Five GREAT Things About Gaylord Golf Club
1 – J.T. Aude is the head golf professional and he leads a dedicated staff that greets you with a smile and a willingness to serve. He is Mr. Gaylord Golf Club. His family moved to Gaylord when he was nine-years-old, and he is in his 14th year as head golf professional at the club. “The first 18 holes I ever played were right here,” he says.
2 – Gaylord Golf Club produces great golf memories. “So many people tell stories about family trips from years ago that included playing here,” Aude says. “It’s a wonderful layout, traditional parkland golf with Northern Michigan scenery. You see where you are going to try to hit it, and if you hit it well, you are rewarded. Hit it bad and you get penalized. The great thing is you will probably still be able to find it, hit it out of trouble and keep playing.”
Superintendent Paul Holmes, a fixture at the club for over 35 years, watches over the greens. “The greens win golfers over,” Aude says. “I think we have some of the best greens in Northern Michigan.” Aude is a big fan of Holmes. “He has been here forever, and this is his baby. He takes care of it, and he is meticulous about how it is done, how it is mowed and caring for the greens.”
Gaylord Golf Club is a beautiful place and its generous members (about 130) share it with public play and help keep it beautiful. The course is tree-lined true north woods golf with water hazards and natural elevation changes that challenge the golfer and please the eye. The area where No. 18, No. 8 and No. 17 collect is marked by a beautiful stone bridge and a fountain. Flowers are in around several areas on the course. It’s golf in a garden at Gaylord Golf Club.
It’s pretty, but the course will also test your game with a maximum yardage just under 6,500 yards with the front tee of four positions measuring at 5,171 yards. The par 5 No. 5 hole is a 469-yard dogleg around a pond that plays as the No. 1 handicap hole. The tee shot at No. 8, a 398-yard par 4, is blind but classic from the top of a hill. The green is tucked behind a pond and bunker which makes for a beautiful and yet difficult challenge. Nos. 13 and 14 combine the look and challenge of Northern Michigan golf in the trees. It’s a Mecca must-play course.
Learn more at gaylordgolfclub.com or call 231-546-3376. Book Gaylord Golf Club as part of a trip to the Gaylord Golf Mecca, gaylordgofmecca.com, 800-345-8621.
