Press Releases
Gaylord Golf Mecca Commercial
Gaylord Golf Mecca Celebrates 25 Years in 2012.
Click the above link to view the newest Golf Mecca Commercial!
Gaylord Golf Mecca Courses Among Golf Digest America's Greatest Public
Four courses also among the top 25 in Michigan
Gaylord, MI – When it
comes to premier summer golf destinations, few places are as beautiful
with the quantity and quality of golf than northern Michigan’s
Gaylord area. Known as America's Summer Golf Mecca, the popular golfing area had two of its golf courses listed
among Golf Digest’s elite list of America’s 100
Greatest Public Courses. Black Lake Golf Club was ranked
No. 44 on the list while Elk Ridge was No. 69.
The publication's biennial review of
America's top courses appears in the May 2011 issue. Golf Digest used
over 1,000 members of its Course Ranking Panel and asked each to submit
ballots based on such areas as shot values, resistance to scoring,
design variety, memorability, aesthetics, conditioning, and
ambience.
In addition to America’s
100 Greatest Public Courses, Black Lake and Elk Ridge were ranked
No. 13 and No. 19 respectively among the top 25 in Michigan. Also
joining them among the states top 25 from Gaylord were the Robert Trent
Jones Masterpiece at Treetops Resort, ranked No. 14, and the Tom Fazio
Premier at Treetops was No. 23 on the list.
Black Lake Golf Club, designed by Rees
Jones, is an 18-hole facility cut from a 1,000-acre forest retreat owned
by the United Auto Workers. Jones, who has become known as "The
U.S. Open doctor" for his restoration of classic layouts selected
by the USGA for U.S. Open sites, brought some of that classic
"feel" to Black Lake. Holes mesh seamlessly with the
surrounding terrain, cranberry bogs, sand quarry, and dense tree lines.
Black Lake's greens are located largely on plateaus, with bunkers
recessed into the faces, giving the course an old-fashioned northeastern
look.
The award winning Elk Ridge, designed
by Jerry Matthews, is located on the eastern outskirts of the
Mecca. This is a big rolling course with elevation changes, magnificent
stands of red and white pine trees, wetlands, streams, and tough
undulating greens. Elk Ridge is also home to some of Michigan's largest
elk herds.
Robert Trent Jones Sr. started it all
at Treetops in 1987 where he created one of the most scenic courses in
America. Jones spent a great deal of time on the site, one of his last
designs. He coined the name "Treetops" as he looked out over
the deep drop to the green of the popular par 3 6th-hole,
which offers spectacular views that stretch over 30-40 miles of northern
Michigan. Tom Fazio followed Jones and his Premier course remains the
only Tom Fazio design in Michigan. Fazio designed a wonderful
player-friendly course that sweeps in and out of valleys and along
ridges with beautiful elevation changes throughout.
The Gaylord Golf Mecca, which will
celebrate 25-years of excellence in 2012, is one of the most successful
golf destination marketing efforts in the country. With five world-class
resort destinations, 21 top public courses, together with fine and
casual dining, the Gaylord area is an experience that golfers of all
skills and tastes can enjoy.
For more information, visit www.gaylordgolfmecca.com or call (800)
345-8621.
Media
Contacts:
Fusion Media
Strategies
Positive Outlook for 2011
Gaylord Golf Rounds Up in 2010
Gaylord, MI –
The Gaylord golf courses enjoyed a positive year in 2010 with rounds
increasing 4% from the previous year, according to the annual Gaylord
Golf Mecca Rounds Report issued in January.
For the
first time in five years the area courses saw golf rounds move upward, a
sign that the Michigan golf economy could be turning around. Though
rounds were not up significantly, the numbers are encouraging, since the
past five years saw rounds decrease steadily.
The
Gaylord Golf Mecca courses are comprised of five resort destinations and
a total of 21 courses that make up the golf destination in and around
the alpine village of Gaylord, Michigan. The courses collectively did
over 260,000 rounds from mid-April through mid-October.
“The golf industry has been a rough ride over the past five
years for golf courses and resort destinations due to the tough Michigan
economy”, said Paul Beachnau, Executive Director of the Gaylord
Area Convention and Tourism Bureau. “We are optimistic that the
uptick in rounds is a positive sign that the Michigan economy and
consumer confidence is improving.”
The
Gaylord area courses out performed the State of Michigan overall rounds
played, which were still down 1.6% from the previous year, as well as
national rounds, which were down 2.3%, according to Golf Datatech, a
golf industry research firm based in Kissimmee, Florida.
Beachnau
sights several factors that positively affected the Gaylord rounds.
“With the Michigan economy and confidence somewhat
improving, consumers are looking for great value when taking golf trips
and our courses have been offering great value. Consumers are also
staying closer to home versus taking a golf trip to out of state
destinations like Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst, or Florida, which will
benefit not only Gaylord, but other golf destinations in Michigan as
well.”
Kevin
McKinley, director of Golf at Treetops Resort, who serves as the
Chairman of the Gaylord Golf Mecca, believes factors such as the auto
industry rebounding and the Pure Michigan campaign having a positive
affect on rounds.
“The past few years saw the auto industry reach an all time
low, which negatively affected the Michigan economy and our golf
business in Gaylord, which has been dependent on the big three and its
suppliers for over twenty years”, said McKinley. “Last year
we saw the auto industry stabilize, GM make a comeback, and jobs
starting to return, which we believe is improving consumer confidence
and getting people back out traveling, even if it is within Michigan and
closer to home.”
“We also believe the efforts of Travel Michigan and the Pure
Michigan golf campaign over the past few years, including the use of
local Gaylord footage in national media buys, has helped to increase our
out of state golf business, which is higher then it ever has
been”, continued McKinley.
The golf
industry in the Gaylord area is one of the leading economic industries
employing 1,077 employees with payroll over $10.5 million, and property
tax contributions of over $1.1 million. Not bad for a small northern
Michigan county with a population of 3,600.
For
more information about the Gaylord Golf Mecca, visit www.gaylordgolfmecca.com or call (800)
345-8621.
Media Contact:
Fusion Media Strategies
Kevin
Frisch
(989)
614-0241
30.0° Gaylord, MI
