Masters Tournament, Gaylord Golf Mecca Make for Must-See Golf
By Greg Johnson
Golfers around the world will watch The Masters Tournament on screens and be inspired by the alluring green expanse of Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia this week. It’s Must-See Golf as the major championship plays out Thursday through Sunday (April 11-14).
Yes, another Masters Tournament week is at hand, which in addition to watching the pros means it’s time to start planning personal golf trips and fun weekends.
The drama and beauty of the Masters is sure to make golfers get the itch to play, and we suggest moving from one Mecca in Georgia to the Gaylord Golf Mecca in the heart of Northern Michigan.
Here in our Mecca, we also present bright green expanses of grass, towering pines, blooming flowers, stunning scenery, chirping birds and golf action.
Did you know that Gaylord Golf Mecca has 16 golf courses and 20 lodging partners in its cooperative marketing group?
Did you know some of the great architects in the game of golf, for instance, Robert Trent Jones and Tom Fazio, have designed Gaylord Golf Mecca courses?
Did you know that the ever-evolving Augusta National course, the Alister MacKenzie original design, has had several of the game’s other great architects, including the senior Jones and Fazio, continually tweak and even change things dramatically since the 1930s?
Quick history lesson: in the 1940s, Robert Trent Jones partnered with Augusta National co-founder and golf legend Bobby Jones on Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta and then did some work at Augusta National. The most famous changes he was involved with include turning No. 11 into a dogleg left from the original dogleg right version, and then dramatically transforming a previously short No. 16 into what the famous par 3 hole is today.
Fazio, meanwhile, has been an often called-upon architect to oversee multiple changes on many of the holes at Augusta National over the last 20 years, especially the distance changes and new tee boxes. He has been referred to as the “house architect” of Augusta, and part of his family legacy is that his father, George, also did some work at Augusta.
Which brings us back to the Mecca. Mr. Jones did some of the final design work of his storied career on the Masterpiece course at Treetops Resort, which helped launch the Gaylord Golf Mecca as a golf destination 37 years ago.
Tom Fazio, a few years later, was making his mark designing golf courses around the world and was talked into coming to the Gaylord Golf Mecca by the good folks at Treetops. It was there he fashioned his only Michigan design – the Premier.
The 16 golf courses of the Gaylord Golf Mecca, including the Masterpiece and Premier, will be opening in May as spring warms things up. Soon, golfers will enjoy long summer days of play on our gorgeous greens.
It’s time for Must-See Golf. First, this week on your favorite screens. Then, in the Mecca on your favorite greens. Visit gaylordgolfmecca.com and make the move from Mecca to Mecca.
