The Loon & The Lakes Golf Course Review

We left the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a week ago to meet up with some friends in the “Mitten of Michigan” near Gaylord. Little did we know that we were heading to northern Michigan’s Summer Golf Mecca!

With over 17 golf courses, designed by some of America’s top golf course designers, we thought we had died and gone to Golf Heaven.

We just kept thinking….SO MANY GOLF COURSES, SO LITTLE TIME!!!

As I mentioned, we planned to meet up with friends. Well these friends aren’t golfers – so we needed to get in some golfing before they rolled in. When we checked into the Gaylord KOA, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we were just 5 minutes from two premiere courses – the Loon and the Lakes.

We checked the weather app to see what the temperatures and rain forecast were going to be like in the next couple of days before our friends arrived and wasted no time in booking a round at the Loon and the Lakes.

Both courses are owned by the Loon Resort and seemed to be the right level of challenge for both of us. The title of “Premiere Golf” was not an exaggeration – both courses were in top condition and fun to play.

Our first round was on the Loon. At check-in we were greeted by Angi. We chuckled as she pointed to a sign on the wall that showed us where Gaylord was located in the state of Michigan.

Guess you really can’t get more specific than that – can you?

After Lucas set up our golf cart – we headed to the first tee. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but since we were in northern Michigan’s Golfing “Mecca”, I figured I would see great layouts and beautiful views.

That is EXACTLY what I saw, along with gently rolling fairways and large greens with generous landing areas.

As we continued our play I noticed with four sets of tee boxes measuring from 6701 to 5123 yards, and slope ratings from 128 to 121, the Loon presented a fair challenge for all levels of skill.

There was ample room for Marc to use his driver off many of the tees, but he did have to use careful thought in his club selection for the many doglegs that bend equally in both directions throughout the track.

As we started the back nine – I found it to play considerably longer than the front, due mainly to the length of the 2 par fives.

Upon completing our round I felt the Loon is definitely a gorgeous course to play.  

Our second round of golf was at the Lakes Course. This course is a tad further from our campground – we had to drive a FULL 7 minutes.

We were met at the bag drop by Grace, who was eager to ensure we had everything we needed in our cart to enjoy our round. Our starters Dave, and Pops, passed along the course insight and wished us nothing but fairways and greens as we headed to the first tee box.

The most memorable part of this round was our playing partners – Janet and Scott. Two locals who play the course regularly and were happy to share their all important “local knowledge” of the course during our round.

I found the Lakes course setting to be quite and serene. It is surrounded by rolling woodlands and pastures, with just a smattering of residential properties along the perimeter of the layout.

At times, the beauty temporarily distracted me from the realization that the course was a bit difficult. Certainly on the front nine, with many sloping greens and sharp doglegs.

There are six links-style holes, six holes set amid natural settings, and four holes that play around Lake Michaywe.

All just so different from the courses we routinely play in central Florida!

Ohhhhh…….I don’t want to forget hole number 9. This was a biggy for Marc. He had scoped it out the night before on our walk through the course. It was a straight away par 5 at 523 yards. Out came the “Hammer of the Golf Gods” and a full swing!

Once we located where his ball had landed, it measured 295 in the first cut. Not bad for an old guy!

It was beautiful and the gallery cheered!!

Both course’s scoring cards provided informative diagrams and descriptions that was very useful in helping to ascertain the shape of each hole and shot selection.

For some reason it become my job to read out-loud the instructions prior to teeing off. Sadly, it didn’t always help me.

With most of our golfing play in Florida this was a nice change of scenery. The area is a beautiful, rustic wooded environment, in a lake paradise where we are finding the days long enough that even twilight tee times would have enough daylight for extended play.

If you are going to be visiting northern Michigan’s Golfing Mecca and want to play some golf, I recommend you play the Loon Golf Course or the Lakes Golf Course – or Both!!

Based on our score card rating – I would rate both the Loon Golf Course and the Lakes Golf Course a Birdie!

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written By Kathy Festa

COURSE REVIEW SCORE CARD

Course: The Loon & The Lake

Type: Public Courses 

Date Played: 20 & 22 June 2023