Black Bear Golf Club

I get a group together from PA, MI, and GA each year to play golf in the Gaylord / Grayling area. I am also a former PGA professional with extensive experience operating golf facilities. I have never been compelled to write a bad review, but today's experience can't be ignored. We booked a 9:30 tee time. The shop staff did not arrive until 9:45 or so. We stayed for the day and the staff member could not have possibly been more rude and passive aggressive. We enjoyed the company of the group but did not enjoy our treatment at all. The golf course is in rough shape and does not lay out well for the first time player. Lines are difficult to find and definition is lacking. The greens were in decent condition and made up for the tees and fairways. It is ok that the conditions were suffering, but it is unacceptable to be treated as a total inconvenience to the staff. This was our first and last visit to Black Bear.

First review on any course I've ever written. Felt it was my duty to my fellow Michigan golfers to do so. Course is in the worst shape of any course I've played anywhere in Michigan this year. The best conditioned hole from tee to green is the 19th (practice) hole. It's all downhill from there. If you are traveling north to play, spend a couple of bucks more and play one of the Boyne courses, Garland, Treetops, etc. Black Bear will be closed in a year if the course conditions aren't turned around right away.

I have played this course many times. Great value and staff is great. Greens were above average, fairways and tee boxes burnt out. Bunkers were not touched in days. This course was in much better shape last August.

wow - played this course this past sunday - it was awesome
they have done a lot of work on the course this past year and it shows - keep up the good work because i'll be back

I had expected to play an open, worn course that skimps on maintenance. What I got was 19 holes of challenging, scenic golf. Yes this course is not cut out of a forest like most Gaylord courses but it was still very scenic. The greens were in great condition and very speedy. The only ball marks that I repaired were mine and the twosome ahead of me that didn't have a clue. The course has several blind tee shots which will change how I play this course next time. Even at the walk on rate if $39 this is an incredible value. Don't miss this course.

Great deal because it's close to my home. Overall not bad for a discount price of $18 I payed to play there. I have been there before and will go back again.

Very nice course. Played early in the morning. Course was in great shape. The only problem we had was the pop machines out on course were not working and it was too early for cart girl. There was also nobody to help with carts, very wet with dew. It is a very nice course. Wish I could play it more often.

Very nice staff! Great value, the course was nice for a beginner but was also very challenging.

Nice natural setting with very few houses. "Huge piece of property.
Played early on a Sunday – from 7:15 to 10 AM – We passed the lead group on #2 and sailed through the round. No lost balls – course is very open and has generous boundaries to catch errant shots.

Some (disease?) damaged fairway grass. Greens were too fast for the slope they have. Needed to know exactly where to hit the ball to avoid 3 putts/rolling off the green below the hole.
The snaking fairways can put you in the rough but the rough is not thick, so what’s the point? Shot 79 with 35 putts – go figure. Would play again and do better knowing where not to hit the ball into the green.

This was the first time playing course and we played 36 holes. We enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to everyone. Course was in great shape and we will play it again when we are back in this area.

This was the 2nd time I golfed Black Bear and love the views from some of the tee boxes and fairways. The greens are extremely hard to read and difficult to judge the speed of putts. I will come back to Black Bear in the near future.

When we arrived for our t time, we were told that the corse did not like golf now .com. We were told many times that they made no money off our booking. The greens and fairways were in good shape, but the sand traps are more like sand and gravel.

Beautiful fall day in Michigan. Golfing at Black Bear was great.

This course had a high slope rating, and the whole story was in the greens. Very quick and hard to hold.

19th hole is a cool feature! Played the course roughly a month ago. Could tell it'd been a dry summer. Course looks completely different now! Lush green complexes surrounding huge greens. Fairways were in decent shape, and tee boxes were in much better shape. Bunkers are edged and most are weed free! Great rates this time of year!

very nice course , but needs work - for $25.00 its a deal - $49.00 not a deal

Easy access off 75 just north of Gaylord. Great up north views from some of the elevated tees. There are several blind tee shots and a few blind shots to the greens, I think that adds character to the course. The greens can be a challenge! I had a couple putts come right back down the slope because I didn't hit them hard enough, I would play this course every day if I could.

Got a great price on the course which was a good thing. There was a crew driving around digging out sprinkler heads which made me believe that it may have just been sold and they are going to try and bring it back up to a reasonable standard

Toured this course last summer and made it a priority to play it this summer. Not sure what changed, but there are numerous dead spots on the fairways and greens now. Course has a lot of potential. It's very scenic, the greens are challenging, yet you can score well on it. Staff was very friendly and courteous. Food was real good. I would recommend to others if the problems with the course were addressed. It's tough to criticize a course that I played for $17, but again, it would be cool to see it fulfill its' potential.

Coarse is in poor shape. Tee's where burned out. Large amounts of grass clippings on greens from mowing. Some greens had scalped areas. Bunkers are in terrible condition. Coarse condition ruins great layout