Michigan Golf News June 16, 2006 Vol. 6, No. 24
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BAY MILLS RESORT AND CASINO/WILD BLUFF GOLF COURSE Video: 2005 Bay
Mills Open Players Tournament Preview -with Rob Lussenhof http:
//www.michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/baymillsopenpreview/
OTSEGO CLUB & RESORT-GAYLORD
Golf Packages http://otsegoclub.com/allpackages.php
SHANTY CREEK RESORT & CLUB
Golf Packages http://www.shantycreek.com/golf/package.html
DESIGN YOUR OWN IRELAND GOLFING GETAWAY
Click on - http://www.sullivangolf.ie/quoteform.html
Sullivan Golf & Travel The Ireland Golf Travel Specialist
IN GAYLORD, GOLF THE NATURAL: A JERRY MATTHEWS COURSE
Video: http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/natural/
Golf Packages http://golfthenatural.com
Edited by Art McCafferty-Producer/Publisher, GLSP
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__/ MICHIGAN AND THE U.S. OPEN
__/ MICHIGAN GOLFER-TV
Chuck Kocsis-The Best There Ever Was
Bucks Run Golf Course
__/ SCOTT HEBERT NAMED GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT & SPA'S HEAD PROFESSIONAL
__/ GOT DOAK?
__/ NATIONAL GOLF FOUNDATION: GOLF ROUNDS UP FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2006
__/ HILTON GARDEN INN CHAIN PARTNERS WITH 330 GOLF COURSE IN U.S. AND
CANADA TO OFFER FREE ROUNDS
__/ DELTA BEGINS NONSTOP TRAVERSE CITY ATLANTA SERVICE
__/ WINGED FOOT GOES LONG
__/ CHOK RADIO SHOW THIS FRIDAY WILL FOCUS ON CHUCK KOCSIS, BOYNE'S
MONUMENT COURSE AND THE U.S. OPEN
__/ WHO IS THE BOSS
__/ MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION COURSE PREVIEWS
__/ ACKERMAN EARNS SPOT IN U.S. SENIOR OPEN
__/ HICKORY OPEN TO BE PLAYED AT BELVEDERE ON JUNE 30 AND 31
__/ SUMMER EDITION: MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE ONLINE-PREVIEW
__/ 2006 MICHIGAN GOLF CALENDAR
__/ ASSOCIATION LINKS
__/ MICHIGAN GOLFER ONLINE RESOURCES
***
MICHIGAN AND THE U.S. OPEN
Michigan Based Player Michael Harris, University of Michigan player, that lives in Royal
Oak. Had career year in 2005, winning the Bay Mills Open, Michigan Open
and Tournament of Champions.
List of Past U.S. Opens Played and the winners at Oakland Hills CC
1924 Cyril Walker
1937 Ralph Guldahl
1951 Ben Hogan
1961 Gene Littler
1985 Andy North
1996 Steve Jones
List of Past Champions with a Michigan tie
1906 Alex Smith Onwentsia Club
1910 Alex Smith Philadelphia Cricket C.
1914 Walter Hagen Midlothian C.C.
1919 Walter Hagen Brae Burn C.C.
1960 Arnold Palmer Cherry Hills C.C.
1962 Jack Nicklaus Oakmont C.C.
1965 Gary Player Bellerive C.C.
1967 Jack Nicklaus Baltusrol G.C.
1972 Jack Nicklaus Pebble Beach G.L.
1980 Jack Nicklaus Baltusrol G.C.
1986 Raymond Floyd Shinnecock Hills G.C.
Alex Smith designed Wawashkamo on Mackinac Island
Walter Hagen retired to Northern Michigan. He was also involved in the
design of Dearborn Hills GC (recently revamped by Warner Bowen )
and Lakeview Hills in Lexington.
Arnold Palmer designed The Legend at Shanty Creek, Northville Hills,
The Ravines, The Preserve and King's Challenge.
Jack Nicklaus designed The Tournament Players Club of Michigan and The
Bear at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
Gary Player designed The Wolverine at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
Raymond Floyd designed Captain's Table in Grand Blanc
***
MICHIGAN GOLFER-TV
Chuck Kocsis-The Best There Ever Was
http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/kocsis/
In March of 2003, our Michigan Golfer Television host, Bill Shelton and
reporter Jack Berry sat down with Chuck Kocsis to discuss some of his
golfing memories. In iight of the passing of Mr. Kocsis, argueably one
of the greatest amateur players of all time, we bring this interview to
you. Mr. Kocsis talks about his early career, the types of clubs he
used, modern age golf and his thoughts about Sarazen, Shead, Nelson,
Palmer, Hagen and Tiger. We open the interview with Jack Berry on the
17th tee of The Monument Golf Course at Boyne Mountain. The 17th was
chosen by Chuck Kocsis as his favorite hole on The Monument and has a
plaque there describing his achievements.
The Monument at Boyne Mountain was opened in 1984 and was designed
by Bill Newcomb. The course pays tribute to some of America's top golfers
with special bronze plaques embedded in boulders at each hole.
Those holes selected thus far.
* Hole # 1 The Byron Nelson
* Hole # 2 The "Chick" Harbert
* Hole # 3 The Peggy Kirk Bell
* Hole # 5 The Walter Hagen
* Hole # 6 The Paul Runyan
* Hole # 7 The Jim Flick
* Hole # 9 The J.P. McCarthy
* Hole # 10 The Kathy Whitworth
* Hole # 10 The Glenn Johnson
* Hole # 11 The Gene Sarazen
* Hole # 14 The Bobby Jones
* Hole # 16 The Everett Kircher
* Hole # 17 The Chuck Kocsis
* Hole # 18 The Sam Snead
On June 20, the 95th Michigan Amateur will be played on the Heather at
Boyne Highlands. Chuck Kocsis won the Michigan Amateur a total of six
times, a record that may stand forever. We presented Chuck Kocsis
accomplishments two weeks ago after his passing, but the list is so
awesome, we thought we would run it again. The list was prepared by the GAM
staff, Tonia Branch and Susan Smiley.
International Seniors champion 1970, ’73, ’83, ’88
U.S. National Open Seniors champion 1969, ’70, 79
U.S. Amateur Runner Up 1956
Low amateur at the 1952 Masters
Low amateur at the U.S. Open 1934, ’37
Member of Walker Cup Team 1938, ’49, ’57
NCAA Champion 1936
Big Ten champion in 1934 and ‘35
Michigan Open champion 1931 (beat Tommy Armour in a playoff), ’45, ‘46
Michigan Medal Play champion 1955, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62
Golf Association of Michigan champion 1932, ‘33
Michigan state amateur champion in 1930, ’33, ’34, ’37, ’48, ‘51
Michigan High School champion 1928, ‘29
Michigan state junior champion 1927, ‘28
Michigan’s Golfer of the 20th Century, Golf Association of Michigan,
2003
Inducted Michigan Sports Hall of Fame 1974
Inducted University of Michigan Golf Hall of Fame 1979
Inducted Michigan Golf Hall of Fame 1982
http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/kocsis/
Bucks Run
Jim Zeh, GM of Bucks Run, introduces Bucks Run to our audience and
then invites architect, Jerry Matthews to describe his thoughts while
building this stunning beauty. Once again, our deft video editor, Joe
Yunkman, brings another masterpiece to the Internet and computer screens
everywhere.
http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/bucksrun/
***
SCOTT HEBERT NAMED GRAND TRAVERSE RESORT'S HEAD PROFESSIONAL
Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, near Traverse City, Mich. has named
five-time Michigan Open Champion Scott P. Hebert, to the position of Head
Golf Professional. Hebert is a Class A PGA Professional and a member of
the Titleist golf staff. In his new position, he will be responsible
for assisting with the management of the daily golf operation, including
group golf events, and ensuring the finest golf experience for guests
and club members.
Most recently, Hebert was an Assistant Professional at Sunnybrook
Country Club in Grandville, since 2001. From 1998-2001 he played on the
Nationwide Tour and the NGA Tour. In 1997-1998 he was employed at Grand
Traverse Resort & Spa as an Assistant Professional.
Hebert won Michigan Open Championships in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and
2002. Only Al Watrous has more Michigan Open wins at six. Hebert's
other achievements include winning the Chicago Open, the Michigan State
Assistant Championship, Michigan Pro-Assistant Championship, and the
Northern Michigan PGA Chapter Championship, all in 1998. While playing on
the NGA Tour in 1999, he won the San Antonio Championship and Tunica
Championship. From 1993 to 1996, Hebert was lead instructor at the VIP
Golf Academy in Sebring, Fla. He received a bachelor's degree in
business management from Ferris State University in Big Rapids.
Hebert will play in this year's Michigan Open, June 26-29. Grand
Traverse Resort & Spa has been the home of the Michigan Open Championship
since 1981.
Submitted by J. Michael DeAgostino - public relations manager
Editor's Note: The Michigan Golfer Television Show was there at the
2002 Michigan Open, when Scott Hebert hit "The Shot" that helped him win
his 4th Michigan Open. Join our host Bill Shelton and reporter Greg
Johnson as they bring you the results and excitement of those final holes
on The Bear.
http://michigangolfer.tv/2002shows/show20/index.html
***
GOT DOAK?
Monday's edition of the Wall Street Journal had a half page story on
Michigan golf architect, Tom Doak. The story entitled, "Cult Classic:
Tom Doak's book of course reviews is coveted by golfers-in part because
he pulls no punches," will continue to add to the status that Doak has
throughout the world. Doak's first book, "The Confidential Guide to
Golf Courses, " , started off as notes on the golf courses he visited
during his college days at Cornell. He got a $5,000g grant and spent a
year looking at courses in Scotland, Ireland and Australia. The number
os courses in the book grew, until he finally printed off some copies
for friends and other interested parties. I first saw and read from the
book in the late 80's when Dave Richards, Paul Beachnau and I invited a
group of golf magazine editors from all over the United States to spend
a week in Michigan. Richards had a dog eared copy of the book and
shared it with Bob Thomas of Fore Magazine, Richard Sink of the Caro
lina Golfer, Mike Collins from the Ohio Golfer, Tim Pade from the
Colorado and others. Pretty soon Richards was reading exerts out loud and
the editors and writers were howling. The book was to say the least,
extremely candid. I think everybody had their hand on that book that
night. Even thought the book was tough on a lot of courses, many writers
were in agreement.
Anyway, if you had a copy of the first edition of the book, you could
ask for a thousand dollars for a first edition and probably get it. John
Sabino of Valuable Book Group in Princeton N.J. is a collector asking
for $950. A copy of the Sleeping Bear Press edition that came out in
1996 for $45, will now fetch $250. We mentioned this article to Skip
Dewall, now of the Ann Arbor Media Group and formerly of Sleeping Bear
Press. He indicated that he had sold an original copy for $500 and a
Sleeping Bear Press copy for $500.
***
WINGED FOOT GOES LONG
LONGEST HOLES IN U.S OPEN HISTORY
• 642 yards 5th at Southern Hills, 2001
• 640 yards 12th at Winged Foot, 2006
• 630 yards 16th at Olympic Club, 1955
• 630 yards 17th at Baltusrol, 1980
• 623 yards 17th at Baltusrol, 1967
LONGEST PAR 4s IN U.S. OPEN HISTORY
• 514 yards 9th at Winged Foot, 2006
• 499 yards 12th at Bethpage, 2002
• 496 yards 9th at Olympia Fields, 2003
• 492 yards 10th at Bethpage, 2002
• 492 yards 16th at Pinehurst No. 2, 2005
ENDURING QUOTE After the first round of the 1974 Open where no player
broke par and only Gary Player managed an ever-par 70, Frank "Sandy"
Tatum, chair of the USGA championship committee, was asked in a press
briefing if he and the USGA were out to embarrass the best golfers in the
world. "No. we're trying to identify them," he replied.
Taken from a USGA Release
***
CHOK RADIO SHOW THIS FRIDAY WILL FOCUS ON CHUCK KOCSIS, BOYNE'S
MONUMENT COURSE AND THE U.S. OPEN
The CHOK Golf Radio show with Tom Gibson, will feature golfing great
Chuck Kocsis, his life and his plaque at The Monument Golf Course at
Boyne Mountain. The Michigan segment of the show, will also get into the
U.S. Open and some of the thrills the event has given our state. Don't
forget to dial into 1070, CHOK radio, from 11:05 to noon every Friday.
http://chok.com
***
WHO IS THE BOSS
In my hand I hold a ball
White and dimpled, rather small
Oh, how bland it does appear
This harmless looking little sphere
By it’s size I could not guess
The awesome power it does possess
But since I fell beneath its spell
I’ve wandered through the fires of hell
My life has not been quite the same
Since I chose to play this game
It rules my mind for hours on end
A fortune it has made me spend
It has made me curse and cry
I hate myself and want to die
It promises a thing called par
If I can hit it straight and far
To master such a tiny ball
Should not be hard at all
But, my desires the ball refuses
And does exactly as it chooses
It hooks and slices, dribbles and dies
Or disappears before my eyes
Often it will have a whim
To hit a tree or take a swim
With acres of grass on which to land
It finds a small patch of sand
Then has me offering up my soul
If only it would find the hole
It’s made me whimper like a pup
Even to swear to give it up
And take to drink to ease my sorrow
Oh, the ball knows…I’ll be back tomorrow
Thanks and a Tip of the Tam to Ken Kapcia of Handicomp for this
lovely.
***
NATIONAL GOLF FOUNDATION: GOLF ROUNDS UP FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2006
With an 8.0% increase in rounds played in April 2006 vs. April 2005,
the National Golf Foundation reported a 9% increase in rounds played for
the first four months of 2006. The reporting is based on data from
operators at 1,835 golf facilities.
For the full year 2005, rounds played were down 0.1%.
Year-to-date, regions experiencing the largest positive swings were the
Northeast (+39.5%), Mid-Atlantic (+22.9%) and Upper Midwest (+19.7%).
Only the Northwest (-9.9%), which had experienced above normal
precipitation in the Jan-Feb timeframe, showed a y-t-d decline.
Year-to-date, play at premium public courses (those with peak season
weekend green fees with cart above $70) rose 4.0%. At value courses
(those with peak season weekend green fees with cart below $40), rounds
played rose 9.9%. At standard courses ($40-70), play was up 9.4%.
At all public courses, rounds played were up 0.1% for 2005;
year-to-date 2006, up 9.1%. At private clubs, 2005 rounds played were down 1.0%;
year-to-date 2006, up 8.7%.
Taken and edited from the NSGA research newsletter
http://www.nsga.org
***
HILTON GARDEN INN CHAIN PARTNERS WITH 330 GOLF COURSE IN U.S. AND
CANADA TO OFFER FREE ROUNDS
By Roger Yu, USA TODAY
Taking a swing at attracting business travelers who can't stay away
from their golf game, Hilton Garden Inn has partnered with 330 golf
courses across the USA and Canada to offer free rounds.
The Garden Inn deal, which started in 2005 and has been renewed this
year, is unusual.
Hotel chains typically limit their involvement with golf to their own
courses at high-dollar resorts. Those courses are big draws for meetings
and conventions.
Generally, chains have shied away from tapping into individual business
travelers' lust for golf. Business travelers tend to be in a hurry to
get to their next stop or to return home.
But 13,000 Garden Inn guests used their vouchers in 2005, and the
mid-price chain thinks it has a winner.
More
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2006-06-12-hotel-golf-usat_x.htm
***
DELTA BEGINS NONSTOP TRAVERSE CITY ATLANTA SERVICE
Delta Airlines will begins service from Atlanta to Traverse City on
June 17. Bob Courtelyou, Delta’s vice president for planning, said the
move is part of a general strategy to open seasonal routes to popular
summer destinations. “Delta is responding to strong passenger demand for
convenient service to some of the country’s most popular summer leisure
markets,” said Courtelyou. “Interest in visiting the beaches and biking
and hiking trails of Traverse City increases in the summer months.”
Brad Van Dommelen, president of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors
Bureau, said he hopes the expanded air service will make it more
convenient for Southerners to escape summer’s heat and humidity for the cool
woods, clear lakes and championship golf courses that have made
Traverse City such a favorite with Midwestern vacationers.
“Once we get people up here, we know they’ll fall in love with this
place,” he said. “Everybody does.”
Taken and edited from a Traverse City CVB release-Mike Norton
http://delta.com
***
MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION PREVIEWS
Bucks Run Golf Club
http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/bucksrun/
Hawk's Eye Golf Club
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/hawkseye/
Pheasant Run Golf Course
http://michigangolfer.tv/2002shows/show19/index.html
Rose Creek Golf Club
http://michigangolfer.tv/2004shows/rosecreek/index.html
The Bull at Pinehurst
http://michigangolfer.tv/2003shows/thebull/index.html
The Loon Golf Club
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/Loon/index.html
The Majestic at Lake Walden
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/majestic/
The Natural Golf Course
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/natural/
Timberstone Golf Club
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/timberstone/
True North Golf Club
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/truenorth/
Wild Bluff Golf Club
http://baymillsopen.com/video05.html
Natural Course Design
http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/jerrymatthews/
***
ACKERMAN EARNS SPOT IN U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Congrats to Bob Ackerman for winning a spot on the U.S. Open that is to
be held at Prairie Dunes CC in Kansas. Ackerman survived a five hole
playoff at Great Oaks CC to win the only slot open. Ackerman had
finished 46th in the U.S. Open at Merion in 1981. The U.S. Open begins on
July 9.
Taken from an article by Carlos Monarrez in the Detroit Free Press,
June 10.
http://freep.com
***
HICKORY OPEN TO BE PLAYED AT BELVEDERE ON JUNE 30 AND 31
The storied Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevox, will host the lastest
installment of the Hickory Open. Belvedere was designed in 1927 by Willie
Watson, and was the home of the Michigan Amateur on 39 occasions.
The $240 entry fee includes one practice round. Participation will be
limited to 36.
Contact ralph@hickorygolf.com
Web: http://www.belvederegolfclub.com
*Editor's Note: We did a show
with Gary Wiren at last year's site, The Kingsley Club
Video: http://michigangolfer.tv/2006shows/wiren/
***
MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION UPCOMING SHOWS
Jack Berry's Ireland Golf Part IV
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/golfireland/
Tom Doak and Jack Nicklaus Design Sebonak
The Tribute at Otsego Club
Arnold Palmer's-The Legend at Shanty Creek Resort
The Michigan Amateur at The Heather Course at Boyne Highlands
The 2nd Annual Native American Cup
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/nativeamericancup/
The 2nd Annual League Championship Series
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/majestic/
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/mgcoaleaguetournament/
Harbor Point Golf Club - A history of one of Michigan's oldest golf courses
Upper Peninsula Golf - A Tour of Greywalls, Chocolay Downs and
Timberstone
***
SUMMER EDITION: MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE ONLINE-PREVIEW
Chuck Kocsis-The Best There Ever Was-by Jack Berry
Jack Berry reflects on the past achievements of Michigan's greatest
golfer
The 95th Michigan Amateur-by Jack Berry
The Michigan Amateur shares the spotlight with The Heather at Boyne
Highlands. The Heather, the course that launched Northern Michigan
golf, is 40 this year.
Michigan Golfer Television: The First Five Years and 250 Courses-by Art
McCafferty
New Courses:
The Ambassador Club-by Thad Gutowski
Golf architect, Thomas McBroom, adds another course notch on his belt
Beeches Golf Club: The latest from W.Bruce Matthews III and his
Matthews Golf Design firm.- by Kelly Hill
W. Bruce Mathews III: Small Budgets, Big Courses
Matthews Golf Design still has work. Although the golf building boom
has fizzled, Matthews Golf Design keeps pumping out courses.
Michigan Golf Hall of Fame: Class of 2005-by Jack Berry
Jack Berry, a Hall of Fame member himself, chronicles this classy
class.
Slice of Life-The DeVicenzo Code, The Movie - by Terry Moore
Terry Moore revisits the mystery of the DeVicenzo and Goalby Masters
Readership of the Michigan Golfer Ezine averaged 9,789 per issue in
2005.
http://www.webgolfer.com/
***
MICHIGAN TOURNAMENTS
http://michigangolfer.
com/tournaments.html
***
2006 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
***
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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