Otsego Classic Review

Otsego Classic Review

Otsego Classic
Gaylord, Michigan
Grade: B
Teacher’s Comments: A nice parklands course. I would happily play it again.

As its name suggests, Otsego Classic is an old school parklands course that’s part of the Otsego Club ski and golf resort not far from downtown Gaylord, Michigan.

The course is a William H. Diddel design built in 1939. As such, Otsego Classic could be considered the Grandfather of the Gaylord Golf Mecca courses. (Gaylord Golf Club is theoretically older; it was private when it opened in 1924, but has since moved to a different location. Indian River also is older, but is a more recent addition to the Mecca’s collection).

Diddel was one of the founding members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

Most of the course is a relatively open, gently rolling affair that is a pleasure to play and walk. I write “most” because of two exceptions to this rule, about which more later.

As expected from a course of this vintage, the routing has a lot of parallel fairways, with holes separated by light lines of trees on the interior. A couple cut through some more wooded areas, but still had the airy feel of the remainder.

The course has three real doglegs, but one is so open that it hardly counts; the remainder are either straight, or slightly turning. I found a surprising number of fairway bunkers — in the worst way possible: by landing in them.

I loved the course, with the exception of the first and ninth. The opener is a tight, sharply uphill par 5 that is out of character with the rest of the course. I almost wonder if it was relocated from another location, perhaps to accommodate housing or maybe the driving range at the front of the property.

The ninth is another hole that doesn’t quite fit in. It is routed from the top of one of Otsego’s ski hills to the top of another. It’s okay. I get why it’s there — its a ski resort after all. Otsego Club might actually consider it the “signature hole.” It didn’t actively dislike it, but my reaction upon reaching the tee was “what is this all about?”

I actually think Otsego might want to reverse the sides so the ninth is the finishing hole. It would be a good way to go out, especially as it ends adjacent to the clubhouse. Reversing the nines also would avoid having players start on the expectations-lowering first.

My favorite hole was the par four seventeenth. A slight dogleg left, it starts and ends on small rises. Tall fescue on the right off the tee created visual interest.

From the slight valley between hilltops, the second shot calls for just enough judgment on club selection to make it interesting. Nothing severe; perhaps just half a club which makes one think: hard eight, or easy seven? And what about the trajectory?

Another hole I really liked was the par four second. After a tight tee shot through a line of trees, it opens up to a fescue lined fairway that teeters in one direction before tottering in the other, finishing on an uphill green.

Otsego classic is on the shorter side, coming in at 6, 267 yards from the back tees. As such, it should be quite enjoyable for mid-to-high handicappers.

Tee	Yardage	Slope	Rating
Black	6, 267	131	70.2
White	6, 041	129	69.5
Green	5, 607	122	67.1
Orange	3, 920	99	60.6

Conditions on the day I played were good. Tee boxes, greens and fairways were in fine shape.

In a neighborhood full of high drama, often tough, resort courses, Otsego Classic stood out to me for its friendliness. If you are on a Gaylord area golf trip and have had a couple of days of punishing rounds, Otsego Classic just might be the refreshing day you need.

The Otsego Classic golf course review was first published February 11, 2025 from notes and photos taken on a round played during the 2024 season. For a list of all of GolfBlogger’s Michigan golf course reviews, follow the link.

A course tour of Otsego Classic follows: