Mecca Welcomes Black Bear Golf
With a fabulous up north location and new local ownership, Black Bear Golf has been welcomed into the Gaylord Golf Mecca’s longstanding marketing cooperative. With this addition, the Mecca will now include 17 area golf courses and 20 lodging partners to welcome golfers to America’s favorite summer golf destination.
Black Bear Golf, formerly known as Black Bear Golf Club, is the rolling green course you can see on your left or west from I-75 heading north of Gaylord in Vanderbilt. Like we said, it has a fabulous location!
Just over one year ago, longtime Gaylord area business owners, Olivia and Rob Smith, purchased the course and started making dramatic improvements.
“We feel like we turned the course conditioning around in our first summer,” Olivia said. “We also did a clubhouse addition, added the Bear Bourbon Bar, we have golf simulators going in The Bear’s Den, the restaurant is open, new siding, a new deck, a second deck by the pro shop – we’ve been busy, and we are getting great feedback.”
Olivia and Rob are new to the golf business, but not business. They engage in real estate with rental properties, own a tanning salon and Olivia is a full-time insurance agent as well.
The golf course has just added to their busy lives. “We are hands-on owners, one of us is always there,” Olivia said. “We are committed to this, and we feel like we did well last summer with 14,000 rounds while we were doing all the additions and improvements.”
“We are surprised at how fast we turned this place around, but not surprised we did it,” Olivia said. “We were confident we could do it. We have a good staff, pleasant people, and our service is good. This winter has been a struggle with the restaurant and bar open, but people are still learning about us and that there are new owners here.”
Olivia is excited to be welcomed by the Mecca, which will help golfers learn about the upgrades at Black Bear and what it has to offer.
The golf course, designed by Mark Sauger in 1996, plays to almost 6,500 yards with multiple tee options, large greens in expansive green settings, and it offers a mix of links inspired holes with the more traditional tree-lined Northern Michigan holes.
The big fix last summer, with the help of their son Will working on the irrigation system, was in course conditioning. In fact, Golf Advisor revealed golf fans voted it the No. 1 Most Improved U.S. Golf Course in 2024.
This summer, more improvements are on the way. Another 25 new carts are being added to the 50 purchased for the fleet last year. Leagues are seeking out Black Bear Golf as a home, and bookings for golf outings are increasing.
Golfers visiting the Gaylord area do not have to wait for summer though. Olivia urges them to check out the restaurant, bourbon collection and golf simulators.
“We are go-getters, and we are excited about the future of Black Bear Golf,” Olivia said. “Joining the Mecca to market with all the other successful golf courses in the area is going to help us, too. We’ve lived here in Gaylord and have been a part of the business community. And, we know how successful the Mecca has been and what it has done to make this a golf destination. It’s great to be a part of it.”
