Garland Lodge & Golf Resort, hole #6 on Fountains Five
By Otis Windham
Top Flight Golfers (TFG) is part of a growing number of African American golf clubs who travel to various USA and international destinations for golf vacations. The Top Flight Golf group chose Garland Resort (Lewiston, Michigan) for its annual June outing this year. None of its players had ever played golf in this area before but Garland was recommended to the group by other Detroit-area African American golfers.
L to R : Robert Dean, Darryl Mayfield, Robert Bailey, LeVar Harrington
Garland is a first class Golf Resort that has four quality courses with varying degrees of difficulty. It is located in a beautiful area of the lower peninsula of Michigan.
Garland ariel view
A Top Flight Golf Experience
All of the Garland courses are exceptionally groomed and well conditioned. Dave Sanderson is the President and General Manager of the resort and took exceptional effort to ensure the group received a high level of good customer services during their stay.
Front Entrance of Main Lodge
Garland’s golf packages all include an optional full breakfast each day. Complimentary club storage and unlimited use of the range and practice facilities are available to all guests.
Players take a moment to hear the tournament rules before teeing off.
Dinner specials are featured in the Tamarack Dining Room each evening. Lunch and dinner are also available at the Antler’s Bar and Grill. Fountains course is the premier course at Garland however, Monarch, Swampfire and Reflections all are equally beautiful and a pleasure to play.
Apple Wood Smoked Half Duck cooked to perfection at Garland Lodge & Golf Resort.
Varieties of accommodations are available. The Garland Lodge, single and double villas, golf cottages, condominiums and French Villas are all outstanding options for lodging at the resort. After play libations and food are available after golf rounds on the patio at the TIKI bar. You can see many of the activities, accommodations, special events and more on their Facebook Page.
After a challenging round, golfers enjoy the fully-stocked TIKI Bar.
Since members of the TFG group are residents of warm weather climates, a major requirement for their yearly outing is a destination that has a milder climate. With blue skies and temperatures in the mid-eighties, Garland’s Northern Michigan locale provided outstanding weather for the TFG outing.
Rear of Main Lodge and Putting Green
Because none of the group had ever been to Garland, our travel options were flights into Detroit, Chicago IL, Grand Rapids, Flint or Traverse City and using rental cars to get to the resort. Dave informed us that there were better reasonable cost airline options to nearby Alpena, Michigan, which would get guests closer to the resort with low costs or complimentary transportation to and from Garland.
Roy Hester at Hole #1, Reflections Golf Course
Garland is also a winter resort that includes various activities such as snowmobiling, ice fishing, and sleigh rides. Garland is open for golf beginning early April and closes its courses late October. Top Flight Golfers outing is held each year the week after Father’s Day.
Reflections 17- Par 3
The highlight of the outing was a hole-in-one one on the Par 3 hole number nine of the Fountains Course offered up by Johnny (aka Par 3) McGee of Orlando, Florida.
Johnny (aka Par 3) McGee of Orlando, Florida, following his hole-in-one.
CONTACT:Garland Lodge & Golf Resort
4700 North Red Oak Road
Lewiston, MI 49756
Phone: (877) 442-7526
Email: info@GarlandUSA.com
Otis Windham is a freelance golf writer and author with over 30 years experience in the golfing industry. He has organized national and international golf travel for various golfing groups, is past president, travel and events coordinator for two major African American golfing organizations and, is a member of the African American Golfer’s Digest Advisory Board. He resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
