Hail To Michigan Golf

Chicago Sun Times writer Len Ziehm raves about Michigan golf:

I know it seems hard to believe: Michigan, with a golf season even shorter than Chicago’s, is the golfing hotbed of the Midwest.

And there are some, myself included, who consider Michigan the golfing mecca of the entire United States.

Michigan boasts 1,038 courses, and more than 850 of them are open to the public. By comparison, the Chicago District Golf Association lists about 360 courses, public and private, in its 2008 membership. And some of those are in Indiana, Wisconsin and—you guessed it—Michigan.

Golf Digest magazine, in its annual ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, recognized nine Michigan courses: Arcadia Bluffs (ranked 10th), Tullymore (14th), Forest Dunes (20th), Bay Harbor (23rd), Black Lake (35th), Shepherd’s Hollow (37th), Red Hawk (40th), Lakewood Shores (54th) and Eagle Eye (81st).

Only Florida and California have more places to golf than Michigan, and no state has more public or resort courses. Michigan has more golf courses per capita than any other state, and Golf Digest calls Michigan the 12th best golf destination in the world.

My recommendation: Head up to Gaylord, Michigan, where you can’t swing a dead rat without hitting a golf course—and nearly all of them are great courses, at bargain prices.