Crystal Mountain’s Mountain Ridge golf course is beautiful in the fall
Bill Campbell of Ann Arbor sinks a birdie putt on the par-5 sixth on the Mountain Ridge course at Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville on Sept. 27, 2023.
The highest honor among Michigan golf courses has been bestowed for 2025, and it’s an Up North resort course getting the praise.
Crystal Mountain’s Mountain Ridge course Wednesday, Oct. 15, was named Michigan Golf Course of the Year by the Michigan Golf Course Association (MGCA).
Located in Thompsonville, about 20 minutes by car east of M-22’s Inspiration Point on Lake Michigan, the Mountain Ridge has scenic views and elevation changes, including plenty of steep drops. If you like hitting downhill, you’ll enjoy some dramatic holes, including the beautifully framed par-3 fifth and signature par-3 17th.
In 2021, Crystal Mountain was ranked among the top 10 golf resorts and destinations for an Up North vacation by the Free Press.
“Mountain Ridge lives up to its name and then some, with incredible heights and vistas sprawled among northern Michigan’s soaring pines,” Free Press sports columnist Carlos Monarrez wrote in 2021. “When you aren’t avoiding altitude sickness, you’re contending with sidehill lies on rolling fairways, large, undulating greens and tough bunkering.”
Crystal Mountain has two courses. Betsie Valley is the resort’s original course. The signature Mountain Ridge course opened in 1995 and was designed by Northern Michigan-based architect William Newcomb. The course hosted the Michigan PGA Women’s Open for 23 consecutive years.
The Free Press played the tree-lined Mountain Ridge course at the start of fall in 2023, and it was in solid condition in a beautiful woodsy setting with vibrant colors. There was ample room to practice on the huge driving range and chipping area.
Crystal Mountain has dozens of lodging options and is suited for a family vacation, with a one-acre outdoor water playground that features a 4,200-square foot pool. There’s also two 1,600-foot curving tracks on the Crystal Coaster Alpine Slide that zip you down the mountain, along with an adventure course, zipline, climbing wall, tubing, tennis and yes, pickleball.
Marlowe Alter is an Assistant Sports Editor at the Detroit Free Press. Email him at: malter@freepress.com.
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