Michigan
Mid-Michigan & the Thumb Golf Courses & Tee Times
Mid-Michigan and the Thumb is small-town golf built by locals. In Midland, the Currie family's course on the Tittabawassee River opened in 1954 as the city's municipal. In Port Austin, at the tip of the Thumb, townspeople bought 250 shares at $2,000 apiece and turned out sixty at a time to build Bird Creek, which opened in July 1990. Frankenmuth has The Fortress, a 1992 Dick Nugent course a short walk from Zehnder's. Just south, private Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc hosted the PGA Tour's Buick Open for most of its 1958 to 2009 run.
Good weekend tee times in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb go fast, and the ones that come back later (cancellations, groups that shrink) aren't announced. Yoink watches the tee sheets at 27 public courses here, from Freeland, Caro, Bay City, Port Austin and Bridgeport, and tells you the moment a time you want opens up.
The longest layout here is Lakewood Shores Resort - The Gailes at 6,954 yards.
Who runs public golf in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb
The City of Midland owns Currie, the area's best-known municipal: Currie West, expanded to 18 holes in 2002 by Jerry Matthews, and Currie East, Gilbert Currie's original layout, plus a par-3 course. The city hired Billy Casper Golf to run it, and the East course's front nine gave way to a driving range in 2015. Beyond Midland, most public golf here is privately owned daily-fee and resort golf, from Frankenmuth's Fortress, owned by Zehnder's, to the three courses at Lakewood Shores in Oscoda.
Public courses worth knowing in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb
- Currie - West Course: City of Midland course, grown from nine holes to 18 in 2002 by Jerry Matthews. Par 72 at 7,056 yards along the Tittabawassee River.
- The Fortress Golf Course: Dick Nugent's 1992 Scottish-style course in Frankenmuth: 6,813 yards, 75 bunkers and greens that average 7,500 square feet.
- Lakewood Shores Resort - The Gailes: Kevin Aldridge's Scottish-style course with double greens and burns. Golf Digest named it the Best New Resort Course in the U.S. in 1993 and Michigan's No. 1 Public and Resort Course in 1996.
- Lakewood Shores Resort - Blackshire: Opened in 2001 and modeled on Pine Valley, with hardwoods and sand waste areas.
- Bird Creek Golf Club: Built by Port Austin volunteers to a Bruce Matthews design and opened in 1990. Eight holes play along or over the creek.
- Bucks Run Golf Club: A Jerry Matthews design in Mount Pleasant; Matthews, in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame since 2005, counted 90 course designs in the state.
27 courses in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb
Bad Axe
East Tawas
Freeland
Lexington
Midland
Port Sanilac
Saginaw
Other
Bay Valley Resort & Conference Center
The long par three plays 223 yards, and water borders eleven of the eighteen.
Bucks Run Golf Club
Jerry Matthews built it in an old gravel quarry on the Chippewa River; the pit became Lake Fisher, in play at 8, 9, 14 and 18.
Currie - West Course
Jerry Mathews turned a nine-holer into this 7,056-yard par 72 in 2002, cutting a new front nine through the woods along the Tittabawassee River.
Currie – East Course
Eight of the eighteen bend, and water borders eleven of the eighteen.
Lakeview Hills Golf Resort - North Course
Par 72 and 6,148 yards from the back tees: Lakeview Hills Golf Resort - North Course is an 18-hole regulation course near Lexington, Michigan.
Lakeview Hills Golf Resort - South Course
Lakeview Hills Golf Resort - South Course is an 18-hole regulation course near Lexington, Michigan, playing to par 72 across 6,290 yards.
Lakewood Shores Resort - Blackshire
Kevin Aldridge's 2001 nod to Pine Valley: hardwoods, big sand waste areas and rolling greens, with short walks from green to tee.
Lakewood Shores Resort - Serradella
Water borders eleven of the eighteen — the longest par five runs 551 yards.
Lakewood Shores Resort - The Gailes
Kevin Aldridge's Scottish-style links: double greens, pot bunkers, burns and fescue, nearly flat. Golf Digest's Best New Resort Course in the U.S. in 1993.
Loggers Trace
Loggers Trace is an 18-hole regulation course in Michigan, playing to par 72 across 6,206 yards.
Pohlcat Golf Course
The front nine plays 457 yards longer than the back, and water borders eleven of the eighteen.
The Fortress Golf Course
Dick Nugent built it in 1992 with early Scottish golf in mind: bentgrass wall to wall, heavy bunkering and huge greens that average 7,500 square feet.
Why tee times in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb are hard to get
The season in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb is short, running roughly from late spring into fall, so every good weekend in that window is contested. The first warm Saturdays of the year are the hardest tee times to get.
Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.
When tee time cancellations happen
Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.
How to get a tee time in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb
Yoink
Every course in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb on one watchlist: all 27 of them
Yoink checks all 27 courses in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb every few minutes, so every open time is in one place and you're the first to know when one that fits your day, window and group appears, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
- Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Freeland has 2 courses on Yoink and Caro has 1.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb?
Demand is highest from late spring through early fall. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in Michigan
- Detroit · 159 courses
- Grand Rapids · 84 courses
- Petoskey, Boyne & Gaylord · 52 courses
- Cadillac & Houghton Lake · 22 courses
- Southwest Michigan · 20 courses
- Traverse City & NW Michigan · 16 courses
- Upper Peninsula · 15 courses
- Erie & Northwest PA · 1 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- cityofmidlandmi.gov · government
- curriegolf.com · official
- frankenmuth.org · tourism
- zehnders.com · official
- lakewoodshores.com · official
- mghof.org · association
- birdcreekgolf.com · official
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- en.wikipedia.org · media
Tee times in Mid-Michigan & the Thumb, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.