Lakewood Shores Resort - The Gailes Course

Sorely disappointed after hearing all the hype. Realize its early in the year, but relatively speaking, conditioning was average at best. Great layout, and you can sense at one time this was a premier destination. Amenities were non existent for a Championship style venue. No bag drop, Carts are old with no windscreen or GPS, Cart paths are mostly dusty dirt trails. bridges, stairs and tee markers ( where the exist) are in major states of disrepair. Starter shack has broken windows and looks as it hasn't been used in years. and the same goes for the snack hut in the middle of the course between 9 and 10. Clubhouse is extremely dated, and offered little in the way of merchandise. Snack bar was a joke. Links style course with average to above average layout. Generous landing areas in fairways and large greens (except #12) that didn't have crazy hard to read breaks. Course condition when you compare it to the rest of the property, was above average, especially considering the time of the year. On a positive note, you can't beat the value! Overnight stay and two rounds, 80 bucks. (I guess you get what you pay for) Wish I would have had the opportunity to play in its prime. Sad to see these once great destinations spiraling downward. Likely won't return.

Looking forward to coming back when my game is in better shape.

Fun layout, no trees but the burn, heather and traps are there to suck up your ball on an errant shot.

Had a special, we were able to play the Gailes and Blackshire with a night's accommodation for only $79 per person, which makes this an unbelievable deal.

Only negative, no beverage cart - closest place to go back to the pro shop to pick up beverages is between 10 and 11 and adds 15-20 minutes to your round as it is quite a drive back to the pro shop.

Driving range was in awful shape & range balls are in rough shape. Nobody used it but my group. Outdated carts. No halfway house or beverage cart on hot days. The fescue has been overgrown with weeds and brush. Unplayable. The bunkers are not taken care of. Overgrown with weeds and lots of rocks. The course has a decent design, but the condition is horrendous. Appears as if there are only 3 grounds crew employees to take care of three courses. Would not turn off sprinklers in fairways even when groups are playing the holes mid-day. Was a nice way to cool off with no beverages available though. Lots of dead areas. The area has been in a bit of a drought but other area courses are in far better shape! Would not recommend.

Just as matter of prospective I have played in Ireland and Arcadia so now links style course. The course was good condition and has true links style bunkers. We played in light wind which I can say I was thankful. We played the following day at different course with 15 to 30 mph winds. This course would have been a beast in those winds. A couple of issues on the layout. Holes 2 and 17 and 11 and 14 are played as double green. 2nd hole is par three and points you more to the 17 flag which may slow groups down playing 2 and people on are the 17th. The 14th green pushes you way from flag and as result you could find yourself shooting over people on the 11th. One hole the Gold/Blue tees are right next to the green (not that many were playing those tees). In my opinion these items could slow down play. The website has the yardages for traps which was not on our carts. So either out for end of season or no longer printed. Not sure which but you need these for the course to understand where these little pot bunkers (stroke takers) are located. Overall I would play the course and make things a bit easier with the layout. Accommodations were good with adjoining rooms for your groups and wee links play is right behind accommodations so if bet needs to be settled opportunity to play it off.

A very challenging links style course . Every shot in the bag is required to get around this course . Some massive double greens make putting a challenge . There is a good mixture of long and then manageable holes to keep all players interested.. this course has the tallest bunker sod wall I’ve ever seen ‘! Also has a green which is approximately 50 yards wide and long ! The staff is awesome and the resort is very lates back . The city of oscoda doesn’t have much to do in the fall when we go but the Irish Pub keeps us busy !

This course is a must play at lakewoods resort. Difficult scottish style layout with lots of bunkers and hazards. Great course to play. Encourages accuracy and not distance. Lots of fun Highly Recommend

I love the Gailes.. I've played it now 4 times, but this was my first time playing it in a few years. To me, it's more challenging than the rating might suggest. If your shot placement isn't precise, you'll be punished by one of the bunkers that are seemingly placed everywhere, or the thick fescue/rough. The most frustrating part is hitting a perfect tee shot, and then realizing that it found one of the fairway pot bunkers. Be wise with what club you decide to hit out of said bunkers, and maybe even consider hitting it out sideways in some cases. The greens are also pretty fast and approach shots can be relatively difficult to hold in some cases. I had a few that were just a little short, and ended up at the bottom of the hill below the green. I love the challenge of the Gailes, and will definitely be back soon!

I think they had several course outings going at the same time plus trying to squeeze regular tee times in between. Play was extremely slow. (It took 3 hours to play the front 9) Other than that, the course was nice and in good condition. I would play it again but would check first to see how they were booking tee times for the day. A TRUE links course.

will play again and again.very different from your regular course has that scotland look and feel the swirling wind and long heather grasses.

First time on a links course, what an experience. This is a beautiful course, lots of challenges. We did have a problem with a pair of guys that hit into us, made us nervous. The course was crowded because of an outing and slow play. The ranger tried his best to keep them moving. All in all I would go back to try again.

The Gailes at Lakewood Shores is a great design but has not been taken care of. It is in poor condition. The rough is all weeds and the bunkers are not maintained. This is the first golf resort that I have ever been at where there are no people to help you with your clubs. We had to carry our clubs from the car to the golf cart and when finished, we had to take them off the cart and carry them to the car. Pro shop people were not friendly or helpful. I will say that John, the manager of reservations was great. Without him we would have left after the first day.

Lakewood Shores Resort is ideal for a value golf binge for Metro-Detroiters looking for a great long weekend with a handful of courses all offering a little bit of a different style compared to one another. The Gailes Course came to fame as a replica links course in the early 1990s and has earned regular Top 100 acclaim since.

But I must be honest, when you consider the great strides links-inspired golf design has taken in the U.S. in the last two decades (thanks largely to folks like Doak, Coore-Crenshaw, Devries, Kidd, etc.), the Gailes falls a step back. It's fairways and greens are bent, while a true links is fescue. It really doesn't play like a links course, instead it's rather soft.

For me, northern MIchigan golf is all about rolling hills, tree-lined fairways a little water and great value. Why try to be something you're not when what you have to begin with is pretty darn good?

A true scottish experience. I swear you hear bag pipes when you walk on the course. Perfect flat tees with "back cut" fairway bunkers...you can not see the bunkers from the tee box...use a yardage book from the pro shop. And, bring a lot of golf balls as you're in the fairwar or heather. If you got what it takes, you'll love this course as I do!!!