Whether you’re looking to play just 18 holes of gorgeous fall golf in northern Michigan or several rounds over a few days, Garland Lodge & Golf Resort is your ideal headquarters. Not only are there four 18-hole golf courses and a reversible short course on the property’s 3,000 acres of northern Michigan wilderness, there’s also a variety of comfortable and affordable places to stay right on site and both fine dining and casual restaurant venues, too.
Plus, Garland offers money-saving Stay & Play packages that let you enjoy the scenic beauty of autumn in northern Michigan for less. And the resort’s location makes it a strong base camp for combining golf with scenic day trips of autumn leaf-peeping.
Fall color typically peaks in late September and early October, when cooler days and lower humidity make Garland downright delightful. The courses are always in excellent condition after a full growing season and the tee sheet is typically less crowded than you’ll find between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Here’s a sample itinerary to help you plan a fall golf getaway to northern Michigan. Customize it to include either more golf or more off-course activities – or a balanced mix of each. Then, come experience this amazing time of year at Garland!
Garland is an easy drive from Michigan cities downstate including Detroit (just over 3 hours), Lansing (just under 3 hours) and Grand Rapids (3 hours). The resort is also easily accessible from northern Michigan airports including Pellston Regional Airport near Mackinaw City (1.5 hours) and Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City (1.5 hours), which has direct flights to many major U.S. cities.
Once you arrive at Garland, settle into your overnight accommodations and hit the course for a quick 9 holes. The Sawyer short course is the perfect way to loosen up and get in some swings while enjoying your first taste of fall beauty around the resort. Designed as a reversible course, you can play The Sawyer’s green loop one day and the white loop the next.
If you have time to play a full 18, immerse yourself in fall color with a round on Swampfire. The course features Garland’s iconic horseshoe-shaped tee box on No. 5 and has water on 16 of the 18 holes as it winds through scenic marshes and wetlands.
After golf, get dinner and drinks while relaxing in the casual atmosphere of Antler’s Bar & Grill. Or sit around a firepit on the patio and order something from the resort’s legendary Tiki Bar.
One of the most convenient things about Garland is that once you park your car you won’t need it again until you leave. Golf and dining is all within walking distance of where you stay – whether you’re in The Lodge or in a villa or golf cottage right on the course.
READ MORE: This is what makes Garland Lodge & Golf Resort stand out
Start with breakfast at Antler’s or the Tamarack Dining Room before heading out to play a round or two. You’ll need to fuel up before taking on the Monarch, the longest course at Garland. “The King of Michigan Golf” plays over 7,200 yards from the tips with big greens and wide fairways that allow you to really grip it and rip it. Monarch is also home to Garland’s resident bald eagles, so keep an eye out for possible sightings!
If you get hungry out on the course, the Halfway House is a convenient spot to grab a hot dog, brat or sandwich. Otherwise, Chef Kirk always has tasty seasonal selections on the fall lunch menu at Antler’s and in the Tiki Bar after your round.
If you’re up for 36 holes, tackle Garland’s Reflections course. It’s shorter than the resort’s other 18-hole options yet no less scenic with lush fairways meandering through majestic pines and colorful northern Michigan hardwoods. The course has a fun mix of six par 5s, six par 4s and six par 3s – giving you more chances at a hole-in-one!
If you’d rather take a break from golf in the afternoon, there are fantastic fall color drives in the area around Garland. The M-33 corridor just east of the resort runs through a forest of fall foliage. Farther east, just over an hour’s drive from Garland, you can reach Lake Huron and the stunning shoreline scenery in Alpena, a small town that punches above its weight in volume and quality of restaurants, breweries and art galleries.
In the other direction, you might spot wildlife on the drive toward Gaylord along M-32 through the Pigeon River Country State Forest. Gaylord has lots of dining, shopping and local Michigan breweries, too.
When you get back to Garland, get cleaned up for dinner in the Tamarack Dining Room, which exudes an upscale log cabin vibe with tables arranged around an impressive stone fireplace. Chef Kirk and his team will treat you to a succulent fall menu featuring fresh veggies from local farms paired with savory meats and house-made sauces and dressings.
READ MORE: 8 questions with Garland’s Chef Kirk
After breakfast in The Lodge, make your way to the first tee of Fountains, Garland’s masterpiece of golfing art. The course is arguably the most picturesque in the fall and many guests rank it as their favorite at Garland. Like Reflections, Fountains has a 6-6-6 design with the same number of par 3s, par 4s and par 5s. Plus, it’s home to the resort’s famous log bridge, the longest single-span log bridge in the world.
When you hole out on 18, finish your Northern Michigan fall golf getaway with lunch at Antler’s and one more loop around The Sawyer. You won’t regret spending another hour walking amid the colorful backdrop of maples, oaks and aspens set against towering pines.
Once you finally put your clubs back in the trunk and leave the resort, take the long way home. Driving through the rolling terrain and rural sights west of Garland toward Grand Traverse Bay takes you past vineyards and wine tasting rooms for another highlight of fall in northern Michigan.
READ MORE: Garland Golf Trip: Why groups keep coming back year after year
While people have been playing golf at Garland since the 1950s, the present collection of championship golf courses began to take shape about four decades ago. That’s when Swampfire was […]
You know about the Ryder Cup, golf’s foremost team competition pitting top U.S. professionals against the best players from Europe. Well, something similar happens every summer at Garland Lodge and […]
