Wequetonsing Golf Course
Harbor Springs, Michigan
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: A charming classic course with some interesting elevation changes
Wequetonsing is a gem of a course in Harbor Springs, Michigan. A classic parkland and woodlands layout, it is routed in front of, and along heights overlooking Little Traverse Bay.
Although Wequetonsing is a private club, I was able to play during one of their limited public play dates in the fall.
The current Wequetonsing routing was built between 1920 and 1927 from a design by Robert Foulis, a golf pro from St. Andrews. Robert Foulis’ brother, David, designed Harbor Point golf club just down the street.
Wequetonsing began as a late‑19th‑century Presbyterian resort community. It was one of hundreds of religious-affiliated association resorts that were the descendants of the camp meeting movement of the Second Great Awakening. There reportedly were more than a hundred of these in Northern Michigan at one point, of which some fifty survive in one form or another.
The Wequetonsing Association was organized in 1880 as “The Presbyterian Resort” after local citizens donated roughly 80 acres to the Presbyterians for a summer colony. Golf may have been played there as early as 1894, but a Golf Committee was formed in 1896. Land was leased to build holes in 1901, and more land was acquired in 1920. The current course took form between 1920 and 1927 as holes were built and the routing changed. Some current tee boxes reportedly sit on original greens, and vice versa.
The current Wequetonsing course is an utterly charming classic layout with flat back-and-forth holes on the lower property, six holes that play up or down the scenic overlook ridge, and three in woodlands on the ridge.
The holes on the flats are pure parklands, lined with scattered trees and proceeding in a straightforward manner. There are no fairway bunkers or other hazards; bunkers are relegated to the sides of the holes, leaving the fronts open for a variety of shots.
The holes atop the ridge were much more “Northern Michigan” in style, cutting through a forested area with meaningful elevation changes from tee to green on fifteen and sixteen. The other entirely on the ridge — the second — is short, but tight. They were fun — particularly the roller coaster sixteenth.
The best holes are the ones that play up and down the ridge. The first, fourth, sixth and fourteenth, in particular are quite interesting. Each plays up to the ridge, and ends with the green tucked away in a hillside bowl.
The downhill shots from the ridge — the third, fifth, seventh, seventeenth and eighteenth — can be dizzying. They offer nice views of Little Traverse Bay, though.
My favorite hole was the 335-yard par 4 sixth. It starts out on the flats, with some slight rolling up and down on the fairway. Then, a hundred yards or so from the green, it takes a sudden jog left. The outside edge of the turn is guarded by a stand of trees which serves as a hazard in lieu of a bunker.
The rise to the green runs between two spurs of the ridge, giving it a stadium-like look. The green itself is in a bit of a bowl.
The design is basically repeated on the fourth, which also runs parallel to the ridge before turning into it.
Wequetonsing is neither particularly long, nor particulary difficult. But that’s ok.
| Tees | Yardage | Slope | Rating |
| Blue | 6, 040 | M: 124 W: 138 |
M: 69.9 W: 75.3 |
| White | 5, 601 | M: 111 W: 124 |
M: 65.0 W: 70 |
| Green | 5, 267 | M: 114 W: 128 |
M: 66.3 W: 71 |
Conditions on the fall day I played were what I would expect from a Northern Michigan resort area course. Tees and greens were in great shape, as were the fairways.
One thing of note is that the fairways were curiously bumpy, like a series of small waves on a lake. As a result, I don’t think I had a truly flat lie all day — even on the flat portions.
I will also note that on a couple of the downhill holes, the lines of play were partially obscured by overhanging branches and trees grown too close to the edges.
The Wequetonsing logo is worth mentioning. It shows a cartoon golfer playing from behind a fir tree.
That logo was drawn by Chic Young, the cartoonist who drew the daily newspaper strip “Blondie” which was popular enough that it led to a series of 28 movies from 1938 to 1950 and a radio show (1939 – 1950).
Blondie’s husband was “Dagwood,” who is perhaps best known for his enormous “Dagwood Sandwiches.”
Young apparently was a member at Wequetonsing, and included it in a Blondie strip. There’s a copy of that strip in the clubhouse.
Also worth mentioning is the clubhouse: like the course, it exudes old school charm.
The Wequetonsing golf course review was first published on GolfBlogger.Com on March 26, 2026 from notes and photos taken on a round played in the fall of 2025. For all of GolfBlogger’s golf course reviews, follow the link.
A photo tour of Wequetonsing follows:
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