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August 5, 2005, Vol. 5, No. 32
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/
SHANTY CREEK RESORT & CLUB
Golf Packages http://www.shantycreek.com/golf/package.html
Web:http://www.shantycreek.com/golf/package.html
MARSH RIDGE & THE NATURAL-TWO GAYLORD LEGENDS NOW STAY AND PLAY
Stay-Marsh Ridge Web: http://MARSHRIDGE.COM/pages/942232/index.htm
Play-The Natural Video: http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/natural/
OTSEGO CLUB & RESORT-GAYLORD
Home of the 54 Hole Blowout Golf Package
Web: http://otsegoclub.com
TREETOPS RESORT
Web: http://treetops.com
Golf Packages http://treetops.com/golf_rates.php
Edited by Art McCafferty-Producer/Publisher, GLSP
http://glsp.com
Newsletter Weekly Circulation -10,230+
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CONTENTS
__/ GALLERY GAWKING AT THE WESTERN AMATEUR-by Scott Sullivan
__/ MG ON THE ROAD
Au Gres-Huron Breeze
Benton Harbor-Point O'Woods
Fenton - Tyrone Hills
Grand Blanc-Warwick Hills
Grayling-Grayling CC
Canada
Komoka-Fire Rock
Niagara-Falling Waters
__/ MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION
The "Haig" Visits Traverse City-with Bill Shelton and Mike
McCafferty
Tony Jacklin and The Concession Golf Course -with Vanessa Bell
__/ TENNESSEE GOLF SHOW
__/ PUBLIC TEAM WINS FOUNDERS TRUST CHALLENGE
__/ SHANTY CREEK YIELDS A SLEW OF JULY HOLE IN ONES
__/ NEW FROM AAMG-"THE BOOK OF GOLFERS"
__/ FRED REEDER PLAYS IN HIS FIRST U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
__/ GOLF ROUNDS PLAYED: THE GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS-NGF
__/ MICHIGAN GOLF RADIO -JOHN DALY VS. NIAGARA FALLS
__/ UPCOMING SHOWS ON MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION
__/ ARCHIVES-MICHIGAN GOLFER
__/ CALENDAR OF GOLF EVENTS
__/ TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES
__/ ASSOCIATION LINKS
__/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/
GALLERY GAWKING AT THE WESTERN AMATEUR
By Scott Sullivan
I admitted I was powerless over golf 30 years ago.
There were relapses. Now and then I would whack a bucketful with my old steel-shafted clubs, tune in telecasts to inflame the sense of transport the sport gave me, even play rounds of mini-golf to see if my only gift ‹ for bouncing balls off the spinning windmill blade ‹ had deserted me.
But play real golf? View a tournament firsthand? The thought triggered memories of 12-step programs and 12-stroke holes. There are only recovering golfaholics.
³If you start me up, I¹ll never stop,² the Rolling Stones sang ... and keep singing. Same with golf and me. Visions of myself clinging to a mashie, like Mick to a microphone or Keith to his sunburst Gibson till we are all older than Methuselah were, ewww ... Don¹t make a grown man cry.
Still, 30 years? Surely I had licked this. So when the chance came to view the 103rd Western Amateur at Point O¹ Woods Golf and Country Club July 30, I decided to prove golf had no more grip on me. It was only a Tiger Woods drive from home, the sun was shining, the weather perfect. This would be a watershed, not my Waterloo, I felt sure.
My confidence began withering upon entering what designer Robert Trent Jones called ³perhaps my best American golf course.² One minute you¹re cruising the Red Arrow Highway near Benton Harbor, the next you¹re in Wonderland, where fairways are like greens, greens like magic carpets. Bunkers, shaped like amoebas or Rorschach inkblots, hold sand so white it has to be manufactured.
Sentinel trees dwarfed two-man armies ‹ golfers and caddies, advancing on pins ‹ framed by mirror ponds and hallucinatory blooms that seemed to radiate their own light.
God grant me the serenity Š
Cathedral silences were broken by twittering birds as lean-jawed athletes under ball caps addressed balls aggressively, swung and, CLINK! sent them shooting rocket-like toward feathery, soft-plunk landings.
I was one with the gallery, whispering/murmuring speculations and second-guessing golfers whose toenails held more talent than I could hope for or even dream of, unless they cared to consult me on hitting windmill blades.
This was rapture. Rats. I had not worn a hat just in case this happened, thinking frying my brain would chase me back to the clubhouse, my car and life as a golf teetotaler ‹ Tees! ‹ free of pin-placement palpitations, compulsions to count dimples on my Dunlops and other obsessions that 30 years ago had plagued me Š but no such luck.
³The mind is a terrible thing to lose,² said Dan Quayle, a better golfer than politician. But to give up a game you love ‹ Davis Love! ‹ because it is driving you nuts, is crazy.
I accept this thing that I cannot change. Golf has a Vardon grip on my jugular. I stayed till the 22-hole match I had been following was complete, shadows swallowed paradise, and mowing crews came on to shave stray-grass whiskers and prepare the next day¹s perfection.
Why fight that?
*Note-Scott Sullivan is the Editor of The Michigan Runner
***
MG ON THE ROAD
Acme-Grand Traverse Resort &Spa
We featured Henry Boulley, Executive Director of the Native American
Cup, on our Michigan Talk Radio Golf Show last week. The new event, will
feature PGA Tour Professional Notah Begay III, who played at Stanford
and was the roommate of Tiger Woods while there. Begay has had some
physical problems and is currently working his way back onto the tour.
The Native American Cup will be played on Grand Traverse Resort and Spa's
three golf courses, The Bear, The Wolverine, and Spruce Run, August
12-14, 2005.
Au Gres-Huron Breeze GC
Greg Doll, PGA Professional at the course, is a recent addition to the
team at Huron Breeze. Greg spent some time at Atlas Valley, the Flint
Municipal Golf Courses and Dick's Sporting Goods before taking the
Huron Breeze job last year. Huron Breeze is a very special and attractive
golf facility. The course was designed by Jerry Matthews and is nicely
maintained by Greg Riley the Grounds Superintendent.
Benton Harbor-Point O'Woods-Western Am
The latest of a long string of great golf champions, was crowned this
past Sunday at the Western Amateur. Seventeen-year-old Jamie Lovemark
of Rancho Santee Fe, CA, joined such past Western Amateur champions as
Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw
in the winner's circle. Lovemark is one of the youngest players to win
at the Western Amateur.
Fenton-Tyrone Hills
Denis Husse has long been a fixture at this fine W. Bruce Matthews
course. Tyrone Hills also features a terrific junior golf program.
Grand Blanc-Warwick, Hills-Buick
Congrats to all at the Buick Open for another great tournament. They
had some killer weather, a killer field and golfing fireworks that only
V.J. Singh and Tiger could bring. Also kudos for the strong Michigan
contingent of Colby Beckstrom, Ryan Brehm, Bob Ackerman, Matt Seppanen,
Mark Black, David Ping, Jimmy Chestnut and Joe Pollack. Read about what
the Times of India had to say about the match.
More http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1188096.cms
Grayling
The Grayling CC grounds crew was still cleaning up after a violent
storm left many of their century old trees uprooted and waiting for the
chain saw to end their days. The course was doing some terrific business,
even though it was a canoeist weekend. The 58th Weyerhaeuser Canoe
Marathon was being held in Grayling. Chris Zuiker is the GM of Grayling
CC.
CANADA
Komoka-Fire Rock
We attended the opening of Fire Rock last year and had the opportunity
to meet one of Canada's finest architects, Thomas McBroom. As
architiects go, he designs primarily for the shot makers. He is an excellent
golfer and seems sensitive to how low handicappers approach a hole. Fire
Rock has matured quite nicely this past year. It has also added a
first rate clubhouse and and banquet facility to serve their outing and
banquet crowd. Jake Norris has taken over as the Director of Golf, having
spent some time honing his craft at otheer courses in the area. Fire
Rock is a nice course to to play on your way to Toronto or Niagara.
Their website is well done and has great directions to the course.
http://firerockgolf.com
Niagara-Thundering Waters
John Daly was in town to promote his latest golf course design effort,
Thundering Waters. One of his duties was to attempt to establish his
name in the Guinness Book of World Records, by driving a ball from Table
Rock on the Canadian side to Goat Island on the American side, a
distance of 355 yards. There were 5,000 people waiting to see this feat
occur, but had to settle for a result that was a cross between
Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and Stephan King's "The Fog".
After promoting his Dunlop driver and Dunlop balls, Daly promptly hit 20 shots in the drink. While he has the game to drive a ball 355 yards, his shots were seemingly beat down by the heavy mist that was omnipresent around the platform area. We could see and hear the explosiveness of Dunlop meeting Dunlop, but quickly lost sight of the ball in the heavy mist as it headed out to a spotter on the other side. The spotter, on camera, remarked that he saw nothing, but did hear one hit the cliffside below.. Sportsnet, the ESPN of Canada was on hand for the hour long telecast, and was milking it for all it was worth. Hooters was a sponsor and supplied a generous portion of Hooter girls. for those interested in such. Thundering Waters is scheduled to open in September, just in time to host a Canadian Tour event.
http://thunderingwaters.com
http://johndaly.com
***
MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION
"'The Haig'" Returns to Traverse City-with Bill Shelton and Walter
Hagen"
Walter Hagen has been in the news of late, as he is the next golf
legend that Tiger must pass on his way to pass Jack Nicklaus at 18. "The
Haig" won 11 Majors before he waved from the bridge and settled first in
Detroit and then at Long Lake, near Traverse City. Hagen was the
Keynoter for the participants of The Haig Golf Tournament in Traverse City.
Join "The Haig" as he reminisces about his philosophy of golf, his
triumphs, his retirement in Michigan and Arnold Palmer's visit to Traverse
City CC to honor him.
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/hagen/
"The Concession-with Tony Jacklin and Vanessa Bell"
Vanessa Bell, now touring in the European LPGA, chatted with one of her
country's most admired golfers, Tony Jacklin. The conversation centered
around, The Concession, a course he is designing with Jack Nicklaus. In
our show, Tony discusses the drama of that Ryder Cup match and the
events leading up to Jack Nicklaus conceding Jacklin's two-foot putt to
half the match for the first time.
http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/concession/
***
MICHIGAN TRAVEL INTERNET TELEVISION -AUGUST SHOWS
GRAYLING
58TH WEYERHAEUSER AUSABLE RIVER CANOE MARATHON WITH LARRY ROBERTS
http://michigantravel.tv/2005grayling/index.htm
MUNISING SHIPWRECKS, PICTURED ROCKS AND 17.76 KILOMETERS OF CHALLENGING ROADS AND TRAILS WITH SCOTT SULLIVAN AND JENNIE MCCAFFERTY
http://michigantravel.tv/2005munising/
***
TENNESSEE GOLF SHOW
Those fine folks that bring you the Lansing and Michigan Golf Shows are
taking their show on the road to Tennessee. The show is scheduled to
debut on March 3rd and run to the 5th. For info on the show, call
248-348-6942.
***
PUBLIC TEAM WINS FOUNDERS TRUST CHALLENGE
The inaugural Founders Trust Challenge concluded July 31 at Egypt
Valley Country Club in nearby Ada, Michigan, with a win by the Public Course
team over the Private Club side by the final score of 12-6. The
two-day, Ryder Cup-style event sponsored by Founders Trust Personal Bank
included many of Michigan¹s leading female amateur golfers, including
current or former players from such Division I universities as Michigan,
Michigan State, Louisville, Arizona State, Northwestern, Toledo, Western
Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Augusta State.
Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, the women's golf coach at Michigan State, led her team to victory in the two-day event over the team headed by Egypt Valley's Joan Garety. The Public squad built a big margin by moving out Saturday to a 5-1 lead in the team best-ball matches at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University. In Sunday¹s singles matches, the public squad won seven of the available twelve points.
Sunday's highlights included a 6 and 5 win by Slobodnik-Stoll over Sally Edwards, while private team captain Garety (a recent inductee into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame) downed Kelly Boogaard of Eastern Michigan University, 3 and 1.
For the public team, Ferris State University golfer Missy Ward holed an 80-yard wedge shot for her second eagle of the weekend on her way to a 4 and 3 win over Barb Schmid, while Grand Valley State University star Melissa Sneller (the current Division II individual champion) won 6 and 5 in her match against Marilyn Keigley.
For the private club team, Northwestern¹s Heather Scholten won the last two holes of her match to edge Sue Campbell, 1-up.
***
SHANTY CREEK YIELDS A SLEW OF JULY HOLE IN ONES
Shanty Creek has been a busy place for hole in one's last month. Here
is a listing of hole-in-one's for the month of July:
7/7 Terry Moffatt Birmingham, MI The Legend #12
7/7 Peter Moceri Sr. Brighton, MI Cedar River #14
7/8 Rozanne Kokko Troy, MI Summit Golf Club #3
7/8 Don Humphrey Boulder, CO Summit Golf Club #17
Rozanne and Don were partners at Summit Golf Club and both shot a
hole-in-one during their round!
7/22 Doug Cronnkhite Atlanta, MI Cedar River #17
7/30 Alan Dawson Bellaire, MI The Legend #12
7/31 Kathleen Scarano The Hills, TX The Legend #12
Submitted by Lindsey Southwell
***
NEW FROM AAMG-"THE BOOK OF GOLFERS"
Daniel Wexler has written a keeper with his latest, "The Book of Golfers² which is now being rolled out to the marketplace by AAMG or the Ann Arbor Media Group. Skip DeWall, formerly of Clock Tower Press and before that of Sleeping Bear Press, has been releasing some interesting products, this one of them. It is a biographic dictionary and 1300 names have made the cut. It is a great reference work and nice to have around if you want a quality short read. Some of the Michigan connected folks who made the cut are; Walter Burkemo, Leo Diegel, Gerald Ford, Walter Hagen, Chick Harbert, Dave Hill, Mike Hill, Chuck Kocsis, Joe Louis, Meg Mallon, Calvin Peete, Kellly Robbins, Dan Pohl, Samuel Ryder, Mike Souchak and Al Watrous.
More http://annarbormediagroup.com
***
FRED REEDER PLAYS IN HIS FIRST U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Point O' Woods PGA Golf Professional Fred Reeder played in his first
U.S. Senior Open Championship at the NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio,
July 28-29. Reeder shot a 71 in the sectional qualifier July 6 at
North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Illinois, to land one of only three
spots in a field of 93. Reeder's rounds of 78 & 84 didn't make the cut;
however, Reeder's caddie, former Western Amateur Tournament Chairperson Dennis
Mitchell, said they "had a blast," especially when they connected with
senior players, Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw-- all of whom
played in the Western Amateur Tournament earlier in their careers.
Meanwhile, Point O' Woods Golf and Country Club hosted the 103rd Western
Amateur Championship, July 27-31 in Benton Harbor.
Thanks and a Tip of the Tam to Jennie McCafferty for this article
***
GOLF ROUNDS PLAYED: THE GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS-NGF
Same-store rounds played in the U.S. increased marginally (0.2%) in
June 2005 vs. June 2004, based on data from operators at 1,663 golf
facilities. That brings the year-to-date total to a deficit of 1.1% vs. last
year. (Same-store rounds means, for example, that only facilities
reporting rounds for both June 2005 and June 2004 are included in results.)
The hardest hit region in June was Central/South Florida (down 12%), which experienced record rainfall. (Naples, Fla., broke the June rainfall total of 17.9 inches set in 1947.) Meanwhile, the South Central region was up 11%.
More http://www.roundsplayed.com
***
MICHIGAN GOLF RADIO --JOHN DALY VS. NIAGARA FALLS
HTTP://JOHNDALY.COM
Wednesdays at 1:35 pm with Tom Gibson on CHOK 1070, Sarnia, Ontario,
Canada http://chok.com
Fridays at 10:40 am with Shawn Peterson on the Michigan Talk Radio
Network http://www.michigantalkradio.net/
Fridays at 10:40 to 11:00 on MLive http://www.mlive.com/talkradio/
***
UPCOMING SHOWS ON MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION
Courses
Fox Run Country Club-Grayling
Grandview Golf Club-Kalkaska
The Tribute Golf Course-with Gary Koch, Rick Robbins and Keith
Gornick-Gaylord
Twin Birch Golf Club- Kalkaska
Tournament Coverage
Bay Mills Open-Bay Mills Casino and Resort-Brimley
Pepsi Fall Charity Invitational- Treetops Resort
MGCOA- 2005 Michigan Golf League Championship- Eagle's Eye GC
Destinations
Prince Edward Island
Grayling Golf
***
ARCHIVES-MICHIGAN GOLFER
Michigan Golfer Magazine-1996-Present
http://www.michigangolfer.com/#pastissues
Michigan Golf News-2003-Present
http://www.michigangolfer.com/news.html
Michigan Golfer Television-2001-Present
http://michigangolfer.tv/archives.html
***
MICHIGAN GOLF CALENDAR 2005
http://michigangolfer.com/calendar.html
***
MICHIGAN TOURNAMENTS
http://michigangolfer.com/tournaments.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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