Gaylord Golf Club Review

Gaylord Golf Club Review / Gaylord Country Club Review

Gaylord Golf Club
Gaylord, Michigan
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: A quality course. Some of the best conditions I saw in 2021.

The first thing to know about Gaylord Country Club is that it is open to the public and very welcoming. The public perception of a “Country Club” as an exclusive enclave is why the course is rebranding as the Gaylord Golf Club.

Second, although Gaylord GC is a public course, it maintains its private course conditions. Gaylord Golf Club had some of the best conditions I encountered in 2021.

Third, in spite of its country club roots and conditions, Gaylord Golf Club was very reasonably priced.

The original Gaylord Country club dates to 1924 and reportedly was designed by Wilfried Reid (Olympic Club, Indianwood, et. al.). The club relocated to its new address in 1975; the new course was designed by Don Childs.

Gaylord Golf Club is a parklands/woodlands design, with wide fairways, treelined fairways and interesting elevation changes. The first five holes are relatively open; the remainder meander up and down through light woods.

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My favorite hole was the par four eighth. It begins with an uphill drive to a crest line, then plunges downhill for the approach. The green is tucked slightly behind and to the right of a small pond.

The tee shot here is going to leave a player with a lot of decisions. Did you clear the crest and roll down to a flat lie? Is your ball on the top of the ridge for a long look at the green? Or were you unlucky enough to get a downhill lie?

With the pond, and the possibility of an awkward lie, this par four can quickly add up to a six or more. Good decision making on that second (and perhaps unfortunately your third) shot is tantamount.

The eighteenth also was a delightful hole. With a slight turn to the left, it climbs gradually from tee to green. The right side is wide, but a fairway bunker threatens slicers. Bunkers to the right and rear guard the green.

I thought it was a great finishing hole. First, it fits a sweet spot in terms of difficulty. I don’t want to get beat up on the final hole; I’ve just walked seventeen and am likely to be fatigued. On the other hand, an easy hole can be anticlimactic. Second, a good finishing hole should be pretty, for that is the final impression a player will have of the course.

The eighteenth at Gaylord Golf checks all of those boxes.

Gaylord Golf Club is not a long course, but is tough enough for most. From the back tees, it is “just” 6, 506 yards, but plays to a 72.3/137.

Tees	Yardage	Rating	Slope
Back	6, 506	72.3	137
Middle	6, 113	70.1	135
Forward	5, 723	68.4	127
Front	5, 104	65.4	121

Conditions on the day I played were nearly pristine. On that day, Gaylord Golf Club’s conditions were as good as any place I played in the summer of 2021, and that includes Oakland Hills’ new South Course. From tee to green, it was like playing on a piece of green velvet. Kudos to the superintendent and his staff.

In my quixotic quest to play every course in Michigan, I don’t often repeat courses. Gaylord Golf Club / Gaylord Country Club is one I’d like to play every summer or two on my extended visits “Up North.”

The Gaylord Golf Club review was first published December 30 2021 based on notes and photos taken on a round played in the summer of 2021. For all of GolfBlogger’s Michigan Golf Course Reviews, follow the link.

A photo tour of Gaylord Country Club follows:

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