Three weeks after last month’s devastating ice storm in northern Michigan, cleanup remains a daunting work in progress at one of the state’s prime golf destinations ― even as the season is fast approaching.
All of the 17 golf courses that make up the Gaylord Golf Mecca were impacted by the March 29 storm, some of them much harder than others, but golf officials in the area expect most of the courses to open pretty close to on time, in the first week of May. In previous years, most courses aimed to open the last week of April.
“I will tell you, it was one of the worst ice storms we’ve ever had, that I’ve ever seen,” said Paul Beachnau, executive director of the Gaylord Arena Convention and Tourism Bureau, who oversees the Gaylord Golf Mecca. “We (also) had a record snowfall, and a lot of courses still have areas where there’s snow that hasn’t completely melted. This is the traditional time for spring cleanup and golf preparation.
“It’s a lot more challenging (this year). It’ll be a lot more challenging.”
There was no major structural damage, like to clubhouses, reported in the Gaylord Golf Mecca, as most courses go to great lengths to keep trees away from buildings. Most of the damage involved trees, either ones that came completely down amid the storm, or trees with ice-damaged branches that need to be meticulously trimmed. The storm impacted millions of trees across the multi-county area, and tens of thousands of trees at the golf courses, just across Gaylord.
The cleanup efforts at the Gaylord Golf Mecca is believed to cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not the millions, as courses have had to bring in extra staff and contract outside workers.
The tight-knit golf-course community held an emergency meeting last week to share best practices for the cleanup. They’ve even shared equipment, like dump trucks and wood chippers.
“I’m so proud of everybody’s attitude. It’s been incredible, the support of people and neighbors and friends helping each other out,” said Barry Owens, general manager at Treetops, a five-course resort. He specifically mentioned the power linemen, many who’ve stayed at the Treetops resort for weeks.
“We consider ourselves fortunate. It’s funny, the amount of impact when you first looked at it was pretty shocking, the amount of branches and stuff that were done. It’s easily cleaned up. It just takes time and a lot of hard work.”
Power and internet were out across most of the region, but it has been restored to the Gaylord Golf Mecca courses ― even as thousands in the region remained without as of earlier this week. The power outage was an inconvenience for the golf courses, who would’ve typically been taking hundreds of summer reservations during that period.
Five of the Gaylord Golf Mecca properties are in line to open May 1, including Treetops, Black Bear, Garland Lodge & Golf Resort, Michaywe’ and Otsego Resort. Black Lake is scheduled to open May 2, and Lakes of the North is set to open May 3. Indian River is to be determined, while Gaylord Golf Club is opening later than normal, on May 12.
Gaylord Golf Club, alone, saw thousands of trees damaged or destroyed.
“I’ve been there for 17 years, grew up in Gaylord, and never have seen a storm anything like this widespread,” said JT Aude, head golf professional at Gaylord Golf Club. “I was in town for the straight-line winds in 1998. I was at Treetops then, and it lost a lot of trees. But (that storm) was a path. It wasn’t the whole county, or counties. There are so many counties that are affected and so many people affected. It’s just crazy.
“Pretty much all the trees on the golf course have some sort of damage. We’re hoping to save as many as we can.”
Most of the Gaylord Golf Mecca courses are reporting no major damage to tee boxes, fairways and greens, but golfers will notice lots of trees missing ― which isn’t often met with sadness from golfers. Decorative, standalone trees took the biggest hits, while damage to fairway-lined forests won’t be as noticeable to the untrained eye.
Even trees that didn’t come down completely have to be inspected, especially the pines, which have dense branches that collect ice. The damaged branches are a serious safety concern; they can get heavy, break and fall to the ground.
Beachnau, who heads the Gaylord Golf Mecca, advises golfers with early season tee times at any of the 17 courses to double-check the course’s status in the days leading up to their trip.
“It’s better than it could’ve been,” Beachnau said. “Gaylord’s a great community. Everybody works together.”
Chips & divots
▶ Canton’s James Piot, the 2021 U.S. Amateur champion who parlayed that into a two-year, $6 million deal with LIV Golf, made his first start in a PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament since 2022 this week. Piot, 26, played in the Korn Ferry Tour event in Florida, and missed the cut by a stroke, finishing at 4-under through two rounds. Piot, a Michigan State alum, wasn’t punished by the PGA Tour for playing on LIV, as he was never a PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour member.
▶ Sponsor’s exemptions on the PGA Tour can be fascinating. There was a gem unveiled this week, when uber-popular YouTuber Grant Horvat revealed he was extended an invitation to play in the Barracuda Championship in California in July. Horvat, 26, a native of Grosse Ile and a former collegiate golfer, has not decided if he’ll accept the invite. He has more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube.
▶ Tickets for the Rocket Classic, Detroit’s PGA Tour stop, go on sale April 23. The seventh Rocket will be June 26-29, followed immediately by a major renovation project at Detroit Golf Club.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
