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February 23, 2007 - Vol. 7, No. 8

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AMERICA'S VALUE GOLF DESTINATION
Golf Packages From $47.00 Per Day
Santee South Carolina http://www.santeetourism.com

THINK SPRING: THE OSPREY COLLECTION OF FINE COURSES
PLAN NOW TO PLAY IN 2007 http://www.golfospreyonline.com/
Black Forest, Canthooke Valley, Cutter's Ridge, Ridgewood,
The Medalist and Wilderness Valley

******* SHOW TIME *******
WEST MICHIGAN GOLF SHOW-FEBRUARY 9-11
Web: http://westmichigangolfshow.com

LONDON GOLF SHOW - FEBRUARY 9-11
Web: http://golf-show.com

MICHIGAN GOLF SHOW-MARCH 10-12
Web: http://michigangolfshow.com

Edited by Art McCafferty-Producer/Publisher, GLSP

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__/MADDALENA, LINDHOLM, FOSSUM, WILSON AND WOEHRLE NEW HALL INDUCTEES
__/MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION
Gary Koch, Rick Robbins, Keith Gornick and The Tribute
The Heather at Boyne Highlands, with Bernie Friedricks, Jack Berry, Everett Kircher and Robert Trent Jones
__/MGN ON THE ROAD
Lansing-Lansing Golf Show
__/ RACKHAM LEGEND & MICHIGAN HALL OF FAMER, BEN DAVIS HONORED
__/ FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE
__/LET ME MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR
__/ GWAA ANNOUNCES AWARDS
__/ THE BEAR IS STILL A BEAR
__/ MICHIGAN GOLFER ONLINE RESOURCES
__/MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE'S TOP 10 LISTS FOR 2006
__/TOP 10 VIEWS IN MICHIGAN GOLF-RANDOM ORDER
__/ CALENDAR
__/ ASSOCIATION LINKS
__/ GOLF COURSE PREVIEW VIDEOS
__/ ARCHIVES-MICHIGAN GOLFER

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MADDALENA, LINDHOLM, FOSSUM, WILSON AND WOEHRLE NEW HALL INDUCTEES
A cross-section of the Michigan golf community is represented in the election of five new members of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame as announced today by Michigan Golf Foundation co-chairpersons Robert McMasters and Sara Wold.

John Lindholm and Steve Maddalena have compiled brilliant playing records on the local, state and national levels; Bruce Fossum coached at Michigan State University for 25 years and is a member of the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame; PGA professional Mark Wilson is a top international and national Rules of Golf official; and Ted Woehrle not only has prepared courses for major championships but mentored more than 50 assistants who became golf course superintendents around the country.

Maddalena, 47, a Horton resident and University of Michigan graduate, won the Michigan Amateur in 1980, 1990 and 1995 and is one of only nine players to win it three times since the state¹s oldest championship began in 1906.

Maddalena played in 27 Amateurs, made the cut 19 times and posted a 43-16 match play record. Two of his opponents in the finals went on to play on the PGA Tour, John Morse and Tom Gillis. Maddalena chose to remain an amateur and has won all of the state¹s top tournaments.

Lindholm, 61, of Grand Blanc, has played in 22 Michigan Amateurs, won it in 1997 and took the Michigan Medal Play and Horton Smith tournaments in 2003 at the age of 58. He has continued his winning ways as a senior, twice winning the Michigan Senior Amateur. He has made the Golf Association of Michigan Senior Honor roll the last five years.

Bruce Fossum joins his wife, Mary, former long-time MSU women¹s golf coach, in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. Mary was elected in 2002. During Fossum¹s MSU tenure the Spartans played in 11 NCAA championships, won the Big Ten in 1969 and 10 Spartans were named All-Americans. His teams had a 72 percent winning percentage. He was chairman of the NCAA Golf Committee in 1972 and elected president of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) in 1976.

Fossum started summer golf camps for young players 11-18 in 1971 and MSU was the first college to start such a program.

Mark Wilson celebrated his 25th year as head professional at Watermark Country Club in Grand Rapids last year. He has made a reputation as a Rules of Golf official in Michigan second only to the late Mr. Rules, Warren Orlick, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Wilson is chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee. He has been a Rules official at every PGA Championship since 1990, a referee at the last five Ryder Cups, officiated at 11 Masters Tournaments, three British Opens, two United States Opens and one PGA Tour Players Championship. He will be Chief Referee at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Country Club in Kentucky.

Troy resident Ted Woehrle has seen the role of golf course superintendent go from turf farmer to the highly specialized field it is today. He began learning the craft in Illinois from his father, Herman, and graduated from Purdue University in 1954.

Woehrle was superintendent at Beverly Country Club, a Donald Ross-designed course on Chicago¹s South Side when the club hosted two Western Opens and two Women¹s Westerns. He was hired during the construction phase of Point O¹Woods Country Club in Benton Harbor and that began a long association with Robert Trent Jones who designed the course and did some tweaking of Oakland Hills during Woehrle¹s 24 years at the club.

More than 50 of Woehrle¹s former assistants have become head superintendents and he has been deeply involved in the growth of the profession. He served as president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America in 1971. Fossum, Lindholm, Maddalena, Wilson and Woehrle will be inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame at Eagle Eye Golf Club in Bath, Michigan on May 20. Their election brings the membership in the Hall to 80. The complete membership is listed at http://www.michigan-foundation.com.

For more information, contact Loretta Larkin at
llarkin@michigan-golf-foundation.com or (248) 719-0650.

Michigan Golf Hall of Fame videos
Dave Hill
Dan Pohl
Elaine Crosby
Jerry Matthews
Ben Davis
Stan Aldridge
Joan Garety
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/ghf/

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MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION
Gary Koch, Rick Robbins, Keith Gornick and The Tribute Keith Gornick, former owner of the Otsego Club, is still celebrating his retirement. He no sooner got back from visiting some of his wife and daughter's family in Germany, then he left for some time in Mexico. In celebration of his retirement and to also begin the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Gaylord Golf Mecca, we bring you the thoughts of architects Rick Robbins and Gary Koch and remembrances of Keith Gornick. The viewer is also given a tour de force of the course. Special thanks to Tim Ummel and the Umlex Group for helping set up the original interviews.

http://michigangolfer.tv/2007shows/tribute/

The Heather at Boyne Highlands, with Bernie Friedricks, Jack Berry, Everett Kircher and Robert Trent Jones

We further celebrate Jack Berry's2007 PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism, by a repeat show on The Heather Golf Course. Berry had the opportunity to interview both the late and great Robert Trent Jones and owner Everett Kircher about this trend setting course. Join this delightful romp through golf history
http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/boynegolf/heather/

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MGN ON THE ROAD
Lansing-The Lansing Golf Show
The Lansing Golf Show opens its doors this morning to thousands of golf starved mid Michigan golfers. This is the ninth year of the show and it has become a mainstay in the community. The show opens up at 2:00 today, with a 10:00 a.m. opening on Saturday and Sunday. The show is at the Lansing Center, so be there or be square.

http://michigangolfshow.com/lansing.php

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RACKHAM LEGEND & MICHIGAN HALL OF FAMER, BEN DAVIS HONORED
Ben Davis, one of Michigan's most revered golf professionals, was honored by friends and family at Rackham Golf Club this past Sunday at a celebration of his 95th birthday.Rackham Golf Course, a 1924 Donald Ross gemin Huntington Woods, is adjacent to the Detroit Zoo. Davis,one of the nation's first black golf professionals, enjoyed a long history of teaching at the club. He was the golf professional to many of Detroit's personalities, Joe Louis.being one of them. Rackham has been in the news of late, as the city of Huntington Woods is attempting to buy the course from the City of Detroit.

We had the opportunity to interview Ben a couple of years ago and we suggest you check out the video. There is a moment in the video where the pain of racism that Ben Davis went through during his time, is vividly expressed. http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/davis/index.html

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FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE
Since retiring from EMU, I have kept my hat in the the higher ed ring, by teaching for their College of Business. One of the courses I teach is Sports and Event Marketing, a class that attracts junior and senior business students. I recently had Bill Fountain in as a guest lecturer. Fountain is one of the principals ot The Majestic at Lake Walden, a Jerry Matthew's design. http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/majestic/

Fountain's presentation was well received by the students, who admired the actions he was taking during, as he pointed out, a very difficult economic time in the golf business. Fountain reaffirmed the point of holding your customers dear. However, this has always been the case at The Majestic. This is the facility that puts its staff/team on the front of the score card. In addition, their team members get business cards, a uniform and a a name tag. When they open up for business every day, it becomes "Showtime" until the last cart is in for the day.

At The Majestic they believe in the "Wow" factor for their customers and will regularly treat a customer to lottery tickets, or give them a sleeve of balls, just to do it. They give back to the community by having "Birdie Drops" and allow golfers to play a round for a donated turkey for the Second Harvest charity during the Thanksgiving season..And finally, the last thing they do, is cut prices. They feel that cutting their prices translated to cheapening their product. Their solution to price cutting, is to increase the value given back to their customers.

You can check out the Majestic Golf Course and some of the team members at http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/majestic/

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LET ME MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR
Art- apparently the document (actually Poster attachment) that I sent you wassomewhat misleading. We often refer to this Annual Tournament (since 1976) as a State SeniorsOpenAmateurTournament & Seniors Open Amateur Championship sponsored by MPSGA.(As you probably know PGA of Michigan also sponsor a Seniors Open Championship for Amateurs and Professionals in June each year!) All males who arepublic and/or private club members in Michigan qualify to enter our Tournamentif 50 years of age and have an established index. We conduct this Event the last full w/e in August and have done so for mega years. Our dates at Eagle Eye and Hawk Hollow this year are 24, 25, 26 of August.

Doug King

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GWAA ANNOUNCES AWARDS
Past President and Secretary/Treasurer Jack Berry is the recipient of the prestigious PGALifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. The 75-year-old Michigan State grad started hiscareer at UPI and moved to the Detroit Free Press where he worked from 1959-71. Jack, whobecame the 27th GWAA president in 1984 and was secretary/treasurer from 1990-summer 1998,has covered more than 70 majors. He was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame and willbe honored at the GWAA Dinner, April 4 in Augusta . . .

In addition to our other awards, we'll alsob

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THE BEAR IS STILL A BEAR
Golf Digest's March issue contained an article on their selection of America's 50 toughest courses. The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa was listed at number 18. Cheers to former CEO, Paul Nine, and another round of kudos, for I am sure, a reluctant Jack Nicklaus. In a story that has been told many times before, Paul Nine, who knew little about golf, but a lot about marketing, indicated to a very unreceptive Jack Nicklaus, that he wanted the course to be tougher, the toughest golf course in Michigan. As the two of them stood nose to nose in one of The Bear's fairways, you could see Nicklaus get mad, but then reluctantly cave to the changes that needed to be made.

I would imagine that most golfers, who played The Bear in those early years, can recall just how tough it was. The "Nicklaus" mounds were all covered with tall grasses, the bunkers had ladders inserted in them to allow players to get in and out and the rough was aptly named. As a member of the media who had experienced many grand opening, this was probably the most expensive. While the golf was complimentary, I emptied my bag of golf balls. My partner, Mike Duff, was scheduled to play the course the following week and he asked me for some advice. I told him the best advice I could give him was to go out and buy three dozen golf balls. He did as I said and he ran out before the end of the round. The Bear was a bear..

The Bear's reputation for being an extremely tough golf course, brought thousands to the resort to play the course. However, for many golfers, once was enough. Not only was The Bear tough, but it also took a long time to play. The combination of a tough course, the time it took to play it and the cost, soon contributed to a slowdown in the rounds played. To offset this decline in rounds, the course was softened. For an interesting reflection on how The Bear used to be, check out Jack Seltzer's remembrances at http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/michiganopen/

However, Paul Nine, could not have been happier for all the discussion. The Bear and its reputation, started the second wave of golfers going north to play. The fiirst wave was at Boyne Highlands, where Robert Trent Jones, with some help from Everett Kircher, built The Heather. The Grand Traverse Resort and The Bear were on the map. And obviously, with the course being named in the Top 50, it still has its stuff.

I wonder what Nicklaus thinks about The Bear being the only course he designed that made the list. I would imagine it is bittersweet. I have had the opportunity to talk with him on a number of occasions about The Bear and he was still more that a little unhappy that he had to make so many changes to the course.

http://grandtraverseresort.com

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MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE'S TOP 10 LISTS FOR 2006
http://www.michigangolfer.com/win06-07/index.htm

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TOP 10 VIEWS IN MICHIGAN GOLF-RANDOM ORDER
1. Clubhouse at Arcadia Bluff
2. Clubhouse at Shanty Creek
3. Clubhouse at Little Traverse Bay
4. The Tower at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa
5. The Cuppola at the Grand Hotel
6. The 6th hole at Treetops
7. The 6th hole at Bay Harbor
8. Clubhouse at the Otsego Club
9. The Clubhouse at Oakland Hills CC
10. The Clubhouse at Buck's Run
Source: Michigan Golfer Magazine, Winter 2006

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2007 MICHIGAN GOLF CALENDAR
http://michigangolfer.com/calendar.html"

ASSOCIATION LINKS
American Association of Golf Course Architects
http://asgca.org
Golf Association of Michigan
http://www.gam.org/
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
http://www.gcsaa.org
Michigan Section PGA
http://www.Michigan.PGA.com
Michigan Golf Course Owners Association
http://mgcoa.org
Michigan High School Athletic Association
http://www.mhsaa.com/
Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association
http://migca.com
Michigan Publinx Seniors Golf Association
http://mpsga.net
National Golf Course Owners Association
http://ngcoa.org
National Golf Foundation
http://ngf.org
National High School Golf Coaches Association
http://www.nhsgca.org

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MICHIGAN GOLFER ONLINE RESOURCES
Website: http://glsp.com
Ezine http://michigangolfer.com
News: http://www.webgolfer.com/news.html
Video: http://michigangolfer.tv
Podcast: http://glsp.com/podcasts.html

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