Otsego Club

[bucks9395]

Courses/Accommodations

I'm in the process of booking a golf trip to Otsego Club at the end of July.

Can anyone give me a comparison of the courses affilated with Otsego (The Tribute, The Classic, Black Forest, and Wildnerness Valley) to other courses in the Gaylord area and/or an opinion on the accommodations at Otsego?

[3_Jack_Par]

I'm in the process of booking a golf trip to Otsego Club at the end of July.

 

Can anyone give me a comparison of the courses affilated with Otsego (The Tribute, The Classic, Black Forest, and Wildnerness Valley) to other courses in the Gaylord area and/or an opinion on the accommodations at Otsego?

I would rank them:

1. The Tribute

2. Black Forest

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.

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3. Wilderness Valley

4. The Classic

 

The Tribute and Black Forest are what you think about when you go to Northern Michigan. Hilly, very challenging, and beautiful. The Black Forest is probably the toughest course I've ever played, and I'm not the biggest fan, but it is nice. I love the Tribute. Long and challenging, but fair.

 

As for the others, Wilderness Valley is short, but tight. I went with a group of various abilities, and they really liked it. It forced the driver to stay in the bag a little too much for my tastes, but it is a good course that rewards precision over distance.

The Classic is pretty boring by up north standards. It's one of the few courses up there where you deal with parallel fairways. Very pedestrian.

 

When we went last year, they had some kind of affiliation with the Loon. If they still offer that, I would replace the Classic with the Loon in a heartbeat. Big fan of the Loon.

[JHR]

I would agree that the Tribute is the best choice of the Otsego courses.

 

If you are set on playing the choices you listed, the Loon and Lake are better choices than the others, but Treetops is just a few miles away from Otsego, so you could stay at Otsego and play Treetops, much nicer courses.

 

You might want to stay at Treetops and play at Tribute instead. Check with the local motels in Gaylord , they may have stay and play packages for all the courses. Just a couple suggestions, good luck.

[bucks9395]

Thanks for the information. We played The Signature at Treetops last year (plus I am going to be there for four days three weeks before our trip) so we probably won't do Treetops for this trip. I may check into changing from The Classic to the Loon...the Classic just doesn't sound too interesting.

[golfortennis]

Has anyone stayed at Otsego recently? Tripadvisor had some really bad reviews, but they are a few years old and I thought I heard about a change in ownership? Can anyone comment on their accommodations based on a somewhat recent stay?

[3_Jack_Par]

I stayed there last year, and they had just completed a pretty significant remodel of the guest rooms. They are pretty basic, but have everything you need for a golf trip. They also have condos to rent if you have a larger group.

[bucks9395]

The lodging at the Otsego Club is very nice and it is very convenient to be able to drive your golf carts right up to your hotel door. We have stayed there the last two years now and plan on returning next year. It is a perfect place to stay for a group of guys...I forget their name for the buildings, but our group of 12 basically had one building with six rooms entirely by ourselves.

We stayed at Treetops a couple years ago and Otsego was much nicer (although I think Treetops has multiple lodging options to choose from).

[MchSt805]

I can't remember it too specifically as I played it a few years back, but I will agree that the Otsego Club is very nice.

As others have stated, the Treetops courses are definitely fun to play. They really treat you well there too.

If you have time and want a little change up, I'd suggest to try and play at Treetops par 3 course, ThreeTops. The PGA Par 3 Shootout takes place there if you're not familiar with it, and the elevation changes are stunning. Sure it's $55 for a 9 hole par 3 course, but it's well worth the experience. 170 foot drop off to one of the greens...takes some serious club selection. I've played it a few times and still can't quite figure that hole out.

Another one I haven't seen mentioned yet it Elk Ridge. I was supposed to play there this summer as part of our annual golf trip, but had to miss out due to sickness. A couple of my buddies on here might be able to chime in. I've heard it was incredible...tight and challenging. I have a rain check to head back there within a year, so I'll definitely be checking it out next summer.

[b](EDIT)[/b] Wow, totally just noticed this thread was from February 2008. Well I'm sure your trip went great, lol.

[bucks9395]

We played Elk Ridge three summers ago. The course was really nice...beautiful scenery and great conditioning. I did not like the layout though. I think there were at least four or five holes that you had to lay up with a 5-iron/wood.