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4.4
34 Reviews (34)
5 Stars
24
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.3
Layout
4.3
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.3
99.1%
Recommend this course
32 out of 34 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
5.0
2 Reviews (2)
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
5.0
Value
5.0
Layout
5.0
Pace
5.0
Amenities
5.0
StaffFriendliness
5.0
100.0%
Recommend this course
2 out of 2 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
5 Reviews (5)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.8
Value
4.5
Layout
4.4
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.3
StaffFriendliness
4.4
100.0%
Recommend this course
5 out of 5 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Par 72
Length 7143 yards
Slope 147
Rating 75.4
Book a Tee Time at
The Heather at The Highlands (Boyne)
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Course Details

Year Built 1966
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Open: 5/12 Closed: 10/8
Architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1966)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes
GPS No
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Caddies Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes
Practice Hole Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Appropriate golf attire is required for all players.

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

Reviews

4.4
34 Reviews (34)

What Golfers Are Saying

This course/club is great for:
Group Getaways 8
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 7
A Weekend Splurge 6
This Course's Location is:
At a Resort 6

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 104
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Northern Michigan Track

No golf trip to Northern Michigan is complete without a visit to Boyne Resorts near Petoskey, MI. In my mind, no other Michigan golf resort offers the variety of golf courses that Boyne has. Golfers have the opportunity to play ten uniquely different golf courses; stay in a variety of accommodations designed to meet anyone’s needs and dine at some incredible restaurants.

Recently, I was able to play several courses in the Boyne Resorts lineup including two of my favorite Highlands courses, the Arthur Hills Course and the Robert Trent Jones-designed Heather Course. The Heather Course was Boyne’s first golf course and is as challenging today as it was then. Having hosted numerous state and national championships, the Heather has earned its reputation as one of the finest championship courses in the entire United States. In 2019 it was named “National Golf Course of the Year” by the National Golf Course Owners Association). Number 18 is my favorite hole on the Heather Course; I can remember the first time I played it. It’s a long par 4 that requires a well-struck drive followed by a long approach shot over a lake into a green that slopes back to front. It may not be the toughest hole on the golf course but it sure is memorable!

Boyne continues to reinvest in the infrastructure of their golf courses which will pay huge dividends down the road and have an immediate impact on their golf courses. For example, work was recently completed on the Central Irrigation installation on Donald Ross Memorial and Arthur Hills courses. This new system can be controlled remotely and is significantly more efficient. There were also upgrades to the pump houses and irrigation systems on several other courses and a brand new system that services The Heather and The Moor courses.

Other improvements include over five miles of new cart path on The Heather, Arthur Hills, and Donald Ross Memorial golf courses, and taking measures to speed up play on a couple of courses.

Perhaps the biggest news at Boyne this year is that during the summer of 2023, construction began on the Ray Hearn completely redesigned nine-hole short course which will be routed across a sloping site set among fescue grasses. Hole length will range from 8 to 120 yards. “Hearn will be recreating nine of his favorite greens from Scotland, Ireland, and England. With no formal tees golfers will have the opportunity to put tees anywhere they want so they can play shots from different lies and angles.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 335
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Golf Advisor
Perfect weather
Walked

Stout mid-century golf at its near-finest

As modern golf design tastes shift away from the boom-decades of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, I find myself looking for examples of that era’s golf that remain relevant even today. I believe the Heather, the best of the three courses I played at Boyne Highlands, to be one.

My admiration starts with the course’s enjoyably walkable routing (an unfortunate rarity among its contemporaries) and extends to the mix of meadow, wetland and parkland settings it traverses before climbing up to the climactic elevated 18th tee overlooking the base of the resort’s ski hill and plunging toward the pond use to produce its snow. Along the way, par 5s at 5 and 9 and par 3s at 4 and 6 build momentum, while the inward half has its own enjoyable mix of holes.

The Heather plays out of its own, quaint clubhouse across from the resort’s main Lodge. Walking across the street to prepare for my round as the sun came up over Northern Michigan will remain a highlight of my golf year.

Conditions Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Michigan Advisor
Previously Played

There is little Heather or Fescue

You won’t find much of its namesake here as most holes are lined with trees, but it’s a fine course regardless. Course was in great shape, staff was nice and it was about 2 minutes from our stay n play condo.

Greens are tough on approach as bunkers excellently protect the greens and will also demand accuracy to avoid fairway bunkers. A tad unimpressed as The Heather is consistently ranked a top tier Michigan course, it’s very nice but Boyne, The Highlands, and Bay Harbor boast a couple better courses in my opinion. Worth the play for sure

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 103
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Idaho Advisor
Top 250 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Walked

A shotmakers course, in great shape, and fun.

The Heather is not a bomb and gouge course, it's more of a classic shotmakers route. If I recall correctly there are only 3 (non-par 3) holes on the course that don't have some degree of dog-leg to them... and - while it is straight - 18 presents it's own set if shot making decisions. As an example, on the par 4 3rd and hit 7i off the tee and on the par 5 ninth, I led with a six... and parred both holes (it's worth noting that if I had played one tee box back, I probably could have hit a bigger club on #3, there is a corner to cut, but I couldn't reliably get my driver high enough fast enough, and it was short enough to par with the 7i anyway... but... there are a few holes that might actually be a little easier to play from the back tees, something to consider). To me, this never got boring and I enjoyed having to think as much about my first shot at my approach.

The course itself is beautiful, excellently maintained and framed with trees most of the way around.. There is plenty of water on the course, although not much of it really needs to come into play (you'll ned to carry it on a couple of the par threes, but it's all right in front of you and none of them are long enough to make you question if you can make the shot). What was particularly cool about the water (as you can see in a couple of my pics) is in the morning it can get very pretty with the "smoke on the water." Even the slightly smokey skys played into the scenery, and made the sunrise a bit more dramatic.

As mentioned, the courses primary defense is angles; however, there are some large and occasionally deep bunkers to contend with around the greens as well. Fortunately, the sand is terrific and plays exactly as it should, so these shouldn't be too big of a problem if you are comfortable from the sand (I was 1/2 on sand saves).

It's worth noting that the service we received was top notch all the way around... up to and including the grounds crew who we caught up to on (I think) the 12th hole (we play pretty quickly... the entire round took about 2:35). They were very accommodating and worked with use to make sure our experience wasn't compromised while we worked through the holes they were busy maintaining.

The 18th hole is an interesting example of having to make decisions even on a straight forward hole. The large pond that protects the green is certainly reachable to the right (and everywhere to a big hitter) so I elected to skirt the left edge and allow for a big hit to play through to a slivery of fairway that runs to the left of the pond. My ~250 yard drive (which probably would have been wet if it had been to the right) left me about 175/180 to the center of the green about 165 of which was carry. Fun hole, but I can see a lot of ways to have ti ruin a round if you don't carefully consider each shot.

#9 is an interesting hole as well, and might be my favorite on the course just because of the strategy options available.I opted for a pair of six irons which allowed me to navigate the somewhat narrow fairways (most of the Heather is wide in the landing areas, #9 was a little more challenging) and left me a pretty stock (145) pitching wedge into the green. There's certainly an option to try a bigger club off the tee and try to reach the relatively short par 5 in two, but this seemed like an "easy 5, or... a 7" type of hole to me and I opted for the 5.

I had a ton of courses to choose from on my vacation to Northern Michigan, I can say without any regret I'm glad I chose The Heather as one of them. I'd absolutely recommend it to a friend and will probably include it in future trips back to the area.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 34
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Walked

The Heather never disappoints

We play here every year as part of our annual golf outing (32 players this year) and as always, it never disappoints.

The course remains in pristine condition. The rough is thick but not too long. The fairways are impeccable and the greens run true.

Plenty of dog legs (to the right and left) and keeping it in the fairway on your tee shots as opposed to having it run out into the rough is key.

9th hole is always the toughest hole for me, but I escaped with a bogie. The 18th is a classic finishing hole with the pond in front of the green.

Don't know the exact price we paid as it was part of an overall package with lodging and was handled by our commissioner.

The Heather is a must play course for those traveling to Petoskey / Bay Harbor!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 38
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
D C Advisor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Beautiful but Very Flat Mountain

The Heather is a classic Robert Trent Jones Sr. course. The course is set at the base of ski slopes and is framed by mountains and is now my 5th favorite mountain course all the time. While the majority of the year this course is a ski track it becomes a golfers getaway in the summer months. While relaxing The Heather is moderately challenging as it weaves through tall mature trees and the majority of the holes are doglegs that require proper distance and position to advance to the green. The course has minor elevation changes but the elevated greens are usually guarded by large and deep bunkers. Note to golfers coming from warmer summer climates, bring some light colder weather gear, The Boyne Courses can start in the 40s before they reach the perfect 70s as it did with my morning tee time. The fairways while tree-lined were generous in size and good for a wide range of golfers, especially from the correct tee box.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 168
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Golf Channel
First Time Playing

Course was in fantastic shape. We played right before a storm rolled through and flew around in around 3 hours. The finishing hole is perfection. Knowing where the mountain is certainly helps when trying to read putts. Highly recommend playing this course!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
3.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 94
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Michigan Advisor
Top 250 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

A fun classic

This is the first Boyne course I've played, and I was very impressed. Right off the bat, this was a fun round because we were able to use golfboards to carve our way through the course.

With the exception of the very shaded second hole, the course was in excellent condition. The greens are well guarded and I ended up in quite a few green-side bunkers. Second shot accuracy is very important on this winding track. The layout is pretty memorable and the greens roll very true.

Swing by Boyne Highlands and add a very enjoyable round to your northern Michigan golf experience. I had a blast playing at the Heather (I even parred the famous long par 4 18th!) I can see why this track ranks so highly in Michigan year after year.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 26
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
First Time Playing

unmemorable

This course was fine. In good condition. Friendly staff. Greens a little slopey. I just found the layout uninspiring. Some of the holes a little tight as almost every hole was a dogleg. Need to be able to work the ball. It’s a very ok course, just did not get my juices flowing.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Experience

Best golf resort in the Mid West. Courses are in PGA condition. Very playable, greens are quick and true, for sure.
I can hardly wait to play these courses again. Fall golf is a great time to play Boyne and enjoy the colors.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 638
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Golf Advisor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

My favorite at Boyne

The first Boyne course is still the best. RTJ Sr.'s ode to northern Michigan is a pure treat to play. The par 3s are tricky tough, so be sure to take an extra club whenever you see water in front. The doglegs provide different looks and good variety.
It all builds up to the climax of the 18th tee when the nerves kick it up a notch. No matter how good your tee shot is, the irrigation pond guarding the green looks more like a lake. Forget about par. Staying dry is the only goal to finish the round in style.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
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