Lake effect: Northern Michigan's natural surroundings create spectacular scenery—and even better golf

Golf Digest, Sept, 2001 by Matthew Rudy

Its worker education and conference center was already in place in Onaway, a tiny, out-of-the-way town near the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula. The union then hired Rees Jones to come in and carve a course out of the wilderness near the conference center. By all accounts, the design of Black Lake Golf Club--a classic parkland layout with broad shoulders--has been a hit with critics, but only seven foursomes were on the tee sheet on a beautiful spring day earlier this year. Green fees are $65 for non-UAW members.

In Gaylord, Treetops has parlayed its less-advantageous location for skiing (nearby Interstate 75 is more prominent than Treetops' signature ski mountain) into a powerhouse golf business. You can still buy lift tickets during the winter, but golf packages featuring Treetops' five courses provide the biggest business.

Treetops' stars

No other resort has as gaudy a collection of architectural heavyweights. Tom Fazio's only Michigan course, the Premier, is there along with Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Masterpiece and three Rick Smith designs. The four 18-hole courses have earned at least four stars in Golf Digest's Places to Play listings, and Smith's "Threetops" has been the site of several prime-time par-3 challenges with tour players like Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus and Ray Floyd. The newest course, Smith's Tradition, was built with golfers who like to walk in mind.

Centrally located in the region, the town of Gaylord is a charming amalgamation of family-run restaurants, shops and motels. Its location, plus the convenience of the Interstate, makes it one of the most popular destinations for golfers coming from other points in Michigan. It's a short drive from town to a variety of strong courses.

Tom Doak's Black Forest is a fixture on best-public-course lists for its menacing green complexes and elaborate bunkering. Jerry Matthews' Elk Ridge, fourth among Golf Digest's Best New Courses of 1992, has deep-forest views and a highlight-reel 16th hole complete with a 245-yard carry from the tee over a pond.

Working east to picturesque U.S. 23, which runs along the shore of northern Lake Huron, Lakewood Shores Resort, built near the shuttered remnants of an Air Force base in Oscoda, boasts the best golf for the money in Northern Michigan. The Gailes course is as close to Scottish links golf as you'll find this side of Long Island's Shinnecock and the National Golf Links. Golf Digest picked it as the 1993 Best New Resort Course in America, and on a list of great courses with green fees starting in the $75 range, The Gailes stands out with its $55 weekday and $62 weekend fee. Designed by Kevin Aldridge, The Gailes is a moonscape of hidden bunkers, hosel-twisting gorse and exposed mounding.

Aldridge's latest design, the Blackshire, opened this summer. A classical tribute to Pine Valley, Blackshire has those familiar, intimidating waste areas, and short green-to-tee walks that make it one of the friendliest walking courses in America, along with Smith's Tradition at Treetops. Throw in the Bruce Matthews-designed Serradella, an easier, more traditional resort setup, and Lakewood Shores has something for everyone.