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golfupnorth · 2 years ago

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September 1, 2022 Newsletter

We finally made it to Treetops!

We have been so busy this summer with family and friends that golf trips we talked about did not happen. I have never been to Treetops in Gaylord; I had heard wonderful things from the guys who have had a few golf trips there. It was time for me to see what the fuss was about.

We booked a weekend with 1 round on Saturday and 1 on Sunday before we headed home. Since we were going to be getting in later on Friday than was ideal for us, we did not want Saturday too full. Saturday’s course was The Signature, and we will talk about that in a future issue.

Sunday’s course was the one I was excited to try and will tell you about in this newsletter. We played the Threetops which is a 9-hole, par 3 course with a lot of history.

I also bought a new set of clubs and have only played a few rounds with them. I am still adjusting to the lighter weight and a ½ inch shorter shaft. Played the previous weekend and thought I had figured out the adjustments I needed to make. This trip told me I still have things to work on.

History of Treetops

Threetops was designed by Rick Smith and was opened in conjunction with the Fazio-designed Premier course in 1992. Soon after opening it became the number-one ranked par-3 course in the U.S. It was a model course for many of the par-3 courses that popped up all over the country. Threetops is also one of the most recognized par-3 courses because of hosting the ESPN Par-3 Shootout for 8 years.

ESPN Par-3 Shootout

In 1999 Threetops became the home to the ESPN Par-3 Shootout. Some of the biggest names in golf have played the Threetops. Names like Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson, and Arnold Palmer to name a few. The last shootout at Threetops was held in 2006 with Couples, Chris DeMarco, Craig Stadler and Andy North back to defend his 2005 win. Fred Couples walked away with that honor and $300K and Andy North ended up in 4th place and only won $20K.

There have been a lot of great shots by some talented players and players who participated in the shootout have collectively won over 50 major championships. There was one swing on July 30, 2001, that is often referred to as “the shot heard ‘round the world” by Lee Trevino

Million Dollar Shot

On the 7th hole from 135 yards Lee Trevino sunk his swing for a hole in one! In addition to the million dollars, Trevino also won $10,000 on that hole for closest to pin. It is said to be the most valuable shot in the history of golf. He followed this play with a much more impressive play by donating $500,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

After Trevino’s ace on Hole 7 a plaque was placed on the spot where he swung his club for the million-dollar shot. Couples and Mickleson jokingly would tap the plaque for good luck before taking their shots. They never got a hole-in-one but started a superstitious tradition. Everyone needs to tap the plaque before teeing off on Hole 7.

Playing Threetops

We were excited to play Threetops, with as many times as my husband has played at Treetops, he never played the par-3 course. He had heard somewhere along the way that it was around $150 for a round and he said he could not justify paying that for 9 holes. We decided regardless of price this time we would play it and live on PBJs for a week if we had to. Happy to say that our menu that week was not affected, 9-hole round was only $45. Funny though because as I sit here writing this newsletter, I am having a crunchy peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 😊

This could be my course!

Looking over the scorecard (we grabbed one the day before) and seeing how many holes were totally within my driving range I was stoked. I just may get a birdie, definitely a few pars. This was going to my course! There are 3 sets of tees back (black), middle (white) and front (red). Longest hole from the reds was hole 3 at 137 yards.

We pull up to the starter and get checked in. My husband’s golf bag is a Michigan bag, so he first showed us some pictures from the teams visit a couple of weeks before. I am chomping at the bit, ready to get out there and kick some butt. The starter than provides us with some helpful tips (actually scared the hell out of me) and said to watch out for hole 3. Good to know. I may be scared but I know I can hit the green with my driver on most of these holes.

If only I could golf like Trevino did!

One of the fun things about this course is that they have given the holes names. As we played each hole, many of the names made sense. One of the hard things about this course is that most of the holes either have elevated tee boxes, elevated greens or both. Trying shoot over valleys can be a challenge. Staying on the cart path and climbing up to, or out of tee boxes and greens did get tiring. Halfway through your legs are feeling it from all the hill climbing.

All the pictures of this course (at least 1 picture for each hole) are posted here.

We get to the first hole called Plateau, and it is only 100 yards to the green, perfect for my driver and since I always hit straight, I may just get a hole-in-one. Of course, I hit right, damn those new clubs! Still did not do horrible considering where I landed and ended up bogeying the hole.

Hole 2 is called Double Cross because there are 2 greens, depending on which green is flagged is which tee box middle and back use. At only 114 yards from the reds another hole that my driver can easily hit the green. I fell short, not a little, but a lot. Not only did I fall short, but I ended up in a little valley that I had to hit out of. Not my finest moment, ended with a double bogey.

Devils Drop

This is the hole that the starter warned us about. With a 150-foot drop from the white tees. For the back (219 yds) and middle (207 yds) tees this was going to challenge the best of them. Fortunately for me I had less of a drop and had a 70-yard advantage over my husband. 137 yards from the reds. I swung my driver hard and saw my ball sailing towards the green, I knew I had hit it well and I would be rewarded. That drop is very deceiving, and I ended up short again. Was getting concerned we were going to see a pattern with my score.

The next few holes were not kind to me. Hole 4 got its name Deception from its hard right dogleg with sand traps lurking at the turn. Hole 5, called Valley Lo is just what it sounds like a hole down in the valley. Hole 6 is called Harry’s Way. I can only assume that someone name Harry decided water and sand was a good thing.

Hole 7 is called High Five

Now we are at hole 7, called High Five. This is the hole that Lee Trevino sank the ace for a million bucks. The tee boxes sit high and the green down below is long and narrower and has some slants that could make this a blow-up hole. From the reds, this was the second longest hole at 130 yards, I was ready for it. I learned a couple of things the last 6 holes and my driver was not necessarily the right club even though the yardage suggest it was. I started driving with my” seven is heaven” wood and having some success with distance and control (remember new clubs).

Tried for some Trevino magic

Well, folks I nailed that ball and hit it solidly on the green with a very doable 2 putt for a par or maybe a 1 putt for a birdie. This was Trevino’s hole, and I was going to at least get par. I was excited. When we got down to the green, my excitement waned a little, looking down hill was deceiving. Highly unlikely I would get a birdie on this hole, but still a chance at a par.

That first putt was just to get it close without ending up rolling off the green. Somehow the stars aligned, and I did exactly what I was trying to do. I putted the hole for a par! To make this even better, my husband's drive ended up off the green in some rough. This was definitely going to be my hole!!! He chipped that damn ball right next to hole. Damn, he ended up with a par as well. Just could not let me have it to myself. LOL!!

Final 2 holes

After the high I was on getting par on 7, I was feeling pretty invincible until I saw hole 8 in person. The hole is called Hang Time . On the scorecard it looks pretty straight forward, but it is not. It is not really a dog leg, but from the red tees at 103 yards I needed my ball to go a little bit right to end up on the green. Otherwise, it was going to be nasty rough or sand. I ended up on the green but not in a spot that was going to prove to be easy to putt from. Another double bogey on this hole.

Hole 9 called Upward Home is just that you have to drive up toward the green over the valley. This was another deceiving hole. The yardage from the reds was only 125, but I could not get close to the green. To me, this was a par 4 hole, although my husband did get par (pure luck 😊). For me, this was my final double bogey. I mentioned this hole to a friend that lives in Gaylord and has played Threetops several times. He agreed that he thought it played more as a par 4 than a 3.

Threetops is a fun course and a must play when you visit Treetops

Overall, I did enjoy the Threetops even if I did have to climb a few mountains and only got 1 par. This course is one of those courses that you need to play a few times. First time out I got the lay of the land and now know what to expect. It was hard deciding what club to use, where to hit, how hard etc. when you are looking down at the green. Most of the holes were difficult to see how the terrain rolled. Now that I have see both sides of the hole, I think my decision making in the tee box would be smarter.

Treetops Weekend

Our weekend was surprisingly very affordable for the two of us. For under $700 we had a decent room for 2 nights with wi-fi and cable. This included breakfast buffets both mornings and 27 holes of golf for each of us. Add in dinner and alcohol and it was a little bit more. Overall, a surprisingly good deal. We will definitely be back to play the other courses and of course Threetops again.

If you get the chance, stop by and at least spend a couple of hours playing Threetops.

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golfupnorth · 2 years ago

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October 1, 2022 Newsletter

I cannot believe it is October

Sad that golfing in Northern Michigan is about done until next year. Happy I was able to do a fair amount of golfing the last couple of months. Mostly in Northern Michigan, but a couple of rounds in Virginia. This was a tough year for me and golf. Life did not cooperate with my desired golf schedule.

I mentioned in last months newsletter that I bought a new set of clubs and was struggling with them. I used that excuse a lot during our rounds at Treetops.

Golfed two rounds with my Virginia son when I was there a couple of weeks ago. I took my clubs with me to get some practice in on the new clubs. I think I am making progress with them, except with my irons which have always been a struggle. Loving my new 7 wood, so much so that I am thinking about getting a 9 wood. Thinking a bag full of woods with a chipper and putter is all I need. My son suggested that I get some hybrid irons since I suck so badly with my 7, 8 & 9 irons. Any opinions for a girl that cannot hit an iron to save her soul?

Treetops Resort

I talked about our August weekend at Treetops and playing the fun par 3 course Threetops. We also played an 18-hole course The Signature. When I was booking the weekend, we had the option of 4 courses to choose from. The Masterpiece, The Tradition, The Premier and The Signature. We chose The Signature because The Masterpiece and Premier may have been a bigger challenge than I would have enjoyed, especially with my new clubs. My husband was not a fan of The Tradition course, so we skipped that one.

Now, all of this said, in hindsight I think we may have been hasty. The Masterpiece is on the main property and looked like a great course, one I want to play. The Premier as well as all the other courses are on the North Property and all start from the same clubhouse. From what I could see the other 2 course there looked very nice and very playable for me. Threetops starts from here as well.

All the courses have rolling hills and elevation changes. When driving through northern Michigan and it is common to see this type of terrain. Robert Trent Jones, Sr was looking over the resort before designing the Masterpiece and he commented that “you can’t see anything but treetops.” The name stuck and if you have been to Treetops, you know it is a very accurate name/description.

The Signature at Treetops

The Signature is a par 70 course, there are 3 par 3s on the front nine and 2 on the back nine. There are 3 par 5s, 1 on the front and 2 on the back. We had an early afternoon tee time and was pleasantly surprised to see that we had open in front of us and back of us. We tend to play fast so we were hopeful that the wide open would hold up for all 18 holes. No such luck, by the 3rd hold we caught up with the rest of the golfers and play was a little slow going from there. At one point we let the guys behind us play through because they kept hitting up on us. Figured we were all waiting, it did not much matter which position I waited in and this way I was not dodging balls. 😊

Because of the location it is common to see wildlife wandering through the course. We were lucky to see a momma and her fawn on hole 4. It looked like she was wanting to leave her baby in the tall grass, but these pesky golfers were a threat. She was standing on my tee box; the fawn was on the other side of the fairway, and I just kept walking forward and talking to her. I told her her baby was safe, but I was teeing off and she needed to move. She stood her ground until I was almost in the tee box, then she took off leaving her baby behind, or so I thought. After teeing off I saw her not too far behind me in the trees keeping a very close eye on me and her baby. Deer are very common encounters on Northern Michigan courses, but it always gives me a thrill to see them, and this is the first time with a baby. We were also followed by a red hawk for a couple of holes, I wondered if one of our covers in the basket looked like dinner from her vantage point.

Spectacular views

I do not think there was one hole where I did not stare off in awe of the view. The course is so well maintained that even the tree lined fairways and greens are just phenomenal. Some of the elevations of the holes were crazy, similar to Threetops, but those just added to the view. Truly a beautiful course in every way.

The course had some struggles for me, and I had a couple of blow-up holes. Not sure if it was still adjusting to the new clubs or the course. Regardless of the challenge for me, I had a blast and had some holes that had me puffing out my chest and doing a little trash talking.

First Hole

The first hole starts at a higher elevation it is all downhill. 400+ yards elevated tee box for my husband and around 350 with slightly elevated tee box for me. We thought we had a good chance of getting a decent drive. He did fine, me, still getting used to my clubs. 😊

The green is a bowl and very forgiving. The fairway gets a little narrower as you approach the green, but not enough that it posed any issues for either of us.

This was a great hole to start our round with. Absolutely spectacular view of the countryside and a very playable hole.

Holes 2 and 3 each have their own specialness. 2 is a par 3 and has a bunker lined rolling fairway. Husband parred it, me, still getting used to my clubs. 😊 3 is wide open with elevated trees and a lot of sand traps, not horrible showing, starting to get comfortable with the clubs maybe?

Momma and her fawn

Hole 4 was where we encountered our momma deer. This is a par 3 and has a lot of foliage in front of most of the tee boxes. I was lucky, my tee box was off to the left on the side of the foliage. This is probably why our momma was there, the foliage provided good cover for her baby. I struggle with this because there was still a little foliage I needed to hit over, and the baby was somewhere up there, and I was petrified of hurting it. I lost a ball on this hole.

Holes 5 through 10

Holes 5- 10 were all very playable but with twists to them. Hole 5 looks like a par 5 but is not. The 6th hole is a par 5 and I was convinced they forgot to put the flag out. I could not see the green from my tee box. Hole 7 is a slight dog leg with a bumpy fairway, a fun hole for me.

The 3rd par 3 hole on the front nine is hole 8 and I should have easily got either a par or a bogey on. This hole blew up on me and the sand just grabbed my ball and would not let go. Hole 9 is a perfect hole for me, nice and straight. Plus, the view at the end was just wonderful. 10th hole is another nice and straight for me. A par 5, but the sand traps were easy to avoid. Three putting not so much.

I beat the damn ferns!

Hole 11 is a par 3 and has a fairly deep section of tall ferns that you have to hit over. If there is water, sand or foliage that needs to be driven over you can be assured I will be landing in the middle of it. Add in that the line over the ferns is very narrow and I was sweating it. I was finally starting to feel a little more comfortable with my clubs because I sailed that ball high and long. Ended up on the green and then decided to kill my drive and 3 putt. Did I mention I was still adjusting to new clubs? 😊

Holes 12 through 18

Like the rest of the course, these holes are unique with their own rolling elevations. On a few of them you would hit downhill on one stroke and uphill the next and then downhill again. Definitely kept us on our toes, but so much fun.

We took pictures of every hole with a few extras to show some from a different perspective than the blue tees. You can view them all by visiting our website.