Wednesday: Boyne Highlands Heather and Arthur Hills

Wednesday morning – a lot like Groundhog Day. Up, get ready (this time, power didn’t go out so I can see when I get ready!), head to the mini van, and off to Boyne Highlands for breakfast. We talked about whether we could eat at the Mountain, with better buffet this year, but won’t be able to swing our 8 am tee time at the Heather. Pete’s huffing and puffing, moaning and groaning – we’ve only played six rounds (of course, I haven’t, so I’m not bad this year – even though these expanders in my chest are NOT golf friendly and a bad swing feels like I’m rubbing up against a frisbee. And, I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t been outside much, but my eyes are extra teary even with drops, and my nose extra runny and drippy without nose hair to hold them back).

At the Heather, the driving range is nondescript except that you’re hitting up a ski slope. That’s fun. But, nothing special. There is a threesome – one guy asks if we need better weather and says that he’s representing the Chamber of Commerce of Harbor Springs (more on him later). We head to the first tee and the starter. Who lets us off early because the next group isn’t off and the group in front is fast and already a couple of holes into their round.

 

View opposite direction from the driving range, looking at hole #18.

The driving range at Heather.

Heather is one of the courses we associate with Michigan. It’s also been host to a number of golf tournaments and is considered one of the best. It also was on Big Break Michigan. #1 runs along the road and is benign. #2 doglegs right and isn’t a long hole, but you don’t want to be right. #3 doglegs right around a really, big tree. #4 is a fun par 3 – you don’t want to be on the wrong part of the green or it’s an automatic three putt (Tom associates this hole with me – probably because I play it well regardless of the set of tees I play – on this trip, the most forward I can go is where I’m playing since I’m not really supposed to be playing). #5 is a par 5 (with a “crater” bunker in front of the green – this is the hole they played worst ball on Big Break Michigan). #6 is a par 3 over a marsh. You get it, this course has a little bit of everything. And this year, the course is in great shape – the greens, fairways, rough. Nothing bad. Some years, the weather gets to the courses a bit – but nothing bad. Always great.

 

Tom gets a board.

Par 3, #6 (over a marsh/pond)

Par 5, #5 (featured in Big Break Michigan for "worst ball")

#9 is a par 5 that doglegs left on your tee shot. Most lay up on second shot because the green is surrounded by bunkers and uphill – yes, uphill. I tend to go long on my shot to the green because I do not want to be in the bunkers. True to myself, I go long. Another note: you can putt out of the first fringe around the green, but not the rough. It’s just too sticky and the ball doesn’t roll. It takes me a few tries to realize this as I am stubborn.

 

We left the "posing" stairs without a pose this year.

Cute par 3 before the "posing" steps.

We make the turn and catch up to the threesome (Chamber of Commerce guy), but the pace is still great. I almost jar it on the really short par 3 #12 (pond in front), just before our “posing stairs.” This year, take a picture of the stairs only to say goodbye to Frankie (and because this year, I’m not posting pictures of me at all – just don’t want any pictures with this awful thin hair). On the par 5 #15, the group in front – HAS A PUPPY! Don’t know how that happened. A PUPPY. I catch up to them and Maggie is a labradoodle. Only 9 weeks (picked her up a week ago). The “Chamber of Commerce” guy walks the front 9, gets a cart the back 9 and picks her up at the house to ride 4 holes. Maggie has the best puppy breath. She’s not quite figured out that she shouldn’t be on the greens – or trying to pick up golf balls. My third dog fix of the week (I forgot about the big Golden Retriever at Alpine who let me rub his tummy).

 

Maggie, the puppy, is running around the green, picking up golf balls!

#18 – I’ve been waiting for two years to look under the bench at the tee box. Pete and Tom won’t help me flip the bench over, so I try to go under and try and take a video (not very successful, but I have a picture). If you hit your tee shot into the water, you get a free drop! And it’s true.

 

Lunch at the Country Club of Boyne – with a little woman’s Olympic golf to catch up on. It’s supposedly so hot that a couple of caddies went down. And it’s hard to get the ball out of the cup without burning yourself – clearly, they need the no touch putting elevator from Shanty Creek! We try to get off earlier than 1:30 pm, but the pin sheet is booked, and we wait around until it’s time to head out on the Arthur Hills course. They also charged us/me a $30 fee for the privilege of riding around the course. If I had known that we could have been hit with this fee on every round, I probably wouldn’t have come. Tom left that little bit out. But, oh well. The threesome from Heather have lunch here as well (he didn’t bring Maggie). They are clearly regulars and members of the Country Club of Boyne. Nice to be able to play so many great courses.

Arthur Hills, like Heather, is another one of those “Michigan golf courses” we come back for each and every year. This year, the pace is super, super slow and I elect to only putt, no irons (the groups ahead of us are playing a Ryder Cup format). There are plenty of black raspberries and red raspberries for me to eat. And drink beer. When we get to the “iconic” 13^th – there are four groups on the hole. That’s slow.  It takes 30 minutes to play some holes. That’s slow. Unfortunately, there is no where to go, and we wait.

 

There is this house on the 18th hole of Arthur Hills, who clearly has some major issues with people urinating outside on the golf course, maybe in or near their backyard. In 2019, there was one sign about the bathroom facilities next to the pro shop -- from Boyne Highlands. On Wednesday, since we spent so much time waiting: that sign is still there, plus another no peeing sign. PLUS, a camera (Pete thinks it's a working camera). I have a shy bladder, and don't pee outside on the golf course, but these people make me -- dare me -- to want to pee on their yard, and in front of their camera. They have issues. They do have a cool tree next to their house that has golf balls. And, no, we didn't pee in their yard.

Don't pee here sign on Hills #18.

Cool golf ball tree on #18 Hills.

Another don't pee "polite" sign on #18 Hills, courtesy of Boyne Highlands.

CAMERA as a pee scare tactic on #18 Hills.

BTW, #18 Hills is a get there in two par 5. Empty your bladder before you get to the tee box.

Tee shot on #18 Hills.

When we get done with our round, we just stop at Kilwin’s for an ice cream dinner (I had the Blueberry Waffle Cone – it was good) and then back to the house to rest up for Bay Harbor Day!