Sugar Loaf The Old Course Photos

I’ve been curious about Sugar Loaf The Old Course for a long time.

Part of that curiosity has absolutely nothing to do with golf.

Sugar Loaf has a little history for me.

Back in the early 1990s, Steve and I vacationed in Northern Michigan and stayed at Sugar Loaf Resort. We rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain to take in the views, and Steve played 18 holes on the golf course.

Me?

I stayed back at the resort and relaxed.

This was before I golfed, so at the time I probably thought I had gotten the better end of that deal.

Funny how things change.

Sugar Loaf Resort eventually closed in 2000, and the abandoned ski resort became a familiar and somewhat sad sight in Leelanau County for many years. The surrounding property is now owned by a conservancy and is in the process of being restored.

But through all those changes, the golf course kept going.

Originally opened in 1966 as part of Sugar Loaf Resort, The Old Course never closed.

Over the years, I had heard all kinds of stories about the golf course. Some were about its challenges. Others were about conditions and maintenance.

Naturally, that made me even more curious.

I wanted to see it for myself.

So after all these years, I finally returned with my own golf clubs.

My introduction to the course was a little interesting.

After checking in and paying, I headed to Hole 1 and waited for my tee time.

Seems logical, right?

Eventually, an employee came over and asked what I was doing.

Waiting to tee off.

Nope.

Everyone was starting on Hole 10 that day.

Apparently, there was a sign by the cash register explaining this.

And apparently, I walked right past it.

That’s certainly on me, although I do think mentioning it when I checked in might have saved us both a little confusion.

No big deal.

Off to Hole 10 I went.

I will admit, though, that starting on Hole 10 bothered me more than it probably should have.

I like playing a golf course in order.

Hole 1.

Then hole 2.

And then Hole 3.

You get the idea.

In my mind, somebody designed the course to unfold a certain way from the first hole through the eighteenth, and that’s how I want to experience it the first time.

I know.

I have my little idiosyncrasies.

At least I recognize them.

Once I got over the fact that my first hole was actually the tenth hole, I settled in and started enjoying the course.

And you know what?

The Old Course was quite nice.

There are a lot of hills, including several blind shots where you really need to pay attention to golfers who may be out of sight on the other side. It’s the kind of course where you don’t automatically assume the fairway ahead is clear just because you can’t see anyone.

But that terrain also gives the course some of its personality.

After everything I had heard over the years, I wasn’t quite sure what I would find.

What I found was a golf course that I enjoyed playing.

And Then I Lost a Club

At hole 8, I realized my pitching iron was missing.

Wonderful.

I drove back around the course looking everywhere I could think of and couldn’t find it. I knew I used it on hole 6, wasn’t sure if I used it on 7.

Before leaving, I gave my information to the clubhouse and hoped somebody might find it.

When I got home, I looked up what it would cost to replace the club with the same one.

About $225.

Suddenly I was really hoping somebody might find it.

I called the course the next day.

They had my club.

Someone had found it and turned it in.

I don’t know who that golfer was, but I certainly appreciate their honesty. They could have easily tossed a pretty nice club into their bag and continued on their way.

Instead, they made sure it got back to the clubhouse and eventually back to me.

Thank you, mystery golfer.

You saved me $225.

And probably several days of complaining about the fact that I lost a $225 pitching iron.

Overall, I’m glad I finally satisfied my curiosity about The Old Course.

It wasn’t exactly a perfect start, and I’m still not a fan of beginning my first visit to a course on Hole 10, but once I got playing, I really enjoyed it.

The course was in better shape than some of the stories I’d heard over the years had led me to expect. It had plenty of personality, enough challenge to keep things interesting, and those blind hills definitely kept me paying attention.

I’d play it again.

Next time, though, I’d like to start on Hole 1.

And finish with the same number of clubs I started with.

I don’t ask for much. ⛳

Read about our round and the fun we had and the challenges we faced in a future issue of Golf Up North Newsletter. Make sure you don’t miss an issue by clicking on Golf Up North Newsletter and subscribing to our monthly newsletter.

Sugar Loaf The Old Course – Cedar, Michigan

A Different View From the Tees

If you’ve looked through some of our other course galleries, you may notice something different about the pictures from Sugar Loaf. Normally, I photograph each hole from the white tees. This time I took pictures from both the white and red tees because there was such a noticeable difference between the two on several holes. Since I play from the red tees, I thought it would be interesting to show both perspectives. The captions will tell you whether you’re looking at the view from the white or red tees. It’s a good reminder that moving up a tee box doesn’t always mean you’re simply playing a shorter version of the same hole. Sometimes the view, angle, and shot in front of you can look quite different. ⛳

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^{Disclosure: We never tell a course who we are when we book and play a course. We do not ask nor will we accept free rounds to write about a course. We pay full price for our rounds for everyone in our group.}