BLACK FOREST AT WILDERNESS VALLEY GOLF RESORT (231) 585-7090
Review 6/28/04
The Wilderness Valley Resort in Gaylord features two championship golf courses that are rated between 3 and 4
stars by Golf Digest Places to Play. Both layouts are serviced by one clubhouse, which includes a small pro shop
and a restaurant/lounge that is popular with the local crowd. Each course features a practice green and a small
grass range is situated near the clubhouse. Below are course descriptions with photos for each course.
Black Forest
The Black Forest course is the premier layout on property, and has received numerous awards from respected
golf publications including: "Top 5 Modern Public Courses in Michigan" (Golfweek), Gaylord's Best Value (Great
Lakes Golfer Reader's Survey), Top Ten New Resort Course in America (Golf Digest 1993), Top Four New
Public Course in the United States (Golf Magazine) and Top 100 Best Modern Course in America - Golf Week &
Golf Traveler Magazine (1999). Sprawling over 360 acres, Black Forest features abundant fairway and
greenside bunkers along a rolling terrain with fairways that are sculpted out of Northern Michigan forests. Slopes
and mounding plus plentiful elevation changes result in frequent uneven lies with the ball often located below or above the feet, or in sidehill situations.
Golfers can choose from 4 sets of tees, with the tips playing to 7044 yards. The slope rating from these tees -
145 - is one of the highest in the state. The blue tee areas measure 6496 yards and also are challenging with a
133 slope. The whites play to 6129 yards and provide all that average golfers can handle with a 126 slope.
Women playing from the 4619 yard forward tees will find the course user friendly, even though the slope rates
127. On some of the tougher holes, the yardages are cut noticeably. The par four second for example, measures
415 yards from the whites, but only 184 from the red tees, with the hole handicapped # 2 from the back tees and
# 16 from the red tees. The bottom ,line however, is that this is one tough track. Distance and accuracy are
necessary to find the proper landing areas off the tee, and finesse is definitely needed around the greens.
Bunkers, swales, depressions and slopes often surround the medium to large size putting surfaces.
On course golfers will find yardage blocks at 100, 150 and 200 yards in the center of the fairways, and red, white
and blue stakes are also located near the cart paths. Some sprinkler heads are measured to the center of the
greens, and pin placement is indicated by small markers on the flagsticks for up, middle and back hole locations
. Each tee box also provides yardage blocks. Check out the scorecard before teeing off, as hole diagrams and playing tips for holes one through 18 are listed here.
The course is set in a beautiful golfing environment, with carries over natural areas, grass ravines and water
hazards challenging even the best of players. Conditioning on the tees, fairways and greens was very good on
our late June visit. Wild and rustic is a good description of the overall experience, with dirt and stone cart paths
and soft sand bunkers that also include small stones and rocks. At $65 (including cart) prime time in 2004 - this is a great value for a course of this quality in the golf mecca of Gaylord. Click here for an informational page, with link to the property's web site.
WILDENESS VALLEY COURSE
Review 6/28/04
The Wilderness Valley course is a good compliment to Black Forest - as this layout is infinitely more playable,
with abundant fairways that often lead to level putting surfaces. This user friendly resort course is one of
Gaylord's oldest and most traditional designs. The terrain and scenery is similar in nature to it's sister course,
but with understated bunkering, playable rough and generous approach areas greenside, it is much easier to
recover from mis-hit approaches and tee shots. Elevation changes keep it interesting, as do the frequent doglegs.
The par threes are very score-able, and many green complexes feature lone bunkers on each side, located in
mostly avoidable locations. Yardage blocks are provided on the tee boxes of these four par three holes, and
color coded 100, 150 and 200 yard markers are visible in the center of the fairways of all par fours and fives. Pin
placements are indicated by small markers on the flag sticks. Three sets of tees measure 6519 yards/126 slope,
6098 yards/121 slope, and 4889 yards with a slope of 115. Nice greens, ample fairways and conditioning that
rivals that of the Black Forest course - at a cost of under $50 with cart in prime time 2004 - nice value.
For more information on Wilderness Valley Golf Course, visit our page with a link to the property's website by clicking here.
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