Number one starts you off from a very elevated tee box.

Wild Bluff has several memorable holes, starting with the risk/reward factor on the first tee. Wild Bluff is certainly not the easiest course you will find, but if you keep the ball in play and hit a lot of fairways, you'll score well. The easiest way to play them is to knock it close on approach! All in all, the course is designed so that every player can find a reasonable and fair challenge and enjoy themselves. The greens are large, roll true, and very puttable. It's the ravines and natural areas you need to steer clear of. This beautiful parkland-style course features wide, Bentgrass fairways that are tree-lined, although you must be having a really bad day if you keep finding the trees! You'll find a few forced carries but nothing that can't be handled easily. There are only a few holes that show the course's natural elevation changes and luckily all of them play downhill. You'll find gently rolling terrain as most of the land on top of the bluff is relatively flat with undulation built into them.

Most of the holes are situated on the bluff and offer tremendous views of the bay. The course is situated on a natural bluff overlooking Waishkey Bay and Lake Superior and features deep and natural ravines with winding rivers and streams that border the Hiawatha National Forest. I found that the White Tees at 6,179 yards (70.1/134) provided a great test of golf and still let me leave with a little dignity. There is a vast difference between the Blue (6,820) and White (6,179) tees, so a 'Hybrid' yardage (6,446) has been created. Wild Bluff Golf Course offers golfers five sets of tees ranging from 5,316 - 7,056 yards and 6 different yardages on the scorecard, so there is suitable yardage for every level of golfer. The golf course was designed by well-respected Michigan architect Mike Husby and opened for play in 1996. Wild Bluff is owned by the Bay Mills Indian Community, one of several federally recognized bands of Chippewa (Ojibwa) and is part of the Bay Mills Resort & Casino. This prime golf property has been awarded 4 1/2 stars from Golf Digest Places to Play. One of these courses is Wild Bluff Golf Course in Brimley, Michigan, just west of Sault Ste Marie.

They are the type of courses that you would play year-round if you could. It's a shame that these courses are so far north and that the playing season is limited. Michigan's Upper Peninsula is full of beautiful and challenging golf courses.

Upper michigan golf and casino resort