The Torch at A-ga-ming

Second day of the girls outing...we really enjoyed this course. It was a little more of "up north" kind of course, thank goodness, cause we really needed the shade today after yesterday! Temps were around 90 but the humidity wasn't bad. The course had many interesting holes with different types of hazards, water, trees, doglegs, marsh, etc. but not too much sand. Most of the par 3s were a little longer today but we still had fun trying. You're near the clubhouse at holes 7 and 9 which worked well for us. We didn't see a cart girl until we were almost done. Even though today was Sunday I thought that was kind of unusual. Hole 7 on this course has a very dramatic view of the lake. We had breakfast at the clubhouse before we started and it was very, very good.

Sundance, A-ga-ming

First day of our annual girls golf trip...Sundance was a good start. It's a links style course that had lots of sand, some water and some really nice elevated holes. When I say lots of sand, I mean it...there were 108 sand traps and I ended up in about 100 of them! Greens and fairways were in great condition. There were some really fun par 3s that we enjoyed...over water and elevated. There were only port-a-johns but they were clean. The cart girl was available on the first 9 but we didn't see one on the back nine until hole 16. But all in all a very pleasant day!

Treetops - Threetops

We played this 9 hole par 3 course on Friday afternoon. It was a lot of fun but very challenging. The 6th hole had a vertical drop of 120 feet! Each hole was different with either a drop, a valley, water or something.

It was very crowded - folks in front of us and behind us. I would love to play it again when I didn't feel so rushed.

Treetops - Signature

We played this course on Friday (8/13) - our last day at 9am. I think I liked this course the best...it was a little more wide open than the ones we played yesterday and there was a good advantage for women. It was just as pretty as the ones we played yesterday too. Again we were the only ones out there, I think. One thing I especially liked all the courses was that the score cards had pro tips for each hole - they were really helpful. The bathroom was accessible from both 9s and although there wasn't a turn, there was a what was called a 9/18 house which wasn't open when we went past. But the cart girl was around a lot.

Treetops - Masterpiece & Premier

Yesterday we golfed one of Treetops finest...The Masterpiece. A lovely course in excellent condition AND we were practically the only ones on it! But we did start at the ungodly hour of 8am - birds weren't even up yet! It was a good time to start beause it did get very hot soon enough. The course is quite challenging and women don't get much of an advantage. There was a nice bathroom for each nine and the cart girl was around frequently. She made very good bloody marys but no vegetables (olives, etc)! Fortunately we brought our own...

The course had some really nice elevations (which I like) with rolling fairways (which I also like) but there were a lot of sand bunkers, tricky doglegs and some water to go over. The greens were in good condition but tough. Enjoyed this course very much.

In the afternoon we played the Premier but only 14 holes (we stopped at 5:30). It was really hot and there was a slow group of about 20 guys in front of us who were drinking and having a good time. This course was nice also...not much different from the Masterpiece, I thought. Maybe a little less picturesque and a few less elevations but still a very enjoyable course.

The Blackshire

Third day at Lakewood Shores...ate breakfast at the resort again because we couldn't find any other place! But I had cereal and coffee and only paid $1.25 - a great deal. We then had to drive a short distance to the course. This was a wooded course, much like Michigan courses. But it had a links style touch to it. They had huge sand traps they called dead areas. There were quite a few of these and all of us ended up in one of them at one time or another. We started early to avoid the heat and the mosquitos were really, really, bad...really! We had Off clipons, bug spray, wipes and everything else we could think of but they swarmed all over us. BUT we still liked the course. Again the cart girl had to go back to the clubhouse to get those delicious bloody marys! I had a really good hot dog on the turn! No bathrooms but the port-a-johns were very clean and well kept. Wouldn't mind playing this course again sometime when the mosquitos aren't so bad!

The Gailes, Oscoda

Second day at Lakewood Shores...we had breakfast at the resort. They only had a $9 (and some change) buffet available. It was OK. We then headed to The Gailes, as authentic a scottish golf course as you'll see in the states, I think. I don't normally like links style courses but this one was a lot of fun. I found it very challenging though one of the guys we were with didn't find it so. There were many bunkers, of all shapes & sizes, with wooden sides, sand bunkers, grass bunkers, bunkers to the left, right and straight in front of you. The fairway would look smooth but there was always a bunker hidden. And lots of little creeks were also hidden from view. It threatened rain most of the day which made it look more like Scotland. The bathroom on the course was shaped like a little brick building like you'd see in Scotland. The cart girl again had to go back to the clubhouse to get bloody marys but again they were very good. Fairways in good shape (aside from the many, many bunkers) and the greens were pretty good but again, very challenging with lots of rolls. Would like to play this course again!

The Serradella, Oscoda

We spent three days at Lakewood Shores Golf Resort in Oscoda. We got a great deal from Lessonsongolf.com for two nights and three rounds of golf. The resort was very nice...good rooms all with balconies overlooking The Wee Course, a 18 hole practice course for chipping and putting. We golfed The Serradella on Sunday when we got there. This was a pretty course with lots of beautiful flower beds everywhere. Not too challenging, most of the holes were pretty straight forward. The fairways were nice as were the greens...not the best I've played but certainly not the worse. There was a cart girl but when we asked for bloody marys, she had to go back to the clubhouse to get them. BUT they were worth the wait! There was a bathroom on the course that was accessible a couple of times. At the turn there were cold sandwiches, hotdogs & a few snacks. We wanted to sit on the balcony after golf and have drinks and snacks but they weren't available...which I think was a big mistake. The resort restaurant opened at 6 for dinner but we went to the Ausable Inn, which was very good.