At every turn in the great state of Michigan, great golf beckons.
I’ve seen it firsthand the past two seasons with my travels taking me to several of Michigan’s top destinations, including Boyne in 2024 and Forest Dunes, The Dunes Club and two excursions to the Upper Peninsula this summer.
After my extensive tour of the state, I can say without a doubt that Michigan deserves to be in the conversation as one of the best states for golf in America.
Endowed with spectacular geology leftover from the glacial retreat of the Ice Age, Michigan’s shoreline dunes, sandy soils, dense forests and dramatic hills form an ideal canvas for high-end destination golf.
Developers have taken notice over the past few decades, with serious investment pumped into the state to convert these dream properties into a golf mecca. Michigan now boasts an extensive lineup of top courses shining with exceptional conditioning, breathtaking drama and stout challenge.
While the state is certainly gaining attention in media circles, I still think it’s underrated and relatively undiscovered. Golf in the Lower Peninsula at least commands some attention, though, while the U.P. remains largely untapped and unknown.
Great golf does exist in the Upper Peninsula, however, anchored around Island Resort and Casino which offers two outstanding courses in Sweetgrass and Sage Run on property and a stay-and-play deal that, in my experience, is unmatched in value across the entire country.
The package adds iconic Greywalls and outstanding Timberstone to the fold, making this an epic four-course tour of the best golf you’ll find in the U.P. at an insanely good value.
The newest course at the resort, Sage Run, is a 10 minute drive from the hotel, sprawling over a glacially-molded, rugged property.
The resort enlisted architect Paul Albanese of Albanese & Lutzke to oversee the design of Sage Run which opened in 2018.
Albanese, also the lead architect of the original Sweetgrass layout in 2008, came into this project with extensive architectural experience going back to his days as an understudy of Pete Dye.
He showed off tremendous versatility in his work at Sage Run, a course that looks and feels completely different from Sweetgrass. In fact, no two holes are alike at Sage Run, offering players an incredibly varied experience and presenting different types of challenges throughout the round. You’ll need to excel in every phase of the game and have a knack for creativity to score well here.
In late August, I joined the WiscoGolfAddict team for a brief hop to the U.P. to cover Island Resort and Casino in all its glory.
While I had yet to visit this resort entering the 2025 season, I did get my first taste of it in an early June trip with another group of buddies, and I was aching for more.
So when Paul Seifert teed up a team trip to this destination to cap off the summer in style, I was all in.
Sage Run was the first round of our media trip, and it also happens to be my favorite of the three courses we played. While demanding and visually intimidating, something about this track sets up well to my eye, as evidenced by the 77 I fired in my first round earlier in the summer.
I came into the round dreaming of more glory in this epic setting, and while I didn’t knock it out of the park this time, I managed to rally with an even par back nine and an 80 overall. The round finished in spectacular fashion, as well, with my approach from 140 yards on the par five 18th finding the bottom of the cup for an eagle.
Sage Run combines many of the elements that make Michigan a great golf state – mind-bending topography, dazzling views, outstanding course conditions – to yield a tremendously varied and wild golf experience.
Stretching to nearly 7,300 yards from the tips, this is one of the most challenging golf courses I have ever seen – if you pick the wrong set of tees.
We played from the much more manageable white tees at around 6,400 yards, and while plenty of trouble and visual intimidation remain in play from this length (as evidenced by the 137 slope rating), good shots are rewarded even for modest ball strikers like myself.
Embracing Duality
I’m a sucker for variety in a golf property, so naturally I love properties that meld distinctive natural environments together in a cohesive way, invoking a sense of adventure as golfers traverse the round.
I’ve written about several such layouts – Bandon Trails and University Ridge, for example – but unlike most other dual-environment courses which feature lengthy sequences in each setting, Sage Run unapologetically jumps between prairie and forest on several occasions, keeping players on their toes and presenting an air of unpredictability.
The transitions between the two environments are often stark and involve significant uphill or downhill tee shots. The property’s central drumlin is its defining landform, facilitating dramatic shots that contend with 100+ foot drops and climbs.
The opening four holes tour an open area in the western section of the property, featuring blind to semi-blind shots, strategic bunker placement and rocky fescue areas. Despite challenging length, this is a bit of a tame start with the topography dialed back compared to the rest of the layout.
Fescue closely lines the fairways, and while thin and normally yielding playable lies, the starter alerted us to a local rule that allows for a free drop from unmaintained areas due to the abundance of rocky ground across the landscape.
I certainly took full advantage of this generosity, coming out of the gate quite rusty and spraying my first few tee shots. The ensuing “Dario drops” (term coined after Contributing Writer Dario Melendez took a legendary free drop at Green Bay Country Club) helped keep my round afloat in the early going.
The opening tee shot plays blind, invoking memories of some spots at Lawsonia Links. With just over 200 yards to the corner of this dogleg right, you’ll probably want to bite off some of the right side here. A pot bunker sitting short-right offers a perfect aiming point for this more aggressive route.
A large bunker and steep dropoff protect the front-left side of the green, so shots up the right side of the fairway will also have a much better angle of approach.
The par five third features a series of bunker formations that demand heroics on the first and second shots.
The tee shot must contend with a pair of traps guarding the inner corner of the slight dogleg right, requiring a carry of about 225 yards – modest for longer hitters, but a pretty big poke for me.
Depending on your position off the tee, a number of options exist on the uphill second shot. If in optimal position, you’ll probably have a look at the green, but a flighted shot is necessary to carry a stark incline over a trio of waste bunkers.
We all found it particularly tough to hold the green which is perched on a plateau and dropping steeply off on the back side.
The sub-300 yard 8th explores a strip of prairie on the east side of the central ridge, presenting a nice scoring opportunity. However, uphill elevation and a fortress of bunkering stand in the way of driving the green. Conservative play to the right will setup a lob wedge on approach which is crucial to attack the well-defended green.
The par four tenth is a great start to the back nine, descending from the clubhouse into an open valley with left-to-right orientation. Tucked against a hillside, this green is particularly tough to hit, especially with the ball likely to be below your feet.
I managed to hit my second-best iron of the day here, though, striping a six iron to three feet. Tragically, I missed the tricky downhill slider for birdie and had to settle for par.
Sage Run is best-known for its wooded holes, and for good reason. Traversing wild topography, this section of the property boasts a wide variety of challenges and a great collection of holes. The front nine offers a brief introduction to the woods on holes 5 through 7 and 9, while the back side is predominantly cut from the timber.
The 6th is one of the most gorgeous spots on site, a longer par four that vividly reminds me of the 7th at Bandon Trails. Blending in naturally with the terrain, it seems like a golf hole always existed in this space.
With waste area and trees lurking left on the downhill tee shot, it might be tempting to favor the right side, but the left half of the fairway offers a much better angle into a green that’s well-protected by a large bunker on the right.
Holes 11-14 take you through an enchanting tract of hardwood forest, complete with wildlife views and a sense of isolation in nature. Accuracy is at a premium at this point in the round, with tight landing zones that call for expert shot-shaping.
The par five 12th bends slightly to the left, with a trio of centerline traps that will complicate the drive and second shot. Playing gradually uphill, this will be a three-shot hole for most as the well-bunkered green will repel all but the best attempts to get home in two.
The shorter par four 13th presents excellent optionality off the tee, featuring a collection of fairway bunkers diagonally cutting across the landing zone.
There’s actually some room up the right to carry the sand at its shortest point, where a narrow strip of fairway can kick well-placed drives left and past the trouble, into lob wedge range. Alternatively, a long iron up the left side will setup an uphill semi-blind approach.
My favorite par three on the course, the 14th is long, uphill and demands a carry over a gorge to challenge an elevated green. At 250 yards, the back tees will give scratch players all they can handle.
This is a grand spot on the property, an open enclave that offers delectable views of the surrounding hardwood forest.
It’s also one of several junctures at Sage Run that approach the grandeur of Greywalls, albeit on a smaller scale. The elevation changes and forced carries are similarly intimidating to its U.P. sibling, placing an extreme emphasis on execution.
Taking on the Topography Headfirst
Rule 4 of Alister Mackenzie’s revered ’13 Principles of Golf Course Design’ criticizes improper use of hills in a design: “The greens and the fairways should be sufficiently undulating, but there should be no hill climbing. Leave the hill climbing to hill climbers!”
While I normally agree wholeheartedly with this principle, Paul Albanese threw this notion out the window in his design of Sage Run. Rather than running holes parallel to the property’s massive central ridge, he routed several playing lines perpendicular to the topography to create extreme uphill and downhill shots.
This was a dangerous tactic that bordered on gimmicky, but I think it was very well-done with several uphill holes that have proven to possess some of the most fun shots on the course.
The par three fifth ascends about 100 feet directly up the drumlin, creating a 2-to-3 club difference purely due to elevation. Trust me, you’ll need a lot of club here, despite its modest posted yardage.
Short and left is a pit of despair, with the slopes running hard in those directions. Escape from the waste area is daunting if you find yourself in this unfortunate position.
Paul demonstrated this as a slight mishit bounded back into the deep sand fronting the green, and despite a well-struck sand shot he still had to work hard for bogey.
On a course filled with potential signature holes, I think the 15th fits the bill at Sage Run most succinctly.
Diving severely downhill from the forest, the entire hole and a fantastic view of the prairie beyond will greet you on this invigorating tee shot.
A well-placed fairway trap will make shorter hitters think twice about challenging the left side, but the required carry of about 230 yards is reasonable given the extra boost you’ll get from the elevation change.
The left side also presents a favorable angle into an elevated green that’s protected front-right by sand.
Look, eagle putts are a rarity for me. I don’t hit the ball a mile and have very few chances to reach a par five in two or drive the green on a short four.
So when one of these opportunities comes knocking, it’s a special moment.
This was the case at the 16th, a severely uphill par four only clocking in at just over 250 yards. With a daunting strip of waste area diagonally cutting across the fairway in plain sight, I’ve found it’s worth cranking driver to carry the shoulder and run the ball over the hill rather than trying to pinpoint a hybrid to safety.
Dario had been noodling me about my distance off the tee all week, scoffing at the idea that I could hit it 270+. Well, I proved him wrong here, blasting a straight ball that bounded onto the front of the green. While I predictably 3-putted for par, I still couldn’t help but shoot him a grin after my best drive of the day. 🙂
Is there a better way to finish a round than to walk it off with an eagle? Lightning strikes every now and then, and it certainly did for me in our round at Sage Run, with my 9-iron from 140 finding the bottom of the cup. That concluded a roller-coaster round that added up to an 80, and while that didn’t match the 77 I posted earlier in the summer, it sure made for a great moment.
The 18th itself is a demanding dogleg with stout length, straddling forest to the left and prairie right. Dropping over 100 feet to the valley below, a right-to-left shot shape is crucial off the tee as the fairway bends hard left and the elevation change will exaggerate crooked ball flights.
The green is nestled in a grove of trees to the left that guard the left corner on approach, and only booming drives up the right side will have the slimmest look at the green in two.
Closing Thoughts
“One course is a curiosity. Two courses is a destination.” – Mike Keiser
With the addition of Sage Run seven years ago, Island Resort and Casino has indeed made this transformation, just like Keiser’s Bandon Dunes in the early 2000’s.
Occupying a fascinating and beautiful piece of land, Sage Run has added depth and variety to the Island Resort and Casino’s golf offerings, contrasting beautifully with the original Sweetgrass layout and basking in its surreal natural environment.
Future developments are not stopping anytime soon at Island Resort and Casino, either. A new nine-hole layout under Paul Albanese’s purview, the Cedar Course (Kishki), is under construction adjacent to the southwest border of Sage Run.
Per resort communications, the Cedar Course will blend elements of Sweetgrass and Sage Run while incorporating features inspired by some of the great classic courses of America such as Augusta National and Oakmont. With nine more holes planned after the opening of the Cedar Course, these developments promise to deepen the appeal of Island Resort & Casino even further.
After humble beginnings as a casino hotel, this destination has branched out to become a golf-first option that all Midwest golf enthusiasts need to see for themselves.
Did I mention the stay-and-play deal? Without killing the wallet, you can book your next golfing adventure to the U.P. and gain access to four of the finest public properties in the region.
What are you waiting for?
Island Resort and Casino Website
Photography by Paul Seifert, Brian Murphy and Rich Bauer for WiscoGolfAddict.com
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