MECCA STRONG: Spectacular Golf Season in Final Week
By Greg Johnson –
The golf season in the Gaylord Golf Mecca comes to a spectacular and colorful fall close this week.
Note, two of the golf course members are staying open until October 31. They are Indian River Golf Club and Black Bear Golf Course, both just seconds off I-75.
Are you thinking of playing one final round of golf? It can happen. Close out your golf season in the Gaylord Golf Mecca in tremendous fashion. Reach out to Black Bear’s pro shop at 989-983-4441 and the Indian River shop at 231-238-7011.
As for the season, early indications are that it was another super year for the 17 members and 21 lodging partners of the Mecca cooperative marketing group.
Paul Beachnau, the executive director of the Gaylord Area Convention and Tourism Bureau, gives a recap of the great season that is now in the rearview mirror. “The industry continues to be very healthy,” Beachnau said. “Everything we have seen in terms of younger players and more women players is true, and it has been a strong year for Gaylord all the way around for travel and tourism, including golf.”
The weather had a big impact on the 2025 season. The season started with the challenge of cleanup after a devastating ice storm did major damage to the towering trees that canopy Northern Michigan. Conversely, great golf weather was welcomed for much of the season, especially the last two months.
“The weather was really phenomenal for most of the summer, especially this fall. And we had our biggest marketing budget,” Beachnau said. “That was all after the herculean task of overcoming the April ice storm. I think the Mecca properties did amazing things getting their courses into shape quickly after the storm. There was a lot of work to do, but there was great communication, and an emergency meeting to share best practices. It all reinforced to me the power of the Mecca courses working together and the community of Gaylord working together.”
Beachnau said the season started out in a sprint and stayed that way to the end. “Right now, everybody must be pretty tired, but I think it’s a good kind of tired,” he said. “The Mecca had a strong, successful golf season.”
This was year 38 for the Mecca, and with great passion for welcoming golfers to Northern Michigan, it keeps getting better and better.
