Day 3: Liz’s Day at Bay Harbor

Bay Harbor day has always been my day. I love breakfast at Sagamores (they made us smoothies as a surprise after we talked about how they used to give us shots of smoothies – nice touch!). It’s definitely on the chillier side and you can see the “waves” crash (Saturday it was as smooth as they get).

On the patio behind Sagamore's (Inn at Bay Harbor)

Typing this blog on Thursday morning before we head to the Highlands for breakfast. My routine is to email photos from the day to my email, so that they download to email by the time I get up to blog. This morning, as most mornings here, there is a clog and I’m missing a bunch of emails (they’ll unclog when the internet gets better). It’s also slow to unload the images to the blog, so I’m hoping to get one post in this morning for Forest Dunes day. But, I’m blogging.

We start with Preserves/Links, then lunch on the patio, then Quarry/Preserves. Not a lot of pictures this time – I have taken so many pictures at Bay Harbor that I don’t take as many anymore. It’s sweater weather with the wind and the chill, but so nice (Paul thinks otherwise).

Preserves is probably my second favorite nine because I like the trees. It’s probably not the favorite. #1 is straightforward dogleg right. #2 is a weird little hole with a short layup to a hard dogleg right fairway to get you over the gunk to the green (a split green with #7). #3 has a forgiving fairway, but you need to be right to avoid the tree and bunkering on the left. #5 is a par five that is really a three-shot hole. #6, par 3 (with rest rooms), #7 has the green well below the fairway with a completely blind second shot to the green (they used to have a double pin so you could see it from the fairway. #8 is a short hole. And you end with an awesome par 3 with the bay on the left, with heather and gunk on the right. You end the Preserves with a short drive back to the clubhouse.

On to the Links 9 with amazing views of the bay. I love this nine for the beauty of it, but don’t necessarily play it well. You also this year won’t see any photos of us hitting golf balls into the bay. We have found out based on a sign posted at Arcadia, that hitting golf balls into the bay isn’t environmentally healthy. Oops. We’ve been shamed into not doing it anymore. The par three 4th is especially scenic – a short little menacing gremlin of a hole. The par four 5th hole has a big sand area that looks like the aliens landed their UFO on this very spot – and then decided to make the green so small that you could well be down the bank on any side if you miss your second shot. The 7^th is a signature par 5 – my cover photo is often on the green overlooking the bay – hit your second shot up the hill for a  closer approach to the green – or in my case, stay right on your second and have a blind third shot up over a bunker on to the green.

Preserves #9 (par 3 with bay on the right)

Tom and Pete (Pete is "smiling" -- rare at BH)

Links #3 -- big bunker in front of the green -- also a really small bunker in front of the green that I don't think you could fit into)

We didn’t have lunch on the patio – it was too chilly for Pete and Paul. But lunch at the grill still works out nice.

Afternoon starts with Quarry (my favorite) and end with Preserves again. I'm not going to talk much about my repeat of the Preserves -- I developed the dreaded "s-word" and didn't have a great afternoon on the course, but I still enjoyed the views and the course.

It’s warmed up enough for dinner on the patio.