Betsie Valley Golf Course Review

Betsie Valley Golf Course
Thompsonville, MI
Grade: B
Teacher’s Notes: A pleasant resort trail that earns extra points for allowing hikers.

Betsie Valley is one of two golf courses at the Crystal Mountain resort in Thompsonville, Michigan. It has a park-like layout and was originally designed by Bob Meyer in 1977. A major renovation was carried out in 2021-2022 under the direction of architect A. John Harvey.

The front nine is flat and located around large swamp areas. There are two portages to navigate, but the swamp is mostly off to the side.

The back nine is hillier, starting with a steep uphill tee shot on ten. Fourteen and fifteen also have steep slopes. The rest is gentler and only requires the occasional bump up or down. Marsh appears on the edges of two holes, but should be out of play for all but the worst shots.

Betsie Valley is in many ways the prototypical “B” resort course, with relatively wide fairways and simple greens. A few holes make a player think, but if you play the right tees, it’s all simple. It’s a course that, I think, was intended to be fun and relaxing, and it achieves that.

For what it’s worth, the “A” course at Crystal Mountain is Mountain Ridge, which is considerably longer with a higher slope and higher rating. That course was built in 1995 from a design by Bill Newcomb and has hosted the Michigan PGA Women’s Open for decades.

I haven’t played Mountain Ridge, but to say that Betsie Valley is the “B” side is not a slight. I will point out that it is from Rod Stewart Maggie May was the B-side of Reason to believe. Bill Withers Ain’t no sunshine was the B-side Haarlem. Strawberry fields was the B-side Penny Lane.

Hopefully I’ll get to Mountain Ridge sooner rather than later.

Betsie Valley gets bonus points for being walkable. There are only two spots – 10th and 15th – that could be a challenge. If you only do nine, the front is an easy walk through the park.

From the back tees, Betsie Valley is not particularly long at 6,527 yards. From the more reasonable middle tees it is just under 6,000 and plays to a reasonable slope of 124.

My favorite hole at Betsie Valley was the 339-yard par 4 fifth. The hole has a short portage over a swampy pond from the tee, and that same water runs down the entire right side of the hole.

The landing area is much more generous than it appears from the tee. I thought it was rough to the right, but it wasn’t particularly punishing. The left side of the fairway is guarded by a long, winding bunker.

The approach shot is on an elevated green above another part of the pond that slopes down on the right. Normally I’m not a fan of forced carries as it stifles options and creativity, but in this case a decent tee shot leaves a short approach. Short approaches allow a player to focus on which side of the green to attack.

The conditions on the day I played were mediocre. I have found large areas of damaged fairways and greens. To be honest, I expected more from a resort course.

I had fun at Betsie Valley and since I could use my First Tee of Northern Michgan card to play for $39, I thought it was a great bargain. I played with a few groups of older and female golfers that day, and they all seemed to be having fun.

The Betsie Valley Golf Course review was first published on GolfBlogger.Com on January 15, 2026 from notes and photos taken during a round played during the 2025 season. Follow the link for all GolfBlogger golf course reviews.

A photo tour of Betsie Valley follows:

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