MECCA MUST-VISIT: The Tribute and The Classic at Otsego Resort
By Greg Johnson –
As the golf season winds down, here’s hoping you made it to the Gaylord Golf Mecca this summer and had a chance to visit Otsego Resort and play its golf courses.
Each of the 17 member courses in the Gaylord Golf Mecca are beautiful green expanses, and The Tribute and The Classic at Otsego Resort are two popular must-plays. These courses have the wow-factor a destination resort requires. You play there once, and it makes you want to play there again.
And if you play them at any time in the golf season, you have to remember to put down the camera and swing the golf clubs.
The Tribute is a 7,347-yard tribute to the beauty of Northern Michigan in the spring, summer and fall. PGA Tour veteran and golf television analyst Gary Koch and designer Rick Robbins teamed up to design the course. They went up and down and all around 1,100 acres of hardwood forest in the Sturgeon River Valley basin to create the course. It won awards when it made its debut in 2002, and if it debuted again today, it would win more awards. It’s that good.
Sweeping, dramatic modern golf holes coupled with classic design features, spacious greens, perfectly placed bunkering, multiple tee locations and dramatic elevation changes make it memorable, beautiful and challenging all at the same time.
From the back tees, it is all the challenge anyone might desire. My suggestion: move up to a yardage spot you can manage. They offer several tee options between 7,300 and 5,000 yards. Then you can more easily enjoy the multiple-mile views from multiple parts of the course, especially the tees at No. 3, or No. 6, or No. 11, 14, 16…well, you get the picture. Golf vistas at The Tribute are simply breathtaking. It provides compelling view after view as you play.
It is a carts-only course, but I prefer to think of it as a nature ride where the next hole is always worth the distance. Also, new in 2024 is a Halfway House for refreshments, which is located behind the No. 12 tee.
The Classic is the original course at the resort. It plays to as many as 6,348 yards but is a more traditional parkland design created by William H. Diddle, a noted designer in the 1930s and 40s. It’s a great track for a whole family round, including novice golfers, and it has incredible views, too.
The resort offers multiple lodging options. The lodges, especially The Hilltop Lodge with the large gathering room in the middle, are perfect for golf group trips.
If you didn’t make it to the Mecca or Otsego Resort this golf season, we promise it awaits you for your next trip.
