Beulah: Northern Michigan's most affordable golf trip
Ask any Michigan golfer what the best golf trip is in Northern Michigan, and a few common names usually come up: Arcadia, Forest Dunes, Boyne, and Greywalls (if you’re going all of the way UP), to name a few. These are regarded as some of the best resort options in the state, and rightly so, but you will pay a premium to see them, especially in the summer.
For the budget-conscious crew looking to escape Up North for some summer golf, a good option has always been Treetops Resort in Gaylord. For about 7-8 years, this was the home of my annual late-June golf trek because they could easily handle the logistics of a 28-to-32-person outing across several days. They had enough courses that we never had to play one twice, and while they are pretty standard resort courses, the frequent large elevation changes and occasional long views made them interesting enough to be worth the trip. The resort was also helpful in coordinating transportation between their two campuses, and providing us boxed breakfasts and lunches that we scarfed down in our carts as we jammed in as much golf as possible.
Regrettably things changed this year, as we were informed that our cost-saving Saturday-Monday trip was no longer allowed, and instead we were required to do a Friday-Sunday trip, nearly doubling the total cost. The main allure of Treetops for us, affordability, was no longer on the table. Faced with a choice between a more expensive, albeit familiar trip, or trying something new, we decided to get adventurous.
Champion Hill Golf Club came on my radar, as a lot of Midwest courses do, after being highlighted by Andy Johnson of The Fried Egg as one of Michigan’s best values, along with nearby Pinecroft Golf Club, both owned by Lee Stone and family. Both sites previously were used as farmland, first to grow fruit and later to grow Christmas trees. Stone and longtime superintendent for both courses, Jim Cole, were inspired by trips to nearby Crystal Downs Country Club to study the work of Alister MacKenzie and incorporate his 13 principles of golf course design into their work at Pinecroft, their first course built, and later at Champion Hill, as described on the Fried Egg podcast.
Nearing fall of 2021 and suddenly without a home for our annual golf trip, we were inspired to check out Champion Hill and Pinecroft. Between the courses, the lodging, food and transportation, there were a lot of unknowns going into this 3-day, 72-hole outing, and we had to slowly piece the itinerary together until we finally arrived this June. See the video below for a quick recap of the trip, and keep reading for full details.
The Golf
Our initial round for the trip took place at Pinecroft, a rolling and tree-lined piece of property that I knew had some views of Crystal Lake, but I wasn’t sure when they were coming up in the round. Immediately from the clubhouse and putting green you catch your first glimpses of the lake. I still haven’t seen the lake up close yet, but I can say that from high above when the sunlight hits the water, the view is spectacular.
After a straightforward first hole, at the second hole you face a long downhill par three, which introduces the rolling land at Pinecroft. The third hole takes you across some wild, rumpled land, reminiscent of the eighth fairway across the lake at Crystal Downs, finishing after a quick bend around some thick pines to an elevated green. The panorama across the adjacent fifth green, sixth fairway, and eighth green in the distance, framed by the pines and long grass blowing in the breeze makes for a memorable setting, and frankly one that you wish you could glimpse more often on a course that is otherwise heavily lined with trees.
The wavy fifth green and tough sixth green, featuring a small back shelf that is difficult to hold, introduce some of the challenge of the course, where the small but contoured green surfaces will test your short game. In contrast to the long downhill second, the seventh is a middle-length uphill par three, foreshadowing the different looks that you see off of the tee at each of the varied one-shotters at Pinecroft. Behind the seventh green you can catch a glimpse of the ninth green, which is the culmination of a somewhat quirky par five featuring a 90-degree dogleg. With a good drive on the ninth you get a great view up the hill to a nicely framed, and reachable, green, but a slick and slopey surface awaits.
Off the tenth tee you descend back into the same area of the course as the front nine, with the eleventh and twelfth holes playing back and forth, down into a valley off of the tee and then back uphill to each green. It’s a cool area of the course, and culminates with a wild green on the twelfth. Of course, I am of the opinion that there’s a few too many trees blocking the views on both holes, and the green surfaces could be a little bigger to accentuate the slopes. But then again, that’s the same opinion that I hold in regards to many courses.
Finally on the fifteenth tee you reemerge on higher ground up near the clubhouse, where the land becomes much flatter. Despite the less interesting land, the payoff comes at the sixteenth green where you are presented with the best view on the course, overlooking Crystal Lake. Tucked right behind that green is the exceptionally short par three seventeenth, which I thought was delightful.
Overall, the first round at Pinecroft is a little tough to digest and figure out. The land and the routing can be quirky in spots, and with so many trees it can be hard to get a bearing of where you are on the course. It’s taken some reflection to realize how anxious I am to get after it again, both with the knowledge that I’ve gained in the first round, and also with the expectation of reaching that view at the sixteenth green again.
Early on day two we headed to Champion Hill for 36 holes. As something to note, you cannot buy alcohol at either Pinecroft or Champion Hill, so both courses are BYOB. For a group with a number of players who look forward more to their drinks than their golf shots, this seemed like a dream come true. In retrospect, however, it’s a real feat to keep drinks cold for 36 holes of golf. Come prepared with plenty of cart-sized coolers, and be prepared to have a designated driver, not for the trip to the course, but for the trip to refill on ice between rounds.
It was a foggy morning at Champion Hill, but upon pulling up to the clubhouse I was still able to take in the first view that greets you at the course. From various points around the clubhouse you get a glimpse of the first and tenth holes, along with the ninth green and sixteenth tee below, and finally the eighteenth green. Even with the limited visibility I could see enough holes and enough of the topography to make me recall the first glimpses you get when you pull into Arcadia or Kingsley Club. So much land movement, so many different textures and shades with the fairway, long grass, and bunkers. I knew these would be the best rounds of the trip!
(If you don’t already, follow @noahjurik on IG or Twitter, one of the best golf photographers in Northern MI!)
You start your round at Champion Hill with a steady climb on holes 1-3, each short par fours. The second green reaches a point at the North end of the property, where you start to glimpse how high you are compared to your surroundings, and you can spot bits and pieces of Crystal Lake. As you climb the third hole and then head even farther uphill to the fourth tee, everything unfolds around you. You can see long distances across the land to the South, to the West you can spot Crystal Lake, and to the Northwest you can see Platte Lake, Lake Michigan, and if the weather is right, the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Upon reaching the fourth tee you look down the rumpled twelfth fairway to your right, scanning to your left you see the par 3 thirteenth, and then below you unfolds the brawny downhill fourth hole. It’s simply a spectacular spot on the property, and you realize what a treat it is not only to play here, but to do so without having to drop hundreds of dollars for the privilege.
The rest of the front nine is a blast. The fifth is a downhill par five that lets you bomb a tee shot. The hole doglegs 90 degrees, and with a green sloping right to left and a little away from you, you want to get as far down the hill as possible to try and hold your approach shot for an eagle chance. The sixth is the first par three on the course, and like the other par three’s on the course, it’s 200+ yards. I like each of the short holes on the course, but they are all about the same distance from the back tees, so I’d recommend mixing up the tees throughout your round to get the best experience possible.
The seventh is a par five that heads sharply downhill from the tee, then plays back uphill and around a large dune that hides the green from view. Again, lots of quirk, but it was one of my favorites on the day. When you crest the top of the hill beyond the seventh and emerge on the other side at the tee of the par three eight, you are greeted with one of the best views in Northern Michigan. Beyond the green, holes 9-11 crisscross below you, and above that you will once again see multiple bodies of water, and right below the line of sight to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in the distance is the long narrow green that you have to somehow land your ball on.
The ninth through twelfth holes are some of the most open on the course, and it’s here where the wind can really affect the round. We played on a breezy morning that turned into a windy afternoon, making ball flight control essential on turf that was playing quite firm and bouncy even after overnight rain. In this area of the course you could track the wind by watching it blow through the long grass and following its trail. Between the views across the holes and the grass shifting and changing colors in the wind and sunlight, it’s truly a special place.
By the time you reach the fifteenth tee, you find yourself back atop the hill where the eight hole is, but this time facing the opposite direction to the South, where a short par 4 awaits at the bottom of the hill, perhaps the most photographed hole on the course. This is the last big change in elevation that you face on the day before descending into the relatively flat land that holes 16-18 occupy.
As we finished our first round and had time to enjoy our lunch, which consisted of some surprisingly good deli sandwiches provided by the clubhouse staff, we had time to reflect on what we experienced in the first round, and prepare to see it all again. As the wind picked up and the sun filled a cloudless afternoon sky, I can say that the second round somehow exceeded the first. While I would highly recommend including a round at Pinecroft to any trip in the Beulah area, if you were forced to choose just one course to go out of your way to see near Crystal Lake, Champion Hill has to be it.
In previous iterations of our trip, we would conclude on Monday with 18 holes at the Masterpiece course at Treetops. With most of our players hungover and sore, the round was always an unrelenting and un-fun beatdown (it’s simply one of my least favorite courses in the state, and I’ve played it far too many times). This year for our final round we decided to play a 2-club challenge from the forward tees, and picked Crystal Lake Golf Club as the venue. The course was honestly just a throw-in due to its proximity, and with the full expectation that if we didn’t like it, we wouldn’t include it in the future.
Thankfully, the course was pure unexpected fun. The moment we entered, the clubhouse felt less like a golf shop and more like a bar. The owner, David, was so enthusiastic and happy to have us. At the turn, I grabbed a hot dog for $3 and David threw in some chips for free, telling us to help ourselves to any number of options available. He commented on how fun the group looked, and encouraged us to come back next year on one of the weekend days, offering to provide us with a beverage cart and drink discounts to keep us going throughout the day. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was greeted that enthusiastically in a clubhouse. Unless you are a regular, I find that a lot of pro shops treat golfers more as a nuisance than as a guest.
The course at Crystal Lake didn’t look like much on the map, and tee to green it really wasn’t. The front nine was mostly flat, while the back nine had a little movement due to a creek cutting through several holes, but overall it was a very different topography than Pinecroft and Champion Hill. What wasn’t apparent until about the sixth hole, though, is how audacious the greens were. For being pretty small in size, many of them featured sharp tiers and ridges, while others offered wavy shoulders to feed the ball off of. The sixth green stuck out in particular with a sharp front edge that had to be cleared (with our pin being devilishly just a few paces on), and a front tier that sloped gently towards the middle before two sharp tiers rose up at different heights in the back left and right. I have no idea how that green drains, but there were no issues on this day. The greens were running fast and firm, continually ejecting balls off the surface, and more often than not in the direction of the lake (which could still be seen on one or two holes, despite the lower elevation). Between the green designs and bunkers near the putting surface, my group continually short-sided ourselves all day leaving impossible approach shots, especially considering we didn’t have our full array of wedges.
I loved it, and I think overall the group did, too, considering our usually slow group scooted around in under four hours for this round. For our return trip, there is no longer a question of whether or not we will include Crystal Lake GC in our itinerary, as we will entusiastically be back!
Lodging and Other Details
Lodging was never a logistical issue for our group at a resort such as Treetops which is used to accommodating large outings, but it was one of the unknowns of the Beulah trip, for better or worse. There are certainly several options in the area, from dumpy hotels to chain motels (Baymont by Wyndham). From decked out suites to airbnbs. The challenge for us was always to try and keep the group together, and to keep it affordable.
We settled on Platte River Pines in Honor. Just down the road from the small downtown of Honor, and within 3-4 miles of all three golf courses, the location was ideal. It features seven small cabins ranging from 1-3 beds, and includes very small kitchens and bathrooms. It was not luxury by any means, but for a group like ours that is focused on the golf and on the hang afterwards, it was as much as we needed. The site includes a large firepit and lawn area adjacent to the road, and behind the cabins is another large lawn area leading back to the Platte River.
Because of our long BYOB day spent at Champion Hill, we knew hiring some kind of transportation was in order. We contacted nearby Tipsy Canoe Rental & Brew, and owner Zelda was more than happy to offer us cheap rides to the course and back, and was extremely flexible on timing early in the morning and in the evening. Zelda and her co-worker were extremely friendly and seemed like they enjoyed riding with us. They even hooked up one of their canoe trailers on the back of the van to load all of the golf bags, allowing us more rooms in the vans.
For meals we ate at the Platte River Inn in Honor, which was pretty standard bar fare, but they accommodated our group in a back room and tolerated our noise. It had a separate bar next door featuring live music that night. Champion Hill hooked us up the next morning with good-not-great breakfast burritos, and the aforementioned really good deli sandwiches for lunch. In the evening we returned to the cabins to pizza delivery from nearby Papa J’s in Honor, which was an ideal and fuss-free ending to a long day. There was even a surprise drop-in at the cabins from the Forever Yum Snack Truck on Friday night.
Overall
We went into the trip knowing that Champion Hill and Pinecroft came with high recommendations, but didn’t know much else. Things went exceedingly well, and we are already thinking about ways to make the trip even better. When it comes to seeing and getting familiar with the Beulah and Crystal Lake area, I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface yet.
Total trip cost:
Golf = $185 (Pinecroft $53, Champion Hill $53-Replay $34, CLGC $45)
Lodging/2 nights = $186
Pre-arranged food (CH breakfast + lunch/pizza) = $26
Total = $397
Now check the resorts mentioned at the beginning and see what it would cost to stay two nights and play 72 holes in June, and you will see why Beulah is one of the most affordable golf trips in Northern Michigan!