Inn at Bay Harbor

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A very good opening hole that begins to introduce you to the hardwoods at Bay Harbor Golf Club. A well positioned tee shot will avoid the fairway bunkers and leave a short iron approach to a green that is guarded on the front right by a bunker. If in doubt here, play to the front left approach, which is a fair place to get it up and down.

Preserve 1

Take a careful look at this tee shot. Some longer hitters will find that choosing a driver here can get you into the hazard that is through the fairway. A huge double-green always seems to have tricky lies around it. You'll want to find the putting surface here, even if it means a slightly longer putt.

Preserve 2

There is no excuse to miss the fairway on the third. The hole shares a fairway with hole number 7, creating a landing area that is over 100 yards wide! However, the green is around to the left. This leads to a longer shot the further to the right you are. The green hides behind a steep undulation in the front left and is easiest to play from the front right if you happen to miss.

Preserve 3

There are a few different routes to the 4th hole. A large fairway bunker splits the fairway, providing an area that is high to the left and low to the right. If you play to the left, you will have a much better look at where you are going to play next. Playing to the right will create a blind second shot. Setting up a short iron or wedge third shot is very important as the green has a pond in front and falls away to the back. Reaching this green in two would be a very impressive feat.

Preserve 4

The first par 3 on the Preserve, the fifth green sits perched on a ridge that falls into bunkers short and left, with a hazard all down the right. Getting up and down here is no treat. The green, which is blind from the tee, slopes mainly from the back to the front.

Preserve 5

Focus on hitting your tee shot at the boulder in the fairway. From here, you will need to avoid an enormous bunker that sees plenty of action greenside. Miss here and we'll see how much you've been practicing your short game.

Preserve 6

You may feel like you have already played the seventh, and you may be right. This is the hole that shared the green with #2, as well as the fairway of #3. If you can carry the top of the hill, you will see the green. If not, take a walk up and find the top of a tree to aim at. The short right is perhaps the easiest place to play from around the green. Long here is gone.

Preserve 7

One last fairway to hit on this nine. Consider playing a long iron or fairway wood here if you are able to hit it far enough to find the fairway and set up a short second shot. The green has plenty of slope, so be careful when you are reading the putt to consider all sides of the break. A quality approach could set up a great chance at birdie.

Preserve 8

Out of the hardwoods and back to the coast. The green has a giant slope to the left, allowing a shot to be played to the right side and funnel down to the hole. With Little Traverse Bay to the left, a fairway bunker is the only thing stopping your ball from a watery grave.

Preserve 9

A generous landing area off the tee quickly turns to disaster if you get a little too far left. A bunker on the right can be challenged from the tee, and there is room to play from down the right side, but nothing beats the comfort of the fairway when playing your approach into this tricky green.

Links 1

A steep ride up to the tee will reveal the awe-inspiring vista that Bay Harbor is famous for. Again, there is plenty of room to miss it here, but playing from any of the fairway bunkers or rough makes the approach to the green that much more difficult. Get too greedy on a front-hole location, and the false front will certainly claim you as another victim.

Links 2

Here is your first real decision of the round. The split-level fairway rolls down from the landing area on the top right to the bottom of the swale on the left. Longer hitters will often try and either draw a shot off of the hill or make the forced carry on the bottom shelf. Though this will result in a shorter approach, it also makes for a blind shot to an elevated green. Playing out to the right will add a club or two, but the shot is from a similar elevation to the green. A huge bunker in front can be torture.

Links 3

Soak it in. The view from this magnificent par three is truly incredible. Those that are not completely distracted by the views of Little Traverse Bay will need to play there tee shot to the proper side of a two level green for the best shot at birdie. Be aware of the natural slope that runs through the center of the green, falling from top right to bottom left. Too far left here and it won't matter if you are shaken or stirred... you'll simply be on the rocks!

Links 4

A sharp dogleg to the right, the fifth hole requires a tee shot over a natural dune to a wide landing area. The further to the right, the shorter the hole becomes, but be careful not to 'handcuff' yourself by getting too close to this elevated green that has one of the most severe false fronts at Boyne. Play it too safe to the back right part of the green, and you may find yourself all the way down to the bottom of a devilish green side bunker. Get stuck in there, and your playing partners may have to call for help!

Links 5

Nothing crazy here... Nothing easy either. A good tee shot will need to fit somewhere between the natural dunescape on the left and the tall fescue grass on the right. The green can be very tricky and will not welcome errant shots kindly. Par here is good news.

Links 6

Regarded by many as one of the finest golf holes anywhere, the seventh is a par 5 that stretches all along a cliff, high above Lake Michigan. A good tee shot seems to fly out into the water, but never fear— there is plenty of room. What will be a challenge are the moguls and bunkering on the left side of the fairway. An aggressive play to go for the green here is all uphill, but there is enough room short of the green that makes a nice safety net if your shot is not struck well. It is much easier to find yourself below the hole here on this green that slopes from left to right, back to front.

Links 7

This downhill par three will test your nerve. The green is flanked by a large bunker that stretches from the front of the green all the way to the back left. Prevailing winds can play havoc on your club selection, so choose carefully and be very aware of the wind. Many will need to play a driver when the wind is up.

Links 8

Hugging the hazard as tightly as possible to the right will lead to a far easier approach to this wonderfully contoured green. There is plenty of room out to the left, but you can add 30-50 yards pretty easily, making this long hole even more difficult.

Links 9

Preserve/Links

Settled into the hardwoods that hug the shores of Lake Michigan, The Preserve is nothing short of a sanctuary. Designed by Arthur Hills, the course winds its way through a classic northern Michigan landscape filled with wildlife. The sounds of breaking waves are a constant companion, with the course finishing in dramatic fashion — a spectacular par-3 situated on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Taking its lead from the dramatic courses on Ireland's North Atlantic coastline, The Links is situated on the beautiful Lake Michigan shore, with miles of uninterrupted lakefront views. Accented by towering bluffs and windblown dunes, The Links 9 demonstrates Arthur Hills design at its finest, merging the course's unique topography with the native environment to highlight golf as both a sport — and a lifestyle.

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From Forest to Shore

Preserve/Links

Preserve 1