EUP Links Feature Oldest Courses in Michigan; Total of 207 Holes of Golf
By David Latva

The traditional clubhouse and the ring around number 3 at Wawashkamo Golf Club. Photographs courtesy of Fritz George.

The Eastern Upper Peninsula (EUP) provides a wonderful experience for golfers, with scenic views, two of the oldest courses in Michigan, two islands, and 15 golf courses with 207 holes.

Wawashkamo Golf Club on Mackinac Island and Les Cheneaux Golf Club in Cedarville are the oldest continuously played nine-hole courses in the state.

Wawashkamo lies within the heart of the Island on British Landing Road and was designed in 1898 by golf architect Alex A. Smith. The nine-hole course, with a par 36 and 18 tees, was designed in the tradition of the Scottish links.

The Island's course, a National Landmark and a State Historic Site, is the site of the historic battle between British and American troops during the War of 1812, when the Americans tried unsuccessfully to reclaim Fort Mackinac in 1814.

The Les Cheneaux course was developed during the late 1890s by William M. Derby and W.H. Crawford and was ready for play in May 1898.

The course is a par 35 with 18 tees and is designed in the style of the traditional Scottish links, using the natural lay of the land. It is accessible by water from a public dock off the Snows Channel.

A trip around the EUP begins after crossing the Mackinac Bridge from the south or coming off US-2 West from the west to the nine-hole St. Ignace Golf Club, with views of the Mackinac Bridge and the Straits of Mackinac.

Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island has two nine-hole courses, which include the Jewel, next to the hotel with views of the harbor, and the Woods, which cut into the forest in the middle of the island.

Golfers can travel east on M- 134 to the 18-hole course at Hessel Ridge and continue to DeTour and a ferryboat trip to Drummond Island, with 18 holes at the Rock- Woodmoor and nine holes at the Drummond Island Golf Club, which has an airport runway running through it.

Traveling north of Pickford on M-129, golfers will find an 18-hole course at Munoscong Golf Club and an 18-hole course at the Oaks in Kincheloe before continuing to Sault Ste. Marie to 18 holes at Tanglewood Marsh and the Sault Ste. Marie Golf and Country Club.

The view of the Mackinac Bridge from across number 3 and number 6 at the St. Ignace Golf Club.

The trip can continue west to the 18 holes at Wild Bluff in Brimley and end with a round of 18 holes at the Newberry Golf and Country Club and nine holes at Hiawatha Golf Club in Naubinway.

Pictured from the tee on number four at Les Cheneaux Golf Club to the clubhouse and the Snows Channel.