Heathlands at Heathlands Golf Course

Heathlands Golf Course sits in Onekama, a small community in Manistee County along Michigan's northwestern Lower Peninsula, where the landscape transitions between lakeside terrain and forested inland areas. The course was designed by Jeff Gorney, a Michigan-based architect known for working within natural settings and creating layouts that emphasize playability across different skill levels. Gorney's regional work often incorporates native vegetation and rolling topography characteristic of this part of the state.

The routing takes advantage of the area's natural contours, with holes moving through a mix of open and wooded sections. Northern Michigan courses in this region typically feature sandy soils that provide good drainage and firm playing conditions, along with stands of hardwoods and conifers that frame fairways and define strategic angles. The design likely emphasizes strategic options off the tee and approach play that rewards course management over pure distance.

Onekama's location between Portage Lake and Lake Michigan places the course within a broader destination area for golf in northwestern Michigan, though it maintains a quieter, more local character compared to higher-profile resort courses elsewhere in the region. The setting offers the kind of natural, wooded golf experience common to Michigan's northern counties, where courses integrate into the landscape rather than dominating it.