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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

Kevin Frisch

(989) 614-0241

Kevin@fusionmediastrategies.com

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

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