Mecca Friendly: The Lakes Course at The Loon Golf Resort Has Brian of All Trades
Brian Morrow has worked the clubhouse golf counter at The Lakes course for the Loon Golf Resort for the last six summers and loves it.
“It’s the best retirement job I could possibly come up with,” said the 56-year-old retired postmaster. “I meet nice people and work in a beautiful place. I do whatever they ask. I’m a jack of all trades, and master of none.”
Brian, a Gaylord native, said he looks forward to golf season.
“When it’s cold outside, I don’t go outside,” he said. “I wait for the golf balls to start flying before I come out.”
Brian didn’t start playing golf until seven years ago when he retired as postmaster. He stays in the Gaylord Golf Mecca when he plays, and loves that all the golf is nearby.
“The guys here are trying to teach me how,” he said. “They are still trying.”
Friendly people like Brian are seemingly everywhere at the Loon Golf Resort.
From the service with a smile to the great golf, dining and comfortable as well as perfectly-designed four-bedroom, four-bath townhome lodging for the stay-and-play golfer, it is clear the staff and management at the Loon get it.
Managing partner Matt Preuss estimates that 70 percent of the golfers who venture to the Loon for stay-and-play return to stay and play some more.
On a recent morning Morrow was chatting it up with a group of golfers from Canada who have been coming back to the Mecca for eight consecutive years.
“We have a lot of groups like that,” he said. “They become your friends really. They come back because they know how they are going to be treated, the golf is great and they always have a nice time.”
If you haven’t visited the Loon Golf Resort before, then get busy including it in your golf getaway plans to the Gaylord Golf Mecca.
For review, there are 54 holes of great golf on The Loon, The Lakes and The Ridge courses all within a short ride on a luxury bus provided by the resort. Spacious townhomes are within a sand wedge of the clubhouse and great dining. It’s really a park and then stay-and-play resort.
The Lakes course is an original design by Jerry Matthews, the prolific and well-known designer from Michigan, whose family has been part of designing many of the state’s top courses. It offers six links-style golf holes, six very northern Michigan tree-lined holes and four holes that play around beautiful Lake Michaywe’ with a maximum of 6,418 yards and front tee positions among four available at 4,700 yards. Yes, water hazards are part of playing it, thus the name The Lakes, but it has a loyal following.
“You find some guys like this as their favorite course, and some guys like The Loon or The Ridge,” Brian said. “There’s something for everybody here. I like The Lakes a lot. It’s beautiful out there.”
Call the Loon Golf Resort at 989-732-4455. Learn more at loongolfresort.com or gaylordgolfmecca.com. Once you visit the Gaylord Golf Mecca, you will want to return, especially after you meet Brian.
“I think the Mecca is awesome,” he said. “Everybody in it works together. The other courses are great. All you have to do is call them and they help you make sure everybody can play. Gaylord is really a fantastic place to be in the summer. I haven’t seen a bad golf course yet.”
-Greg Johnson
