Lakewood Shore's Blackshire Golf Course in Oscoda lacks star power, but it's a solid play
OSCODA, Mich. -- Let's get one thing straight from the start: Lakewood Shores Resort's Blackshire Golf Course is not a great track if you're comparing it to its famous counterpart, The Gailes.
(based on 3 reviews) If you're visiting this resort community along the east coast of Michigan, the "Sunrise Side" of the state, and you've only got time for one round, play The Gailes, which is the gem of Lakewood's stable of courses.
That said, what the Blackshire lacks in star power, it more than makes up for in variety and playability. With the opening of the Blackshire in June 2001, the course gave the resort something only a select few can boast -- three distinctly different playing experiences.
The Gailes is a one-of-a-kind Scottish links original, complete with double greens, deep pot bunkers and shaggy mounds with native grasses. It was voted the No. 1 new resort course in the U.S. in 1993 by Golf Digest, the first Michigan course to garner such a prestigious honor. The same magazine rated the course No. 7 on its 2000 list of the state's top courses, ranking it the second-best public course in Michigan, behind only the famed Bay Harbor. Golf Magazine considers The Gailes one of the best public courses in the country, rating it No. 42 on its list of "The Top 100 You Can Play."
Meanwhile, the resort's first golf course, the Serradella, is a true classic parkland design. To complete the triple play, designer Kevin Aldridge, who is the son of resort owner Stan Aldridge, fashioned the Blackshire after Pine Valley, the private club in New Jersey that is generally considered the world's finest course.
Instead of building another ho-hum course cut through the trees, which is the norm in northern Michigan, Aldridge created large waste areas by lopping off sections of the fairway, exposing the sandy soil beneath. For the most part, the waste areas are more for visual contrast than actual hazards, but they are in play on several holes -- most notably surrounding the greens on several par 3s and off the tee on the par-4 13th and the par-5 18th.
The course has been a welcome addition to Lakewood Shores.
"We're trying to give golfers multiple options," said General Manager/Head Pro Craig Peters. "We wanted a night-and-day difference (between our courses). None of the other resorts up north have tried to the extent we have to set ourselves apart. For us to cut down some trees and put up another course, people would say 'Why do that?' You won't see anything like The Gailes around here, and we followed that same line of thinking with the Blackshire. If you play those two courses, that's one heck of a day of golf."
The resort actually started construction on the course, which is less than a mile away from the main resort area, about five years ago, but with Aldridge's new-found fame after designing The Gailes, other projects kept him from working on the layout. Construction started again in fall 1999.
"Last March (in 2000), we really made a push to get it ready," Peters said. Although the waste areas have plenty of room to mature, the Blackshire is in remarkably good playing shape for its first year.
"We tried to make it user-friendly," Peters said. "That was a challenge because of all the waste areas. We spent a lot of time clearing out the underbrush (in the tree line along the fairway) to make it playable. We've heard a lot of good things from people who have played it."
The mix of long and short par 4s and the fact that you'll probably use four different clubs on the par 3s, a rarity these days, are the course's design strengths.
The first two holes are two of the best. No. 1 is a visual stunner of 370 yards.
The hole rises to a plateau in the fairway about 100 yards from the green. A drive that drifts right will find a huge waste area or a separate bunker. What's the difference between the two? According to rules of golf, players can ground their clubs while addressing the ball in waste areas but not in bunkers. From the plateau, players must drop their approach shot over another intimidating face bunker.
The second hole is the longest of the par 5s at 589 yards and possibly the most difficult. Players can't see the numerous hazards from the tee, so beware. Wetlands run the length of the right side, while a gigantic waste bunker cuts the fairway at about 250 yards off the tee. Fronting the green, four bunkers await.
The 194-yard fifth demands a high approach over Hell's Bunker, a large bunker in the middle of a wasteland. No. 5 is a difficult 424-yard dogleg left. From the back tees, players must draw their tee ball around a clump of trees to have any shot at the green guarded by a sand pit and creek.
Aldridge uses visual trickery on No. 6, a simple 382-yard par 4. The large bunker has a false front to give players the appearance it is closer to the green than it really is. No. 8 is short at 315 yards, but at least 23 bunkers line the hole!
No. 11 is also short at 125 yards from the tips, but a small green surrounded by sand and out-of-bounds make bogey a reality. No. 18 closes with a dogleg left of 529 yards. The huge, elevated, undulating green is a three-putt waiting to happen.
Tom Barry, of Livonia, played the course earlier this summer to plan ahead for an outing.
"The layout is definitely challenging," he said. "It's target golf. If you play smart and hit it average, you can score well. The greens are very interesting."
February 28, 2002
Jason Scott Deegan, Senior Staff Writer
Jason Scott Deegan has reviewed more than 700 courses and golf destinations for some of the industry's biggest publications. His work has been honored by the Golf Writer's Association of America and the Michigan Press Association. Follow him on Twitter at @WorldGolfer.