By Barry Cronin, Editor Chicago District Golfer The first part of Barry Cronin’s Michigan Golf Odyssey can be found in March issue of Michigan Golf Journal and featured Gull Lake View Resort, Tullymore Golf Club, St. Ives and Forest Dunes. Forest Dunes was my last stop in Part 1. Heading about 90 miles farther north through Michigan’s tall pines and forgotten small towns sits the granddaddy of all the great Michigan golf resorts, BOYNE. It’s welcoming halo extends across the state with 10 Magnificent Courses and is the biggest resort in the state. BOYNE was originally a haven for skiers, but over the last halfcentury it has evolved. Today, in addition to being a premier winter destination, it now owns 10 golf courses, known collectively as Boyne Golf, that serve golfers of all levels from the single digit handicapper to beginners and “infrequents” who pick up their clubs strictly while on vacation. In 1966, BOYNE founder Everett Kircher hired Robert the views at Bay Harbor are breathtaking, magnificent and awe-inspiring, but all would be an understatement. Something new for 2024, a nine-hole short course, Doon Brae, plus a Himalayasstyle putting green are under construction near the Main Lodge at The Highlands location and will open for play later this summer. BOYNE has the resort thing down and can easily handle family vacations, couple’s escapes, buddy’s trips and girl’s getaways. Rooms feature uber-comfortable beds made especially for the resort by a manufacturer near Detroit. The 15-year veteran omelet cook in the restaurant at the Main Lodge worked with the Trent Jones, Sr. to design the resort’s first course, The Heather, to provide a summer activity for guests and to keep his work force busy, once the ski season ended. The Heather turned out so well, it was recognized by Golf Digest and Golf magazines for its excellence. In 2019, the Heather was recognized as the ‘Course of the Year’ by the National Golf Course Owner’s Association. Over the years, Kircher and his successors continued to build and acquire more courses. In addition to The Heather, golf aficionados will appreciate The Hills, the Donald Ross Memorial and the ridiculously spectacular 27 holes at the Bay Harbor Club, which plays along Lake Michigan and Little Traverse Bay. You can say
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