Tom Doak design making a comeback!

GAYLORD, Mich. – Golfweek magazine has selected the Black Forest course at Wilderness Valley among the Top 15 courses in Michigan. Located just outside the Alpine village of Gaylord, Black Forest was listed No. 6 on the Golfweek list.

In recent years the course had fallen off a bit from its earlier days when Golfweek had it ranked among its “Top 100 Modern Classics”. When it opened in 1993, Golf Digest ranked it among the Top 10 New Resort Courses in America, and Golf Magazine named it one of the "Top Four New Public Courses in the U.S.".

Osprey Recreational Properties, which also owns Manistee National in Manistee, the Medalist near Battle Creek, and Ridgeview in Kalamazoo, purchased Black Forest over 3 years ago with the intention of returning it to national prominence. Over the past several years Osprey has made several improvements including upgrading maintenance and better defining the bunkers, which are visually intimidating and hallmarks of the course.

Black Forest was designed by Tom Doak, who has gained fame in recent years for such courses as Pacific Dunes in Oregon, and the recent duo of Cape Kidnappers and Barnbougle Dunes in New Zealand and Australia. Black Forest was only Tom’s third design, which utilized much of the knowledge he gained from studying over 1,000 of the world’s greatest classical courses. The bunkering, for example, came from studying the California classics: Cypress Point and Riviera.

In addition to upgrading the golf course at Wilderness Valley, Osprey has also renovated the clubhouse. The upper level of the clubhouse was completely re-done, with the addition of a new bar area with a Northern Michigan theme that looks out on a new wood deck with a similar theme. The lower level of the clubhouse was converted to the Osprey Grille with terrific meal options.

Click here for more information or visit golfosprey.com.