Category Archives: Best golf courses in Michigan

Eldorado Golf Course in Cadillac-how original!

Eldorado Golf Course, Cadillac, MI

Cadillac stopped production of its Eldorado line in 2002 after 50 years of production. Fortunately, this Eldorado, the golf course, is still in production and would be described, like the automobile, as a fine classic. It’s located is on the south side of Cadillac off US 131 at MI 115 to the north.

It’s a quintessential, northern Michigan parkland layout through a mix of dense mature hardwood corridors and those more open and forgiving off the tee. There’s water features in play on 1/3 of the holes yet only a scattering of sand bunkers and generous green complexes. It can play to 7,134 yards, 72.8/137, course/slope off the tips with four shorter tees, designed by Bob Myer.

Arbor Hills Golf Club, Jackson, Michigan

Arbor Hills Golf Club

Michigan is a golfer’s delight, albeit with a short season, and includes over 600 golf courses including 9 holers, municipals, military, public, private, and resort. Our guide to the best public golf courses you can play in Michigan was developed over the last 15 years from the leading golf periodicals’ lists of best golf courses you can play in addition to our user’s favorites. Arbor Hills was submitted by a user and is considered one of the best courses open to public play. It is located the west side of Jackson on Spring Harbor Road 5 minutes off I-94. Our Jackson guide shows there are a half-dozen public access golf courses in the area, so one could easily spend a week here with a different layout each day and at very reasonable rates.

The layout is over relatively level terrain with fairways defined by evergreens and hardwoods providing a mix of straightforward and dogleg corridors. There’s 30 +/- sand bunkers in play and Sandstone Creek on its western boundary comeing into play on multiple holes. There’s three sets of tees from 5,322 yards to 6,480 yards off the tips, 71.3/131, course/slope ratings, designed by Arthur Hamm, a Donald Ross protege with a dozen golf course designs in the mid-1920s.

Take time away from Boyne to visit this Donald Ross 9 holer near Traverse City, Michigan

Elk Rapids Golf Club

The Elk Rapids Golf Club is on 3,000 feet of frontage on Elm Lake on the east side of Elk Rapids 30 minutes northeast of Traverse City and an hour southwest of Boyne.

The golf club is on an isthmus between Elk Lake and Grand Traverse Bay on level land with a couple of fairways bordering the lake and the occasional lake view. It’s a proper 9 hole layout along fairways defined by trees with 25 sand bunkers in play and mid-sized, raised greens. It’s a Donald Ross original design, mostly untouched, and plays to 3,067 yards off the back tees, 69.0/121, course/slope ratings with two shorter tees.