MOUNTAIN LAKE-PICS

golfnut7 · January 11, 2009

Gaylord, Michigan

I played this course for 18.00 including the cart on Sept 3, 2008. Perfect greens and in great shape all around. Highly recommended! I played 8 different courses over 5 days so dont quite remember hole #s and yardages for all. Very foggy morning as you can see.
170 yds

Par 4-apx 360yds

Par 4- apx 390yds

Par 4- apx 430yds

Par 4 apx 410 yds

Par 4 390 yds

Par 3 140 yds

Par 5 530 yds

Par 5 520 yds

Par 4 310 yds-dogleg left

Par 3 apx 165yds

3_Jack_Par · February 16, 2009

Nice to see that they have the course open again after all the problems they've had. Ever since they split with Michaywe, the course has been through a couple of different routings and was closed for at least a year. Looks like they had it in nice shape again. It's not my favorite course -- the greens are kind of nuts on some holes, and it's pretty tight overall -- but it's one of the original courses that I played in the Gaylord area as a kid, and I have some good memories.

And $18?! That's an absolute steal.

philfan316 · February 16, 2009

The good ole' Lake course. God, I remember it when was "The Lake", when the Otsego Club had it, then Michaywe had it, changed the holes around, then it died, then someone else bought it and calls it "Mountain Lake".

I will give the course it's due in terms of originality. 6 Holes of Links golf, 6 Holes of Water Holes, and 6 Holes in the Woods. The course wasn't and is still not great in terms of being "kept up". But $18 on Wednesday is a no lose.

I was going to play it when on vacation in Gaylord, but Wednesday was so busy that we ended up going to The Loon and that was WIDE OPEN in terms of people playing and that has totally changed since 2005. Slower greens, Slower fairways. That always was a well marked, well maintained place.

On the other hand, Marsh Ridge, who was notorious for the slower greens, NOW has quicker, smoother greens. It was a complete flip-flop, and that was an even better experience. Always a good experience, but that made it much better.

The Pines is still one of my favorites. From the tips, that course is a real fair challenge. Not real crazy with undulation, nice greens, nice fairways and breaking 80 from the tips, (7100 yds) is something to be commended.

I could go on and on about the Gaylord courses, as there are about 20 more to mention but they all present something different and it is a great excuse to check out The Gaylord Golf Mecca.

3_Jack_Par · February 16, 2009

The Pines is still one of my favorites. From the tips, that course is a real fair challenge. Not real crazy with undulation, nice greens, nice fairways and breaking 80 from the tips, (7100 yds) is something to be commended.

It used to be my favorite course in the area, but they ruined it when the remodeled it a few years ago. The main defense of the course against scoring was the deep bunkers, and when they re-did it, they shallowed most of them out. It really took the teeth of it out, and ruined the challenge, IMO. I know they were trying to eliminate some of the forced carries to appeal to people who can't fly the ball to the greens, but it's sad to me to see the course "dumbed down".

philfan316 · February 17, 2009

The Pines is still one of my favorites. From the tips, that course is a real fair challenge. Not real crazy with undulation, nice greens, nice fairways and breaking 80 from the tips, (7100 yds) is something to be commended.
It used to be my favorite course in the area, but they ruined it when the remodeled it a few years ago. The main defense of the course against scoring was the deep bunkers, and when they re-did it, they shallowed most of them out. It really took the teeth of it out, and ruined the challenge, IMO. I know they were trying to eliminate some of the forced carries to appeal to people who can't fly the ball to the greens, but it's sad to me to see the course "dumbed down".

I agree with you. After they renovated it, I noticed that the bunkers were a lot more shallow. There was a time where my friend had hit a shot into one of the bunkers from about 175 out on #5 and he struggled with seeing where to play the shot. The next time he was in that bunker, he mentioned how he could see where he was going to play it without much struggle.

All in all, it is a course that you can walk, and that is rare in Gaylord. I mean, you can walk some others but I think the course has an up-north feel without the crazy ski slope fairways.

Like Black Forest. That whole course is the definition of unfair. Fun for skins, where total score is useless. I was even after 6 holes at BF and I went Triple, Double, Double on the last three all because of the bunkers and some well hit drives that ended up in bad places.

3_Jack_Par · February 17, 2009

Like Black Forest. That whole course is the definition of unfair. Fun for skins, where total score is useless. I was even after 6 holes at BF and I went Triple, Double, Double on the last three all because of the bunkers and some well hit drives that ended up in bad places.

Black Forest is probably the hardest course I've ever played. Most of the people I play with on trips up north are double-digit handicaps, and you pretty much have to scramble if you want everyone to have any fun. I play to a 3, and I've never even threatened to break 80 on that course. The combination of length, hazards, trees, and the elephants they buried under the greens make "unfair" a pretty good word to describe it.

philfan316 · February 17, 2009

Like Black Forest. That whole course is the definition of unfair. Fun for skins, where total score is useless. I was even after 6 holes at BF and I went Triple, Double, Double on the last three all because of the bunkers and some well hit drives that ended up in bad places.
Black Forest is probably the hardest course I've ever played. Most of the people I play with on trips up north are double-digit handicaps, and you pretty much have to scramble if you want everyone to have any fun. I play to a 3, and I've never even threatened to break 80 on that course. The combination of length, hazards, trees, and the elephants they buried under the greens make "unfair" a pretty good word to describe it.

I've had some of my best individual holes on that course, but because of blind luck. I eagled #10, by hitting my drive into the woods, then it came back out into the fairway. I then crushed my 2 hybrid onto the front of the green, and proceeded to make a TRIPLE breaking putt. My dad was like, "Are you serious?'

Then, for the six holes I was even, I hit 3 greens in regulation without even being able to see the green nor the pin. I was relatively close, all about 10 feet away and made no birdies because the cups were pitched so severely.

I'm playing from the tips, which is crazy, but that is where we play at all the courses. I mean, I was hitting quality shots, but the results were dumb luck. Same goes for the 3 bad holes. You are subjected to luck, regardless of skill level.

I think it is #4, a 232 yd Par 3. The way the hole is setup, you almost have to punch a driver, just to carry the first massive slope in front of the green, If you don't do that, then you leaving it on that huge a** slope. It is just nuts. I think #16 is a Par 5 that wraps around on an embankment like Talladega superspeedway.

It is a course you should play at least once just to humble yourself. Then, if you like torture, go back. Or you can play Wilderness Valley for a more mellow experience.

I love all the courses up there, except Deer Run. That one just doesn't do it for me.