The course in Cedarville, Mich. is believed to be the oldest continuously operated links course in Michigan. While the 9-hole course is still owned by the club, it is open to public use and is often used by residents and summertime visitors. The club itself is on a half-mile long peninsula containing the course, the clubhouse and 28 family cottages for residents and members. “The course had a rough couple of years with COVID, but we’re in a rejuvenation period and we’re better than ever this year,” says Clay Carrington, secretary officer of the club.

Laying claim to the title of Michigan’s oldest continuously operated links course, the Les Cheneaux Golf Club in Cedarville, Mich. is celebrating its 125th year this summer, The Sault News reported.

The course was established in May 1898, The Sault News reported. Originally, the club’s land was owned by Father Andrew D. J. Piret, a Belgium-born man and the first non-Native to permanently reside in the Les Cheneaux Islands.

His 100-acre farm, which also contained a log cabin and a personal chapel, was a well-known homestead to visitors and local people for decades before he moved to Cheboygan, The Sault News reported. The land then became the Les Cheneaux Club in 1888.

In 1898, the then 10-year-old Les Cheneaux Club began laying out the links that would transform the waterfront property into a proper golf course, The Sault News reported. In the early 1900s, club president Carl Leopold, father of the famous conservationist Aldo Leopold, began to expand the course and increase its popularity.

The club is situated on top of a large amount of sandy beach that is covered with “links” of dirt and grass that provide a stable field to play on while maintaining some of the natural formations of the sand, The Sault News reported.

“The course is beautiful,” said Clay Carrington, secretary officer of the club. “The way the soil settles over the grass creates a washboard effect and leaves the greens spongey. It’s fantastic and healthy and really pretty.”

Since then, those links have been played by thousands of golfers, The Sault News reported. While the 9-hole course is still owned by the Les Cheneaux Club, it is open to public use and is often used by residents and summertime visitors.

The club itself is on a half-mile long peninsula containing the course, the clubhouse and 28 family cottages for residents and members, The Sault News reported. The clubhouse and course are often closed in the winter months, but open during the summer. Because of this, many club members come from all across the country.

As it is the self-proclaimed oldest continuously used course in Michigan, the course shares a friendly rivalry with Washwashkamo Golf Club on Mackinac Island, which was founded within months of the Les Cheneaux course, The Sault News reported.

In recent years, the course has been used less and less, but with its 125th anniversary this year, the course is revitalizing itself.

“The course had a rough couple of years with COVID, but we’re in a rejuvenation period and we’re better than ever this year,” Carrington said.

The course has hired a new general manager and course superintendent to help renew the course, The Sault News reported. The club will also be hosting a series of events to help celebrate the anniversary, including ping pong, bocce ball and pie eating tournaments.

To celebrate the anniversary, U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman from Michigan’s 1st Congressional District signed an official congressional commendation recognizing the course’s 125th birthday and its local significance to the community, The Sault News reported.