Now heading into third decade of glorious golf
By Tom Lang
Arcadia Bluffs has attracted golfers by the thousands from all across the country to the shoreline of Lake Michigan the past 20 years.
The multiple-award winning destination resort in northwest Michigan is heading into its third decade with a full complement of 36 incredible holes, a brand-new clubhouse and restaurant at the South Course, and impeccable lodging options to host buddy trips, couples and friends.
The original Arcadia Bluffs course quickly became a national calling card at the end of the century and remains so, as much or more, today. Its multiple luxurious overnight accommodation options overlook Lake Michigan, making the pristine location a treat for golfers and non-golfers alike. A traditional evening attraction is its comfortable outdoor seating behind the 18th green to watch sunsets over the lake, as a Scottish bagpiper serenades all guests and the golfers coming home on the last few holes. 
Arcadia Bluffs is more of a shot-makers design set against the rolling hills and large swales of the Lake Michigan sand dune shoreline. The front nine allows for a good warmup with wide fairways and lots of room. Hole 1 starts the trek away from Lake Michigan, before climbing to the third tee and the highest point on the property – where the Cottages lodging option is situated. (The Cottages at Arcadia Bluffs, one of three lodging style options, are 1,900 square foot, 4-bedroom, 4-bath, gated cottages with the privacy and spaciousness sure to please your group or family.)
Heading back to Lake Michigan from there begins a true adventure, eventually leading into the back nine with more narrow fairways to navigate. I’m a 16-17 handicap and at the starter’s recommendation enjoyed playing the white tees on the front and the gold on the back for a 6,050-yard total.
Arcadia Bluffs has a reputation like a tiger to tame. Sure, trouble abounds when hitting the ball off track, but keep it in the fairway and good scores are possible. When played at the correct tees, golfers can genuinely have fun while absolutely marveling at the magnificent views and appreciating rugged design elements like deep pot bunkers with high sod walls.
Arcadia Bluffs is a true testament to the type of course one would find along an Ireland or Scotland shoreline.
Accommodations to Delight:
The original Nantucket coastal estate-style clubhouse has a high-end restaurant and houses the original overnight accommodations (15 guest rooms and one suite) on the second and third levels above. Most rooms face the west for spectacular sunset viewing, while a few others also offer sunrise viewing.
Arcadia’s final phase of lodging came along in 2017 – the Bluffs Lodge, located near the Main Lodge and filled with 21 guest rooms. Most feature two queen beds and have very sizeable bathrooms. A workout facility is also included.
Experience the South:
The new South Course, which had its first full season in 2019, is a creation from Dana Fry/Jason Straka (based in Dublin, Ohio). The South is designed with features to honor the styles of legend C.B. MacDonald, whose masterpieces include the famed Chicago Golf Club (1893), and his protégé Seth Raynor.
“Our mission statement is simple; it’s to be the finest golf destination in the United States, so you’ve got to have these things in order to get there,” Arcadia President Bill Shriver said about expansion the past few years, including the new South Course year-round clubhouse. “The fact that the South Course is a polar opposite (in style to the Bluffs course) is great because it’s a great compliment.”
The South Course is much flatter than the Bluffs Course, but still maintains an attractive, rolling terrain. The sand bunker features are also completely different. The South’s overall design incorporates the use of angles and depth of field for illusion – and geometric shaping to make it stand alone.
The South Course is meant to be playable and walkable, two key factors. Golfers can play the design through the air or along the ground, making it an experience available to everyone despite their level of experience with the game.
The 13th green has round borders on its punchbowl shape – but that’s where such golf commonalities cease.
Every other green on the property has at least one square-cut corner, but most have 2-4. That’s part of the appeal with the course; green complexes in all kinds of various geometric shapes. Some are perfectly square, one is shaped like a baseball homeplate, one shaped like what I’d say is a chef’s hat. No. 10 looks like the end of a loaf of bread. No. 12 is a horseshoe green, but the ends of the horseshoe pointing back toward the tee are squared off.
“Every green out here has its own story,” Shriver said. “These greens are not alike. They are all unique in their own way, and that’s the beauty of it. Those design features are something that haven’t been done in a long time.”
New South Clubhouse Now Open: 
The original clubhouse at the Bluffs’ shoreline location is more formal, with seating for over 300 guests, appointed with white walls, and white linins on the table, for example. But the new South clubhouse seats about 125, has almost a dozen TVs, and is highlighted by an all-glass sunporch with elevated views across the course. Food choices are also more casual at the South, with items like Fish & Chips, fried chicken, pasties, steak sandwiches and the like.
“It provides a more relaxed, bistro-type feel,” Shriver added. “We’ll do fish fries on Friday night, those types of things. We want to appeal to the lodge guests, but also the local community as well.”
The South Course clubhouse is designed to be open all winter long, providing dining options for people who live nearby and for the public taking part in winter sports. Arcadia also wanted an opportunity to provide local jobs year-round.
“Up here in the winter it’s more casual; people are in blue jeans and bundled in winter coats,” Shriver said. “People come over from skiing at Crystal Mountain or maybe snowshoeing nearby. The new building sets us up better that way.”
Whatever time of year you visit Arcadia, it’ll be well worth the trip.
