Golftime Midwest 2023 Preview Issue

Steve Stricker Tournament Host Thongchai Jaidee 2022 Champion

UNIVERSITY RIDGE GOLF COURSE MADISON, WI

Contents

History

The Great Golf Story Contest

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ON THE COVER: The Lido has risen again from the depths of golf lore in Wisconsin. THIS SPREAD: Lac La Belle’s stunning renovation a few years ago has it looking better than ever before. Photo by Nile Young Jr.

Editor’s Note

David vs. Goliath. Paris vs. Achilles. Tiger Woods vs. advancing age, with an improbable 2019 win at The Masters. The tales may all differ, but they all have something in common:

P.O. Box 14439

Madison, WI 53708

Phone: 608-280-8800

Everyone loves a good comeback story.

If you do, too, you’re in luck this issue, where we bring you a smorgasbord of great comeback stories, starting with a look at The Lido, Sand Valley Resort’s sensational new re-creation. The fabled course was shuttered during World War II, only to be born anew thanks to Tom Doak and the Keiser brothers. Read all about it in Gary D’Amato’s cover story, starting on page 24.

PRESIDENT John Hughes

GENERAL MANAGER

Jim Kelsh jim@killarneygolfmedia.com

MARKETING DIRECTOR AND SALES

Megan Augustin megan@killarneygolfmedia.com

Sarah Starmer sarah@killarneygolfmedia.com

EDITOR

Don Shell editor@golftimemag.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Gary D’Amato

Danny Freels

Rob Hernandez

Dennis McCann

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Nile Young Jr.

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Muddy Creek Creative

FOUNDER

Kim Thompson

After more than 125 years in existence, The Club at Lac La Belle could’ve easily been content with the dustbin of course design. But the club doubled down on its proud past in 2018 with a stunning renovation deserving of a standing ovation. Read all about its comeback starting on page 38.

After more than a dozen years cobbling together a successful mini-tour career, Michigan’s Ryan Brehm could’ve given up his dreams of playing on the PGA Tour. With one last shot and his bride Chelsey carrying his bag, Brehm did the implausible: notched his first PGA Tour win and kept his card. Read his inspiring comeback story starting on page 72.

We’re betting you have some inspiring comeback stories of your own, too, and we encourage you to share those and all your other crazy, funny or sentimental golf stories with us, in the Great Golf Story Contest, starting on page 34. You could win a trip to the incredible Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa, so start sharing.

We share much more with you in this issue, including a trip to the beautiful beaches (and courses) of Brunswick County, North Carolina. While Myrtle Beach might get that region’s most mentions, we uncover a quieter, prettier place to go to Carolinas. Check it out on page 56.

Want more? We take a look at the U.S. military’s stable of courses it owns worldwide, including the Navy’s very own Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Chicago. You won’t need to enlist to play it, but it will make you want to salute. Read all about it on page 48.

There’s more, much more, throughout these pages, as we preview all that’s great about golf in the Midwest this year. One thing’s for sure: It’ll make you want to come back for more. Thanks for reading.

A Division of Killarney Golf Media, Inc.

©Copyright 2023 Golftime

COURSE OF THE WORLD: Four Seasons Nevis

The Robert Trent Jones II course

The salty breeze cools your face, as you gaze out across the two-mile sandy strip of Caribbean Sea called the Narrows, across to the sister island of Saint Kitts. Welcome to the intoxicating isle of Nevis, home to the Robert Trent Jones II golf course, at the fabulous Four Seasons Resort. It might just make you forget all your worries, but don’t dawdle too long. iI’s your turn to hit. fourseasons.com/nevis/golf

Bump & Run

NEWS & NOTES FROM THE WORLD OF GOLF

Luck of the Draw

Bad Cards Fore Good Golfers levels the playing field

Nassaus. Wolf. Vegas. Bingo, Bango, Bongo. We all have our favorite side games on the course, right? Sometimes they feel as old as the game itself.

For a fresh take on golf’s side action, check out Bad Cards Fore Good Golfers, a fun, creative new way to keep things extra interesting out there. $29. badcardsforegoodgolfers.com.

TIGER

WATCH – We’re tracking the return of Tiger Woods, the golfer, and the South Shore Golf Club project in Chicago:

The Course: ON LIFE SUPPORT

We’ve been bringing you periodic updates on Woods’ Jackson Park project on Chicago’s south side for several years now, and we’re sad to report the project’s on life support, mired in red tape, public pushback and falling short on fundraising.

The Golfer: WARMING UP

Hope springs eternal for Woods’ playing career, however. Still recovering from life-threatening injuries of his 2021 car accident, Tiger played sparingly last season. Happily, he’s said he plans to play all four majors and a few other tournaments in ’23. We can’t wait.

GOLF TECH: Taking the Tough Out of Tournaments

If you’re like us, many of you are busy planning your events, outings or annual golf trips. And we all will come to the same conclusion: Why is this so hard?

Helping make managing your outings and trips easier is the new Golfify app, perfect for single-round, multi-round and even Ryder Cup-style tournaments. You can batch upload players, handicaps and even shotgun starts, all with the online system and easy-to-use app.

The Golfify system is even free to use for up to eight players, with the premium Pro plan running $199 per year for unlimited players. Visit golfify.io for more information.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD: John Daly headlines gonzo ‘Fore 20’

What do you get when you cross John Daly, Shooter McGavin and copious amounts of (legal) controlled substances? The crazy new cannabis-infused Fore 20 Golf Tour Aug. 28-29 at PohlCat Golf Course in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, headlined by none other than golf legend John Daly and Christopher McDonald, who starred as Shooter McGavin in “Happy Gilmore.” For $800-$2,000 per two-man scramble team, you can meet the stars and take home a treasure trove of swag, gifts and “party favors.”

The wild, irreverent golf event was so popular when originally announced, organizers added a second day.

Visit 517.golf/upcoming-events for more information.

What We’re Playing

What’s hot to hit on and off the course

LISTEN: Golf Clap

It’s no secret golf has become the hot sport for millions of a new generation of golfers, and maybe no artist epitomizes golf’s youth movement like Golf Clap, a Detroit-based DJ blending bits of house, techno and funk perfect on or off the fairways.

Golf Clap’s new album “Mind Games Part 1,” dropped late last summer on his label, Country Club Disco, and is available everywhere you stream — including on the course. Turn up.

WATCH: Full Swing

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new PGA Tour docu-series on Netflix, “Full Swing,” from the same producers of the adrenaline-inducing, “Formula 1: Drive to

Survive.” The series follows a group of pros across the four Majors — on and off the course. Get inside the head of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy and even LIV Tour golfers Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, pre-PGA Tour split. We’re glued.

Crafted by Mother Nature. Shaped by Champions.

Trappers Turn features three unique but complementing championship 9-hole courses, a putting course, and a Par-3 experience designed by two-time U.S. Open Champion Andy North. Nestled in a canyon carved by glaciers and filled with lush clusters of maple, basswood and ash, Trappers Turn encompasses some of the most panoramic golf holes around.

Bump & Run

AROUND THE REGION

The Latest Golf News from the Great Lakes

Women’s Golf Headed to Historic Chicago GC

Legendary venue lands Women’s Open and Walker Cup

Chicago Golf Club, in Wheaton, Illinois, has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for the 2033 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2036 Walker Cup. America’s oldest golf club, designed by C.B. Macdonald in 1893 (and later Seth Raynor), has previously hosted 12 USGA championships, most recently the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2018.

Bringing in the Big Guns

“Hosting the best players in the world – men, women, amateur and professional –for USGA events is a point of pride for our club and a significant part of our long history,” said Herb Getz, Chicago Golf Club president. “We very much look forward to building upon that history and continuing our valued partnership with the USGA on an even larger stage well into the future.”

Winnetka Park District hires KemperSports to overhaul golf facility

and 18-hole courses.

The Winnetka Park District Board of Commissioners has hired Chicago-based KemperSports, a leading golf, sports, entertainment and hospitality company, to manage Winnetka Golf Club (Winnetka, Illinois) and oversee an extensive course renovation to the club’s public nine-hole

The renovation project started late last summer and is being designed by Illinoisbased golf course architect Rick Jacobson. Renovations include re-leveling and resurfacing greens, tees and fairways, remodeling fairway and select greenside bunkers and overall improved drainage at both courses to better handle heavy storm events.

Both courses are closed in 2023 and are set to reopen in the summer of 2024.

Visit winnetkagolfclub.org.

Right and above, Photos by Nile Young Jr.

Hometown Touchdown

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins buys golf course in home state of Michigan

He has more career fourth-quarter comebacks (22) than NFL greats Joe Theismann, Jim Kelly and a fellow named Aaron Rodgers. But Kirk Cousins might’ve made his greatest save this past summer, when he bought Clearbrook Golf Club from family friends in Saugatuck, Michigan, near his hometown.

“Our family recently purchased the Clearbrook Golf Course from our friends and longtime owners, Jim and Candy Jeltema,” Kirk and Julie wrote in a letter to the community. “They have managed the course for many years, making Clearbrook a place of connection and fun for our entire

Saints Alive!

community.”

Clearbrook has been a local favorite since it opened in 1926, and the Jeltemas were worried they’d need to sell to a developer who would bulldoze it for homes or strip malls. The former owners will stay involved for the near future, ensuring Cousins has a solid backup as he gets his start as a golf course owner.

Visit clearbrookgolfclub.com.

Michigan’s St. John’s Resort reborn with bold, new Ray Hearn redesign

St. John’s Resort, a massive golf course, retail, hotel and conference center on the site of a former seminary, has been a godsend for avid golfers in Metro Detroit. But truth be told, the 27-hole facility wasn’t quite heaven-sent compared to high-end facilities around the state.

Prayers, it seems, have been answered.

The facility, which was bought from the Archdiocese by the Pulte Family Foundation in 2021, is undergoing a massive overhaul, including a complete reimagining of the golf course. The foundation, the charitable arm of the Pulte Homes empire, has tapped “Renovation Ray” Hearn to turn the 27-hole footprint into 18 holes of true championship golf, called The Cardinal.

“The Pulte Homes family trust own it now, and they’re putting a lot of money into the Inn at St. John’s,” Hearn said. “It’s basically a brand-new course, and it’s been so much fun. People are going to be blown away.”

The course was closed all of 2022 and will be most of this year, until taking off the wraps for the public later this fall. We’ll have a full preview in our Summer Issue, so stay tuned! Visit stjohnsresort.com.

Gone to the Dogs!

Plane carrying shelter dogs makes emergency landing on golf course

Garrett Mack arrived at Western Lakes Golf Club in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, one day last fall for what should have been a routine offseason day at the course.

Then he pulled in front to the golf shop and saw lights from multiple emergency vehicles out on the course, which was blanketed by the first snowfall of the season.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, geez, what’s going on?’” said Mack, the head PGA professional.

According to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department, a twin-engine airplane carrying three people and 56 dogs made an emergency landing on the course just after 9 a.m. The plane apparently belly-landed and its wings were shorn off when it slid through trees.

“It kind of touched down on the edge of the fifth green and then went through the trees going toward No. 2,” Mack said. “That’s what took the wings off. Then it went through the marsh area and across No. 2. It stopped just short of the fairway bunker on No. 3. There’s some pine trees there; it’s right in those pine trees. Aside from the wings, (the fuselage) is all in one piece.”

The three people, all adults, suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The dogs, inbound from southern states to local shelters, were shaken up and some were injured, but all were expected to survive and be available for adoption, according to a spokesperson for the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County.

Mack and maintenance workers at the course sprang into action, helping remove dogs from damaged crates and load them into waiting vans.

“We’re all dog owners and dog lovers here, so being able to help out and do what we can was just really important to us,” Mack said. “Obviously, the dogs were stressed. There were a lot of damaged crates, so unfortunately there were some that kind of got bounced around the cabin when it came down. But all the dogs are accounted for. Aside from being scared, they all seemed to be in pretty good shape.”

Visit our sister publication, wisconsin.golf, for more information.

CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF LAKESIDE

Instructor’s

Corner

Distance Equals Performance

One of the most sought-after skills in golf is more club speed. This attribute doesn’t go away from day to day and is a consistent competitive advantage every time you step on the course, helping you consistently shoot lower scores.

The fastest and easiest way to increase your speed and distance is to increase your length of swing, through increased range of motion. This can come from flexibility or mobility exercises, or simply swing modifications such as lifting your lead heel in the backswing.

This simple swing modification will increase your hip turn for a deeper loaded position at the top of the backswing. This, in most cases, will improve an over-thetop downswing, increase a golfer’s angle of attack, and allow for more momentum to build throughout the downswing for

By Mike Tabbert, PGA

added speed.

During the backswing, push into the ground with your trail leg, thus pushing your trail hip directly behind you. With this increased hip turn allow your lead leg to come around, lifting your lead heel resting lightly on your lead big toe. You should feel approximately 80-90% of your pressure on your trail side.

To begin the downswing, stomp your lead heel back down, shifting your pressure to your lead side and triggering the correct downswing sequence.

Give this swing modification a try and enjoy hitting the ball past your playing partners!

Mike Tabbert is Director of Instruction and Club Fitting at Ironworks Golf Academy, visit ironworksgolfacademy.com

Instructor’s Corner

Mike Tabbert PGA Professional

Mike Tabbert joined the Beloit Club in 2016 and now serves as the Director of Instruction for Ironworks Golf Academy, where he’s worked with hundreds of junior golf program students throughout the Midwest. To honor the impact he’s made on these rising stars, Mike is the recipient of the 2023 Wisconsin PGA Youth Player Development Award. He is also a PGA Certified Instructor with Titleist Performance Institute, K-Vest Human Motion Learning System, Boditrak Ground Mechanics, U.S. Kids Golf and a certified club fitter with Titleist, TaylorMade, Ping, Callaway and Mizuno.

Ironworks Golf Academy

625 3rd St., Suite 100, Beloit, WI 53511 608-473-0095

www.ironworksgolfacademy.com

GOLF ACADEMY

A Look at the USGA’s Major New Rules for ’23

With the influx of new golfers in the past few years, golf’s governing bodies have made many updates to their lengthy and often complex rules to keep pace with changing times and to encourage accessibility for all. Want proof? Look no further than this year’s spate of rules changes.

One of the most notable changes is the elimination of the penalty for a golfer accidentally moving their ball while searching for it. Under the new rules, a golfer will simply be required to replace the ball in its original position without incurring a penalty. This change is intended to speed up play and reduce frustration for golfers who have accidentally moved their ball while searching for it. We’d call that a common-sense ruling.

Similarly, another change for ’23 is the elimination of the penalty for a golfer accidentally causing their ball to move while marking it on the green. Under the new rules, a golfer will simply be required to replace the ball in its original position without incurring a penalty.

The forgiveness factor doesn’t stop there with this year’s changes. Up until now, golfers whose clubs accidentally broke in the middle of a round weren’t allowed to replace them. But starting this year, players may now swap out a damaged club for a replacement, “provided the player did not damage it through abuse.”

The USGA and R&A taketh away in another category — time spent looking for a lost ball. A golfer previously had five minutes to search for a lost ball. Under the new rules, this time has been reduced to three

minutes. Keep it moving!

In addition to these changes, the USGA and R&A have made changes to how they classify rules for disabled players. For 25 years, the USGA and the R&A have had modified rules at their disposal for players with disabilities. Now those rules will be adopted into the rulebook. Tournaments will no longer be required to put modified rules into place, rather, players who fall under the categories in Rule 25 will be permitted to play under the rules for players with disabilities. In other words, the way it should be.

Overall, the changes to the rules of golf this year are aimed at simplifying the game and making it more enjoyable for players of all skill levels, something we haven’t always seen from golf’s governing bodies. And that’s a very welcome change, indeed.

For more information, visit usga.org.

THE LEGEND

TOM DOAK AND THE KEISERS UNVEIL THE LIDO, THEIR

LIVES AGAIN

LATEST AT EVER-GROWING SAND VALLEY

By Gary D’Amato

PREVIOUS SPREAD AND ABOVE: The Lido is a stunning reclamation by Tom Doak, who painstakingly pored over topographic maps and was aided by armchair LIDAR experts to rebuild the legendary course, which was shuttered during World War II.

Michael Keiser and Chris Keiser, the brothers who own and operate the Sand Valley Resort in central Wisconsin, have always maintained that demand would dictate expansion.

Judging by the rapid rate of construction on courses, lodging, restaurants and other amenities at the resort, demand continues to outstrip supply.

“We’ve always looked at one course at a time,” Michael Keiser said. “We’ve tried not to think too far ahead and just respond to what’s immediately in front of us. What’s immediately in front of us is an opportunity to give guests everything they’ve been asking for.”

In 2023, Sand Valley will fully open The Lido, perhaps the most anticipated new course construction in the United States. Architect Tom Doak has faithfully replicated a famed “lost” course on Long Island in the sand barrens of Adams County, right down to precise green contours, bunker depths and fairway ripples.

LEFT: The Lido is a private course but will be open for limited public play to guests of Sand Valley Resort. ABOVE: Brothers Chris (left) and Michael (middle) are literally growing the game at Sand Valley on property purchased by father Mike (right).

Preview play by members in 2022 — The Lido is private, though Sand Valley guests will have access to tee times — resulted in unanimous praise for the unprecedented project.

Though The Lido technically is not a resort course, it will join the original Sand Valley course and Mammoth Dunes, bringing to 54 the number of holes on “big courses” at Sand Valley. In addition, the 17-hole, par-3 Sandbox has been a hit since its 2018 opening.

And while Doak was working on The Lido, he simultaneously was overseeing construction of Sedge Valley, scheduled to open in

2024. The site, a restored sedge savanna, originally was going to be a short course, but Doak convinced the Keisers that he could build 18 great holes on the relatively small footprint.

Sedge Valley will have five par-3 holes, three drivable par 4s and only one par 5.

“There’s this land we absolutely loved,” Michael Keiser said. “I had talked to Tom about another par-3 (course) with some drivable par 4s. I didn’t want that land to go unused. The conversation evolved and he came back and said you can fit 18 holes in there, but it’s going to be 6,000 yards and par 68.

“Most people hear 6,000 yards and think

it’s going to be tame. That won’t be the case at Sedge Valley. The best example of that is Swinley Forest (in England). Nobody walks off Swinley Forest and even knows it was 6,000 yards. It’s a fun course, and it’s challenging. We don’t want people to say, ‘That was short.’ We want them to say, ‘That was spectacular.’”

Additional golf calls for more lodging, restaurants, infrastructure and amenities.

To that end, construction began in May 2022 on a multi-facility expansion that will

include a barbecue restaurant, pool complex, tennis center, practice facility and what is being billed as the “world’s largest putting course.”

The putting course is being designed by Craig Haltom of Oliphant Golf.

“It’s going to be eight acres, so almost 400,000 square feet,” Keiser said. “The Himalayas at St Andrews is three acres. The Punchbowl at Bandon Dunes is 2.5 acres. It’s hard to fact-check, but I don’t think anything is close to this.”

The Lido joins a stunning collection of golf at Sand Valley, including the original, eponymous course designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

Photo Ryan Farrow

The restaurant will feature an arcade, golf simulators and indoor-outdoor hitting bays with cutting-edge tracing and simulator technology.

On hot summer days, guests will be able to cool off in an infinity pool overlooking Mammoth Dunes and enjoy sauna, steam and cold plunges. The Pool House also will offer a variety of massage techniques in eight treatment rooms, along with a grab-and-go food and drink shop.

Those amenities show that the Keiser brothers are willing to go where their father, Mike Keiser, probably would not. For the elder Keiser, who developed the acclaimed

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and bought the land that would become Sand Valley before turning over the operation to his sons, it’s all about golf.

“I think we take some of those non-golf things and push it a little farther,” Chris Keiser said. “Why is that? Maybe part of it is the stage of life that we’re at (Chris is 34, Michael 41). We both have young families and so we want Sand Valley to be accessible and fun not only for golfers but for non-golfers.

“Wouldn’t a family love to come up, eat good food, go fat-tire biking, go fishing, play in the sand dunes, have a putting competi-

tion? And we also think it can be additive to the golf experience, which is always the focus. If we do it right, it won’t feel like it’s competing with the core destination golf experience.”

The Keisers own about 13,500 acres and have plenty of room to build more golf. Michael envisions the day when Sand Valley boasts seven or eight courses and encompasses 100,000 acres, the vast major-

ity of which would be “an industrial scale conservation.”

“Golf is the cornerstone upon which the foundation is built,” he said. “And then what comes out of the ground — which Bandon doesn’t have and we want — is community. We want to build communities.”

One course at a time.

Visit

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Sand Valley Resort offers finely appointed accommodations. The fantastic finishing hole of the David McLay Kidd-designed Mammoth Dunes course. Sand Valley’s terrific 10th hole. The resort’s short course, the aptly named Sand Box. Caddies earn their keep trudging the massive sands of Mammoth Dunes. Nothing tops off an amazing day on the course like a sizzling steak.

Top right photo Jeff Bertch; mid right by Rayn Farrow

Galena’s Eagle Ridge Golf Resort

Eagle Ridge Resort, in the rolling fields of Galena, Illinois, is one of the Midwest’s best golf resorts, with four fantastic courses, including The General, designed by Andy North. You can win a weekend golf getaway for six to to Eagle Ridge Resort just by sharing your best golf story at www.golftimemag.com!

Maybe it’s your one-and-only hole-in-one. Maybe it’s the hilarious shot your buddy hit off the porta potty. Maybe it’s the memorial tournament or bawdy buddies trip you take every year. These are the memories we make, the stories that keep us coming back to this crazy, maddening, mystifying game.

And we want to hear yours.

We want to hear your best golf stories, the ones that make you laugh, cry, or beam with pride. Just send us your true (OK, even mostly true) stories that happened to you or

you witnessed on the golf course:

• 350 words max

• Funny

• Fantastic

• Human interest

One lucky submitter will win a weekend golf getaway at none other than Eagle Ridge Resort, a package valued at more than $2,100!

To enter and for complete contest rules, visit our website at www.gofltimemag.com!

EXPERIENCE THE ULTIMATE GOLF DESTINATION

in a STAY & PLAY RENTAL HOME

Nestled among 6,800 acres of rolling hills in The Galena Territory in beautiful Northwest Illinois, Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa combines spectacular scenery with full-service amenities and activities for all seasons.

Our four award-winning courses have been renovated and restored back to their original architecture. The rolling fairways, immaculate greens, and tranquil surroundings allow you to enjoy a challenging yet relaxing round of golf.

Eagle Ridge’s crowning achievement — The General — consistently ranks among Golf Digest’s top 100 courses. With a 289-foot elevation change from the first hole to the 18th, it boasts spectacular views of the tri-state area.

Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa is the perfect getaway to create memories with your friends and family.

The 194-yard, par-3 fourth hole.

HISTORY REMAKING

Remarkable renovations at The Club at Lac La Belle bring a classic Midwestern course into the 21st century

By Gary D’Amato

Photography by Nile Young

Jr.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The Club at Lac La Belle’s Rivalry Pub is a good place for a post-round meal.Not surprisingly, the 125-year-old clubhouse is a museum to the game’s greats and the moments that mattered to the place’s proud past. You’ll want to toast the efforts of Craig Haltom’s redesign after your round.

If you’re a golf history buff, The Club at Lac La Belle in golf-rich Waukesha County, Wisconsin, is a must-play. Founded in 1896, Lac La Belle employed early U.S. Open champions Alex Smith and Willie Anderson as club pros and was the third course in the state to be approved as an allied member of the United States Golf Association.

If you’re a golf architecture buff, that’s another reason to play Lac La Belle, which reopened in 2020 after a top-to-bottom reno-

vation by Craig Haltom, who left the bones of the 125-year-old course largely intact while improving the routing and drainage.

There’s a third reason to put The Club at Lac La Belle on your must-play list: it’s a blast.

“I think Craig did a great job of creating this classic-feeling golf architecture,” said Tyler Morse, the general manager and president of the semi-private club. “You’re playing a fast, firm golf course. The greens

are unique. And from an architectural standpoint, we’re very different from any other course locally.”

Lac La Belle traces its lineage to the early days of golf in America. Smith, the first club pro, would go on to win the U.S. Open in 1906 and 1910. Anderson, the third club pro, was a four-time U.S. Open champion, win-

ning three consecutive titles from 1903-’05. Between them, Robert S. Simpson, a twotime Western Open champion and fellow native Scot, served as the club pro.

If you study the Western Open trophy — a replica of which is located in Lac La Belle’s spectacular museum-like clubhouse — you’ll notice that the tournament was not played in

Architect Craig Haltom’s 2018 renovation of the classic course improved it tee to green, restoring it to its past glory and earning it Top New Wisconsin Golf Course honors by Golf Digest in 2021.

1900, its second year. That’s because the top pros of the day boycotted the Western over the small size of its purse and instead played in the Lac La Belle Championship.

That fascinating history, Morse said, is The Club at Lac La Belle’s calling card.

“I think most of the people who come to the course know about our history now,” he said. “Obviously, our logo is 1896 so people come knowing that, boy, this is an old golf course. Then when they show up, they see all the effort and time that we’ve put into sharing that history. People, I think, appreciate it even more.”

But without a good golf product, Lac

La Belle would be a mere curiosity. The course, purchased by Morse’s late father, Matt Morse, in 2018, is every bit as strong as its pedigree would suggest. It gives the traveling golfer another option in a state that ranks second to none in public-access facilities, including 2017 U.S. Open venue Erin Hills just 15 miles away.

“I would say 60 percent of our play comes from the traveling golfer,” Morse said. “It’s significant. The Erin Hills sprinter van is at the course all the time. We’ve got a really good relationship with Erin Hills.”

Haltom did a terrific job solving persistent drainage problems and laying a fun, walk-

able and diverse routing over the bones of the original course. The renovation involved moving 150,000 cubic yards of dirt, taking down trees, rebuilding the irrigation system and raising fairways two to three feet and capping them with 15 inches of sand.

The key to the project was the purchase of land from the Village of Lac La Belle so that four new holes could be built on the west side of Pennsylvania Street, near the site of a one-time monastery. That allowed Haltom to route the rest of the course off chronically

wet areas.

The fairways are firm and bouncy, in the manner of an inland links. But there are water hazards and creeks to avoid and cross and stands of trees and specimen oaks with which to contend. The greens are massive and rolling, which puts a premium on shotmaking, short-game creativity and putting.

“You’ve got to think your way around the golf course,” Morse said. “You can’t just mindlessly get up to the tee and tee off.”

One neat touch is that the club gives away

LEFT: Evidence that Lac La Belle is heaven-sent is everywhere here, like this memorial plaque on the 10th hole.

RIGHT: The 355-yard, par-4 ninth hole, with the eponymous lake in the distance.

an 1896 coin in a handsome case to any golfer who makes a hole-in-one.

The Club at Lac La Belle reopened in the summer of 2020 and rounds played have increased each year. In 2022, the club hosted 223 events, mostly weddings, in a tastefully appointed Carriage House adjacent to the clubhouse.

“It’s definitely a significant part of our business,” Morse said. “We have quite an

event team that we’ve established and it’s been fun to see it develop.”

New for 2023 is a partnership with the Inn at Pine Terrace, a bed and breakfast less than two miles from the course. The Club at Lac La Belle will have access to 11 rooms and will be able to book stay-and-play packages at the Inn, an 1879 Victorian home.

“We’re really excited about that,” Morse said. “We’re basically getting access to their

system. We can book and reserve rooms and do everything that we would if we owned it. And they’re giving us special rates for golfers, which is really neat. We’re super pumped to be partnering with them.”

Morse also is the CEO of The Prestwick Group, founded by his father.

Prestwick is made up of a family of com-

panies and brands that specialize in manufacturing indoor and outdoor fixtures, furniture and furnishings.

“I’m wearing a lot of hats right now,” Morse said, “but I’m having fun doing it.”

Visit clubatlaclabelle.com for more information.

The 443-yard, par-4 third hole is a true test and the fourth-hardest hole on the course.

Sailors stand at attention at the Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy’s largest training facility located just north of Chicago.

ALL ABOARD

By Danny Freels

Here and abroad, the US military’s golf courses — like the Navy’s Veterans Memorial Golf Club — keep Americans rested and ready

As far back as the late 1800s, the United States military came to the conclusion that for its fighting force to be effective when needed, not everybody needed to be “on the job” every minute of every day. Today, the military explains that thinking this way: “Being mission ready requires downtime to relax, recharge and have fun.”

What “fun” meant in the late 1800s is up for debate. (A stroll through the park, perhaps?) In more modern times, however, it’s meant providing programs that lift the morale among “service members, their families and other eligible personnel.” The overall op-

eration is designated MWR, and that stands for “Morale, Welfare and Recreation.”

In all, there are almost 5,000 leisure and support programs available. These include classes in car repair, painting, photography, music and woodworking. Depending on where the service members are stationed, there’s scuba diving, flying, boating and horseback riding. Aquatics, fitness and sports are additional activities the members can take part in. And that includes bowling. In fact, there are over 50 MWR-affiliated bowling centers around the world.

And then there’s golf.

Remember the classic World War II mo-

tion picture “From Here To Eternity,” starring Burt Lancaster, Donna Reed, Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr? In a scene toward the end, Clift’s character (Robert E. Lee Pruitt Jr.) is attempting to get back to his military unit in Hawaii after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Where is he making this attempt? On a golf course! How does he meet his unfortunate demise (like so many of us have)? In a sand trap! Reportedly, the course where that scene was filmed is today’s Waialae Country Club in Honolulu (built in 1927

and originally called Waialae Golf Course). What’s that got to do with MWR? Nothing. But … there are three other golf courses in Hawaii that are affiliated with MWR.

In all, there are more than 140 militaryowned golf courses in nearly 40 states nationwide and around the globe. Of those, there are a total of 29 golf courses owned and operated by the U.S. Navy around the world (see sidebar). Talk about getting with the program!

Somewhat surprisingly, the only Navy-

Since the early 1800s, the U.S. military has provided places for its servicemen and women to relax and recharge — including the 140-plus golf courses the military owns worldwide.

A Golf Course in Every Port

U.S. Navy owned/operated golf courses around the world:

A.C. READ GOLF COURSE

Pensacola, Florida

ADMIRAL BAKER GOLF COURSE

San Diego, California

AEROPINES GOLF COURSE

Oceana, Virginia

ATSUGI GOLF COURSE

Atsugi, Japan

BARBERS POINT GOLF COURSE

Kalaeloa, Hawaii

CARNEY POINT GOLF COURSE

Naples, Italy

CEDAR POINT GOLF COURSE

Patuxent River, Maryland

CHINA LAKE GOLF COURSE

China Lake, California

DEER COVE GOLF COURSE

Williamsburg, Virginia

EAGLE HAVEN GOLF COURSE

Virginia Beach, Virginia

GALLERY GOLF COURSE

Oak Harbor, Washington

GLEN EAGLE GOLF COURSE

Groton, Connecticutt

GULF WINDS GOLF COURSE

Corpus Christi, Texas

JACK DENNIS GOLF COURSE

Rota, Spain

MAMALA GOLF COURSE

JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

MONTEREY PINES GOLF COURSE

Monterey, California

NAS JACKSONVILLE GOLF CLUB

Jacksonville, Florida

NAVY-MARINE GOLF COURSE

JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

PALM TREE GOLF COURSE

Yigo, Guam

SEA N AIR GOLF COURSE

Coronado, California

SEABEE GOLF COURSE

Port Hueneme, California

SEWELL’S POINT GOLF CLUB

Norfolk, Virginia

THE LATERAL HAZARD

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

TRIDENT LAKES GOLF CLUB

Kings Bay, Georgia

UNSA GOLF CLUB

Annapolis, Maryland

VETERANS MEMORIAL GOLF CLUB

North Chicago, Illinois

WINDY HARBOR GOLF CLUB

Jacksonville, Florida

CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT: Admiral Baker Golf Course in San Diego, California, Monterey Pines Golf Course in Monterey, California, A.C. Read Golf Course in Pensacola, Florida, the stunning Mamala Bay Golf Course in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the aptly named Sea and Air Golf Course in Coronado, California.

owned course in the Midwest is the Veterans Memorial Golf Club at the Great Lakes Naval Station right along Lake Michigan in North Chicago, Illinois. For those out-of-towners who might not know, this Naval facility (officially designated Naval Station Great Lakes) opened in 1911 and is now the Navy’s largest training installation and home to its only boot camp. Today, it supports over 20,000 sailors, marines, soldiers and Department of Defense civilians that live and work at the installation.

The golf course on the property, originally called Willow Glen, opened as a nine-hole layout in the mid-1940s (architect unknown). For many years, it was only available to military personnel — active, reserve and retired. In the 1960s, however, another nine holes were added by architect Dick Nugent, an Illinois native and the eventual designer of over 60 golf courses, including the highly regarded Kemper Lakes layout in his home state (for-

Cadets spell out “VICTORY” at Great Lakes during WWI.

mer site of the annual Kemper Open on the PGA Tour) and the very exclusive nine-hole Dunes Club in New Buffalo, Michigan.

In the late 1990s, the front nine of today’s Veterans Memorial was reworked and remodeled by architect Paul Loague. In the early 2000s, Loague did a similar rework of the back nine, although there’s a frequent feeling from golfers that it’s a bit more “links style” than the front. To aid in the new look and beauty of Vets Memorial, more than 100 trees of all types were planted (including Willow). As a finishing touch to the project, the old clubhouse was torn down in 2006 and a beautiful new one was built in 2008. Best of all, this golf course has since become open to the public, with weekend rates just $57 for civilians (military members pay just $46).

Today, this very attractive and gently rolling layout is more popular than ever. There’s a 9,000-square-foot putting green and practice range. For a hot meal or a cold brew (or both), there’s Buckley’s Restaurant right on site. As planned, the parkland-style golf course winds its way through and around plenty of mature trees, strategically placed for challenge as much as aesthetics. On one hole, in fact, there’s a tree in the middle of the fairway some 200 yards from the tee! There

are also a couple of creeks and five ponds of various sizes to take in but stay out of, as well as the nearly 50 bunkers!

Yet, if there’s one thing that the newly renovated Vets Memorial lacks — at least by today’s standards — it’s length. But then, that’s debatable, too. From the tips, it measures a “mere” 6,642 yards. However, right across Lake Michigan from Vets Memorial sits one of the most admired courses in America: Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, Michigan. It’s a course that annually ranks among the top 25 in the country and it only measures 6,500 yards from the back tees. No doubt short hitters are grateful that three other sets of tees are available at Vets Memorial, the shortest coming in at 5,006 yards. As is often said, “length isn’t everything.”

Looking for an affordable, fun, playable but challenging tract set among very different surroundings? Then think about a visit to the Veterans Memorial Golf Club at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, Illinois. That’s not an order sailor … but it is a good idea.

For more information or tee times, please visit navymwrgreatlakes.com or call 847-688-4593.

The U.S. military has many golf courses, but this one is ours: Playing Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Chicago is a patriotic pilgrimage.

Southern

CHARM

You’ll fall in love with the gorgeous golf and beautiful beaches of Brunswick County, North Carolina

By Gary D’Amato

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, North Carolina

— The view from the the wraparound porch at Rivers Edge Golf Club in Shallotte, North Carolina, is a Lee Wybranski painting come to life.

Down below, golfers struggle to finish the front nine on “Arnie’s Revenge,” a ruthless par 5 with a peninsula green jutting into the marshy expanse of the Shallotte River. Egrets float by on the coastal breeze. The blissful silence is broken only by the occasional anguished cry of a golfer on his way to a double-bogey.

One could sit here for hours post-round, ice tea in hand — or a stronger beverage, perhaps, dictated by the day’s score — and take it all in.

This is the height of golf in the Low Country, or more specifically the Brunswick Islands, just a few miles north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but a world away from the traffic, the noise and the kitsch associated with the Grand Strand.

Nothing against Myrtle — I’ve played there several times — but the golf in less-

populated Brunswick County, the southernmost county in North Carolina, is just as good. Plus, the pace is less frenetic and the scenery is unparalleled (and unobstructed by beachfront condo towers).

“My opinion will certainly be subjective as the bulk of my professional career and residency has been in Brunswick County, with the first five years’ experience in Myrtle Beach,” said Jason Monahan, the director of operations at Rivers Edge. “We can all rank and rate golf courses with so many spectacular facilities in both markets, but for me it’s the lifestyle and tranquility of the Brunswick County area that defines the location.”

I spent five glorious days with seven like-

minded golfers in Brunswick County in October. The weather was seasonal, with one or two cold mornings but temperatures climbing into the 70s by midday. Our group stayed at the Sea Trail Resort Villas in Sunset Beach and played five courses, each one better than the one before it.

Rivers Edge is a stunning Arnold Palmer Signature Course. Palmer was a prolific architect and designed more than 300 courses; Rivers Edge, we agreed, is among his very best.

According to its website, Rivers Edge is one of the most scenic courses along the eastern coast of the United States. If there’s a more visually arresting course near the ocean in

LEFT: The 143-yard, par-3 fifth hole at Rivers Edge. BELOW LEFT TO RIGHT: The beastly, 570-yard, par-5 ninth hole at Rivers Edge is fittingly called “Arnie’s Revenge.” You may feel like you’re being watched. The fantastic, 390-yard, par-4 finishing hole at Rivers Edge.

Florida or the Carolinas, I have yet to play it.

“The vision Mr. Palmer had when he discovered this beautiful piece of land along the Shallotte River is awe-inspiring,” Monahan said. “With six of our 18 holes running along the marshy river, any direction you turn is picturesque.”

At par 72, the layout stretches from just under 5,000 yards to almost 7,000 yards, depending on which of the five tee boxes are used. The greens are Sunday Ultradwarf Bermuda, a hardy strain that produces smooth, quick and uniform surfaces.

There are so many good holes, it’s hard to pick one out as a favorite, but I was partial to the par-3 fifth. The hole measures just 134 yards from the back tee but it’s all carry over the marsh to a wide green shored up in front by an impressive wooden bulwark.

I made a scorecard-wrecking triple-bogey on “Arnie’s Revenge,” but from the porch post-round I was smugly satisfied to see others self-destruct. Misery loves company. And besides, five one-putt greens saved my round.

Earlier in the day, we played semiprivate Carolina National Golf Club in Bolivia (the

CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT: Carolina National’s 203-yard, par-3 fifth hole on the Heron course. The course is home to more than herons, like this osprey. Carolina National’s 394-yard, par-4 ninth hole on the Ibis course. Enjoy the powdery-white beaches of Brunswick County after your round.

town, not the country). All three nines at the 27-hole facility were designed by the team of Fred Couples and Gene Bates. I would have taken laid-back Freddie for a lightweight as a course architect … and I would have been wrong.

Carolina National, built on the Winding River Plantation, is outstanding. Among its many magazine honors, it was ranked as the top coastal course in 1998 by Carolina Magazine. With five sets of tees, plus a 3,000yard “Short Course,” the design is creative and versatile enough to accommodate all skill levels.

The course winds through rich Low Country terrain and features 100 acres of wetlands and dramatic views of the Lockwood Folly River. We all whipped out our cellphones to take photos on No. 5 on the Heron nine, a 203-yard par 3 that played into a two-club wind. The hole was as difficult as it was beautiful, with a shorn-off dead tree rising above the marsh like a ghostly sentinel.

It was a bonus to be centrally located at the Sea Trail Resort Villas. We stayed in comfortable, quiet two-bedroom villas, each with a kitchen and shared living area. None of the courses we played was more than a 30-minute drive away.

Though our itinerary was golf-intensive, we broke it up with a deep-sea fishing excursion, which was a blast. From three miles offshore in our Calabash Fishing Fleet boat, we could see the string of Myrtle Beach condo towers to the south. Everyone on our boat

Open

CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT: Fittingly for coastal Carolina, seafood is easy to find, like the Waterfront Seafood Shack in Calabash. The Sea Trail Golf Club’s Jones Course. Shell out some clams on fresh oysters while you’re there.

caught at least one fish, mostly mackerel, though we did tag-team a four-foot spinner shark that fought like a tiger (shark).

We brought our catch directly to the Waterfront Seafood Shack and sat at picnic tables while the mackerel were prepared for lunch. Maybe it was because we’d caught them, but this was the best meal of the trip. That’s some boast, because we enjoyed excellent dinners at Smoke’d in Shallotte, The Boat Landing in Sunset Beach and Sharky’s in Ocean Isle Beach.

More golf. We tackled the Rees Jones Course, one of three 18-hole tracks at Sea Trail Golf Club (the others were designed by Willard Byrd and Dan Maples).

Water comes into play on 11 holes on the Jones Course, which features back-toback par 5s to end the front nine. This was a thoroughly enjoyable layout, with bent grass greens and wide fairways bordered by towering trees. It’s also where I shot my best score of the trip, though 84 is nothing to brag about. I mention it only to underscore the fact that the Jones Course is eminently playable, even for a 13-handicapper.

We also played nine holes at The Pearl Golf Links and Crow Creek, both located in the quaint fishing village of Calabash.

The Pearl is tucked on the banks of the Brunswick coastal marshland and opened in 1987. It was designed by Maples, whose name is synonymous with the Grand Strand. We played the front nine, which opened and closed with long par 5s and featured three par 3s within the first five holes (Nos. 2, 3 and 5).

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The Rick Robbins-designed Crow Creek. Brunswick County is a bonanza of sun, surf and great golf. The Pearl Golf Links was designed by one of the area’s prolific architects, Dan Maples.

On our last morning, we squeezed in nines holes at Crow Creek before the one-hour drive to Raleigh-Durham International Airport for afternoon flights home. A frost delay prevented us from playing all 18 holes, which was a shame. The air warmed quickly after the sun rose above the tree line, and we were disappointed to have to load up the van.

With tifsport Bermuda fariways and V8 bentgrass greens, Crow’s Creek, designed by Rick Robbins, has a reputation for being among the best-maintained along the Carolinas’ coast. Water comes into play on three of the four par-3 holes and, like many courses in the Low Country, is a theme throughout.

All told, we played 72 holes at five courses, went deep-sea fishing, ate at several excellent restaurants and spent one evening walking the beach. That’s a lot to pack in five days, but we never felt rushed because of the concentration of courses and the ease of getting around.

Mention “destination golf” or “buddies trip” to most golfers and they’ll rattle off Bandon Dunes, Scottsdale, Pinehurst and, of course, Myrtle Beach. All are excellent, to be sure. But golf in the Brunswick Islands — a little less heralded and a little more off the beaten path — is hard to beat.

This is where you come to get Southern charmed.

For booking golf packages in the area, visit seatrailvillas.com. For course information and rates, visit playriversedgegolf.com; thepearlgolf.com; carolinanationalgolfclub.com; seatrail.com/golf/courses; crowcreekgolf.com.

PHOTO: Deacon’s Lodge Golf Course at Breezy Point Golf Resort

popular vacation spots and continues to be a trip of choice for golfers looking for a premier golfing experience at a refreshing affordable price point. - By

“THE STATE of GOLF” - MINNESOTA

Did you know Minnesota is the only state to have hosted all 13 USGA championships plus the Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, Solheim Cup, PGA of America, Woman’s 2019 PGA Championship and others? Last but not least, Minnesota hosted the 2016 Ryder Cup and it’s coming back in 2029!

QUALITY + VARIETY + VALUE = YOUR BUCKET LIST

The overall “Quality” of golf in Minnesota is unparalleled. The Minnesota golf landscape constitutes a hall of fame of “AwardWinning” courses. The “Variety” of Minnesota courses is diverse and woven into Mother Nature’s natural beauty. True “Value” is a major attribute of golf in Minnesota with green fees lower than other golf hot-

found at www.exploreMINNESOTAgolf.com. (Explore Minnesota Golf Alliance)

BEST TRIP

Why is a Minnesota golf trip one the game’s best? Here are a couple reasons:

1. No matter where you are on the socioeconomic spectrum, everyone likes to receive value for their money, and Minnesota delivers at every level. Minnesota is home to the golf courses and golf resorts of the Explore Minnesota Golf Alliance. These upscale tracts deliver a great experience in combination with quality and variety – the VALUE is unmatched.

beds. Whether you’re coming for a few days, weeks or months, Minnesota’s “bucket list” of must-play golf courses can be

2. It’s easy to get here. Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport is home to hundreds of nonstop flights from across the North America as well as Europe and Asia.

A new year means the opportunity to set goals and create lists for your golfing “bucket list.” Golfers are hitting the road to enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures: a golf trip. As players search for the ideal golf destination, Minnesota has long been one of the game’s

Steve Dowling

Throw in easy access from North-South and East-West Interstate systems and this is a surprisingly accessible destination.

AN INVITATION

We’re excited to invite you to visit our wonderful state of Minnesota. At this point, what’s left to decide? Don’t miss out – enjoy golf at its best - start planning your 2023 golf

trip to play the bucket list of great Minnesota courses.

Quality, Variety and Value of Great Golf Play Golf in the Heartland of Golf

Visit Minnesota - the STATE of GOLF

For more information on golf in the heartland-Minnesota visit: www.ExploreMinnesotaGolf.com www.StateofGolf.com, #OnlyinMN 1.

The Courses of Explore Minnesota Golf Alliance

Giants Ridge

Two Legendary Minnesota Golf Courses. One Location. Giants Ridge has long been considered one of Minnesota’s best resort golf vacation destinations. Year after year, national golf publications have ranked The Legend and The Quarry near or at the top of the best public golf courses in the nation not just for play, but for value as well. Giants Ridge just received Golf Digest’s Editor’s Choice for Best Golf Resort in the Midwest.

Meadows at Mystic Lake

The Meadows at Mystic Lake golf course offers an exceptional experience. Located in Prior Lake, Minnesota, this public course is just miles away from the Twin Cities. Complete with pristine bent grass greens and fairways, unique water features, and five sets of tees, it is one of the most enticing courses in Minnesota. Book a tee time, browse the golf shop year-round, and improve your swing, all at The Meadows at Mystic Lake.

Madden’s on Gull Lake

Experience 63 holes of award-winning golf nestled in Minnesota’s lake country. The Classic at Madden’s is a Golf Digest 5-Star and Top 100 Course. Round out your visit with Pine Beach East, Pine Beach West, and a Social-9 courses. Madden’s on Gull Lake is voted Conde Nast’s best in the Midwest and offers on-site dining, golf- and lakeside accommodations, and a reputation for gracious hospitality. Discover experiences that bring you back at Minnesota’s Classic Resort. Located in the heart of the Brainerd Lakes area.

Wilderness at Fortune Bay

The Wilderness - Plan the perfect golf getaway by booking a Stay and Play package with The Wilderness at Fortune Bay Resort Casino. Located on beautiful Lake Vermilion, The Wilderness continues to garner national awards for its playability, breath-taking views, and excellent customer service. This awardwinning resort also features several dining options and 24/7 gaming!!

• America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses-#72 Nationally; #3 Minnesota Golf Digest

• Best Casino Courses in America #7 Nationally; #1 Minnesota Golfweek

Breezy Point Resort

Breezy Point Resort proudly presents the nationally recognized Deacon’s Lodge, an Arnold Palmer Signature course named in honor of Arnold’s father Deacon “Deke” Palmer. Additionally, Breezy Point offers its original championship course Whitebirch, a fan favorite, and the Traditional course which played host to both Patty Berg and Walter Hagen in the 1920s and 30s. Complemented by four unique restaurants, “Dockside” sports and entertainment bar, spa, boat marina, paddle driven cruise boat, sugar sand beaches and multiple accommodation options, Breezy Point has been Minnesota’s “go-to” resort for 100 years. Breezy Point Resort specializes in custom “Stay and Play” packages assembled to meet the golf retreat dreams of any group size. Breezy also offers the only true all-inclusive option golf packages.

Legends Club

Legends Golf Club, recognized as National Golf Course of the Year, is an 18-hole championship course nestled in a wooded, yet marshy, area south of the Twin Cities. It is conveniently located just two miles west from Highway I-35, about a 25-minute drive from either downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul and 20 minutes from the Mall of America/MSP Airport. Legends Club is one of the few daily-fee public golf courses where you experience private club feel, amenities and service. Come add your story to the Legends.

Three 18-hole Courses Resort Lodge and Condos

Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau

Great Northern Golf Trail

This dream itinerary along the Great Northern Golf Trail in Minnesota and Wisconsin will make you a hero among fellow golfers. Your journey starts in Bloomington, Minnesota, home of Mall of America and easily accessible to Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and continues on to 16 bucket list Midwestern golf courses. New additions include Deacon’s Lodge, White Eagle GC, SentryWorld and Erin Hills. Contact us for course openings and personalized 2023 golf packages and pricing.

Superior National at Lutsen

Great Golf on the Greatest Lake Mountains, canyons and rivers – few golf courses are fortunate enough to be built around just one of these breathtaking elements. At Superior National we have all three. Our 27-hole course weaves in and around this remarkable landscape while overlooking vast stretches of Lake Superior, the Sawtooth Mountains and the rugged Poplar River. It is family friendly and playable for all levels plus a definite challenge for the scratch player.

Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake

Cragun’s Legacy Courses have undergone a $10 million golf course transformation by tour pro Tom Lehman. The Dutch & Lehman 18s offer a completely new experience to enjoy. Lehman’s design used the beautiful, natural contours of the property to challenge the golfer yet make the course significantly playable and forgiving. With 36 holes of brand-new championship golf combined with Cragun’s Resort on Gull Lake the Legacy Courses need to be your next golf destination!

Top Brand Hotels! Home of the Ryder Cup 2016 & 2029

Breaking Through

An inside look at Midwesterner Ryan Brehm’s remarkable new life on the PGA Tour, after 14 years as a professional golfer

By Don Shell

Ryan Brehm’s back was to the proverbial wall.

After spending 14 years putting together a successful golf career on the Korn Ferry Tour and even a stint as a coach at Michigan State, the PGA Tour pro from Traverse City, Michigan, found himself clinging to his card by a thread. Playing in the Puerto Rico Open last March, the 36-year-old Brehm had one lastditch chance to keep his card on the PGA Tour. If it hadn’t been for a final medical exemption from a missed event due to COVID, Brehm would be back on the Korn Ferry today, not battling it out with the world’s best this year.

Chelsey and Ryan Brehm met as students at Michigan State, and have been nearly inseparable ever since, as she even serves as his part-time caddie.

Industry Insider

“Yeah it was crazy how it all happened,” Brehm recalled. “The year prior I regained my (PGA) Tour status through the Korn Ferry Tour. And I played the regular season, lost my card, but during all that, that was the year that the Tour returned from COVID. And I was supposed to play in the Zurich with Joel Dahmen. But I ended up contracting COVID the week prior, so I couldn’t compete that week.

RANKED 773RD IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME, HE KNEW THE ODDS WERE AGAINST HIM … HE NEEDED SOMETHING HE HADN’T DONE IN HIS TIME ON THE PGA TOUR —

HE NEEDED A WIN

“So that happened, had to sit that week out, and then we lose our card. And at the end of the year, the Tour called me and said, ‘Hey, by the way, you have one minor medical start left.’ And so I got one extra week that would count towards my FedEx points for that year to try and regain my status. And so we decided that we were going to play the Korn Ferry Tour (in 2022) and we decided to just pick Puerto Rico because it fit during a month-long break on the Korn Ferry Tour and I played well at Puerto Rico before. So that’s kind of the backstory.”

Brehm fired a final-round 67 to outpace second-place finisher Max McGreevy by six strokes in Puerto Rico last year.

But that’s only part of the story, a familiar one for professional golfers who often find themselves on the wrong side of a razorthin line — just a birdie here or a missed cut there — and outside the lucky .006% of golfers who make the PGA Tour.

Granted, he’d seen his share of successes since turning pro in 2008, following a stellar college career at Michigan State, where his team won three Big Ten titles. Ryan went on to win the Michigan Open three times — including back-to-back wins in 2009-10 — as well as twice on the Korn Ferry Tour since 2016. But ranked 773rd in the world at the time, he knew the odds were against him in Puerto Rico, and he’d need more than a missed cut this time around. He needed something he hadn’t done in his time on the PGA Tour — he needed a win, or at least a solo second place.

Luckily for Brehm, he had his lucky charm with him, wife Chelsey as his caddie, filling in for his full-time bagman Lee Cheney. Together the husband-wife duo expertly navigated the Grand Reserve Country Club, and Ryan fired a final-round 67 to outpace second-place finisher Max McGreevy by six strokes to secure his spot on Tour.

Chelsey had an easy answer for how much of the win could be credited to her.

“All of it, obviously,” she laughed. “No, he didn’t need me out there. It was a pretty cool opportunity to be on the bag and I was planning on being out there most of Korn Ferry Tour that year, and I’ve caddied in the past for Ry.

Brehm’s wife Chelsey also serves as his part-time caddie, filling in for his full-time bagman Lee Cheney.

“But you know, there’s value to be had in a good caddie (and I don’t think I’m that), but I do think what I learned that week was he had whatever it was — whatever the ‘it factor’ is — when you’re winning or when you’re in contention or when you’re going to win a golf tournament. And I can’t control that really. All I helped do was make sure he was hydrated, make sure he had snacks and just try and distract him a little bit so we didn’t get too caught up in what was actually happening, right? So keep him laughing and kind of just putting one foot in front of the other trucking on the fairway.

“It was unique, to say the least.”

It was also a whirlwind, Ryan said.

“It was a blur, honestly,” Ryan recalled. “I’d learned from a couple of previous wins on the Korn Ferry Tour to try and slow down and enjoy the moment, and reach out to the people that I love, so we made sure to call my dad and my family back home.

“And I’d be remiss to say that I would have won in Puerto Rico had we not lost my mom (Debbie Brehm) shortly before that, and experiencing all that you know, there was a lot of growth that came from that. And you know, I personally owe so much to that woman, and she’ll be forever missed.”

“She was certainly with us,” Chelsey added. “It was crazy, supernatural.”

“It kind of hit me in the press conference,” Ryan said. “To be taking all the questions and just reflecting on what happened.”

The Brehms had little time to reflect and had to react, and the next day they found

themselves on a plane headed to the Players Championship, an unplanned bonus they didn’t see coming. But that was only the beginning.

“We had already committed to the Korn Ferry for the year,” Chesley said. “We played down there before we knew what we were doing, so it’s flights and hotels booked for that whole season. But we got PGA Tour status back literally overnight and we were like, ‘OK, holy cow. Our schedule just completely changed.’ So there’s a whole rigamarole of changing flights and finding accommodations and figuring out what our schedule now looks like for the rest of the year.”

Brehm missed the cut at the Players, but

Thanks to an unlikely but inspired win in Puerto Rico last year, Brehm is battling the game’s best back on the PGA Tour this season.

followed up with a solid season the rest of the year, punctuated by a 14th-place finish at — ironically — the Zurich Classic, playing with friend and fellow pro Mark Hubbard.

that field.

“It’s never really as good as you want it to be,” he added. “I played great in Puerto Rico and I’ve still kind of been waiting to see that come back into my game and I’d like to be in contention more, but the goal last season and going into this season is to learn how to stay out here on the PGA Tour.

THE BREHMS HAD LITTLE TIME TO REFLECT AND HAD TO REACT, AND THE NEXT DAY THEY FOUND THEMSELVES ON A PLANE HEADED TO THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, AN UNPLANNED BONUS THEY DIDN’T SEE COMING. BUT THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Brehm’s making the most of his second chance this season. The 6-foot-4, 220pound bomber, who averages 304.5 yards off the tee, has two top-50 finishes already, a tie for 35th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and a 41st-place finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

But don’t expect Brehm to be contented with that.

“The goal every year I think, for all of us, is to make the Tour Championship,” Ryan said. “So, you know, that would be a highly successful year for us. But most of these tournaments, you know, I’m thankful to have the opportunity to play in all of them, really. Last year we did get into the PGA Championship, and that was my second Major, so I’d like to earn my way back into

“Getting into contention and winning, you know, that’s really what it boils down to. It’s not about having a lot of average weeks, it’s about having a few really good weeks. What’s the old saying? You gotta make hay when the sun’s shining. When you’re playing well, you know, a couple extra strokes when you’re playing well is really the difference.”

It’s that level of expectation — and belief in his own ability — that kept Brehm going during a bit of a rocky start to his pro career.

“Did I ever want to quit? Oh yeah, I actually turned pro and then coached at Michigan State for a little bit before I decided to rededicate myself to playing professional golf again,” Brehm recalled. “But you know, I didn’t want to live with that regret. I always knew I was capable. But that’s not always what it takes. You know it took me a long time to get to the PGA Tour and then to finally win. There’s been a lot of learning involved.

“But I think anyone who plays this game has at least had a moment in time where they thought about quitting.”

So if you ever do, just remember Ryan Brehm.

For more about Ryan Brehm, please visit pgatour.com, and read more about the upcoming events in the Midwest this year in our Tournament Preview, on page 80.

Springs Course - Architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr.

North Nine Course - Architects Roger Packard and Andy North

Both Rated by Golf Digest

A Peaceful Getaway at The House on the Rock Resort

SentryWorld in Stevens Point, WI

The Rubber Match

Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington renew their rivalry this summer at SentryWorld, at the US Senior Open Championship

The last time Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker crossed paths on a golf course in the Badger State their sticks remained in the bag.

That was, of course, in 2021 when Stricker, captaining Team USA, routed captain Harrington’s European crew in the Ryder Cup played at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin.

Jump ahead to 2022 and the U.S. Senior Open Championship being played at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Harrington entered the final round with a fivestroke cushion. He ended up sweating out a oneshot victory over, guess who? Yup, Stricker.

The two, this time with sticks in hand, will renew their duel this summer as the U.S. Senior Open Championship comes to SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, June 29 to July 2.

The championship will be a coming-out party of sorts for the Robert Trent Jones Jr. design. In 2020, with COVID at its peak, the course took the unusual step of shutting its doors to do extensive renovations on the course as well as the clubhouse grounds. The Senior Open will give us a chance to admire the fruits of what turned out to be a twoyear-long labor as well as the opportunity to enjoy what appears to be a very competitive tournament.

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

2023 Pro Golf Preview

The Senior Open will be one of a handful of visits the Champions Tour will make this summer to the Golftime Midwest region.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour plans four regional stops beginning June 1 at The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, and culminating with the return of the BMW Championship, Aug. 17-20, at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago.

The LIV Tour will also make a return to the Chicago area this summer with the Chicago Invitational to be played at Rich Harvest Farms in late September.

Professional tournaments scheduled for 2023 include:

June 1-4, Dublin, Ohio

PGA Tour

THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

COURSE: Muirfield Village Golf Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Billy Horschel

TV: CBS/Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Billy Horschel cruised to a four-stroke victory, his seventh career win on the PGA Tour.

June 2-4, Des Moines, Iowa

PGA Tour Champions

PRINCIPAL CHARITY CLASSIC

COURSE: Wakonda Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Jerry Kelly

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Jerry Kelly birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Kirk Triplett.

June 9-11, Battle Creek, Michigan

Epson Tour

FIREKEEPERS CASINO HOTEL CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Battle Creek Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Xiaowen Yin

THE SKINNY: China’s Xiaowen Yin secured her first professional victory by defeating American Gina Kim in a one-hole playoff.

June 9-11, Madison, Wisconsin

PGA Tour Champions

AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: University Ridge Golf Course

DEFENDING CHAMP: Thongchai Jaidee

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Thongchai Jaidee became the first player from Thailand to win on the tour.

June 15-18, Grand Rapids, Michigan

LPGA Tour

MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC FOR SIMPLY GIVE

COURSE: Blythefield Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Jennifer Kucpho

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Jennifer Kucpho earned her secondcareer LPGA Tour win with a playoff victory over Nelly Korda and Leona Maguire.

June 23-25, Harris, Michigan

Epson Tour

ISLAND RESORT CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Sweetgrass Golf Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Ssu-Chia Cheng

THE SKINNY: Ssu-Chia Cheng’s 17-under-par finish tied the tournament record.

June 29 - July 2, Stevens Point, Wisconsin

PGA Tour Champions

U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: SentryWorld

DEFENDING CHAMP: Padraig Harrington

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Padraig Harrington defeated Steve Stricker by one stroke.

Photo by Jim Kelsh

June 29 – July 2, Detroit Michigan

PGA Tour

ROCKET MORTGAGE CLASSIC

COURSE: Detroit Golf Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Tony Finau

TV: CBS/Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Tony Finau earned his second PGA Tour win of the 2022 season with a five-shot victory.

June 29 – July 2, Springfield, Illinois

Korn Ferry Tour

MEMORIAL HEALTH CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Panther Creek Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Paul Haley II

THE SKINNY: The victory was the first for Paul Haley II since 2012.

July 6-9, Silvis, Illinois

PGA Tour

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

COURSE: TPC Deere Run

DEFENDING CHAMP: J.T. Poston

TV: CBS/Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: J.T. Poston completed a wire-to-wire victory for his second PGA Tour win.

July 13-16, Sylvania, Ohio

LPGA Tour

GREATER TOLEDO LPGA CLASSIC

COURSE: Highland Meadows Golf Club

DEFNDING CHAMP: Gaby Lopez

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Gaby Lopez finished the tournament at 18 under, including 8-under par on the final round.

Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington

July 13-16, Akron, Ohio

PGA Tour Champions

KAULIG COMPANIES CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Firestone Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Jerry Kelly

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Jerry Kelly used two late birdies to pull away from fellow Madisonian and defending champion Steve Stricker.

July 19-22, Midland, Michigan

LPGA Tour

DOW GREAT LAKES

BAY INVITATIONAL

DEFENDING CHAMPS: Jennifer Kupcho & Lizette Salas

COURSE: Midland Country Club

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas shot a 9-under 61 in the final round to cruise to a five-shot victory.

July 27-30, Blaine, Minnesota

PGA Tour

3M OPEN

COURSE: TPC Twin Cities

DEFENDING CHAMP: Tony Finau

TV: CBS/Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Tony Finau fired a 4-under 67 in the final round to win the tournament by three strokes.

July 27-30, Glenview, Illinois

Korn Ferry Tour

NV5 INVITATIONAL

COURSE: The Glen Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Harry Hall

THE SKINNY: Englishman Harry Hall birdied all three holes in a sudden-death playoff to defeat Nick Hardy.

Tony Finau

Aug. 3-6, French Lick, Indiana

Epson Tour

FRENCH LICK RESORT

STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: The Pete Dye Course

DEFENDING CHAMP: Xiaowen Yin

THE SKINNY: China’s Xiaowen Yin used three consecutive birdies during the final round to lead to victory.

Aug. 10-12, South Bend, Indiana

Epson Tour

FOUR WINDS INVITATIONAL

COURSE: South Bend Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Yan Liu

THE SKINNY: Yan Liu, from China, defeated American Gabby Lemieux in a one-hole playoff.

Aug. 17-20, Olympia Fields, Illinois

PGA Tour

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Olympia Fields Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Patrick Cantlay

TV: NBC, Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Patrick Cantlay posted a one-shot victory over Scott Stallings.

Aug. 25-27, Grand Blanc, Michigan

PGA Tour Champions

THE ALLY CHALLENGE

COURSE: Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Steve Stricker

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Steve Stricker defeated Brett Quigley to win the tournament by one shot.

Sept. 15-17, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

PGA Tour Champions

SANFORD INTERNATIONAL

COURSE: Minnehaha Country Club

2023 Pro Golf Preview

DEFENDING CHAMP: Steve Stricker

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Steve Stricker birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Robert Karlsson.

Sept. 21-24, Columbus, Ohio

Korn Ferry Tour

NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Ohio State University Golf Course –Scarlet Course

DEFENDING CHAMP: David Lingmerth

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: David Lingmerth earned a two-shot victory over Paul Haley II.

Sept. 22-24, Sugar Grove, Illinois

LIV Tour

LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL CHICAGO

COURSE: Rich Harvest Farms

DEFENDING CHAMP: Cameron Smith

TV: The CW

THE SKINNY: Cameron Smith posted a three-stroke victory over Dustin Johnson and Peter Uihlein.

Oct. 5-8, Newburgh, Indiana

Korn Ferry Tour

UNITED LEASING & FINANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Victoria National Golf Club

DEFENDING CHAMP: Justin Suh

TV: Golf Channel

THE SKINNY: Justin Suh made three bogeys total in the tournament that he won by two strokes.

Photo by Jim Kelsh

ALL GEARED

UP

the non-elite player achieve greater swing speed and more distance. The use of space-age lightweight components gives the Great Big Bertha driver a 56% reduction in the weight of the shaft and grip alone. Also available in fairway woods and hybrids. $699 driver. callawaygolf.com.

Callaway Chrome Soft Triple Track

Remember when a line on your golf ball to help with putting was considered revolutionary? Well, Callaway’s Chrome Soft Triple Track line will have you singing “Viva la revolution!” throughout your round. Designed to offer golfers of all abilities greater distance with a soft feel, the ball’s three aiming lines will take the doubt out of lining up putts. That sales of these balls with alternating red and blue lines have more than doubled since 2020 suggests that golfers approve of the help. Available in white or yellow. $49.99. callawaygolf.com.

Edison Forged Wedges

Terry Koehler, CEO of Texas-based Edison Forged Wedges, says his review of more than 50,000 statistical analyses completed by golfers over the years show 80% miss their wedge shots short, fly them too high and don’t get the desired spin. That’s because, he said, most golfers are using wedges designed for elite professional players – and most golfers are far from elite professionals. Edison Forged Wedges (“It’s a wedge for the rest of us,” Koehler says.) were designed to put 25% more mass behind the usual impact area, resulting in greater distance control, increased spin and a more forgiving club than the wedges in most complete sets. In steel or graphite and they come with a 30-day money back guarantee.

$189.95-$204.95.

Ping ChipR

Getting up and down from anywhere around the green can be a challenge, so why not simplify the task with Ping’s new ChipR? Is it a wedge? Is it a putter? More like everything in between. Designed for the golfer who may not always feel confident using more lofted clubs, the ChipR (38.5 degrees) can be used to get onto the green from the rough or the fringe. Just strike it like you would a putt and the club will get the ball airborne and rolling and eliminate that fear of chunking or blading. The head is perimeter weighted for forgiveness and the shallow face height helps ensure reliable contact. $195. ping.com.

Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor

Want to turn that phone in your pocket into a swing coach instead?

For about the price of a high-end driver the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor will give golfers the information they need to improve faster and play better. Turn your driving range into a swing lab with the MLM, which has won new product awards for pairing Doppler radar technology with your iPhone or iPad camera to provide instant video replay, shot tracer and accurate readings on distance, club speed, ball speed, launch angle and lots more. Includes monitor, carry case, connection cable and user guide. $599. Rapsodo.com.

Peter Millar Jameson Hoodie

Not every round of golf is played under sun-kissed fairways and calm breezes. The Jameson Popover Hooded Jacket by Peter Millar offers a perfect combination of warmth, comfort, style and performance for women. Designed for maximum flexibility with four-way stretch, the 80% polyester, 20% spandex material naturally adapts to any condition — keeping wind away when you are idle but opening up for maximum airflow when in motion. It features a fitted design and curved hem for a sleek look. It is wind and water resistant and machine washable. $178. petermillar.com.

Bag Boy T-750

Golfers are traveling again, and if you are one of those on-theroad players you’ll want a travel cover that protects your equipment against the rigors of planes, trains or automobiles. The Bag Boy T-750 offers thick four-sided padded top with high density foam for maximum protection. It also features deluxe in-line skate wheels to easily roll to and through airports or hotels and lockable, full wrap-around zipper to provide access and ease of packing. And don’t forget the large show/ garment pocket for your other gear. $149. bagboy.com.

Titelist TSr Series Drivers

Hot off the presses after its launch late last year, the Titleist TSr series of drivers is sleek, sexy, and serious about giving you more distance and forgiveness. The new lineup comes in three flavors, r2 (most forgiving), r3 (designed for lower handicaps) and r4 (low spin). All of them have aerospace-grade titanium and Titleist’s trademark “Speed Ring” variable face thickness to make its sweet spot all the sweeter. $599. titleist.com.

SkyCaddie LX2

Tired of tromping around fairways searching for sprinkler heads or those elusive red and blue discs to gauge your distance to the target? As the noted golf teacher Henry David Thoreau would remind us, “Simplify, simplify.” The SkyCaddie LX2 is an easyto-use tool to find accurate distances in no time at all. Easily readable in even the brightest sunshine, the super lightweight wristwatch caddy comes fully loaded with 35,000 ground-verified maps. Features include auto-course recognition and auto-hole advance, digital scorecard and stats and 10 alarm settings. Its step counter will tell you how far you walked and pace-of-play timer will keep you on schedule. $199.95. skygolf.com.

ROLL Recovery’s R4 Body Roller

Golf is hardly a contact sport but there are days where a hilly, 18-hole walk can leave you tired, sore and wishing for help. ROLL Recovery’s R4 Body Roller is a foam roller that will allow you to release muscle tension and soreness through simple massage. The durable foam roller can be used to increase blood circulation, reduce inflammation and provide a healthy range of motion and flexibility. It features a spine and neck alignment center groove and diamond pattern for better grip. $59.99. rollrecovery.com.

Skechers GO GOLF Skech-Air

Whether you walk the whole course or merely the distance from your cart to the green, your feet want to be comfortable. Skechers has a full line of comfortable golf footwear and some, like the Skechers GO GOLF Skech-Air – Dos, promise air-cushioned comfort. The shoes also offer a water-repellent leather upper along with an air-cushioned midsole, memory foam insole and spikeless traction outsole. The relaxed-fit design provides plenty of toe and forefoot room. $95. skechers.com.

When I was a brand-new player, learning the game alongside my big brother, Jerry, for a reason I don’t remember both of us decided that using a red tee was bad luck. We never used them and if we saw one lying on the ground, we would either walk way around it or laughingly try to flick it with a club at the other guy. Just being touched by one meant doom. All these decades later, I still never use red tees.

Oddly enough, though, I always ID my ball with a red dot on either side. Not navy blue, which is my favorite color, but red, which is my least favorite. Go figure.

Another super ... uh, oddity of mine is to always mark my ball on a green with the coin tails up. If — due to my increasingly poor eyesight — I notice that the coin is heads up, there’s no chance I’m going to make that putt. Not even from a foot away.

Speaking of that … as a righthanded player, I keep my coins in my right front pocket. Strangely, there are right-handed players on the PGA Tour that keep their coins in their left front pocket, and lefties that keep them in their right front pocket. The great Tom

Watson, a rightie, always teed up his ball with his left hand. No doubt that was the reason he only won eight major championships.

The even greater Jack Nicklaus, later in his career, always wore a yellow shirt during the final round of a tournament. The reason was because a young fan of his — who was fighting a serious illness — wore a yellow shirt on Sunday to bring Jack luck. In 1986, when Nicklaus was “over the hill” at age 46, his final-round 65 won him his sixth Masters Tournament. He was wearing a yellow shirt.

One other thing … lately, for some reason, I’ve noticed that when I use a ball with a high number — 26, 37, 44 — I’m less intimidated than when I use a ball with the more traditional 1, 2, 3 or 4. The low numbers make me feel that I have to play like a pro; the high numbers don’t. But then ... I have been playing better.

Probably just a coincidence. Right?

Do you have superstitions on the course? Let us know!

editor@golftimemag.com

Who me, superstitious? Don’t be silly by Danny Freels

Award-winning dining, a booming craft beer scene, luxurious resorts, and exceptional year-round golf on courses along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail await you in Alabama. Plus, with Jerry Pate’s Kiva Dunes and Arnold Palmer’s Craft Farms in Gulf Shores, from the mountain lakes to the Gulf Coast, you can take it all in.

www.GolfAlabama.org

Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Birmingham