Traverse City sits in the middle of one of the densest clusters of public golf in America, with Lake Michigan shoreline, resort towns, and rolling orchard country all within an hour's drive. The courses below are all bookable by any visitor — no memberships, no member invitations — and together they cover every kind of northern Michigan trip, from the bluffs-links headline round to a 90-minute par-3 detour worth the drive on its own.
1. Arcadia Bluffs — Bluffs Course, Arcadia
The Bluffs Course at Arcadia Bluffs is the marquee public course in northern Michigan. Designed by Warren Henderson and Rick Smith and opened in 1999, it plays as an Irish-style links along a bluff 180 feet above Lake Michigan, with more than 3,100 feet of lake frontage, natural fescue, and sod-walled bunkers. Golf Digest has ranked it on America's 100 Greatest Public courses since the list's inaugural edition in 2003 — it sits 16th for 2025-'26 — and it finished runner-up to Pacific Dunes in the Best New Upscale Public race of 2001.
This is the round to build the whole trip around. Book the earliest tee time you can — the Bluffs sits about an hour southwest of Traverse City and draws golfers from everywhere, so tee sheets fill early in peak summer. Wind is the real defense here, so bring a knockdown shot and pick an honest tee; the forward tees make the round far more enjoyable for mid-handicaps. Pair it with the Macdonald/Raynor-inspired South Course on the same property for a 36-hole day, or make it the anchor and build three easier days around it.
Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club (Bluffs Course) — Golf Digest course page ↗
2. Grand Traverse Resort — The Bear, Acme
About 15 minutes northeast of downtown Traverse City, The Bear is Jack Nicklaus's 1985 signature design at Grand Traverse Resort — the resort's best-known course and one of Michigan's toughest tests. It's a par-72, links-flavored layout of more than 7,000 yards built around Scottish terraced fairways, tiered greens, moguls, deep grassy rough, and deep pot bunkers, with lakes, streams, hardwood forest, and orchard land woven through. Golf Digest ranked it on the 100 Greatest Public list for a full decade (2011-'20) and describes it as one of America's toughest courses.
The Bear is a second-round course, not a first. Book it for day two or three after you've warmed up on the resort's friendlier layouts, and treat it like an exam — play conservatively, aim for the center of the tiered greens, and expect the pot bunkers to cost you a shot each if you get greedy. Resort guests get convenient access, and the resort offers 54 holes across three courses, so a stay-and-play package with a round each on The Bear, The Wolverine (Gary Player), and the player-friendly Spruce Run makes for a complete long weekend.
The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort — Golf Digest course page ↗
The Bear Golf Course at Grand Traverse Resort — michigan.org ↗
3. A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort — Sundance Course, Kewadin
Roughly 35 minutes northeast of Traverse City on the Torch Lake peninsula, the Sundance course at A-Ga-Ming is a Jerry Matthews links-style design that opened in 2005 on glacier-carved bluffs between Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay. Golf Digest named it one of the Best New Public courses in America for 2006, ranking it No. 3 in the Best New Public Under $75 category. Wide fairways, heather-clad mounding, vast bunkers, and large undulating greens make it playable for a range of handicaps while the setting delivers on the 'links' promise.
Sundance is open to the public and works as the centerpiece of a quieter, lake-focused stay: A-Ga-Ming's lodging sits on the Torch Lake shore, and the resort now runs four courses (Sundance, the original Torch, Antrim Dells, and Charlevoix Country Club), so you can base a multi-day trip here without repeating a layout. Because it's a parkland-links hybrid rather than a penal test, it's the best pick of the five for higher handicaps who still want an award-winner on the scorecard. Tee times open up to 90 days ahead — summer weekends go quickly.
Golf Digest Selects Sundance Course at A-Ga-Ming Among the Best New Courses — The Golf Wire ↗
Ranking Michigan's top 10 golf resorts Up North — Beacon Journal ↗
4. Shanty Creek Resort — The Legend, Bellaire
About 40 minutes northeast of Traverse City, Shanty Creek in Bellaire pairs two big-name architects at one public resort: The Legend, designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 1986, and Cedar River, a 1999 Tom Weiskopf design carved through glacial terrain. The Legend plays as a parkland test over rolling, tree-lined ground with views of Lake Bellaire; Cedar River is the links-style sibling, with wide fairways, natural wetlands, and dramatic elevation changes. Golf Magazine has ranked both among Michigan's Top 20 public courses, and the resort earned a Golf Digest silver medal.
This is the classic stay-and-play answer for a Traverse City trip: four distinct 18s on one property plus lodging, with The Legend as the headline and Cedar River as the friendlier companion round. Reserve a 36-hole day here and play Cedar River in the morning and The Legend in the afternoon, when the fairways are firmest and the lake views are at their best. Because the resort hosts group and stay-and-play traffic, book lodging packages well ahead for August — midweek dates are reliably easier to land.
5. Treetops Resort — Threetops, Gaylord
The one non-18 to make the list, and it's non-negotiable. Threetops, the nine-hole par-3 course at Treetops Resort in Gaylord (about 50 minutes southeast of Traverse City), was designed by Rick Smith and opened in 1992 — and it became the model for the modern short course. It has consistently ranked as the No. 1 par-3 course in America by multiple sources, hosted the ESPN Par-3 Shootout from 1999 to 2006 with Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus playing, and it's where Lee Trevino made his famous million-dollar hole-in-one in 2001. The signature hole, 'Devil's Drop,' features a 145-foot tee-to-green elevation change.
Threetops takes about 90 minutes, which makes it the perfect travel-day round: play it on arrival afternoon or the morning you head out, and pair it with one of Treetops' four 18-hole layouts (Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Masterpiece, Tom Fazio's Premier, Smith's Signature, or the walking-friendly Tradition) for a full golf day. Club selection is everything on the downhill holes — the wind can mean as much as four clubs' difference — so watch the pin sheets and enjoy the guessing. Even non-golfers in your group will like this one; it's more spectacle than test.
Short Courses: The Next Big Thing — Northern Express ↗
Threetops Par 3 Golf Course — Treetops Resort official site ↗
This guide was created with AI assistance using the linked sources. Course access, rates, and conditions can change; confirm details directly before booking.