When you play golf in Gaylord, you’ve got options.
At Gaylord Golf Club alone, you can challenge yourself from the black tees at over 6,500 yards or blast away from the orange tees at 3,600 yards. The par-5 17th hole, for example, plays anywhere from 505 to just 241 yards, with blue, white and green tees in between!
Now, multiply that diversity by all 17 Gaylord Golf Mecca courses – including some with gold, red, yellow and silver tees, too – and there’s fun for everyone, from bogey golfers and beginners all the way up to scratch players and pros.
“You can find whatever you want right here in Gaylord,” said J.T. Aude, PGA head professional at Gaylord Golf Club and chairman of the Gaylord Golf Mecca. “You’re not going to find a better collection of golf courses.”
As you book places to stay and play in the Gaylord Golf Mecca this upcoming season, here’s a rundown of courses to help you choose which ones are best for you:
The Showstoppers
For the ultimate mix of challenging golf and northern Michigan scenery, make a tee time at Black Lake Golf Club north of Gaylord off I-75 in Onaway. The tree-lined course owned by the United Auto Workers and designed by renowned golf architect Rees Jones has been ranked by Golf Digest among the top 100 public courses in the country, and among the top 10 in Michigan. It’s also one of the top 50 courses in America for women.
Even the very best golfers might have trouble keeping their score in the 70s from the tips at Black Lake, but there are several other sets of tees that make the course a joy for the average player, too. Plus, Black Lake is home to “The Little Course,” a 9-hole pitch-and-putt with holes ranging from 54 to 117 yards.
Next on our list is the Jones Masterpiece at Treetops Resort, which has one of the most difficult slope ratings in the entire Midwest. The magnificent course overlooking the scenic Pigeon River Valley was built by the father of Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Legend has it that Jones and Jack Nicklaus had a friendly wager to see who could build the toughest golf course in Michigan. Jones, who designed many courses that have hosted major professional championships and Ryder Cups, came up with the Masterpiece and called it his crowning glory.
The woods and elevation changes on the Masterpiece make it the resort’s most challenging course, and also perhaps its most scenic. The view from the par-3 sixth hole, which drops some 120 feet from tee to green, is what inspired the Treetops name.
Equally as stunning as Black Lake and the Masterpiece is The Tribute at Otsego Resort, designed by PGA Tour winner and longtime golf announcer Gary Koch. With viewpoints where you can see for miles high above the Sturgeon River Valley, The Tribute really showcases Gaylord’s overall elevation, which is the highest of any region in the Lower Peninsula.
The Tribute is carved through the forest and plays as long as 7,347 yards from the black tees, making it the longest in the Gaylord Golf Mecca. Yet, the course has pretty wide fairways to help keep your ball out of the woods and other tees that play as short as 5,000 yards.
The Tribute
The Resort Courses
While the Jones Masterpiece should be on every golfer’s must-play list, Treetops also has three more great 18-hole courses to experience plus the iconic Threetops 9-hole par-3 course. Both the Signature (designed by Rick Smith) and the Premier (designed by Tom Fazio) are plenty challenging, yet forgiving at the same time. The Signature has wide, tree-lined fairways with tricky greens and beautiful views, and the Premier has bigger greens and even wider fairways that offer a bit more margin for error. Meanwhile, the Tradition (by Smith) is more of an old-school, walkable links course with wooden pins, pennant flags and not nearly as many places to hit your ball into trouble.
The Premier designed by Tom Fazio
Garland Lodge & Golf Resort offers diversity, too, with four different courses including Swampfire, with water visible on 16 holes, and Monarch, which is the second-longest course in the Gaylord Golf Mecca at more than 7,200 yards from the tips. Fountains and Reflections, the resort’s shortest course, each have an unusual layout with six par-fives, six par-fours and six par-threes.
Monarch Course
Hole #1
Another amazing resort in the Gaylord Golf Mecca, Otsego Resort, also has nice variety right on site. After playing The Tribute, you can enjoy The Classic, a walkable parkland design that’s one of the original courses in Gaylord and still a fine illustration of the Mecca’s varied terrain and excellent conditions.
Walkable Courses
In addition to The Classic and Tradition at Treetops, there are a few other courses in the Gaylord Golf Mecca where you can walk instead of taking a cart, if you prefer. Lakes of the North Golf Course in Mancelona features two nines with different personalities, one a traditional links style and the other an “Up North” feel with woods and water. Another is Indian River Golf Club, which recently marked its 100th anniversary and has a layout that combines an open prairie with Northwoods splendor.
Both Michaywé – The Pines and Gaylord Golf Club also permit walking at certain times of the week. The Pines is another one of the original Gaylord Golf Mecca courses, a delightful place to play with immaculate conditions thanks to the surrounding community of 900 homeowners who cherish the course and invite you to experience it. The Pines is challenging enough to have hosted the Michigan Amateur championship multiple times and yet offers yellow discs in the fairway where kids and less-experienced adults can tee off and play at a shorter distance.
Rounding out the 17 courses is Black Bear Golf, a new addition to the Mecca for 2025. Under new ownership, this Scottish links-style course is blended with traditional tree-lined holes and large green-scapes.
Variety. Quality. Quantity. Endless options set the Gaylord Golf Mecca apart to offer the ultimate golf destination, 38 years strong!
