Bay Harbor stands out among Northern Michigan golf courses.

In addition to wooded beauty, certain Northern Michigan golf courses offer panoramic, "seaside" experiences, and one of our favorites is Bay Harbor Golf Links.

It's located near the very top of the Michigan "oven mitt," overlooking Little Traverse Bay, an inlet into which Lake Michigan spills a bounty of fresh water for sailors, fisherman, windsurfers, and kayakers.

An Arthur Hills design, Bay Harbor lies along the lakeshore in the charming town of Petoskey, characterized by little shops, inns, waterfront parks and restaurants. Across the bay is Harbor Springs, Michigan's answer to tony Kennebunkport, with its all-American streets lined with fashionable art galleries, nautical stores, fudge and ice cream shops, and boat slips. To be sure, Bay Harbor seems to have it all among Northern Michigan golf courses; plenty to see, plenty to do, and plenty of places to eat.

As far as the course itself goes, Hills created three distinctly different nines at this Northern Michigan golf course: Links, Quarry, and Preserve. The Links, which sits highest on the land and has the best views of the water, is the most popular, and, according to Hills, "the seventh hole on the Links nine is my favorite hole I've ever designed."

It's a 540-yard par-five along a bluff 150-feet above the crystal clear water with pebbles, stones and outcroppings. The hole is framed on the left by severely undulating dunes covered by wisps of native grasses, and the green lies on a promontory with no bunkers, just close-cut grass and the wind...the ever-present wind.

Once you've had your fill of powerful winds blowing in across the bluffs, the Quarry nine makes for a nice change of pace. These holes play through a forty-foot deep gorge with shale cliffs, a pond, and sport a rarity in the high-tech world of golf architecture: a natural waterfall. After six rugged and rocky holes, the nine leads back out to the lake for three holes finishing in front of the stucco and stone clubhouse, an airy, two-story building with an outdoor deck perfect for taking in the views.

The Preserve nine lacks the in-your-face allure of the other two, but it is a refreshing loop through majestic hardwoods, rampant wildflowers and wetlands, and it too features a final hole with a shoreline view.

While the golf here is wonderful, on charm alone, Bay Harbor has to be among the top Northern Michigan golf courses.

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