Planning a golf buddies’ trip on a budget? Check out this summer haven

Something magical happens to golf in Scotland in the summer months: The days have more hours.

After completing its long winter disappearance, the sun reemerges with a vengeance, cresting above the horizon well before 5 a.m., and remaining there until well after 10 p.m. each evening. The phenomenon of 18-hour days — and by extension, 18-hour golf opportunities — is owed in large part to Scotland’s latitudinal positioning, resting nearer to the North Pole than most of the world’s remaining golf. Those who have visited the country know the rare joy of a 10:30 p.m. stroll up the 18th fairway — and what an added six hours of tee time possibilities can do to one’s golfing psyche.

There are only a few places in the United States that can compare to Scotland’s geographic advantage in the summer months, and by my count, only one with a golf course that fits the traditional Scottish style of golf to a tee. The place? Northern Michigan.

Recently, I descended upon the swath of land between Detroit and the Upper Peninsula for a much-overdue college reunion trip. For five glorious days, seven friends and I parsed through Northern Michigan’s 18-hour days and stunning summer towns in pursuit of golfing glory. We had several 36-hole days. We walked everywhere we could. We spent as wisely as we could manage.

Like all golf trips, this one cost money. But unlike all golf trips, we earned a glimpse into golf experiences that provided a surprising amount of bang for our buck — and saw higher-priced tee times that proved worth their value … and then some. We emerged with a few recommendations for you, should your schedule allow for a visit to Summerland, U.S.A. — the place where the sun never quite sets. Just be sure to leave room for our return visit, too.

The best public access course in the region

Winner: The Loop

As I walked down the 9th fairway during my second round at Forest Dunes’ The Loop ($300ish, or $150 per round, to play twice in the high season), a sudden realization came over me.

“If you were forced to play all of your golf for the rest of your life at one place,” I said to my buddy CJ. “How many courses would you rather play than this one?”

I couldn’t think of five anywhere in the world.

The Loop requires a certain willingness to surrender your golf expectations. It is not lime-green and pristine. There is no water, no rough, and only some sand. Very often, the best shot is not the one hit directly at the flagstick. For those who can walk, carts are a cardinal sin.

And then there’s the matter of The Loop’s unifying theory: It is meant to be played both ways. Reversible like your third-grader’s favorite sweatshirt — front to back one day, and back to front the next.

It is difficult even for a golf writer to articulate how the land morphs depending upon the direction you’re playing and the wind, but it is not hard to articulate its affect: The Loop is totally different every day, and it is insanely, stupidly, rip-roaringly fun.

Its fairways are wide and accessible. Its greens are sloping and terrifying. It’s a beautiful walk. And the ground plays firm and fast every day of the week, the way the sport’s Scottish ancestors intended.

Some have suggested that The Loop is “tricked out” — and I suppose I hear their point. If you enjoy playing all of your golf on championship-level courses, a 15-yard chip off a backstop to vaccuum back toward the flagstick might not be for you. Thankfully, though, I play golf for fun — which means the quirkiness is only appreciated.

As we walked up to the 10th tee, I stopped at Forest Dunes’ halfway house for a PB&J and a beer (the former is a club delicacy) and couldn’t suppress my own joy. What meal better typified The Loop’s blend of youthful silliness and earnest adventure than this one? I couldn’t tell you.

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The Best Bargain

Co-winners: Champion Hill and Wolf River Golf Park

Average cost of these two gems? $50. Average enjoyment level? Very, very high.

Wolf River, as our friends at the Fried Egg first covered last year, was the product of an unusual restoration completed by the course superintendent. The result is a fun, funky course with greens and bunkers punching way above its weight class. (And a nearby casino for your trip’s neighborhood degenerates.)

Champion Hill, on the other hand, is another sweet public course plunged into the rolling hills on a piece of farmland — allegedly designed by the landowners after a few visits to nearby Crystal Downs. You’d be pushing it to walk here, but the golf is serene and the quality is also way above the asking price.

You won’t expect much from the parking lot of either of these spots, but you’ll be blown away by what you find after teeing off. It’s the best kind of golf surprise.

Best Public/Private Option

Winner: Belvedere Golf Club

Tucked all the way up in the stunning wee laketown of Charlevoix sits Belvedere, a stunning Willie Watson design with an impossibly old-school charm. By the books, Belvedere is a private club, but the unpretentious clubhouse tells visitors everything they need to know. Outsiders are welcome at the club on select days and hours — a structure that helps to keep the golf course busy and in brilliant shape.

This is golf as it was meant to be. Simple, friendly, gorgeous, creative and totally scintillating. The front nine is good. The back nine is flatly brilliant. Michigander Tom Watson is rumored to have called the 16th hole his favorite in the state, and New Yorker James Colgan says the stretch from 14-18 is as good as anywhere in the country. We played at twilight for $90, but for $150 at peak hours it’s also a steal. Just leave yourself some extra cash for the pro shop. Belvedere’s retro “B” pennant logo is as good as it gets.

Worth a visit

Winner: The Dunes Course at Forest Dunes

I was surprised to learn the debate rages on today about the better of Forest Dunes’ two golf courses: the aforementioned Loop, and the Dunes Course (also called the Weiskopf course, $165 in the high season). In my opinion, the debate is decided by how quickly each golf course surfaces in your memory. (The Loop is the winner and it’s not close.) But The Dunes is a great visit in its own right with some truly fun and funky holes. The 19th hole — a par-3 with a bunker in the center built to decide outstanding matches — is one of my favorite details on the property. Right now, the Weiskopf course plays as a really stark contrast to The Loop, but when Gil Hanse’s forthcoming third course at the property fully grows in, I suspect the Dunes Course will become a neatly fitting (and heavily underrated) complement to its two siblings.

Winner: Arcadia South and the Bluffs Restaurant

The folks we spoke to at Arcadia South ($180 on a same-day rate) claimed we were about to play a links-style course, but perhaps they meant Long Island Links-style. The South was modeled after C.B. MacDonald and Seth Raynor’s golden age works, and aesthetically looks as if it could be uprooted from the Michigan plains and dropped out on the east end of Long Island — not Ireland or Scotland. The course gets a little repetitive in spots, but on the whole it’s very good, and the conditioning is fabulous.

Arcadia South’s more renowned sibling, the Bluffs Course ($195 on a same-day rate), is beautiful but brutally difficult. A dinner or drink at the lavish clubhouse restaurant achieves the same stunning visuals without having your teeth kicked in.

Winner: The Bootlegger

The par-3 course at Forest Dunes ($54) is a rip-roaring good time. Grab a cocktail, kick off your shoes and play with as many friends as you’d like. You’d be wrong to miss it.

Eats and Drinks

Winner: Stormcloud Brewing Company and The Cool Spot Ice Cream in Frankfort, Mich.

Hard to get better vibes than this brewery tucked away on Main St. in Frankfort, Mich. The food is delicious and the beers are great. After you’re done, stop on in for a Sea Turtle scoop at the Cool Spot across the street and see what the hype is about.

Winner: Lake and Latte in Onekama

A few people selling really good food and drink and working really hard while they do it. It’s hard not to be a fan.

Winner: Bowens Creek Coffee

A tiny coffee shop built into a shipping container with really good coffee and fresh pastries. Sometimes good hospitality is not complicated. This is one of those times.

Winner: Leinenkugel Summer Shandy

Our fine readers in the midwest will call me a yuppie for this, and they’re completely right. Every summer day the rest of the world spends without these on their golf courses and in their bars is a day wasted.

Winner: The Chocolate Chip Pizookie Skillet at the Bluffs Restaurant

It was my birthday and they gave it to me with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Scottie Scheffler would be proud.