Belvedere Golf Club, Charlevoix, MI

Belvedere stands the test of time...

By Brian Weis

Belvedere Golf Club's website sums it up best, "Take a walk into history and play golf as it was meant to be."

The Belvedere is one of the most storied golf courses in Michigan including hosting 39 Michigan Amateur Championships. A walk thru the quaint golf shop is like viewing a pictorial "Who's Who" Directory. Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Tommy Armour, Sam Snead, and Ken Venturi have all carded rounds on this hallowed ground.

Designer Willie Watson, known for his minimalist course design, opened the course in 1925. While Watson maximized the lands topography it still took nearly two years and a crew of 150 men to build the course.

At 6,713 yards the course is short by today's standards, however the green complexes will test even the best of putters. Playing around at Belevedere is like taking a stroll in a park - relaxing and enjoyable. And isn't that the way golf was meant to be played?!

Two time Masters Championship winner, Tom Watson vacationed in the area during his childhood. Recently, Tom Watson relived his youth and after his round, pronounced Belvedere one of his favorite courses in the world. "Most people playing here probably don't understand why this is truly a great course," he said.

Famous Hole

As the story goes, former U.S. Open champion and TV commentator Ken Venturi drove to Northern Michigan to play Belvedere Golf Club based solely on Gene Sarazen's recommendation. When the pro asked how he had heard about the course, Venturi replied that Sarazen said he he had to play the 16th hole.

Initially the hole looks benign, a straight away 346 yard parkland style hole. Approaching your second shot, you start to see the amazing contouring flowing from the hill through the green and into the rough and fairway. Pay particular attention to pin placement and stick your wedge close. A long putt on this undulating green could spell disaster. Anything less than 3 putts is a moral victory.

The Skinny

4 Tees: 6713, 6542, 6102 and 5444 yards
Slope/Rating: 126/72.3
Rates: $79 in season, $50 off season

Belvedere Golf Club
5731 Marion Center Road
Charlevoix, MI 49720
(866) 547-2611
www.belvederegolfclub.com

Article Tags: Belvedere Golf Club, Charlevoix, MI

Revised: 01/14/2011 - Article Viewed 34,145 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.