Widely regarded as America's best par-3 course, it hosted the ESPN Par-3 Shootout for eight years and consistently tops Golf Magazine and Golfweek's par-3 rankings.
This course is in our GSPro library — pull it up in any bay and play it wall to wall.
"A fun, fast alternative to a full 18 -- good for a shorter bay session or a group of newer golfers."
Maybe America's most famous par-3 course. Rick Smith built Threetops at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan in 1992, draping nine one-shotters over huge wooded elevation drops. ESPN made it a household name with the televised Par-3 Shootout (1999–2006), and in 2001 Lee Trevino aced the 7th to win $1,010,000 — still celebrated as the richest single shot in golf; he returned in 2021 for the 20th anniversary. Links Magazine calls it one of the 'baddest' par-3 courses in the US.
Everyone, honestly — families, beginners, and shootout nostalgics. It's the round you add to a northern Michigan trip and end up talking about most.
No. 7 is the shrine — the hole Trevino aced for a million dollars, playing steeply downhill through the trees. The whole card is drop-shot theater: several holes fall so far that you're aiming at a green two clubs below the yardage.
Nine par 3s, no driver required — one of the best formats in golf for beginners. The elevation drops make club selection tricky but forgiving; it's pure fun, not punishment.
In GSPro — TekBud released Threetops in 2023, and it's a perfect bay course: nine par 3s in about 20 minutes, huge elevation, closest-to-the-pin gold. Ideal for warm-ups, kids, leagues night skins games, or settling bets before the bay time runs out.
Public resort golf at Treetops in Gaylord, Michigan — book like any resort tee time; a nine-hole par-3 loop is cheap and quick, and stay-and-play packages bundle it with the resort's big courses.
Source: web verified · high confidence
