DSG's Affordabili-TEES spotlight: Lakewood Shores Resort

      Where:

7751 Cedar Lake Rd., Oscoda, Michigan 48750

      Courses: The Gailes, par 72, 5,246 yards to 6,954 yards.

      Blackshire, par 72, 4,936 yards to 6,898 yards

      Serradella, 5,295 yards to 6,806 yards   

      Wee Links, par-3 course, 18 holes, holes 50 to 105 yards.

      Stay-and-play packages: $203 (per person, 2 nights) to $401 (per person, 4 nights)

      Phone: 989-739-2073; 1-800-883-2493

      Websites: www.lakewoodshores.com

      www.oscoda.com, Oscoda Convention and Visitors Bureau

      In this hyper-connected world, it does a body good to “go off the grid’’ every now and then.

      Go off the grid to play good golf courses at great prices, and in short order, it won’t bother you a bit that your cell phone is silent.

      That’s how I felt after spending two days at Lakewood Shores Resort in upstate Michigan on what’s called the “Sunrise Coast.’’

      This low-key resort on the west shore of Lake Huron features three 18-hole courses, a really cool par-3 course, comfortable lodging, good food and outstanding hospitality.

      It’s a 375-mile drive from the center of Lake County to the driveway at Lakewood Shores. Quite by design, the place isn’t posh. I was told it’s a favorite destination of middle-class vacationers from Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Flint, Grand Rapids and other downstate urban areas.

      And it isn’t just affordable golf that brings folks up to Oscoda-AuSable River area. Dotting the west shore of Lake Huron on the drive up Route 23 are individual cottages and cottage communities that are the epitome of “cozy.’’

      The three courses at Lakewood are as different as they are challenging. Gailes is a links course with a seaside feel. Blackshire blends a traditional tree-lined layout with large sand and waste areas. Serradella is relatively open with less trouble than its two sister courses but extremely challenging greens. Wee Links is behind the 72-unit main lodge.

      Lakewood Shores will appeal to golfers who love a bargain and don’t mind a long drive through open country. I wasn’t sure what I thought about the place at first, but the more I was there, the more I liked it and the more I appreciated being off the grid.

      If you like to mix fishing and other outdoor, water-related activities, check out the Oscoda Convention and Visitors Bureau website. Renting one of those lakefront cottages for a week would be intriguing.

      There wlll be more about Lakewood Shores, its courses, its interesting history and out-in-the-country ambience in an upcoming Travel feature story in The News-Herald. The scheduled run date is Aug. 14.