Travel Michigan Golf

MGN ON THE ROAD

Hawk's Eye and The Chief

MGN ventured North to visit with Tom Rowe of Vacation Properties Network http://vacationpropertiesnetwork.net to check out the progress of the new Hawk's Eye course scheduled to open in 2002. http://hawks-eye.com Tom proved to be an excellent guide as we navigated some of the back nine holes, which will open first in 2002 and the front nine which is still being developed and will open in 2003.

Hawk's Eye will be yet another spectacular northern course and will firmly establish architect John Robinson as a known entity in this state. Robinson designed The Chief and also did some work on the new Skyline course in Grayling. Recently, Robinson has been named as one of the top 50 architects in the country. The Hawk's Eye course will only add to his reputation.

Shanty Creek

We stopped by to see the marketing guru of Shanty Creek, Barry Godwin. Barry had on his ski hat that day as Shanty Creek is now getting ready for another winter season. "We had just a wonderful year last year in skiing and signs point to another year of great ski weather," said Godwin. The golf courses at Shanty Creek were all lush and still ready for some late fall golfers. http://shantycreek.com

Boyne Mountain

The work on Boyne Mountain's new hotel has ceased temporarily. Mike Bedells, of Sales and Marketing, indicated that the work will resume when they firm up the financial arrangements with the bank. It is an enormous project and will be an awesome addition to their facilities when it opens. You can see the structure in a Steve Kircher interview on the Michigan Golfer TV Show of September 21. http://michigangolfer.tv/2001shows/show29/index.html

The Quest

We dropped by to see Tom Weideman of The Quest, which is located in Houghton Lake. The course was in beautiful shape and a number of golfers were out fighting a stiff northerly wind. Tom lamented that rounds were down this year, but he has had an increase on the food and beverage side. Tom is troubled by the downturn in golf play. "I just hope that courses don't start cutting their prices to attract business, that will hurt everybody," said Weideman. http://www.questgolfclub.com

Riverwood Resort

Richard Fairman, formerly of Treetops and now the Executive Director of Riverwood Resort, http://www.riverwoodresort.com indicated that they had a good year. He also indicated that owner Dick Figg is trying to scale back his workload a bit. His daughter and LPGA touring pro, Cindy Figg-Currier, who lives in Austin, is taking some time off. Cindy won $113,283, this year, in 19 starts.

Apple Mountain

The last time I visited Apple Mountain, was just before it opened in 1998. Terry Moore did a review of the course in our April 98 issue of MG. http://michigangolfer.com/april98/apple.html What Moore said four years ago, holds up today; it is a terrific golf and ski community. At Apple Mountain, we chatted with pro DJ DiBlasi and Kathy Scofield, from the marketing department. DJ indicated that they are up in golf and Kathy indicated that they had one of their best winters ever. They have a very attractive web site at http://www.applemountain.com

Fox Hills

We ran into Ray Hearn at Foxhills as he was checking out the new Strategic GC. The course is getting some terrific reviews. Also, work is continuing on the new pro shop and it should be completed by December.

A writer from the inflight magazine of Delta Airlines was working on a piece about Ray and his work and played The Grande GC in Jackson in preparation for the piece. He was so struck with the Grande GC, that he is including a piece about the course in the magazine as well. http://rhgd.com

Cindy Simonell wants folks to know that Fox Hills will give you a free green fee and cart for 18 holes, if you bring a 15# or over frozen turkey to the course on Saturday, November 17. All the turkeys will be donated to the local Salvation Army to distribute to needy families. To reserve a tee-time call 734-453-7272 http://foxhills.com

Concord Hills

Toni Joers, of Concord Hills, is excited about their new clubhouse that is nearing completion. The new clubhouse, will replace the current one that was built in the 70's. She also will tear down the old dining area and put up a new banquet area. http://concordhills.com

Sparrow Hawk

Audrey and Alex Disabato, have had good years at their Jeff Gorney designed 18 hole course in the Jackson area. Originally, nine holes when they took it over, they soon added a second nine.It is a very nice course that really shows off fall colors. The duo also represents the Jackson Area Golf Association, a group that has grown with the addition of Calderone Farms and the Grande GC this year.

Pine Hollow

Lance Avery, new owner of Pine Hollow , noted that the golf year has been a tad soft. He blamed it more on the weather than the economy. Lance is also involved with another course in Muskegon.

While there we had the opportunity to chat with Terry Dilts of Precept. Precept has been the hottest ball on the market this year.

McCamly Plaza

Toby Hilton of McCamly Plaza, indicated that they are just about even with the amount of Battle Creek golf packages the hotel has put together this year as compared to last year. The plaza is a terrific complex in Battle Creek. There are a lot of nice things happening in this town.

The Preserve

Word has it, that the Preserve, the Arnold Palmer course in Fenton, has filed for bankrupcy. The same management firm also runs Black Bear in Vanderbilt.