Boyne Golf in Harbor Springs north of Traverse City, named its new par-three short course currently under construction, “Doon Brae.”
Located on the backside of the resort’s Highlands Main Lodge, this will be the 11th golf course at the northern Michigan resort. The course is scheduled to open in the summer of 2024.
“As far as I know, this is the first modern golf course ever built on a ski hill,” says Bernie Friedrich, director of golf course renovations and development at Boyne Resorts. “What excites me most is how beautiful and different it is. There are three or four stacked wall bunkers.
“Instead of using tee boxes, we’ll have just one marker on each hole, which allows guests to play wherever they want. And the greens are inspired by some of the great ones around the world. They’re not copies of any specific greens, but they look different and are big.”
All of the fairways will be surrounded by fescue grass to achieve a whisper look and feel. For Doon Brae — Doon means going down into a valley and Brae means steep bank or hillside in Scottish. The routing of the course is on the site of the former Cuff Links nine-hole par-three course set along the hillside that doubles as a ski slope during the winter months.
Golf course architect Ray Hearn, who also designed the new Cardinal course at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth Township, was selected to design the course. Hearn, a Michigan native, has been working closely with the Boyne Golf team modernizing and renovating many of the resort’s golf courses over the past several years.
“Working with Stephen Kircher (president of Boyne Resorts) and Bernie Friedrich (director of golf course renovations and development) on this project has been really exciting,” says Hearn. “Stephen came over to Ireland on one of the first architecture seminars overseas while (I was) teaching at Michigan State University and we both fell in love with Royal County Down and it inspired us during the design of Doon Brae.”
Although the course is routed on a ski hill, Hearn worked to make sure the course design minimizes walking uphill. The course, which will measure 993 yards from the back tees and 678 yards from the forward tees, will feature a variety of yardages with downhill, flat, uphill, and sidehill lies, generally moving horizontally back and forth across the slope.
Holes range from 57 yards to 134 yards, providing multiple angles and fairway options with shorter-length holes having fewer bunkers on the path toward the greens while longer holes provide more strategic angles with bunkers more in play.
“Boyne Golf is one of the top golf resort destinations attracting thousands of golfers annually from all over the country, and I wanted to make sure we were creating something fun and unique without being a difficult walk,” says Hearn.
“We also considered all the families who would take their kids out. When you look at the routing, it works. The first hole is level, two is uphill, three is downhill, four is uphill, five, six, and seven are kind of sidehill with five slightly uphill with eight and nine playing downhill.”
The new course, along with the 1.5 acre nine-hole Himalayan-style putting course are both designed to be fun for everyone. The goal is to create an area for golfers and families alike to hangout well into the evenings, creating a new level of energy in this space. The golf course will also be lighted, play music, along with food service and fire pits.
For more information, visit boynegolf.com.
