GAYLORD, MI -- If you ask my friends, I’m not a good golfer, but I’m fun to golf with. If you ask me, take all of my good shots and get rid of the horrible shanks, the slices, and the dog hooks, I’d be a professional. But wouldn’t we all?
My handicap probably hovers around a 20-25. There will be holes I can get a par, and there are holes that deserve a mulligan or two to erase the snowman. Still, I love it.
This summer, 7&4 Producer Jess Miller (same handicap) and I are hitting Northern Michigan links, both to improve our game, and to blog about the “Golf Mecca.” My good friend Billy (8-10 handicap) also joined us for this round.
The first course we hit up was Treetops Resort in Gaylord.
We played 18 at the Signature Course and then we followed that up by playing 9 on the “Threetops” course, which is the “Best Par Three in America,” according to three different magazines.
Let’s start at the Par 70 Signature. Teeing off at the first hole gives you a sight that a picture can’t give. You look over the valley that the course sits in and you guessed it, you see a lot of treetops. The Rick Smith designed course has tight fairways and gives you such an awesome view that portrays “Up North.”
Teeing off, you have about one minute to realize that if you don’t hit it straight, you’re going to have to “hawk” for your ball. “Hawking” is a great term to explain heading into the woods and looking for your ball. This course will give you several opportunities to “hawk,” and you’ll likely find several balls (maybe not your own) from people who have ended up in the same forest. The first shot of the day, I held my own. I cut the middle of the fairway 280 yards deep downhill. I ended up with a bogey.
The course doesn’t get any easier. There isn’t much water, but trust me when I say the woods make up for it. The Treetops website says the fairways are forgiving – only if you are consistently a straight-baller.
I can’t remember the exact holes that took my breath away, but yes, I pluralized holes because this course offers the beauty that makes the dime you spend that much more worth it. This course goes down as the most scenic, most awesome courses I’ve ever played. It’s reasonably priced, and as far as I can say, a must play if you love nature and if you love golf. I shot a 95, 25 over par, ouch.
Treetops Signature Course – Difficulty 8/10, Beauty 10/10, Cost 8/10
After we finished 18 on the Signature, we jumped over to the best, most scenic, seriously fun courses I have ever played in my life, “Threetops.” Like the Signature, I will use the word “most” and mean it. If you are one of the skeptics who doesn’t think a “Par 3” will fill your “golf fancy,” lose that thought immediately. This is the same course that hosted ESPN’s Par Three Shootout for years. There isn’t a hole more than 200 yards long, well there might be if you’re playing the tips like we did, but every single hole offers its own challenge. The mountain-esque terrain makes a golf cart mandatory, I walked up a few of the hills, and my calves were burning all day Sunday. There are three holes that stick out as I think back. First, number three. This hole, folks, has a tee box 140 feet higher than the green, so you are literally hitting a golf ball off a drop-off. Words can’t explain it, me writing my feelings doesn’t give it enough credit, but wow, wow, wow, the view, the challenge, and the fun to “guess” what club to hit on the 170 yard (I think) hole makes you want to hit another one. I pulled out my pitching wedge, and as I hit it, I thought it was on the green, and I ended probably 30 yards short. The wind that wasn’t evident from the tee box killed it, so I hit another one, with an 8-iron, and shanked it way left. It didn’t matter though, the pure pleasure of being able to play this hole, to be on the same land as this hole, was well-worth it.
Another incredible hole is number 6. Somehow, it has water on it, and we were at the top of a hill. The man-made lake made it real tough, but like number three, beauty beat skill. I did par this hole though.
Number 7, the infamous number 7, has a tee box marked with Lee Travino’s plaque that shows the exact spot he hit from as he drained a million-dollar hole-in-one. This hole, like number 3, has a drop-off (not as extreme) that makes it tough to hit. I think I used a gap wedge, and put it at the back of the green. Still, another hole that makes you happy to be alive because of what view and challenge it offers.
I shot a 42 on this Par 27 course. Yes, it’s that tough. But looking back at it, 42 is only a number, because I think I was able to play a “must-see, must-play” course Northern Michigan, shoot, the state of Michigan and the world, has to offer.
Treetrops “Threetops” Course – Difficulty 9/10, Beauty 11/10, Cost 8/10
If you would like our novice review on your course, contact me akeller@upnorthlive.com
