 100 on its public list. The whole development, with its marina and village, was built on the site of former cement works and quarries.
Verdict: the Links/Quarry is spectacular and worth one round. The after-4 pm rate is the best deal on the property; ask for it when you book.
The Highlands at Harbor Springs
Harbor Springs · resort courses open to the public (formerly Boyne Highlands) · The Heather: Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1966); Donald Ross Memorial (1989, renovated 2020); Arthur Hills course · Heather par 72, 7,143 yards; 75.4/147 (back tees) · Donald Ross Memorial par 72, 6,814 yards; 73.9/143 (Brown) · Green fees not published (dynamic online booking) · Hills and Ross Memorial close for the season October 18 (2026)
The Heather is the classic here, a long, tree-lined Trent Jones course from 1966 with water and a 147 slope from the back, and still one of the sternest tests Up North. The Donald Ross Memorial is the one to know about: 18 holes modelled on holes Ross built elsewhere, from Pinehurst to Oakland Hills, so you get a taste of courses most golfers will never play. The resort added Doon Brae, a walking-only short course, in 2026, at $35 to $60.
Verdict: the Heather for an old-fashioned test, the Ross Memorial for fun and a history lesson. The rates move with demand, so compare a few days before you book.
BOYNE’s other resort, Boyne Mountain near Boyne Falls, has the Alpine course (par 72, 7,045 yards; 73.6/140) from 1970. Its Monument course, from 1986, has been through redevelopment, so check its status before you plan around it. Little Traverse Bay Golf Club in Harbor Springs, which still shows up on booking sites, closed after 2019; its land is now a nature preserve.
Gaylord, Roscommon and the north woods
Inland, the north woods of the Lower Peninsula have two of the most interesting public golf properties in Michigan: Forest Dunes, deep in the forest near Roscommon, and Treetops, on the hills outside Gaylord.
Forest Dunes Golf Club
Roscommon · public · Tom Weiskopf (2002) · Par 72, 7,116 yards; 75.2/146 (back tees) · Green fee in peak season $185 Monday to Wednesday and $215 Thursday to Sunday; shoulder season $145 to $165; twilight $160 to $185; cart $30 extra (2026, official) · walking is the base rate
Tom Weiskopf built Forest Dunes in 2002 on a sandy site surrounded by forest, and it moves between tall pines and open, sandy waste areas that look more like the Carolina Sandhills than central Michigan. Golf Digest has it No. 37 on its public list, and it’s a properly hard course, with a 146 slope from the back. What turned Forest Dunes from a good course into a destination, though, was the arrival of The Loop next door.
The Loop at Forest Dunes
Roscommon · public · Tom Doak (2016) · Red: par 70, 6,805 yards; 72.3/126 · Black: par 70, 6,704 yards; 71.5/125 · Green fee on the same 2026 rate card as Forest Dunes ($145 to $215; cart $30 extra) (official) · walking is the base rate
The Loop is a reversible course: it’s played clockwise one day (the Black) and counter-clockwise the next (the Red), using the same 18 greens from opposite directions. It sounds like a gimmick. It isn’t. Doak designed every green to work from both ends, and the two routings feel so different that Golf Digest ranks them separately, at No. 63 and No. 68 on its public list. GOLF has The Loop at No. 30 on its list of courses you can play. It’s firm, wide and built for the ground game, and with slopes in the mid-120s it’s far kinder to a 20-handicap than Weiskopf’s course next door.
Which tees: both routings are under 6,900 yards, so most players can move back a set: a 10-handicap from the back, an 18 around 6,000 yards, a 25 the forward tees.
Verdict: play The Loop in both directions on consecutive days and add Forest Dunes if you have the legs. It’s one of the most memorable public golf stays in the Midwest. Forest Dunes also has The Bootlegger, a walking-only short course by Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, for $55.
Treetops Resort
Gaylord · resort courses open to the public · Masterpiece: Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1987); Premier: Tom Fazio (1992); Smith Signature: Rick Smith (1993); Tradition: Rick Smith; Threetops: Rick Smith (nine-hole par 3) · Masterpiece par 71, 7,028 yards; slope 147 (reported) · Green fees not published; twilight from $50 (2026) · the Tradition is walkable; carts on most other courses
Treetops has 81 holes on hilly, wooded ground outside Gaylord. The Masterpiece, from late in Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s career, is the showpiece and the hardest, with big drops from elevated tees and a slope of 147. Fazio’s Premier and Rick Smith’s Signature and Tradition are friendlier, and Threetops, a nine-hole par-3 course, is the most fun you’ll have at the resort in two hours. If short courses are your thing, our guide to par-3 golf courses has more.
Verdict: a good base for a group with mixed abilities. Play the Masterpiece once for the views, then spend your bigger green fees at Forest Dunes, under an hour south.
East toward Lake Huron, Lakewood Shores in Oscoda has the Gailes, a Scottish-style course with pot bunkers and fescue (par 72, 6,954 yards from the Gold tees); it sells mostly packages, from $189 to $319 for three rounds with a cart. North of Gaylord, Black Lake Golf Club in Onaway, a Rees Jones design owned by the United Auto Workers, is open to the public at $64 to $96 with a cart, and it’s one of the best-value rounds Up North.
The Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island
Across the Mackinac Bridge, the Upper Peninsula is big, empty and cool, and its golf season is the shortest in the state. It also has a top-two public course in Michigan that most visitors have never heard of. Our guide to the best golf courses in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula covers the region in more depth.
Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club
Marquette · public · Mike DeVries (2005) · Par 72, 6,828 yards; 73.0/144 (back tees; another listing shows 147) · Green fee $235 in summer (May 22 to September 13), $145 in spring, $155 in autumn; twilight $180; walking rate $210; cart included in the standard rate (2026, official) · walking allowed
Greywalls is the most dramatic course in the Midwest that hardly anyone plays. Mike DeVries routed it over and around huge outcrops of bare granite on a hillside above Lake Superior, so you hit tee shots across rock, play to greens perched on ledges and get long views of the lake. Golfweek ranks it second among Michigan’s public courses, behind only Arcadia Bluffs, and Golf Digest has it No. 55 on its national public list. The club’s older Heritage course costs $59.
Which tees: it isn’t long, but the slope tells you how severe it is. A 10-handicap should play around 6,300 yards; an 18 around 5,800; a 25 the forward tees.
Verdict: worth the drive to Marquette for anyone who likes bold golf, and fair at $235. In spring or autumn, at $145 to $155, it’s a steal.
Sweetgrass Golf Club
Harris, near Escanaba · resort course open to the public (Island Resort and Casino) · Paul Albanese and Chris Lutzke (2008) · Par 72, 7,275 yards; 75.2/143 (Black) · Green fee $90 in summer and $80 in spring and autumn, with a half share of a cart; discounted rates $54 to $64 (2026, official) · book up to a month ahead
Sweetgrass is the long, open course at the Hannahville Indian Community’s Island Resort and Casino, with water, native grasses and a stiff test from the back tees. It’s No. 9 on Golfweek’s Michigan public list, and its sister course, Sage Run, is No. 12. In 2026 the resort previewed a third course, the nine-hole Cedar, also by Paul Albanese, at $45.
Verdict: two of Michigan’s top 15 public courses for under $100 each. If you’re anywhere in the central UP, it’s the best value in the state.
In the western UP, TimberStone at Pine Mountain in Iron Mountain, a Jerry Matthews design that’s one of the hardest courses in the state from the back (par 72, 6,938 yards; 74.5/150), costs $149 in summer and $109 to $129 in spring and autumn, with a cart.
On Mackinac Island, where cars are banned, two courses carry most of the history. Wawashkamo was founded in 1898 by summer cottagers on farmland that was also the site of the 1814 Battle of Mackinac Island, and its state historical marker calls it one of Michigan’s oldest nine-hole courses; the Scottish professional Alex Smith designed it (par 36, 2,999 yards; 34.7/118). It charges $50 walking in spring and autumn and $75 to $110 for 18 holes with a cart. The Jewel, the Grand Hotel’s course, is a par 67 of 5,445 yards; its green fee isn’t published online. Neither is a championship test. Both are a lovely way to spend an afternoon on an island you reached by ferry.
West and Southwest Michigan
The Lake Michigan shore from Benton Harbor to Grand Haven, and the farm country north of Grand Rapids, has a different feel: closer to Chicago than to Detroit, with newer public courses and some of the best private golf in the state. Our guide to the best golf courses in West and Southwest Michigan covers the region course by course.
Harbor Shores
Benton Harbor · public · Jack Nicklaus (2010) · Par 71, 6,852 yards; 74.7/143 (Black) · Green fee $245 in peak season, $200 mid-season and $135 off-peak, with a cart (2026, official) · carts mandatory; forecaddies available
Harbor Shores brought big-time golf back to Benton Harbor. Jack Nicklaus built it in 2010 as part of a redevelopment of the city’s lakefront, with holes along the river, through wooded dunes and out toward Lake Michigan, and it has hosted the Senior PGA Championship several times since 2012. A nine-hole short course, the Wee Course, opened in 2025. Our guide to Jack Nicklaus golf courses covers his other public designs, including the Bear above.
Which tees: a 74.7 rating from the Black tees is stiff for a par 71. A 10-handicap should play around 6,300 yards; an 18 around 5,800; a 25 the forward tees.
Verdict: a good championship course with real dune holes, and fairly priced off-peak at $135. At $245 in peak season it’s a notch below Arcadia Bluffs for $40 less.
Tullymore Golf Club
Stanwood (Canadian Lakes), about an hour north of Grand Rapids · public · Jim Engh (2002) · Par 72, 7,148 yards; 74.9/148 (Silver) · Green fee $100 to $195 with a GPS cart and range balls (2026, official) · booking window given as 30 days on the rate page and 14 days in the policies; call to confirm
Tullymore is Jim Engh’s best-known Midwest course, a big, bold design with heaving fairways, bowl-shaped greens and dramatic bunkers carved out of woods and wetland. Golf Digest ranks it No. 70 on its public list. The resort’s second course, St. Ives, costs $85 to $160.
Verdict: a strong round for a better player, and a reasonable price for a nationally ranked course. From Grand Rapids, it’s the closest course on Golf Digest’s public top 100.
Nearby and worth knowing: Pilgrim’s Run in Pierson, north of Grand Rapids, is a par 73 of 7,093 yards (74.7/143) that costs $80 to $115 with a cart and range balls, No. 11 on Golfweek’s Michigan public list. In Grand Haven, Jack Nicklaus rebuilt the old Grand Haven Golf Club as American Dunes, which reopened in 2021 in support of Folds of Honor, the charity that funds scholarships for the families of fallen and disabled service members; Golfweek has it No. 14. Stoatin Brae, at Gull Lake View near Augusta, between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, is No. 10. On the private side, Lost Dunes, the Dunes Club and Point O’Woods make the southwest shore one of the best stretches of private golf in the Midwest.
Detroit, Ann Arbor and Lansing
Southeast Michigan, home to more than 4 million people, has most of the state’s great private clubs. Public golf here is about value: city and university courses with real pedigree, plus a handful of upscale daily-fee courses.
University of Michigan Golf Course
Ann Arbor · university affiliates and their guests; unaffiliated golfers through a package · Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell (1931) · Par 71, 6,730 yards; 72.8/135 · Affiliate guests $75 to $100; unaffiliated golfers $185 for a “MacKenzie package” (reported, 2026) · a foursome normally needs one university affiliate
The University of Michigan’s course is a MacKenzie and Maxwell design from 1931, the same partnership that built Crystal Downs, and it’s the nearest most golfers will get to playing their work in this state. It’s rolling, with bold, contoured greens, and it’s home to the university’s golf teams. Golfweek lists it at No. 15 among Michigan’s public-access courses, but in practice access runs through the university.
Verdict: if you know a Michigan graduate, this is the favour to ask. The $185 package is steep for a university course, but you’re paying for MacKenzie.
Rackham Golf Course
Huntington Woods · public; owned by the City of Detroit, managed by Troon · Donald Ross (1920s) · Par 71, 6,555 yards (back tees); rating and slope not published · Green fee Monday to Thursday $38 walking or $45 with a cart; Friday to Sunday $50 walking or $63 with a cart (2026, official) · walking allowed
Rackham is a Donald Ross course for $38. It sits beside the Detroit Zoo in Huntington Woods, on city-owned land just outside Detroit’s limits, and it’s a classic tree-lined Ross parkland course with small, raised greens. It isn’t in any ranking and doesn’t pretend to be. It’s simply good, honest golf at a price that’s hard to believe in a metro area this size.
Verdict: the best-value round in metro Detroit. Walk it on a weekday.
Elsewhere in the region, Forest Akers West, Michigan State’s course in East Lansing (par 72, 7,013 yards; 75.3/141), a 1958 course renovated by Arthur Hills in 1992, costs $63 walking and $85 with a cart Monday to Thursday and $73 and $95 at weekends, with tee times 7 days ahead. Eagle Eye in Bath, near Lansing, is No. 8 on Golfweek’s Michigan public list. The Orchards in Washington Township, a Robert Trent Jones Jr. course from 1993 (par 72, 7,036 yards; 74.5/136), lists summer rates of $80 midweek, $95 on Fridays and $120 at weekends. Shepherd’s Hollow in Clarkston has 27 holes with dynamic pricing; carts are included and walking isn’t allowed.
Where are the best-value and municipal golf courses in Michigan?
Michigan’s best-value rounds are Rackham, a Donald Ross course in metro Detroit at $38 walking; Belvedere at $75 walking in spring; Black Lake at $64 to $96 with a cart; Sweetgrass at $80 to $90; and Forest Akers West at $63 walking. Up North, shoulder-season rates are often a quarter to a half below peak.
| Course | Region | Green fee (Oct 2026) | Why it’s good value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rackham | Detroit | $38-$63 | Donald Ross course owned by the city |
| Heritage at Marquette Golf Club | Upper Peninsula | $59 | Greywalls’ older sister course |
| Forest Akers West | East Lansing | $63-$95 | Michigan State’s championship course |
| Black Lake | Onaway | $64-$96 with cart | Rees Jones design, open to the public |
| Belvedere | Charlevoix | $75-$150 walking | GOLF you-can-play No. 40 |
| Sweetgrass | Upper Peninsula | $80-$90 with half a cart | Golfweek Michigan public No. 9 |
| Pilgrim’s Run | Grand Rapids area | $80-$115 with cart | Golfweek Michigan public No. 11 |
| Greywalls in spring or autumn | Upper Peninsula | $145-$155 with cart | Golfweek Michigan public No. 2 |
Fees from each course’s official rate page, October 2026.
Michigan has also gone all in on short courses, which are the cheapest way to see a big-name property. Forest Dunes’ Bootlegger costs $55, walking only; Doon Brae at The Highlands $35 to $60; Island Resort’s new nine-hole Cedar previewed at $45; and Arcadia Bluffs (The Dozen) and Harbor Shores (the Wee Course) both added short courses in 2025. Wawashkamo’s nine holes on Mackinac Island cost $50 walking in spring and autumn.
For the full list of public courses across the state, including the hundreds of daily-fee courses outside the rankings, see our guide to the best public golf courses in Michigan. For city-owned courses nationally, see the best municipal golf courses in America.
When is the best time to play golf in Michigan?
Play from mid-June to mid-September for the best conditions and longest days; that’s also peak pricing, with Arcadia Bluffs reported at up to $285 and Greywalls at $235. Late May and late September to mid-October bring cooler air, autumn colour and shoulder rates. Most northern courses close from late October to early May.
| Region | Best months | Shoulder season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest (Arcadia, Frankfort, Traverse City) | Mid-June to mid-September | May; late September to October | Lake wind most days; autumn colour in early October |
| Charlevoix, Petoskey, Harbor Springs | Mid-June to mid-September | Late May; September to mid-October | Some courses close early: Bay Harbor on October 11 in 2026 |
| Gaylord and Roscommon | June to September | May; late September to October | Inland and higher, so cooler mornings and frost delays |
| Upper Peninsula | July and August | Late May and June; September | Shortest season; Greywalls’ summer rate runs May 22 to September 13 |
| Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids | May to October | April; November in mild years | Longest season in the state |
General seasons; individual courses vary.
Two practical tips. First, the shoulder season is where Michigan’s value really shows: Belvedere is $75 in spring against $150 in summer, and Arcadia Bluffs drops toward $135. The trade-off is weather; a late-May morning on Lake Michigan can be 45 degrees and blowing. Second, Michigan courses grow cool-season grasses, bentgrass and fescue, that are at their best in early summer and early autumn, when nights are cool. Our guide to golf course grass explains why that matters for how a course plays.
How much does it cost to play the best courses in Michigan?
Michigan’s top public courses cost $135 to $285 in peak season: Arcadia Bluffs is reported at up to $285, Harbor Shores charges $245, Greywalls $235, and Forest Dunes and The Loop $215 plus a $30 cart. Good daily-fee and city courses cost $38 to $100, and shoulder rates run a quarter to a half lower.
| Price band | Courses (October 2026) |
|---|---|
| $200-$300 at peak | Arcadia Bluffs Bluffs Course ($135-$285, reported); Harbor Shores ($135-$245); Greywalls ($145-$235); Forest Dunes and The Loop ($145-$215, plus $30 cart); The Bear ($95-$200) |
| $100-$200 | Arcadia Bluffs South ($90-$185, reported); Tullymore ($100-$195); St. Ives ($85-$160); TimberStone ($109-$149); Belvedere ($120-$150 walking in summer and autumn); Bay Harbor after 4 pm (from $155); University of Michigan package ($185, reported) |
| $60-$100 | Sweetgrass ($80-$90); Black Lake ($64-$96); Pilgrim’s Run ($80-$115); The Orchards ($80-$120); Forest Akers West ($63-$95) |
| Under $60 | Rackham ($38-$63); Heritage at Marquette ($59); the Bootlegger ($55); Doon Brae ($35-$60); Wawashkamo ($50 walking in spring and autumn) |
Check what the fee includes before you compare. Arcadia Bluffs, Greywalls, Harbor Shores and Tullymore include a cart; Forest Dunes and Belvedere charge $30 extra, which makes walking the cheaper and, frankly, better way to play them. Our guide to how much a round of golf costs explains the national picture.
How do you book a tee time at Michigan’s best courses?
Book directly with each course. Tullymore opens 14 to 30 days out (its pages disagree), Sweetgrass a month, and Forest Akers West 7 days; Arcadia Bluffs, Forest Dunes and Greywalls don’t publish a window, so book as early as their online systems allow, especially for summer weekends.
- Anchor the trip on one course. Arcadia Bluffs, Forest Dunes and The Loop, or Greywalls. Book that first and fit everything else around it.
- Book summer weekends early. July and August Saturdays at Arcadia Bluffs and Forest Dunes go first, and these are destination courses where most golfers plan weeks ahead.
- Use the shoulder season. Late May and late September to mid-October cut a quarter to a half off peak rates, and the courses are quieter.
- Check what’s included. Cart included at Arcadia Bluffs, Greywalls, Harbor Shores and Tullymore; $30 extra at Forest Dunes, The Loop and Belvedere.
- Ask about packages at the resorts. Most Up North resorts sell golf with lodging; Lakewood Shores, for example, sells three rounds with a cart for $189 to $319.
- Watch autumn closing dates. Bay Harbor closed on October 11 in 2026, and The Highlands’ Hills and Ross Memorial courses on October 18.
- Use twilight rates. Treetops starts at $50, The Bear at $65 and Greywalls at $180, and Up North summer evenings stay light until after 9 pm.
Our full guide to how to book a tee time explains booking windows at more than 50 courses.
How to choose which Michigan course to play
- For the best course you can book: Arcadia Bluffs, with a caddie and a forecast that promises wind.
- For architecture: The Loop in both directions, and Crystal Downs if the call ever comes.
- For drama: Greywalls in Marquette.
- For value: Belvedere in spring, Black Lake, Sweetgrass and Rackham.
- For a group with mixed abilities: Arcadia Bluffs’ South Course, Treetops or The Highlands.
- For a Detroit day: Rackham walking, or Forest Akers West in East Lansing.
- For the southwest shore and Chicago visitors: Harbor Shores.
- For a beginner or a family: the Bootlegger at Forest Dunes, Doon Brae or Threetops.
For the state next door, with Whistling Straits, Erin Hills and Sand Valley, see our guide to Wisconsin’s best courses, and for the wider region, the best golf courses in the Midwest. If links golf is what you’re after, our guide to links golf courses in America explains which American courses really qualify. For public golf nationally, see the best public golf courses in America, and for how Michigan compares with every other state, the best golf courses by state.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best golf course in Michigan?
Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, a private Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell design, is No. 15 on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Courses, with Oakland Hills’ South Course at No. 20. The best course the public can play is Arcadia Bluffs’ Bluffs Course.
What is the best public golf course in Michigan?
Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs Course) is No. 16 on Golf Digest’s 2025-26 list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses and No. 1 on Golfweek’s Michigan public list. Greywalls in Marquette, Forest Dunes and The Loop, and Arcadia Bluffs’ South Course come next.
Can the public play Crystal Downs or Oakland Hills?
No. Both are private clubs, so you need to play as a member’s guest, and neither sells tee times or publishes green fees. The nearest thing to a public MacKenzie and Maxwell round in Michigan is the University of Michigan Golf Course, which outsiders can play through a package reported at $185.
How much does it cost to play Arcadia Bluffs?
The Bluffs Course was reported at $135 to $285 for 2026, depending on season and time of day, with a cart and range balls included; walking costs the same. The South Course was reported at $90 to $185. Caddies are available, and they’re worth it the first time you play the Bluffs.
How many golf courses are in Michigan?
About 868, according to the National Golf Foundation’s March 2026 figures, and 748 of them, 86%, are open to the public. That’s the most public golf courses of any state; nationally, about 72% of courses are public.
When is golf season in Michigan?
Roughly May to October. Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula have the shortest seasons, with peak rates from mid-June to mid-September; Greywalls’ summer rate, for example, runs from May 22 to September 13. Courses around Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids often open in April and can stay open into November.
Which Michigan golf courses are best for beginners?
Start with a short course: the Bootlegger at Forest Dunes ($55, walking only), Doon Brae at The Highlands ($35 to $60), Threetops at Treetops, or Wawashkamo’s nine holes on Mackinac Island. For a first full 18, Arcadia Bluffs’ South Course and Belvedere are far friendlier than the high-slope resort courses.
What is the cheapest good golf course in Michigan?
Rackham in Huntington Woods, a Donald Ross course owned by the City of Detroit, costs $38 walking Monday to Thursday. Up North, Black Lake costs $64 to $96 with a cart, and Belvedere, No. 40 on GOLF’s list of courses you can play, is $75 walking in spring.
Is Forest Dunes worth the drive?
Yes, especially if you play The Loop in both directions. Forest Dunes is No. 37 on Golf Digest’s public list and The Loop’s two routings are No. 63 and No. 68, all for $145 to $215 plus a $30 cart in 2026. Roscommon is about three hours north of Detroit.
Our verdict
The best golf courses in Michigan are split between two private clubs you’ll probably never play and a deep bench of public courses you can play next summer for less than a resort round almost anywhere else in America. That second group is the story.
If you can play only one course, make it Arcadia Bluffs, with a caddie and a breeze off the lake. If you have three days, add Forest Dunes and play The Loop in both directions. If you want a round nobody at home has played, drive to Marquette for Greywalls. If you’re watching the budget, go in late May or early October, when Belvedere costs $75 and the big names cut their rates by a quarter to a half. And if you’re in Detroit with a free afternoon, walk Rackham for $38. Donald Ross would approve.
Sources
- America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, 2025-26, Golf Digest
- Michigan’s best golf courses, Golf Digest
- Eight Michigan golf courses land in latest ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, WNEM, May 29, 2025
- Top 100 public golf courses: state breakdown, GOLF
- The best golf courses in Michigan, 2024-25, GOLF
- The best public-access and private golf courses in Michigan, ranked, Golfweek via Yahoo Sports, July 5, 2024
- State(s) of Public Golf, National Golf Foundation, March 20, 2026
- What exactly are Course Rating and Slope Rating?, USGA
- Golf Digest: Northern Michigan’s best courses, Golf Up North
- 2026 rates, Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club
- Rates, Forest Dunes Golf Club
- Green fees, Belvedere Golf Club
- Quarry and Preserve, Bay Harbor Golf Club
- The Heather, The Highlands at Harbor Springs
- The Alpine course, Boyne Mountain
- Resort policies, Treetops Resort
- 2026 golf brochure, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa
- Rates, Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club
- Rates and memberships, TimberStone at Pine Mountain
- Sweetgrass green fees, Island Resort and Casino
- Public tee times, Harbor Shores
- Day guest rates, Tullymore Golf Resort
- Rates, Pilgrim’s Run
- The Gailes, Lakewood Shores Resort
- Golf rates, Black Lake Golf Club
- Course rates, Rackham Golf Course
- Rates, Forest Akers Golf Courses, Michigan State University
- University of Michigan Golf Course, University of Michigan
- Rates, Wawashkamo Golf Club
- Golf rates, The Orchards Golf Club
- Online tee times, Shepherd’s Hollow
Image credits
| Image | Photographer | Licence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills (featured image) | GeorgeVezza | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Crystal Downs from the ninth green | Matthewwlloyd | CC BY 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| The Golf Club at Harbor Shores, seventh hole | Humbles Art | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| University of Michigan Golf Course clubhouse | Michael Barera | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Wawashkamo Golf Club historic marker, Mackinac Island | Notorious4life | public domain (CC0) | Wikimedia Commons |
| Arcadia Bluffs above Lake Michigan | Benscripps | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Kingsley Club, first tee | Ben Scripps | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons |
| Rackham Golf Course clubhouse, Huntington Woods | Darren56brown | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons |