industry leaders.We found Beachnau’s assessment of the damage reporting to be accurate. Otsego Resort’s Tribute course, arguably the toughest 18-holer in the Mecca, received minor damage with a few trees knocked down. Downed trees were more visible at the Rick Smith Tradition layout at Treetops Resort but that had nothing to do with the tornado. “This is the 25th anniversary of the Tradition,’’ said Barry Owens, General Manager of Treetops. “During the winter we took out a tremendous amount of trees, pushing 1,000.’’ The Tradition is being returned to its links-style heritage, and that cleanup effort was still in progress. “The Tradition doesn’t have the elevation changes our other courses do,’’ said Owens, “so when this project is completed it won’t have to be compared to its brothers and sisters. We’re very excited about it.’’ We have been visiting the Gaylord Golf Mecca for many years and we found every course in great shape and were highly impressed by a couple that we had not previously played. Heading that list was the Gaylord Golf Club, one of the oldest clubs in northern Michigan. It was established in 1924 and moved to its present location in 1975. This is a classic parkland design that was in top condition and, most important, is fun to play. The Black Lake Golf Club was No. 2 on my list. It’s a Rees Jones design, which opened in 2000 and is owned by the United Auto Workers. Rees Jones is known as the “Open Doctor’’ for his restoration work on already tough courses preparing to host a U.S. Open. Black Lake, set among the beautiful Northern Michigan woodlands, will entice golfers of all skill levels. Indian River is my No. 3, which also has deep historical roots. In 1922, Burt Lake Golf Club was no more than a cow pasture, but it gained popularity among local golfers, changed its name to Indian River Golf Club and hired an English
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