Alpine Course

Harbor Springs sits at the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, where the bluffs above Little Traverse Bay create some of the most dramatic terrain in Midwest golf. The Alpine Course is part of Boyne Highlands, the sprawling northern Michigan resort complex that has been drawing golfers up US-131 since the 1960s. Boyne founder Everett Kircher had an outsized ambition for what northern Michigan could become, and the Highlands property — with its rolling, forested hills inland from the bay — gave architects room to build courses that actually use the land rather than flatten it.

The Alpine Course plays through mature hardwood forest with the elevation changes its name promises. It is the kind of layout where the terrain does much of the work, and where autumn color turns a round into something genuinely memorable. Boyne Highlands has hosted various regional and state-level competitive events over the years, and the Highland's collection of courses makes it a legitimate multi-day destination rather than a one-and-done stop.

Harbor Springs itself is one of the more charming small towns on the Great Lakes shoreline — a summer community with old money roots, good restaurants, and serious sailing culture. Golfers who make the drive north are typically rewarded with cooler temperatures, clean air, and the unhurried pace that defines golf in this part of Michigan.