Throughout the course, golfers encounter the rich history of the Hannahville Indian Community, with holes named after traditional Potawatomi clans, villages, allies, medicines, and symbols. The prairie links-style course meanders through wide-open vistas, and features a variety of greens: Redan, Biarritz, Island, and a double-green shared by the 9 th and 18 th holes. “To make that list is a testament to the dramatic, bold, and contrasting designs that Albanese created and to the standards to which our superintendents maintain the courses.” If that’s not enough to convince you to fly to Escanaba, just ask some of the women pros who return every year for a Symetra Tour event at Sweetgrass.

“Michigan is known for having some of America’s best public golf courses,” said Tony Mancilla, the general manager of Island Resorts. Not too shabby, considering the competition. Sweetgrass, designed by Paul Albanese in 2008, is ranked by Golfweek as the 10 th best public course in Michigan. And if you want to venture beyond the Sweetgrass and Sage Run courses, the resort offers golf packages with two other Upper Peninsula gems: Timberstone at Iron Mountain and Greywalls in Marquette. The resort, easily accessible by air, offers everything you could want in a golf destination: a modern, spacious hotel with over 400 rooms, a casino and premier steak house for after-golf entertainment, and two highly acclaimed courses. Topping the list of Upper Peninsula golf experiences is the Island Resort & Casino near Escanaba. While many of Michigan’s best courses are in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, over the past two decades the less-visited Upper Peninsula – which features rugged, striking terrain and borders immense Lake Superior - has emerged as a premier golf destination. Only Florida and California have more ranked golf courses than Michigan, and the state was ranked first by Open Links for best value. In fact, Michigan – particularly the northern parts of the state – offers some of the best golf you will encounter anywhere, and at reasonable prices. But they probably don’t associate Michigan with outstanding golf. They might have some notion that the state is surrounded by several Great Lakes.

When most people in the Northeast think of Michigan, they probably conjure up images of the automobile industry, the once hapless Detroit Lions, or perhaps the toxic drinking water in Flint.

Upper michigan golf and casino resort