Bay Harbor (Bay Harbor, Michgan)

Art Hills has designed hundreds of golf courses, but if pressed to name his favorite, Bay Harbor would have to be on his short list. How could it not?! It's easily one of the best properties he s work on. The place is absolutely beautiful! 

Bay Harbor wastes little time in showing off it's attributes as the first hole plays alongside the coastline. 

It's one of the most scenic opening holes in golf! And I appreciate that Art Hills designed a solid hole that didnt compete with the view.  

The second hole is solid but I think on closer inspection I can understand why golf aficionados get upset with Art Hills. On a property of Bay Harbor's grandeur, why is this average looking hole here? It's a valid point and one that will rear it's head a few more times. 

Forward to the third and fourth, two holes  with a view that is one of the best in the world! 

It doesn't get much prettier than that! Three is a good par four where the aggressive player can carry over corner of the lake to obtain a straight on view of the green while the conservative player hits to the upper right section of the fairway, but is left with a more difficult shot over the trap guarding the green. Four is then a downhill par three to a green that gets shallow the further left the pin is. Great two holes!!

The fifth takes us to the dunes and it's one of my favorite holes on the course. It's a blind tee shot over the sand ridge on this short dogleg right par four. The green is small and a deep pot bunker guards the right. Wind, guts, skill...it's all present on this little hole! The sixth stays in the dunes and plays into the prevailing wind. It's a nice hole. 

And then comes the seventh...

Arguably the best par five in Michigan. Gorgeous scenery, into the wind, risk/reward...it has it all! The green is bunkerless and just begs for an aggressive second. After holing out, my threesome teed up several balls and drove them out into the blue abyss. I hate to think how many balls are sitting at the bottom of the lake just off this green. 

The next four holes leave the coastline and the excitement wanes. It's not that these are bad holes, it's just with a piece of property like this, these holes are the ones that need the most attention. I noted this at Longaberger too when there was a lull in the design.  

Fast forward to the twelfth hole, a long par five that plays alongside the cliff overlooking the quarry. It's a good hole but the best part is seeing the quarry holes down below. It's such an amazing view! I wish the green was more than just bi-level tho. With the landform the green is on, Hills could have really made this a great hole. Thirteen then takes us down into the quarry, and this hole has a generic green too....but after the walk to fourteen and looking out at the view...

Wow!! It's downhill, downwind and the green is stretched out in front of a 50' high cliff! I love that the green is wider than it is deep. When the pin slides over to the far right, it becomes even more intimidating. You couple this with the seventh...two excellent par fives!!

Fifteen follows with a short par four that cries out to be driven!

My threesome and I must've hit four balls each trying to drive this thing! It's a damn good looking hole! The correct way to play it is hybrid-wedge, but even then it requires two fine shots. I'll give Art Hills credit, he's really good at designing short par fours. 

Sixteen continues the great finish with a diagonal tee shot over the quarry wall. What really makes the hole is the centerline bunker! Amazing how not once was this feature employed until now! I love it! It forces players to challenge the cliff otherwise the drive is out to the right and the approach is a long club in. 

Seventeen...

What a perfect hole! I love the low profile green down on the Lake Michigan shore. It's not an overly difficult shot unless the wind is blowing, and the view is second to none. It's possibly the best hole on the back (quarry nine). 

The round finishes with a another shoreline green, but this time it's a little higher up. A craggy fissure cuts across the fairway and the player decides whether to carry it or layup to it. 

It definitely finishes off the round in style giving one last view of the spectacular location Bay Harbor resides on. 

Bay Harbor opened the same year as Bandon Dunes and Whistling Straits. Together the three were touted as "the  next Pebble Beach!" After opening as one of the top fifty courses in the country, Bay Harbor has steadily seen it's ranking tumble down to 85th (public) in the USA. I believe one of the reasons for that is the average design of the holes not on the lake or in the quarry. Art Hills had a chance to put his name on a legitimate top 50 course in the world. Nonetheless, half of the holes are still excellent! And it's these holes that I hang my rating on. It's totally worth going and seeing! I give it a 7 (great rating).