No Truer North: Grand Traverse Resort and Spa a Top Destination
Tens of thousands of golfers head to northern Michigan each summer and fall season to hit the golf links.
Yet before scrambling to the first tee upon arrival, many guests at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa take advantage of a lesson or two to sharpen up their game, thanks to the Resort’s year-round Golf Academy.
Mark Hill, Director of Golf Instruction, said they teach everyone from beginners to more experienced golfers, with programs to fit all. He said groups of four can come in, take a small group lesson, then play for a few days and practice what they learned.
“We’ll make it fun; we’ll tailor it any way you like,” said Hill, who first interned decades ago under the famous Golf Hall of Famer Ken Venturi. “We can do it for families too. For first-time golfers, we’ll go over some etiquette and go on the golf course to show them how to play a hole. It’s so great that we have all the room at the Golf Academy and the three different golf courses that we can take our students to.”
Private lessons are also available, ranging from one-time only to a series of lessons. Hill indicated that ten years ago, his lessons were 80 percent, which has completely flipped, one-timers. Now so 80 percent of his lessons are taken as a series. “It just shows you how much people are getting into the game.”
Especially Youth and Women
According to the National Golf Foundation, from 2020 to 2022, more than 800,000 women in the U.S. took up golf, bringing the total to 6.4 million female golfers. While the number of women golfers rose about 15 percent, the male golf pool increased by just two percent in the same time frame.
“We have ladies-only, three-day schools that are a big hit,” Hill said. “We make it fun, and half the time with the ladies, we’re out on the golf course. And they love that.
“We have a junior clinic that runs from mid-June all the way to the end of July. Any juniors from as young as 5 to 17 years old.”
The Resort’s support of junior golf is also huge. Not only do multiple area high school teams practice and play on The Bear, The Wolverine, and Spruce Run, but the Resort has also regularly hosted high school and college invitationals and the 41-year-old Traverse City Junior Golf Association.
The Grand Experience
If anyone can claim they’ve seen it all, Tom McGee can.
The Director of Golf Operations has worked at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa for more than 35 years. He pointed out that nearly $11 million has recently been invested in guest updates. The most noticeable is the 242 hotel rooms that were totally renovated in 2023 and a new restaurant off the main lobby, formerly Sweetwater American Bistro—now NIIJII Restaurant.
The new, modern, and fresh restaurant will serve guests breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was designed with inspiration from northern Michigan’s colors, textures, and nature. Cultural touches incorporated in the space celebrate the heritage of Resort ownership, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa, and Chippewa Indians. This is also where the restaurant’s name comes from. Niijii is the Anishinaabe spelling for ‘friend.’
“Reinvestment by our ownership certainly makes this a great destination — and that’s what we’re very proud about,” McGee said.
“If a guest hasn’t been here in a while or they’re first-time visitors, they come to our property, and they’re always surprised by the quality of the golf courses, the design of the golf courses, and the great conditions. And there’s the great weather as well — and we really hear about the great service, especially larger groups like 12 or 20 golfers. They’ll show up and we have their name on a golf cart, we have their name personalized on a scorecard, we’ll have their contest holes. We do that for every group on property. Even if a foursome wants to do something like that, we are ready to go.
“It starts with the service, and we can back it up with the great courses’ layouts and conditions—and the variety—and having all three golf courses start out of our one clubhouse.”
The magnet to the location is Jack Nicklaus’ first northern Michigan creation — The Bear.
“The fairways are pretty wide, so the key is the approach shot,” McGee said of The Bear. “Every hole is very different. The greens are tiered, so if you’re good with your irons, you can score pretty well with a flat putt. But if you’re on the wrong tier, good luck. The Bear is fun, it’s challenging and it’s very memorable.
“It’s got holes out in the open. You’ve got some hardwoods, and some orchards, so the beauty of it is no two holes are identical. The variation in holes creates more memories for individual holes played. Every hole is an adventure.”

The Wolverine, where Gary Player’s design genius meets the natural beauty of Northern Michigan’s landscape.
Gary Player’s The Wolverine was designed to be flexible and playable with four sets of tees to accommodate golfers of all abilities. The course is enjoyable for high-handicappers yet can be set up to be a true test for professional tournaments. The Wolverine has distinctive nines. The front nine is woven through water and wetlands. The back nine is constructed on rolling highland terrain with hardwoods and views of East Grand Traverse Bay.
The original golf course at the Resort was Spruce Run, which has been modified over the years to accommodate the addition of The Wolverine.
“It’s well maintained; the difference that stands out is it’s tighter. When you stand on the tee box it just looks so narrow,” he said. “There are a lot of undulating greens. It’s a course that’s not built for fast greens. You can see the entire green in front of you, slanted back to front, but my advice is always play it short; if you go beyond (above) the cup you can be looking at a double bogey.”
Experience No Truer North at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
More info at: grandtraverseresort.com
For more information on the game of golf in the Great Lakes State of Michigan, visit MIGolfJournal.com
Photos courtesy of Grand Traverse Resort.