Weekend trip advice within 5 hours of Kalamazoo, MI

[sparty]

Every year for the past 12 years or so we get a group of 10-12 guys and take a trip to Ludington, MI for a long discin weekend. Hit Flip City, Whitehall, Mason County Park (Beauty, Beast), Whiskey Hills, Leviathan etc. We LOVE the courses in Ludington but I think I'm ready to find a new trip this year. Anyone have advice or recommendations for a new spot this year that within 5hrs or so of Southern Michigan? Would prefer a place with cabin rentals, with 5-6 courses near by. Air Bnb is also an option so I'm not married to a camp ground. Would love to hear from members who have taken some trips in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky etc. Where can we go thats as baddass as Ludington?!

 

[ru4por]

Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Cincinnati, Bowling Green KY, Peoria. These all have the courses. You can get an Airbnb anywhere.

 

[ru4por]

Boyne Mountain is one of my favorite trips. Stay at the resort, 5 restaurants/bars on site. Go out golfing, head back for cooling off in the pool and drinks. Park the cars and walk for dinner and cocktails. Enough courses to keep you busy.

 

[Countchunkula]

That's a tough ask. That part of Michigan has some great courses.

I agree with ru on Peoria. I haven't played enough (or any) courses in the other places he mentioned to have an opinion.

Maybe Quad Cities. Other than that I'm drawing a blank.

 

[wolfhaley]

If you went a little further Pittsburgh is fantastic.

Cincinnati, Peoria and the Quad cities are all great options though too

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Of all the suggestions mentioned so far, I've played Peoria and Idlewild in Cincinnati. Peoria has Northwoods, Wildlife and McNaughton that are all very memorable. I liked Maxwell too. My son played them in Jr. Worlds the past two years.

I've played Idlewild in Cincinnati and absolutely loved it. While it's the only course I've had the pleasure to play there, it looks like there's a lot to choose from in the area.

The good news is we live in a time of milk and honey with the sport exploding all over the place and you can almost throw a dart at a map and find a bunch of courses, compared to when I was in my youth in the '90s.

Greetings from another Kzoo-area player! I wonder if we've bumped into each other?

 

[Nick Pacific]

Boyne Mountain is one of my favorite trips. Stay at the resort, 5 restaurants/bars on site. Go out golfing, head back for cooling off in the pool and drinks. Park the cars and walk for dinner and cocktails. Enough courses to keep you busy.

This would be my pick as well. And some awesome courses nearby that are sparsely populated and mostly free.

 

[discNDav]

The Pittsburgh area is great with Moraine, Knob Hill, North Boundary all near each other and Deer Lakes my favorite in the area 30 min away. All of these are near major hiways which helps.

 

[pmay5]

If you really want to keep your drive under 5 hours, Cincinnati would be your best bet, plus you can get 3 states from there! For a shorter drive (just 2 hours), NW Indiana might work, Lemon Lake has 4 courses, all at, or above 3.0, plus tons of courses over in NE Illinois, including The Canyons in Lockport, probably the best in the CHI area.
I haven't played any in these areas, but the ratings should be reliable.