Roscommon, MI
Forest Dunes
A reversible course in the northwoods pines — golf's cleverest property, minus the crowds.
northwoodspure-golfreversible-routingwalking-friendly
The place
Deep in Michigan's northwoods, Forest Dunes is a golf-first hideaway with the most talked-about design experiment in the country: The Loop, Tom Doak's fully reversible eighteen, played clockwise as the Black course one day and counterclockwise as the Red the next. Tom Weiskopf's original Forest Dunes course brings classic championship polish through pines and sandy waste, the Bootlegger short course soaks up the evenings, and the on-site lodge keeps everything — rounds, meals, matches, arguments — within a few hundred yards. It is the connoisseur's trip that converts everyone who makes it up here.
The courses on property
| Course | Designer | Notes | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Dunes | Tom Weiskopf | The polished original through pines and sandy waste — a championship test with resort manners. | resort |
| The Loop (Black / Red) | Tom Doak | America's reversible course — same ground, opposite direction, entirely different puzzle. Play it both ways. | resort |
| Bootlegger | — | The short course for whiskey-in-hand evening matches. | resort |
Where you crash
The resort
Lake AuSable Lodge
The on-site lodge beside the golf — clubby rooms, a proper bar, and tee times a short walk from bed.
◆ The private house
The Private House
A riverfront lodge home on the AuSable or a big northwoods cabin nearby — fly rods on the porch, fire pit out back, the resort ten minutes away.
4-6 BR · sleeps 8-12 · ~$500–$1,500/nt
The 5-day plan
- 1
Arrive & Bootlegger
AM Travel morning — into the pines by early afternoon.
PM Check in, Bootlegger skins with a bourbon, dinner at the lodge.
- 2
The Loop — Black
AM The reversible course, clockwise — take notes.
PM Afternoon nine on Forest Dunes for the keen; cards at the lodge bar.
- 3
The Loop — Red
AM Same ground, opposite direction — settle the which-way-is-better argument.
PM AuSable river float or range games; steak night.
- 4
Forest Dunes — the Cup
AM Weiskopf's original for the team match.
PM Trophy dinner, then one last Bootlegger loop at dusk.
- 5
Dawn nine & home
AM An early Loop nine or a lodge breakfast, then the trip home.
Why it wins
The Loop plays clockwise one day and counterclockwise the next — the same fairways becoming a brand-new course overnight. Add Weiskopf's polished original and a short course for the evenings, and no property in America wrings more golf from one stay.
Booking notes
Book lodging and golf together and plan at least two nights so the crew plays The Loop in both directions — that comparison is the whole point. Summer weekends fill early; midweek is the savvy play.