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Michigan Golf News May 16, 2008 - Vol. 8, No. 20 Sponsored by: SHANTY CREEK RESORTS-SUMMIT. SCHUSS . CEDAR RIVER THE NATURAL / MARSH RIDGE: CELEBRATING 16 YEARS OF GREAT GOLF-JOIN US IN 2008 TREETOPS RESORT http://treetops.com OSPREY GOLF-2008 RATES AND PACKAGES VIDEO GALLERIES __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/__/ __/ __/ __/ __/ MICHIGAN GOLFER ON THE ROAD Edited by Art McCafferty __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/__/ __/ __/ __/ ============================= *** *** Half of the rooms in the Summit Hotel have been totally redone with the rest to follow. The beds are great, there are a thousand pillows in the room, flat screen tv's for your viewing pleasure, wi fi, a bathroom area with everything new including some killer shower heads and freshly carpeted stairways and hallways. In talking with Jon Stultz, their V.P. of Sales and Marketing, they have many more plans. The entrance will be entirely redone, with the driveway pond/fountain eliminated along with their signature sculpture. The new area will compliment the newly designed lobby entrance. The golf at Shanty Creek is legendary. Their first course, The Summit, was designed by William Diddel. According to the Diddel's website http://billdiddel.com "Bill Diddel, a native Hoosier, was one of America’s great golf architects, yet much of his work is relatively unknown. If a golfer shot his age or better more times than Bill Diddle, there's no record of the achievement. He is said to have recorded that feat over 1,200 times in his life, as well as having won the Indiana Amateur title five times. Bill also holds the record of 12 strokes under his age, when in 1970, he shot 74 at the age of 86 on the tough Country Club of Naples course in Naples, Florida. Bill was an all-around athlete, and participated in sports at Manual High School and as a senior won his first golf championship - the Indianapolis City Amateur. He went on to Wabash college to become a four-sport letter man - basketball, baseball, track and football (no collegiate golf competiton at that time). In his senior year at Wabash, he was selected as the best basketball player in the USA. But Bill's chief legacy to golf has been a series of strong if under-appreciated courses, most of therm in the Midwest. Recognized as an outstanding golf course architect, he designed approximately 300 layouts, beginning with Ulen Country Club in Lebanon, Indiana. Bill was one of the founders and a Charter Member of the American Society Of Golf Course Architects." Diddel designed most of his golf courses in the Midwest, three of them in Michigan; theForest Lake Country Club (1926) in Bloomfield Hills, The Otsego Club in Gaylord and The Summit Course, here at Shanty Creek in Bellaire. Schuss Mountain is one of Warner Bowen's creations. I have not met Bowen, but I did have a memorable interview over the phone one day. He is a bulldozer guy, who liked to do a course a year, doing most everything himself. Jobs just seemed to come to him, so he never got in to promoting himself. Here is his Michigan body of work : Alpena Country Club, Alpena Golf Club, Benona Shores Golf Course , Cedar Creek Golf Course, Dearborn Hills Golf Course, Double R Ranch Resort and Golf , Glenkerry Golf Course, Holland Lake Golf Course, Midday at Centennial Acres , Prairiewood Golf Course , Rogue River Golf Course , Rolling Hills Golf Estates, Sunrise at Centennial Acres, Sunset at Centennial Acres and The Schuss Mountain Golf Course at Shanty Creek Resort. Schuss Mountain was considered one of Michigan's most beautiful courses, prior to the building boom we had in the 80's 90's and the early part of this century. The course that really put Shanty Creek on the golf map was The Legend, an Arnold Palmer design, with major assistance from the equally legendary Ed Seay. With the opening of The Legend and The Bear at the Grand Traverse, Michigan's golf building boom began, and suddenly up north golf was hot. The Legend is a terrific golf course on a undulating piece of ground. It has grabbed its share of awards, 4 1/2 stars by Golf Digest, being one of them. The final course in Shanty Creek's foursome of golf, is the Cedar River Golf Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf. It too has attracted its share of writers and photographers that capture the beauty of the course with prose and pictures. The course has garnered its share of awards, one being a "Top 100 Golf Course in the Country" by Golf Magazine. Stultz indicated that their bookings are up over 20% for May and June, with July and August looking strong, as well. They have had some special pricing which has proved to be very attractive to value conscious golfers. Shanty Creek has a new webste, that will give you all kinds of helpful information along with some great golf deals. http://shantycreek.com It is still a little dusty here and there as workmen continue their make over. For years, their signature greeting has been, "It's a beautiful day at Shanty Creek". The beauty is back big time and once more the staff has had a make over of their own, as the place is getting all gussied up. **** The event format requires golfers to be grouped in teams, with no limit to the number of participants on a team. Each team strategically places its golfers on the tee boxes, in all possible landing areas along the fairway, and around the greens. The timer begins once the opening tee-ball is struck, with golfers in the fairway running to hit the ball as soon as it comes to rest. As golfers on the green sink the putt, a player on the next hole immediately hits the next tee shot. Watch for our Michigan Golfer TV coverage later on in the day. Michigan Golfer Television will also be catching the action at this year's Tournament of Champions Pro-Am and Tournament of Champions. Our coverage starts at the Pro-Am reception on Friday night and then we switch to the Tournament on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. In a first for MG TV, we will be putting up a show on each day's action approximately two hours after the last putt has rattled in the cup for the day. Jack Berry, the recipient of the PGA Lifetime Journalism Award http://michigangolfer.tv/2007shows/jackberry/ , will be on hand to provide commentary on each day's action. In addition, Berry will interview some of the past champions of this storied event. The Tournament of Champions Pro-Am will be held at Boyne Mountain & Bay Harbor. Packages include three nights of lodging at Boyne Mountain, two rounds of tournament golf on The Alpine at Boyne Mountain and The Links/Quarry at Bay Harbor Golf Club with a PGA golf professional. The Tournament of Champions, a Michigan PGA sanctioned event, brings together the most diverse field of talented golfers in the state. Professionals, amateurs, males and females ranging in age from 14 to 84 compete against each other from various tees on The Alpine at Boyne Mountain. Format is 54 holes of stroke play with a cut after the first 36 holes. Past champions of major tournaments from around the state qualify to play in this event. For details and entry information visit http://www.michigan.pga.com . Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to interview Ken Devine about how he and Steve Kircher started the tournament. You can catch this history at http://youtube.com/watch?v=2flCPqmkbtY =============================== May June July August September ======================================================================= “I have known Emily for over 15 years and had always thought she would make a great college coach,” Goss said of Fletcher’s hiring. “I am especially impressed with her background and relationships in professional golf. Our goal is to attract women who want to pursue golf with the goal of playing professionally. Emily has a strong belief in what Northwestern University and our golf programs stand for. I have no doubt she will lead us toward our goal of being the top team in the Big Ten and a consistently top-20 program.” A 1987 graduate of Ferris State University, Fletcher was an AIAW Division II All-American in 1981. She has been a PGA member since 1987 and was named as the reader’s favorite instructor in Golf For Women magazine in 1997. “These are exciting times in women’s athletics at Northwestern,” Fletcher said. “We’re eager to put women’s golf on the same level as softball, lacrosse, tennis and the other women’s programs at Northwestern. The bar has been set by some of these other programs, and I’m excited for us to achieve at the same level.” Fletcher replaces Chris Regenberg, who announced in September she was stepping down after serving 16 years as the program’s only head coach. Taken and edited from an article in the Chicagoland Newshole http://chicagolandgolf.com/thenewshole/ Thanks and a Tip of the Tam to Jack Berry for this birdie. ==================== We also see that Charlevoix Country Club is up for sale and that sealed bids will be opened on Wednesday, June 25. For those interested, you can contact The Links of Birch Run Golf Course, a now closed 27-hole executive golf course located on I-75, will be sold onsite May 22, with opening bids to start at $100,000. This course is offered by Williams & Williams contact: tanya.feazell@willliamsauction.com Eagle Beach Golf Club in Alanson is up for sale according to Jane Elbert, of Countryside Realty, Inc. Larry Mancour was the designer and Bob Shorter was at one time the general manager. If interested you can get with Elbert at candj1@centurytel.net ============================================= The initial membership fee for the tour is $100, the cost for a single day event is $50 and two day events are $100. The tour will consist of seven (7) single day events, three (3) two-day 36-hole events and a season ending 36-hole Tour Championship at The Fortress in Frankenmuth, Michigan. A Player of the Year will be awarded in each age division for boys and girls. Age divisions will consist of boys and girls ages thirteen (13) to fifteen (15) and ages sixteen (16) to eighteen (18). The boy and girl winners in the sixteen (16) to eighteen (18) division of the season ending Tour Championship will each earn an exemption into an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event. In addition, all of the 36 - hole events will be nationally ranked on National Junior Golf Scoreboard, www.njgs.com . Osprey Recreational Properties have committed to the scholarship program that will provide scholarships to graduating seniors in 2008. Information and online registration can be obtained at the official website of the Michigan PGA at http://www.michigan.pga.com ================================ Proceeds will benefit the Inforum Center for Leadership (ICL), a non-profit organization that conducts research and offers highly regarded leadership development programs that allow women to challenge themselves and reach the next level in their careers. For details or to register for the Inforum Golf Classic in Southeast Michigan or Mid-Michigan/Lansing, visit http://www.inforummichigan.org or call 877.633.3500. ================================= Echoing the adage of sports psychologists to just enjoy the competition, Fouch credited a relaxed attitude for her breakthrough week. “Honestly, I didn't stop smiling this week; I enjoyed it so much. Some people may think I'm crazy, but I had so much fun playing there and my golf followed suit.” In a quick check of the records online, Fouch’s T-2 finish is the best LPGA tournament result ever by a West Michigan woman golfer on the LPGA tour. Ionia’s Sue Ertl --who played in the ‘80s and early ‘90s—once finished 4th in the LPGA Championship. The last victory by a Michigan native on the LPGA Tour was in 1999 by Kelly Robbins of Mt. Pleasant who won the HealthSouth Inaugural Meanwhile, the windy conditions and the difficulty of the Players Course made for riveting theatre on Sunday at the Players Championship. Hey, did you notice Tiger didn’t play? Watching the world’s best players tackle the Pete Dye-designed course under those trying conditions and with major-like pressure upon them made for terrific television. And the story lines of journeyman Paul Goydos, rising star Jeff Quinney and especially Sergio Garcia were all compelling. But if the Players really wants to be a major then it ought to revise its playoff format. One windblown shot on the 17th hole should not decide a championship. Yes, Garcia had to hit the same shot and it too could have gone into the water but a fairer way to determine a winner is an aggregate score playoff of several holes, as done in the British Open and the PGA. Of course, this more equitable format flies in the face of the television-dog-wagging the Tour-tail and organizers who want to end the event in a timely fashion. A three-hole playoff would require the Tour to move up the starting times by at least an hour or more on Sunday to allow for the extra playoff time. But doing so would not only be more fitting for this “fifth major,” it would seem to be in the best interest of the competition and the players themselves. It is the Players Championship, right? ========================================================================================= Walters, 58, will be honored in a ceremony in conjunction with the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich. The award presentation will be conducted Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Max M. Fisher Music Center. The PGA Distinguished Service Award is the Association's highest annual honor. "Dennis Walters' courage and determination to rebound from a life-changing tragedy is one of the remarkable success stories in sports," said PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb. "When told that he would never be able to return to the game, Dennis took that as a personal challenge. "For the past 34 years, Dennis has demonstrated to thousands across the country that you must never abandon your dreams. The PGA of America is proud to bestow the PGA Distinguished Service Award on Dennis Walters, a man who remains one of our generation's great ambassadors of the game." Elected to PGA Honorary Membership in 1992, Walters has taken the Dennis Walters Golf Show to 49 states, covering more than 2½ million miles and performing more than 2,600 programs for audiences of all ages. "I am extremely humbled by this award, the significance being that it comes from my peers in golf," said Walters. "It is the highest recognition that you may receive. I feel that one of my responsibilities is to grow the game of golf. I enjoy introducing golf to youngsters, encouraging them to continue and never give up their dreams. They are the future of golf." On July 21, 1974, at Roxiticus Golf Club in Mendham, N.J., while attempting to meet friends on the course, Walters was thrown from a golf cart and suffered severe spinal cord damage. The accident left him a paraplegic. After his release from a hospital and ensuing months of therapy, Walters began practicing hitting golf balls from a wheelchair. With the help of his father, a swivel seat was mounted on a golf cart with a seat belt. He began to develop his talents in trick shots, having watched film of legendary Joe Kirkwood and attending an exhibition by Paul Hahn Jr. In 1977, Walters gave a performance at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. That performance ignited Walters' new-found career, generating countless contacts within the golf industry. As he developed his stage repertoire and polished a message of hope, Walters also added a pet co-star for his traveling show. His third trusty sidekick, nicknamed Benji Hogan, was rescued by Walters from the Miami-Dade Animal Shelter in 1996, and soon became a major attraction. Benji Hogan would bark answers to mathematical and sports trivia questions, and the terrier mix became the darling of past presidents, Hollywood stars and athletes - once defeating Tiger Woods in a foot race. On May 1, Benji Hogan passed away due to cancer. The PGA Distinguished Service Award, inaugurated in 1988, honors outstanding individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf. PGA Distinguished Service Award Recipients 1988 Herb Graffis 1998 Paul Runyan Takens and edited from a PGA Julius Mason release Editor's Note: We had the opportunity to interview both Dennis and his dog Benji when he was touting his book, "In My Dreams I Walk With You", for Clocktower Press back in 2003. It is worth a look The Michigan Golf Vault and Time Machine http://michigangolfer.tv/2003shows/clocktower/index.html ========================================= As Lead Instructor within Crystal’s Junior Golf Academy, Schriber will work with a range of students from beginner level to those in the Junior Elite program which has produced three of the last six Michigan Amateur champions. He will also continue working with high profile professionals like Anthony Kim and Candie Kung. Kim, the winner of this past weekend’s PGA Tour Wachovia Championship, stands fourth in FedEx Cup points and fifth in the Ryder Cup standings. Candie Kung is currently among the top 30 money winners on the LPGA Tour. Taken and edited from a Crystal Mountain release Brian Lawson ============================ Editor's Note: No, Larry we missed it. Go Spartans *** With the Big Ten title, the Spartans are riding a wave of five-straight top-five finishes and have totaled eight in 11 events this season, including two wins. Individually, the Spartans have five titles, led by four from senior Ryan Brehm, who set a new single-season record in wins. Michigan State has had great depth all season, as five MSU golfers have posted a top-three finish, while seven have finished among the top-10. Michigan State has appeared in the NCAA regionals in five of the last seven seasons and has totaled eight appearances dating back to 1992. The Spartans tied their best finish last season, finishing eighth to qualify for the NCAA Championship. The Spartans, who are currently ranked No. 20 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, are among the 27 schools selected to the east region, hosted by Tennessee-Chattanooga. Joining MSU is No. 2 Georgia, No. 9 Charlotte, No. 12 South Carolina, No. 13 Chattanooga, No. 14 Duke, No. 16 Auburn, No. 21 East Tennessee State, No. 28 UAB, No. 31 Mississippi, No. 32 NC State, No. 34 Virginia Tech, No. 38 Mississippi State, No. 45 North Florida, No. 47 Georgia State, No. 49 UC Irvine, No. 50 Augusta State, SMU, Middle Tennessee State, Coastal Carolina, Memphis, Virginia, Western Carolina, Colorado State, New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Jackson State. In all, 81 schools and 18 individuals were selected this afternoon, split among the west, east and central regions. The central region will be held at The Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, while the west is hosted at the Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash. Tee times and pairing for the three-day event will be released at a later date. The top-10 finishers from each region will advance to the 111th NCAA Championship, held on May 20-23 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. All-time, MSU has participated in 16 NCAA Championships. Taken and edited from a Spartan press release ============================== Owned and operated by the Hannahville Band of the Potawatomi Nation, the Island Resort & Casino and Sweetgrass are the launching points for a variety of upscale golf-experience choices. The Perfect 4-Some starts at $229 and includes three rounds of championship golf and two nights at the Island Resort & Casino.The three rounds can be played on any combination of the three courses and the rates are based on double occupancy in the Island Resort. "We can’t wait to hear what people think of the Island Resort & Casino and our new Sweetgrass Golf Club," says Island Resort & Casino General Manager Tom McChesney. “We believe they will discover an outstanding, upscale golf experience, and, with Greywalls and TimberStone, a rising star golf-and-resort destination.” Sweetgrass Golf Club is scheduled to be unveiled in early July. In the meantime, the Island Resort & Casino will host guests while they play the other featured courses. Golf course architect Paul Albanese paid homage to Tribal legend – directly and indirectly – via design features at Sweetgrass. The name, itself, refers to an aromatic herb, a sacred plant, used in Indian peace and healing rituals, and is found along the course. For more information on Sweetgrass Golf Club and Island Resort & Casino visit www.islandresortandcasino.com or call 800-682-6040, ext. 2125. ========================================== Attaining regular membership in ASGCA were Paul Albanese, Rick Baril, Grant Haserot, Greg Martin, Scot Sherman, Mike Smelek, Brit Stenson and Jason Straka. Associate members of ASGCA have each designed at least five 18-hole golf courses and have practiced golf course architecture for a minimum of eight years, though the average member has more than 20 years experience and dozens of golf courses to his or her credit. Regular membership in ASGCA is earned after a member has been an Associate member in good standing for at least three years and has designed and seen through to opening two additional 18-hole golf courses. Taken and edited from an Aileen Smith ASGCA release ================================== ============================================================= =============================== JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER ================== ================================================================= HomePage | Calendar of Events | News | Tournaments Course Reviews | Destinations | Warm Weather & Out of State Golf About Us | Contact Us | Michigan Golf History | Past Issues Michigan Golfer TV | Michigan Runner TV | Michigan Skier TV | Michigan Travel TV Comments to artmccaf@glsp.com Copyright © Great Lakes Sports Publications, Inc. |