lakewood shores resort - the gailes golf course

The Gailes is a links course full of pot bunkers and heather, a sweeping vista that reminds you of the Scottish courses that you see on TV. A good shot can easily turn into disaster with the number of pot bunkers and deep bunkers with sodded faces on the course. We were there with 4 couples - a few of the people did not like the challenges at all. One man last 3 balls in the first 3 holes. It is a great experience to play this course and I recommend everyone should try and place this at least once.The course is much nicer than the resort. There is barely a bag drop off marked in the parking lot and no one helps pick up the bags. The carts are dirty and most do not have any windshields or bag covers on the back. The starter barely talks to you and you are on your own to choose a cart. The clubhouse personnel were friendly, but the food hut for the course was rundown. The dining room was quite dark and the only items for breakfast was a full buffet.

Be sure you take enough balls! We heard this from many players and were glad we listened. The course was in very good shape except several cups were set crooked. Flags would not stay straight. A true links course with lots of heather, grasses and sod backed bunkers. Have never played a course without hole markers - nothing to indicate hole number, layout, yardage except score card. (Serradella was same.) Sprinkler heads were not marked either but they did have the cement discs at 200, 150, 100 and 150 stake - again, Serradella was same. Glad we had our gps. Real restroom but needs TLC. Saw ranger twice but never did anything to move the foursome in front of us along. It was a crowded Sat and they usually had an empty hole in front of them. As with Serradella, the beverage gal only had a golf cart with two coolers. Not a resort as expected. Serradella and resort reviewed separately.

When the starter told us we would probably end the round with more balls than we started with - he was right. This links-style course gobbled up a few of our tee balls but offered us more in return when we looked for them. Obviously there is very little shade on this course but there were plenty of insects when we took too long to find our wayward shots. Most of the eight in our group enjoyed the challenge of The Gailes but chose Blackshire as our first choice of the three courses at Lakewood Shores Resort.

I really enjoyed the Gailes golf course, however, not everyone wants to be beaten up by a links style golf experience. The fairways for the most part were wide, except for the short par 4s. Most of the par threes required accuracy or you were in the junk!

First, I must disclose that I am a decent, but not great golfer. I enjoy being outdoors and golfing with friends. Lakewood Shores Breakdown:The Gailes: Not as challenging as I had heard or expected. Buy the guidebook to avoid hidden obstacles. Heather not as thick as I expected. Can find your ball usually and can even hit out of it.Blackshire and Serradella: More traditional courses. Both were in good shape with good greens. Personally I enjoyed these more. Clubhouse: We ate dinner there and had very good meals. Excellent steaks. Pricing $15-$22. Everyone thought the food was excellent. I didn't have the breakfast buffet there, but those that did said it was loaded and very good. A couple of us went into town to Mama's Kitchen and would not return to that place.Rooms: The rooms are dated but fine. We had a group of 8 guys and thought for what we paid for the weekend they exceeded expectations. Rooms were clean, carpet could have been a little better. Realistically we weren't expecting much for what we paid. They have a little cabin type feel to them. They may be a little rustic for a wedding or a couples weekend, but for a guys group outing they were good. (note there were plenty of women groups in our same building...they seemed to be having a good time).Minor complaints:1. They have a building with hot dog grill on the Gailes at the turn. The girl selling hot dogs was gone by 4 pm. No other food available. 2. The beer carts are regular golf carts with two coolers strapped on. Just looked cheesy. They served the purpose though. 3. One time we had to wait about 25 minutes as they were out of carts.Overall for what we paid for two nights and 3 rounds it was a very good deal. Our weather was great and the courses were full, but moved decently. People staring us off each round seemed on top of it. We had a great time and will be back.

2 night stay...on the weekend.....dirty rooms, had to wear shoes or your bare feet would stick to the carpet, and the extra hairs in the shower were a nice treat too. phone was on the floor with no side table....breakfast (horrible buffet) included in the package didnt include OJ...really...? 2 bucks extra?..why not add that cost to the package... same thing for ice for the cart.... 2 bucks after spending $30 on beer... the cart service on the course was very unprofessional as we were told since we were the only customers out there (6th hole)..that she was leaving for the day... by the way you have to ask for top shelf liquer too...oh and thats extra $. coursed ok but the packages poor. Try Pole Cat in mt pleasant...really nice...or the many other in traverse city area...professional and no addtional charges....

Bring your "A" Game. This authentic Scottish links style course is visually stunning. Errant shots are punished with knee high heather, sod stacked bunkers and rolling dunes on every hole.

Went to Oscoda for a wedding. These accommodations were not clean. Bugs and mosquitoes everywhere. Carpet and floors dirty, wouldn't walk on without shoes. Were there 2 nights, after the "cleaning person" cleaned, nothing was cleaned, but beds were made, not that I'd recommend those beds. She didn't replace anything ... toilet paper or the bar of soap (note no shampoo or conditioner provided) and we almost ran out. We stayed in a Country Inn and Suites on the way, which we never had before, and it was 10x nicer for 1/2 price. I would not stay at Lakewood Shores Resort again!

Stayed @ Lakewood Shores in the apartment style condos and played The Gailes and Blackshire. Saw some recent reviews saying the place was no good - au contraire mon ami, the rental rooms/apartments are a bit spartan but fairly clean (a spider or 2 in residence and they don't clean behind the nightstands/dressers) but fine in the main - especially when considering the price (great stay and play deals) and the fact that you're probably on the golf course all day anyway. The Gailes is the links style course and is a touch shopworn as it seems no one fixes their divots or ball marks, but is a challenge. The Blackshire is in a it better shape, but a traditional "up north" type course vs. the links style Gailes. I'm not sure you can beat the price of the lodging/golf packages and you can include food packages if you like (food is pretty good, but not gourmet fare). I will say you can't beat the price of any of the packages I've seen (we got ours on golfnow.com). So if there is some dust, bugs, less than spacious rooms, so what @ these prices????

I have been to Lakewood Shores for the last 4 years in a row and the 3 golf course that are available there are great and each have there own challenges. I would reccomend this place to anyone that is looking to get away to Northern Michigan for good golf at a great value.

Firstly, I want to say that the staff at The Gailes could not have been more helpful on the day. I live in Scotland and a friend and I traveled to Michigan to play golf. This was the first of a 4 day side trip to Northern Michigan. We also played Forest Dunes, Boyne Alpine and Monument and Arcadia Bluffs.My friend who lives in Michigan booked the Blackshire and Gailes in October 2012. He paid deposits for the accommodation in Jan/Feb. He received a call from the resort in Mar/Apr asking if we wouldn't mind flipping our rounds. Wew had been due to play The Gailes in the morning. He agreed.On arrival at the Blackshire we were not told of the significant casual water, however that's an aside.After lunch at the main clubhouse we were told that the visiting party of 64 Canadian golfers had been put out in groups of 8 and 10. Can you believe that? Unheard of!!! We were asked to go out in a seven-some. Can you believe THAT? We said no and that we would go out as planned in a three and four and would play through the groups. We were told that wasn't possible. After much discussion, consideration and debate with the larger group, we were left with little alternative so we played in a seven-ball group. It was horrendous. We passed adjacent to the visiting party of Canadians and they were loud. raucous and drunk. They showed no consideration for other gofers or the cours, lying around on greens, swilling beer and generally lacking in etiquette.It should never have been allowed to happen. The whole thing was a farce and very poorly managed. We will not be back and will not recommend this course ever!

Different type of course to what we are used to playing. Links style. Would recommend going from white tees as that would fit most handicaps. Some of the guys went from blues which were in a lot of cases on the gold tees which made the course average out to 6700 years. Too long for many of the players

We decided to book Lakewood Shores as a golf getaway for my brothers bachelor (May 30th-June 3rd, 2013). I found the desk staff to be very accomodating and friendly. I am going to speak to the past reviews as they relate to our expereience. Accomodations - definately older and cottage style. We didnt really find them to be dirty as there was maid service daily. Stayed in a jacuzzi two bedroom suite. The decor needs updating but we were happy with the ammenties. I do agree 100% that the no wifi in the rooms was disapointing! But we were there to golf, not to be on our phones and laptops.Proshop- I dealt with an older lady in the shop. I found her to be a bit braisen at first but once you started talking with her she was more than helpful. Shop seemed to be fully stocked when we were there.Food - the package we chose included breakfast only. It was well stocked and fresh. The only one thing was the fruits were gross. As in a previous review they were uncovered and I grabbed an orange that had mold on it. This was very unappealing. The "hot" food was fresh however. Coffee was topped off regularily and good. We found a restaurant about 10 minutes from the resort called "Wiltsies - family pub". I highly recommend it. Excellent food. We went there 3 times for dinner.Golf - The Gailes - a must play! best links style course I have ever played. I just wish we had booked it a couple of times. Hope you hit the ball long as there are 2 par 4's longer than 475yds. I did get dominated by blackflies becauase at that point I had not purchased bug spray. Its a must for all these courses. The Blackshire - another interesting course, definately not boring with rolling greens and wooded fairways. I didnt find it to be all that tough but I quite enjoyed it. The Seradella - Standard golf course. Nothing to special about it really. It was in nice condition. If I book again i would play it the least out of the three courses.The Wee Links - We had a blast on this little course. played skins as a group and the holes are all that awkward distance. It added some great value to the overall stay.Being from Ontario, Canada this style of golf package isnt really exsistent. It was our first golf vacation so I apologize we have nothing to compare to. All I can say is that we really enjoyed our stay and it was worth its cost.

Must play! Different course than any other I have played. The fairways are fast with tons of little bunkers and bumps and hills. If you miss those, you are in tall heather! The greens are in great shape, but tough if you miss long. Huge sod faced bunkers can hurt your score in a hurry.

My husband and I work very hard all year and look forward to our summer vacation. We made a big mistake this year, we didn't review TripAdvisor before we made our reservations at Lakewood Shores Resort. We based our decision solely on the "history" of the Gailes Golf Course. What a mistake!! We stayed at the resort lodging facilities located just a 1/4 of a mile from the golf course. The accommodations were the horrible. The room was very outdated and dirty. Flies and mosquitoes were all over the room. The bathroom was really nasty. The tub had soap scrum and the floor had not been cleaned in a long time. (my white socks were brown after walking on the floors) The beds did not have proper mattress covers that fit. Over all the accommodations were below what one would expect from a low priced roadside "hourly" motel. It is also important to note that there is no wireless or wired internet at the resort other than in the restaurant area during operating hours. We attempted to eat once in the restaurant but quickly changed our minds when we saw that it was buffet style with bread and fruits left uncovered with flies landing on them. Because we are optimistic people, we held out thinking the golf would be worth it. As with many golfers, we look forward to purchasing a golf shirt from every golf course we play. The older lady in the golf shop was rude when we asked if she had any additional sizes. The selection was limited and many of the shirts were from a previous tournament. Still hoping for a good day on the golf course...we soon decided that we were on a "National Lampoons Vacation"! The golf course could be compared to a regular public course. Refreshments on the course were limited as well to only beer and water (no snacks). Bottom-line this we left this resort early. Lesson learned - read TripAdvisor before making reservations! The town of Oscoda is very poor with only a few chain restaurants (McDonalds and Taco Bell). Shopping is non existent. The nearest Wal-Mart is 30 minutes away. It appears that the closing of the Air Force Base crippled this town. Poverty abounds.