GAYLORD, Mich. -- One of Gaylord's newest and most dramatic golf courses, the Tribute is a recent (circa 2002) addition to the Otsego Club, one of northern Michigan's oldest golf resorts. Built on rugged terrain in the Sturgeon River Valley, the course is a roller coaster of elevation changes with few flat spots - not surprising at a complex that doubles as a ski resort come winter. No hole is more dramatic than No. 3, which drops severely from tee to green.
The Tribute is the second course at the Otsego Club (formerly the Hidden Valley Resort), following the vintage Classic Course. The Classic plays on flatter ground and is a bit out of date compared to the new generation of courses in northern Michigan.
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course - 3rd
The third the Otsego Club's Tribute Course runs is steeply downhill.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course - hole 2
No. 2 on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club barely hints at the roller coaster to come.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute Course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course - Sturgeon River
The middle part the Tribute golf course at Otsego Club plays through lowland and the Sturgeon River bed.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course - 11th
The par-5 11th hole on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club requires a long carry off the tee into a wooded chute of a fairway.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
The Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord is rustic and hilly with little construction.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Otsego Club - Tribute golf course
Dramatic northern Michigan golf on the Tribute Course at Otsego Club in Gaylord.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf