Manistee is one of the area's oldest courses, and a Tom Bendelow design from the 1920s with almost a mile of shoreline along Lake Michigan providing views of the Lake throughout the round.

The golf course is a parkland design with the fairways defined by trees. There's several ponds in play along with sand bunkers guarding the modest greensites. It's an entertaining layout with a reachable par 5 in two and potentially drivable par 4s, and six holes having either greens or tees overlooking the Lake. Typical of the older courses it's short at only 5,690 yards from the back tees, par of 70, 68.1/130, course/slope ratings.