Gaylord Area Continues To Expand as the Midwest's Summer Golf Mecca
GAYLORD, Mich. (April 3, 2002) — The Gaylord Golf Mecca, located in the upper half of Michigan’s lower peninsula, has added two new members to its pristine popular golf destination. The new members include Black Lake Golf club in Onaway, and Thunder Bay Resort in Hillman.
Black Lake Golf Club is an 18-hole facility cut from a 1,000-acre forest retreat owned by the United Auto Workers. Black Lake was awarded second place by Golf Digest in the “Best New Upscale Public Facility” category and included in the “Top 10 You Can Play” by Golf Magazine in 2001.
Nationally acclaimed architect Rees Jones designed Black Lake Golf Club. Jones has become known as “The U.S. Open doctor” for his restoration of classic layouts selected by the USGA as U.S. Open sites.
Black Lake’s greens are located largely on plateaus, with bunkers recessed into the faces, giving the course an old-fashioned northeastern look. Jones utilized all of the property’s features — from cranberry bogs to a small sand quarry — to produce what may be his most charming design yet. Occupying 400 acres of pristine countryside, about halfway between I-75 and Alpena, Thunder Bay Golf Resort offers something for just about every taste throughout the year. Special golf packages during the golf season are as popular as the famous elk viewing rides during the fall season.
Thunder Bay golf course, par 73, swoops through mature forest and, with five sets of tees, stretches from 5,004 to 6,677 yards. Rolling terrain, ponds and cattail marshes add to its’ Northern Michigan beauty.
“The addition of these fine courses now gives the Gaylord Golf Mecca a total of 24 championship courses, more than any other golf destination in the Midwest,” said Paul Beachnau, Executive Director of the Gaylord Area Convention and Tourism Bureau. “Our consistent growth of golf courses over the past ten years further solidifies us as one of the top golf destinations in the country.”
The Gaylord Golf Mecca is a beautiful, rustic woods and lakes paradise where long, warm summer days continue into early evening, allowing extended play on 24 of the finest golf courses in Northern Michigan.
With five resort destinations, and 24 hotel properties within a 45-minute drive, the Mecca offers up something for everyone from high-quality public courses, to superb resort or hotel lodging, to fine dining in sophisticated yet casual restaurants and Inns.
