In This Issue V O L U M E
28
•
F A L L
2 0 1 0
•
N U M B E R
3
http://michigangolfer.com MICHIGAN GOLFER Publisher/Editor Art McCafferty artmccaf@glsp.com Editor Emeritus Terry Moore
Associate Publisher/Producer Jennie McCafferty
Writers Jeff Bairley Susan Bairley L’anse Bannon Mike Beckman Jack Berry Jason Deegan Tom Doak Mike Duff Rob Franciosi Thad Gutowski Kelly Hill Greg Johnson B.R. Koehnemann Vartan Kupelian Chris Lewis Jim Neff Norm Sinclair Michael Patrick Shiels Ron Whitten Gary Holaway Janina Parrott Jacobs
Herschel Nathanial Bernice Phillips Bill Shelton Brad Shelton Marc Van Soest John Wukovits Photo/Video Mike Brown Kevin Frisch Dave Richards Carter Sherline Clarence Sormin Brian Walters Director of Accounting Cheryl Clark
4 7 12
Michigan Golfer is produced by
Great Lakes Sports Publications, Inc.
GLSP Advertising & Business Office 4007 Carpenter Road, #366 Ypsilanti, MI 48197 734.507.0241 734.434.4765 FAX info@glsp.com glsp.com
16
2
FALL
2010
•
By Terry Moore
Senior Tournaments Put Michigan Golf Back on the Map By Jack Berry Dyeabotical By Jack Berry
Strom Storms From Behind to Win Michigan Women’s Open By Tim Hygh
18
Matthews Wins Out Over Fouch and Do at Tournament of Champions
21
Brehm Wins 2nd Michigan Open at Orchard Lake Country Club
22 23
Michigan Golfer is published online four times a year by Great Lakes Sports Publications, Inc., 4007 Carpenter Rd, #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. All contents of this publication are copyrighted, all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. All unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and illustrations will not be returned unless accompanied by a properly addressed envelope, bearing sufficient postage; publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials. The views and opinions of the writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect endorsement of views and/or philosophy of Michigan Golfer. Back Issues: May be ordered by sending $5.00 with your name, address and issue requested to Michigan Golfer, 4007 Carpenter Road, #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.
Manitou Passage: Rebirth of Palmer’s King’s Challenge
26 30
By Tim Hygh By Tim Hygh
Ron Beurmann Wins Michigan PGA Professional Championship By Tim Hygh
Teaching Pros Compete with the Touring Pros By Brad Shelton Golf Club at Harbor Shores Celebrates Its Grand Opening By B.R. Koehnemann
For Pete’s Sake, Enough is Enough By Bill Shelton
Cover: Manitou Passage. Photo ©Brian Walters
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Photo © Brian Walters
Manitou Passage:
Rebirth of Palmer’s King’s Challenge
T
Terry Moore
4
FALL
By Terry Moore
he first time I met Bob Kuras, President of The Homestead in Glen Arbor, was at the inaugural Michigan Golf Summit in 1989. Kuras had been in the news the previous three years for his tenacious efforts to build a championship golf course at his acclaimed resort. In spite of spending a small fortune in feasibility plans and environmental impact statements, Kuras’s dream of a world-class resort layout was blocked by concerns by area residents and governmental authorities
2010
•
(most notably the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) that a course would harm the ecosystem of the pristine Crystal River. (For an interesting historical perspective on the controversy, visit http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_ books/slbe/adhi_5g.htm ) Anyway, Kuras attended the second day of the two-day Summit which included a panel discussion on “The Environment and
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Golf in Michigan.” He sat in the first row of seats in the auditorium directly in front of the panelists, which included the then head of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources. It was obvious Kuras had a bone to pick with the DNR as he listened to the remarks of the DNR director. He also took public issue with some of DNR director’s statements and challenged them in the concluding Q & A portion of the agenda. I concluded then that Kuras was a formidable and tireless advocate for The Homestead and that he ‘would not go gently into the good night’ about his golf course.
Photo © Brian Walters
As it turned out, Kuras never was able to build a championship course for The Homestead although he did add an admirable par-three course and a Dave Pelz Short Game School to the resort’s full roster of amenities and diversions. I can only imagine Kuras went to bed at night thinking his
dream of a golf course would remain a dream. But then presto, King’s Challenge fell into his lap. King’s Challenge was the name of the Arnold Palmer-designed layout that sits ten miles north of The Homestead off M-22. It was a project by some investors and residents of the nearby Sugar Loaf Resort in Cedar. Opening in 1997, it received favorable reviews for its playable and understated design and for some stunning vistas, mindful of mountain Carolinas, on its back side. But almost from the beginning, and possibly auguring Michigan’s overbuilt golf course woes, King’s Challenge struggled to find a loyal customer base. Over time, its play dwindled and maintenance and care of the course suffered. Finally a few years ago, it closed. But a small group of investors, which included a reluctant Kuras and the noted golf course builder Brent Wadsworth who had vacationed at The
Homestead for over 30 years, purchased the property and began the process to resuscitate it. A key move was retaining course architect Eric Wiltse, the son of Arnold Palmer Design’s Ray Wiltse who was Palmer’s lead man on the original project, to oversee the many needed renovations. Now two years after its demise, King’s Challenge has risen from the ashes like the mythical Phoenix and is re-christened as the Manitou Passage Golf Club. The transformation is impressive.
L
ike inheriting a home with a sour front yard, it will take some more time before Manitou Passage’s conditioning is back to exemplary resort standards. Yet it’s headed in the right direction with fairways and greens starting to respond to better maintenance practices. And the bunkers have been rejuvenated with new sand and edging and definition
Photo © Brian Walters
giving it a more professional look. Most importantly, new links-style rectangular tee boxes have been added that add even more playability for all handicaps, especially off the forward tee. Then there’s expensive but often little appreciated improvements like new and rerouted cart paths and better drainage that greatly enhance the property. Also, the clubhouse has been revitalized and remodeled with a handsome deck overlooking the 18th hole, now a more forgiving par-five.
In a neat touch, the new name of the course is fitting thanks to the keen eye of Kuras’s youngest son Jamie who spied a terrific view of Lake Michigan through the trees and brush up near the elevated eighth hole tee box. After some trees and overgrowth were cleared, a spectacular view of Lake Michigan and Manitou Islands was revealed. (Suggestion: a permanently mounted telescope would be a nice addition here.)
I came away from Manitou Passage thankful that a fine golf course amid beautiful surroundings in northern Michigan was being reclaimed, refurbished and “recycled.” Because let’s face it, generally speaking we don’t really need any more new golf courses in Michigan. As the remodeling industry reminds us: don’t build, just improve! - MG -
Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios
M
Senior Tournaments Put Michigan Golf Back on the Map
ichigan returns to big time professional golf in 2012 with the United States Senior Open at Indianwood G&CC in Lake Orion and on the other side of the state, the PGA
Photo above: Arnold Palmer blasts out of a bunker at his Turning Point Tournament, Detroit Golf Club, 2004
By Jack Berry
Senior Championship at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor. They are the two oldest senior major championships. Old playing the old?
Not exactly. In fact senior majors are quite young. There are five of them, but every one is younger than the Masters Tournament which is the youngest
of the four majors including the British and United States Opens and PGA Championship.
The senior majors, and their birth year, are the PGA, 1937; the USGA, 1980; Senior Players, 1983; British Senior, 1987, and the Tradition, 1989.
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
7
But despite Sam Snead winning the PGA Senior six times, Gene Sarazen and Julius Boros twice and Tommy Bolt once, all winners of golf’s majors, it took more than 40 years before the old boys got a second major of their own – the USGA Senior Open – and the impetus came from television. Producer Fred Raphael sold Shell Oil Co. on sponsoring Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, two-man matches played on beautiful courses around the world. Snead, Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Hogan played, so did “kids” like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. It was a huge hit and for the nostalgic, it still is.
Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios
Then, in 1978, Raphael came up with the Legends of Golf, pitting two-man teams of players 50 and older against each other in a 54 hole tournament. Snead and Gardner Dickinson beat Australians Peter Thomson (five time British Open winner) and Kel Nagle in the first one and Boros and Roberto De Vicenzo beat Bolt and Art Wall in a playoff in 1979 that featured one astounding shot and putt after another.
Jack Nicklaus
The PGA Senior Championship started thanks to Bobby Jones who five years earlier invited golf’s best players to a tournament at his new club in Augusta, Ga. That was the birth of the Masters Tournament and was won by Horton Smith who later became professional at Detroit Golf Club. 8
FALL
2010
•
Jones felt that older pros needed a tournament of their own and the first two Senior PGAs were played in the fall at the Augusta National Golf Club before moving to Florida and switching to winter when old club pros from the north could play.
The Legends and Wonderful World led the PGA Tour to start the Senior (now Champions) Tour in 1980 and the USGA got the message. Old is gold. It wasn’t just a bunch of veteran club pros. These were names golf fans knew and they responded and so did sponsors. “As a result of the remarkable growth of senior golf, both at the
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios
Tom Watsom
•
FALL 2010
9
Photo Art McCafferty
1980 championship at Winged Foot, with 55 the entry point, was won by Roberto DeVicenzo but the gallery consisted of many more trees than people. So it lowered the age to 50 and headed to Oakland Hills.
Photo courtesy of PGA
Oakland Hills Clubhouse
Billy Caspar professional and amateur levels,” the USGA statement said, it was establishing the USGA Senior Open. But whereas the PGA Championship from the beginning set the entry age at 50, the USGA already had set 55 as the senior entry age when it established the USGA Senior Amateur in 1955.
The USGA learned in a hurry that 50 was better for a Senior Open. The 10
FALL
2010
•
Just coincidentally, Palmer, 51, now was eligible. Bud Erickson, who was the tournament director at Oakland Hills, said they started getting calls for “the Arnold Palmer tournament.”
It was a hit and even drew a large gallery including office-dressed men for the Monday playoff which Palmer won over Billy Casper and Bob Stone.
Nicklaus turned 50 in time for the 1991 Senior Open, again at Oakland Hills, and beat Chi Chi Rodriguez in a playoff. It was another hit.
Indianwood isn’t likely to get Palmer, who will be 82 then, or Nicklaus, who will be 72. Maybe Tom Watson who will be 62. The leaders now are Bernhard Langer,
Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia, Nick Price and Corey Pavin, all major championship winners, and Paul Azinger and Kenny Perry hit the Champions Tour age mark this year.
Indianwood and Harbor Shores are fresh territory for the seniors. Indianwood is a fine course that hosted golf’s stars in its early days and was a favorite of Detroit resident Walter Hagen. Gene Sarazen won the Western Open, then considered a major, in 1930 and the club hosted two successful U.S. Women’s Opens, in 1989 won by Betsy King, and 1994 won by Patty Sheehan. Harbor Shores is brand new, period. The Jack Nicklaus design opened this year with Nicklaus, Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller playing a fund-raiser on Aug. 10. Nicklaus routed three holes along the shore of Lake Michigan (no danger of getting your feet wet) and the par 71 is unusual in that there are five par threes along with four par fives and nine par fours.
The two majors are Michigan’s first step back onto the big stage since the Buick Open expired in 2009, victim of the economic plunge. The Senior Players Championship had 17 years in Dearborn with the first one at Dearborn Country Club and the next 16 at the Nicklaus-designed TPC Michigan. The Champions Tour’s 18-year ride in Grand Rapids at the Highlands and Egypt Valley ended in 2004 and the
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
LPGA’s Olds tournament ended a nine year run in Lansing in 2000.
Ironically, Wisconsin which had only two majors in the last century, the 1933 PGA in Milwaukee and the 1998 Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, suddenly is overrun with riches, thanks to industrialist Herbert Kohler, and a new course which Golf Digest architecture editor Ron Whitten had a hand in. Kohler hired Pete Dye to design two courses at the American Club,
Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios
Photo below: Tiger Woods wins the last Buick Open in 2009.
a five star resort with the finest plumbing available (Kohler of Kohler), and 10 miles north of there, Whistling Straits. The 2004 and 2010 PGA Championships and 2007 USGA Senior Open were played at Whistling Straits and it also will get the 2015 PGA and the 2020 Ryder Cup. Blackwolf Run gets the 2012 Women’s Open.
Erin Hills, 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, was designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. Randall Mell of Golf Channel, stopped at Erin Hills after covering the PGA at Whistling Straits and described Whistling Straits as a manufactured course and Erin Hills as a course made by nature. Erin
Hills opened in 2007, had the 2008 Women’s Amateur Public Links, will host the U.S. Amateur next year and then the big one, the U.S. Open, in 2017. It’s ironic that Wisconsin is getting all that big time golf and yet it lost its oldest tournament, the Milwaukee Open that dated to 1968. The PGA Tour gave it a deadly date – opposite the British Open – and no sponsor wanted to spend money on a Class B event so that ended in 2009. Milwaukee gave Tiger Woods a sponsor exemption for his pro debut. And then he never went back. - MG -
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Dyeabotical
by Jack Berry
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
H
The number of sand traps at Whistling Straits varies depending on winds and encroaching grasses.
erb Kohler is a big bear of a man and he’s proud of the 1200 or so ugly babies that Dr. Frankenstein, AKA golf course designer Pete Dye, presented him with on what was described as wasteland, toxic dump, military field, whatever, on the Lake Michigan shore of Wisconsin.
Neither Kohler, head of the huge restroom implement manufacturer, nor Dye know precisely how many ugly babies are out there. In joint appearances during the 92nd PGA Championship it was said that the number varies depending on winds and encroaching grasses. With all that, the name Whistling Straits seems appropriate. Photo preceding page: Whistling Straits 14
FALL
2010
•
So how is one to know whether your golf ball rests in what rules officialdom calls a bunker or what most folks who play golf, including touring professionals, call a sand trap? Especially on the last hole of a major championship, in a heated dash to the wire, as it were.
I learned that the Local Rules, which apply to that course, were posted on the wall and mirrors in the lockerroom for the 2004 PGA Championship, which Vijay Singh won, and for last week’s event. And, each player received a rules sheet and at the top of the list it was noted that all those spits of sand, small, large, inside and outside the gallery ropes, were considered bunkers and thus it was a penalty to ground your club prior to taking a shot.
In normal circumstances, bunkers/sand traps, are raked and a rake is on the ground for handy use. When there isn’t a rake, and spectators have been standing in it, one would suppose it’s what is called a “waste area.” Like the whole property used to be before Kohler hired Dye who ordered more than 13,000 truckloads of sand and dirt and then pushed them every which-way with big graders. It cost a ton but Kohler has it.
Besides the porcelain works he has a five star resort 10 miles south of Whistling Straits in the town named, fittingly, Kohler, Wisconsin. He also owns two hotels on the 18th hole of golf’s most hallowed ground, the Old Course at St. Andrews.
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Personally, while the KohlerDye sandscape looks spectacular from the blimp, I was there in 2004 and again last week and I think it’s a gimmicky course. You need steel spikes or mountain climbers’ crampons on the slick hills, and we shouldn’t be surprised at the weird happenings, topped by Dustin Johnson’s two shot penalty that took him out of a playoff with Martin Kaymer.
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Bill Fields of Golf World, one of my favorite writers, reported that David Price, a Dallas club pro and veteran official who has worked 34 majors and two Ryder Cups, was with Johnson. On two occasions earlier in the round Johnson, or his caddie, asked what he could do. When Johnson’s drive
went outside the gallery rope on 18, into an area where the fans were standing, Price asked Johnson if he was O.K. and Johnson just asked Price to go forward and move the huge crowd back. After he made the shot, an official who watched it on television, radioed Price who then asked Johnson if he had grounded his club. Johnson said he didn’t think so but later he saw the TV picture, and agreed that he had grounded it. Price said Johnson didn‘t cuss, didn’t argue and accepted it. I think players should be reminded on the first tee even though it is the player’s responsibility to know the rules.
I’ve been asked that if it was Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods would the result have been the same. I think Nicklaus knew the rules as good as any official but he always asked. Woods is the same. Johnson is inexperienced and sometimes moves too fast. He did it at Pebble Beach in the U.S. Open and disintegrated. Now he’s lost two major championships he could have won, just two months apart. I don’t recall that happening to anyone else in that brief a span. In golf you’re supposed to learn from your mistakes. Will Johnson, with so much talent, learn? - MG -
Neither Whistling Straits owner Herb Kohler, nor course architect Pete Dye, knows precisely how many sand traps are out there. MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
15
Strom Storms From Behind To Win Michigan Women’s Open
L
By Tim Hygh
isa Strom of Huntersville, NC came from three shots behind to win her second Michigan Women’s Open Championship at Crystal Mountain. Strom, 33, edged first and second round leader Suzy Green-Roebuck by a shot with a clutch 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a final round 71 and a tournament total of 2-under, 214. GreenRoebuck finished alone in second at -1, 215. “The key today was to be consistent,” said Strom who won here in 2007. “Today I hit a lot of greens and only misjudged one iron shot.”
Photo by Tim Hygh
Green-Roebuck, 42, entered the final round with a three-shot cushion but gave away a stroke on the first hole with a bogey…the first of four during the round. Up until then, she had recorded just three-bogeys combined for the tournament. She has been battling a bad back all week and
16
FALL
2010
•
Photo left: Michigan Women’s Open Champion, Lisa Strom
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
left the course with numbness on her right side. But she made Storm earn her victory on the last hole.
On the par 5 18th, GreenRoebuck laid up to 70-yards and hit a wedge to 9-feet. Strom went for the green in two but landed just short of the green and in the first cut of rough. Strom knocked her chip to 8 feet above the hole. Green-Roebuck made her birdie and that left the last play of the 54hole event up to Strom.
“You play in these tournaments to get into situations where your heart beat rises and it was on 18,” Strom said. She holed the birdie putt to end the tournament and collect $5,500 of the $40,000 purse. She now heads out to the Duramed Future’s Tour for three-events and then back to the LPGA Tour when they return from Asia.
Roebuck-Green heads back to her family in Ann Arbor. She hasn’t played three consecutive rounds
2010 Michigan Women’s Open: http://youtube.com
Photo courtesy of Crystal Mountain
Search 2010 Michigan Women’s Open and Crystal Mountain:
in three days since last year’s Michigan Women’s Open.
Two long time rivals finished tied for third. Elaine Crosby, 52, of Jackson and Sue Ertl, 52, formerly of Ionia both shot 71-216 for even par. Only four players bested par or better. - MG -
Photo below: Crystal Mountain’s Mountain Ridge Course hosted the 2010 Michigan Women’s Open Championship.
Matthews Wins Out Over Fouch and Do at Tournament of Champions
Photo Š Kevin Frisch / Fusion Media Strategies
By Tim Hygh
The Tournament of Champions is played on The Alpine at Boyne Mountain
Photo by Tim Hygh
A
Andy Matthews
ndy Matthews, of Ada erased a four shot deficit over the final three holes to win the Boyne Tournament of Champions. Matthews, 30, is a seasoned Canadian Tour professional and was trailing 15-year old Henry Do of Ypsilanti when the
storybook ending for a sophomore in high school competing with Michigan’s best golfers turned into a putting nightmare.
Do shook the Michigan golfing community by shooting a 10-under par 62 in Tuesday’s second round.
He started the final round with a two-stroke advantage over LPGA Tour player Allison Fouch and a three stroke lead over Matthews. That lead was expanded to four shots as the final group headed to the fateful last three holes.
2010 Tournament of Champions: http://michigangolfer.tv/2010shows/boyne_toc/
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
19
On the par 5 18th, Do and Matthews both laid up and hit wedges for their third shots landing well below the hole. Do’s putter finally kicked in but to Matthews advantage as Do nearly missed while showing Matthews the line. Matthews made the 35-footer for birdie to get to 9-under. Do missed his two footer for par and a chance for a playoff.
women, juniors and seniors together on Boyne Mountain’s Alpine course. The men play from the back tees at 6,938 yards, the senior men and high schoolers play from 6,562 yards and the women play from 5,898 yards. Matthews was the low man, Fouch the low woman at 6 under, Dave Kendall was the low senior at 5 under and Do was the low amateur at 7 under.
The tournament started with 111 players and was reduced to 71 and ties after the second round. The purse is $55,000 and the Matthew’s share is $10,000. - MG -
Photo by Tim Hygh
“I was kind of nervous, “ Do said. “I told myself to be confident and just make pars until a birdie situation became available.” The five-foot four-inch Do did just that and was 11-under sailing into the 16th hole. He proceeded to three put 16 while Matthews birdied. That two stroke swing left him with a two stroke lead heading to the par 3 17th. Do three putted again on 17 to take a one shot lead into the final hole.
Henry Do, another “Natural”?
“I was stunned when Henry missed,” Matthews said. “I got a great look from his putt. I feel for Henry. We’ve all been there and he will grow from the experience. The Tournament of Champions is a unique event pitting men,
20
FALL
2010
Jack Berry Interviews Allison Fouch for Michigan Golfer TV
•
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Brehm Wins 2nd Michigan Open at
Orchard Lake Country Club
“I enjoyed coming from behind,” Brehm said. “It brought out the best in me.” “This feels really good. It’s just nice to win and beat a good field.” Brehm’s win last year was different in that he got out to an early lead in the first round and finished the tournament at 20-under par which was 8-shots better than second place. 1st Ryan Brehm 2nd Gary Smithson Eric Wohlfield 4th Andy Matthews
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Orchard Lake, Mich. — Ryan Brehm of Mt. Pleasant erased a twoshot deficit to capture his second consecutive Michigan Open championship. The 24-year old Hooters Tour player shot a final round 67 for a tournament total of 268 at the Orchard Lake Country Club. Gary Smithson of Grand Rapids had the low round of the day with a 65 that moved him into a tie for second with Eric Wohlfield of Brighton at 270. Andy Matthew of Ada, who had led the entire tournament slipped to fourth-place 273 with a final round 74.
By Tim Hygh
Kevin Helm, Michigan Section PGA Executive Director, and LincolnMercury representative present check to Champion Ryan Brehm.
Smithson charged through the field shooting 4-under par on the front nine. The 42-year old head professional at Thousand Oaks Golf Club bogeyed the last hole however, which gave Brehm the 2-stroke cushion playing two groups behind. “I feel sick to my stomach” he said after the tournament. “I’m pretty disappointed with my finish.”
Mt Pleasant Thousand Oaks Golf Club Brighton Ada
2010 Michigan Open:
268 270 270 273
http://www.youtube
$10,000.00 $4,250.00 $4,250.00 $3,000.00
The other runner up, Wohlfield felt entirely different. He was ecstatic about his finish and hopes the $4,250 he earned today will help get him to the tour-qualifying event in November. “It was my worst round of the week but I’m happy with it. It was fun to play with Andy and we were hitting 60yards behind Brehm all day with our second shots.”
Brehm earns $10,000 for his win out of the $70,000 purse. The Michigan Open will change venues next year moving to The Orchards in Washington Township.
Search: 2010 Michigan Open:
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
- MG •
FALL 2010
21
Ron Beurmann Wins Michigan PGA Professional Championship
“It’s a miracle, it’s a miracle” the man known for his ball striking and poor putting said.
“The key for me winning this week is the fact I only missed two five-foot putts this week.”
John Seltzer of Ann Arbor held a two stroke lead entering the final round at Eagle Eye Golf Club. He expanded the lead to three shots after seven holes and it looked like Seltzer would cruise to a wire to wire win. Sean Winters of Bloomfield Hills Country Club started the final round five shots behind Seltzer but got hot in the middle of the round with an eagle on 14 and a birdie on 15. It then became a three horse race.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
*Ron Beurmann Sean Winters John Seltzer Scott Hebert Lee Houtteman
By the time the lead group headed to the infamous island green par three 17th hole Seltzeer was nursing a onestroke lead over Winters and a four-stroke lead over Beurmann.
Photo courtesy of Hawk Hollow
EAST LANSING, MI- Ron Beurmann of Jackson came from four strokes behind with two holes to play to win the 89th Michigan PGA Professional Championship in a playoff. The 50-year old Director of Golf at The Country Club of Jackson was two strokes behind entering the final round and won the tournament on the second hole of a three man playoff.
By Tim Hygh
Seltzer found the water with “ a 155 yard pitching wedge” on the 142 yard hole, Winters three putted for bogey Hawk Hollow (pictured) and Eagle Eye host the Michigan PGA Professional and Beurmann made par. “I Championship. was relaxed at 17 because I thought I was out of it.” his tee shot into the water and ended Beurmann said. with double bogey.Seltzer bogeyed the second hole of the playoff and On the final hole of regulation, Beurmann’s par was good enough to Winters drove his tee shot into the win the $7,000 first place prize and water on the par five. He ended with a shake a 12-year draught of winning double bogey. Seltzer’s layup shot a major.” found the edge of a railroad tie. He blasted out and was left with a difficult wedge shot that went past the hole and he ended with a double bogey. Beurmann, presumably out of the tournament birdied the hole and all three players finshed regularion at 10under par. Winters was eliminated on the first playoff hole when he again hit
Country Club of Jackson Bloomfield Hills Country Club The Polo Fields GCCAnn Arbor Grand Traverse Resort Spa Grand Traverse Resort Spa
70 68 64 70 68
65 70 69 71 71
“I never gave up but it’s amazing how many times I’ve walked away from a tournament and said this is it because of my putting.” “I’ve seen some crazy stuff over the years but never for me and it’s great to win in front of my friends and peers and Scott Hebert who has won this tournament four years in a row. - MG -
71 68 73 71 73
206 206 206 212 212
$7000.00 $3250.00 $3250.00 $1800.00 $1800.00
2010 Michigan PGA Professional Championship: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27SIgIFsk7s
22
FALL
2010
•
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Photo courtesy of Whistling Straits
Teaching Pros Compete with the Touring Pros
F
By Brad Shelton
or a majority of the year, the PGA Club Professional spends his day teaching junior clinics, organizing member events, and making sure the first tee is on time. Beyond the occasional round with members or Monday section events, these pros rarely have the opportunity to practice or play the game they love at its highest level.
Brad Shelton
of best PGA Club Professionals traded in the teaching shoes and tee sheets to lace up their spikes and compete head-to-head with the world’s best players.
The second time hosting golf’s final major, Whistling Straits is another Pete Dye “work of art” perched on two miles of unin-
Photo above: Sheep mow the grass at PGA At the 2010 PGA Championship at Championship host course, Whistling Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, 20 Straits MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
23
terrupted shoreline along Lake Michigan. Ranked No. 3 in GOLF Magazine’s “Top Courses You Can Play,” Whistling Straits is a unique 7,500-yard, par 72 reminiscent of the seaside links courses of the British Isles. Beyond the rugged and windswept terrain of the property, Whistling Straits has eight holes hugging the Lake Michigan shoreline and, most impressive, is its more than 1,000 bunkers.
Club Professional Rob Moss, PGA Head Golf Professional at Pepper Pike Club in Ohio, made his second PGA Championship start. No stranger to competitive golf, Moss was an All-American golfer at Kent State University, has won the Ohio Open three times, owns 17 Northern Ohio PGA Section victories, and finished runner-up four times during his 11-year stint on the Nationwide and Asian Tours.
Photo © Kevin Frisch
By Moss’ own admission however, the PGA tournament was much
24
different than his previous competitive rounds. “This is a whole different environment,” says Moss.
“At the PGA Championship you are on a much grander stage. These players are good and this is just a hard golf course. There are three par 4’s I just can’t reach” Scott Hebert, PGA Head Golf Professional at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme, Michigan tees it up for the fourth consecutive time in the PGA Championship. An accomplished player, Hebert is experiencing role reversal during this tournament. “In the Michigan events over the past few years, I am the player everybody is trying to beat,” states Hebert. “At this event I am the one chasing the other players.” Hebert has won a record-tying six Michigan Open titles, is a multiple winner in the Michigan PGA
Section Championship, and was a member of the 2009 U.S. PGA Cup Team.
If the past is indicative of what the club professionals can expect this year competing against the best players in the world, history is not on their side. During the last 10 years, in 2005, the highest number of club professionals to make the cut is 4 – in both 2003 and 2008, none of the club pros qualified to play the weekend. Even though most people expect very little from the club professionals, their attitudes still reflect the competitive spirit that earned them a spot in the tournament.
Keith Ohr, Head Professional at Wildwood Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky and 2008 Kentucky PGA Player of the Year, is playing in his first PGA Championship.
French Lick’s Pete Dye Course hosted the Club Professional Championship in 2010
FALL
2010
•
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
“I won’t set numbers or take a ‘make the cut’ approach this week,” admits Ohr, “but I will set high expectations for myself to compete.”
“I am representing my club members, my profession, and my peers,” Ohr responded when asked about his play. “I want to play well for all of them to show that club pros can play golf too.”
Having missed the cut in his previous three attempts, Hebert set higher expectations for himself this year. “I made ten birdies during the practice rounds this week,” Hebert stated when asked about his prospects for the week. “I need to hit the fairways and, if I can, the course sets up well for me to compete.”
Moss took a more balanced approach to his expectations this week. “I am here to have fun. This is a great reward for me,” said Moss before revealing that he still wants to show he can play. “However, there are 20 club pros here this week and, at the least, I want to beat the other 19.”
Both Moss and Hebert finished tied for 11th at the 2010 PGA Professional National Championship at French Lick Resort in Indiana – another Pete Dye design – to earn a spot in the field this week. Ohr recorded a tie for ninth in the event. After the first two rounds only one of the club professionals, Rob Labritz, PGA Director of Golf at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, NY, made the cut to play the
Scott Hebert played in his fourth consecutive PGA Championship. weekend. Labritz finished with a 295 (+7) score and received the honors for the low club professional.
Even though 19 of the 20 club professionals missed the weekend rounds at Whistling Straits this year, they were still happy to have been a part of thetournament they created. “I’m out there having fun,” said Tim Thelen from College Station,Texas, “and that’s
Scott Hebert at the PGA Championship:
what I think it’s all about.”
If nothing else, each of the club professionals can say they played in a major championship. So the next time they take a member to the range for a lesson or play with members on a Tuesday afternoon, the club professionals can know that they have reached, in many ways, the pinnacle of their profession. - MG -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-B_2Y2PGJM
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
25
The Golf Club at Harbor Shores Celebrates Its Grand Opening
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
The Champions for Change Golf Challenge Features Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller in Charity Skins Exhibition
J
By B.R. Koehnemann
ack Nicklaus, whose accolades as a golf course designer parallel a legendary career that includes a record 18 professional major championships, joined friends and fellow greats Johnny Miller, Arnold Palmer 26
FALL
2010
•
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Jack Nicklaus signs autographs for fans. and Tom Watson to celebrate the grand opening of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores, a new 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The Harbor Shores Champions for Change Golf Challenge featured the foursome competing in an 18hole scramble skins format with rotating two-man teams.
More than 3,600 spectators witnessed this historic day of golf that was kicked off with a community clinic for all attendees. Prior to the clinic, Whirlpool Corporation CEO Jeff Fettig, announced that the Benton Harbor-based company
would donate $1 million in honor of the four players to the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor and The First Tee of Benton Harbor. “The golf course has been many decades in the making in terms of transforming the industrial base in the community into something very productive,” said Fettig. “I can’t think of a better group of people, the four legends of golf, we had here today to kick it off.”
With introductions and morning ceremonies complete, the four players took to the course for its ceremonial first round in a rotating two-man
skins format with partners switching every six holes. Patrons were treated to the two-man team of Nicklaus/Palmer to start off the round, followed by Nicklaus/Watson from holes 7-12 and Nicklaus/Miller to close out the round. “I thought the golf course was in fantastic condition,” said Nicklaus. “The golf course was quite good and I’m quite proud of it. I’m also proud that I was asked to be a part of this project.” Although it didn’t count on the scorecard, the highlight of the day
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
27
came on the No. 10 green when Johnny Miller saw Arnold Palmer’s 100-foot eagle putt fall short of the three-tier ridged green and fall back towards his direction. Miller questioned the makeability of such a putt, which got Nicklaus’ attention. The course designer himself then demonstrated how the putt could be made by sinking the more than 100-foot uphill putt, which broke 15 feet from left to right, in front of more than 2,000 spectators who were surrounding the green.
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
While the focus of the day centered around the revitalization of the community and raising funds for two local charities and no actu-
28
FALL
2010
•
al money was exchanged, Tom Watson did earn the most honorary skins money ($381,250). His total was followed by Jack Nicklaus ($268,750), Arnold Palmer ($181,250) and Johnny Miller ($168,750). More than just a golf course, Harbor Shores will serve as a catalyst for ongoing community transformation—economic, environmental and social. Not only will the non-profit resort community stimulate increased tax revenue, create jobs and generate new consumer spending, it will build human capacity in areas including work-force training, youth devel-
Arnold Palmer
opment, education, life skills development, housing and homeownership.
Harbor Shores has already restored beauty to a pristine area of Lake Michigan’s waterfront through rehabilitation of local public park space, clean-up of brownfields and preservation of natural wetlands.
All 18 holes of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores are currently open for play. Video footage and photos from the event are currently available at www.harborshoreschampions.com.
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
- MG -
Photo by Jennie McCafferty Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Tom Watson
Johnny Miller Champions for Change: The Golf Club at Harbor Shores Search: The Golf Club at Harbor Shores
http://www.youtube.com
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
29
Photo courtesy of Whistling Straits
For Pete’s Sake, Enough is Enough by Bill Shelton
Photo © Kevin Frisch
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick
An Open Letter to Pete Dye
Bill Shelton Dear Pete Dye,
Enough is enough! Somebody had to tell you. You are so admired 32
FALL
2010
•
and respected by the golfing community that no one wanted to be the messenger. You were recently inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, a rare and extremely prestigious recognition for a golf course architect. You, Alice, and your associates have designed more than a 1000 courses (give or take a few hundred) and renovated twice that many. In 2010, three of your courses were listed in top 10 of Golf magazine’s “Top 100 Courses You Can Play.” Whistling Straits, site of the 86th and 92nd PGA Championship and the 2020
site of the Ryder Cup, was ranked #3. Many of your courses are regular venues for major tournaments including the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, US Open, PGA National Championship, US Senior Open and annually the Tour Players Championship at Sawgrass. You have designed some of the most difficult courses in the world and yet every serious golfer wants to play them regardless of skill level. And, yes, following those rounds your name is often uttered in a string of expletives even as the golfer calls for a tee
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Photo courtesy of TPC Sawgrass
What possibly then could be the basis for the message that “enough is enough?” Well, Pete, you have a tendency to over-excel. Moderation does not seem to be in your vocabulary—never adequate, always exceptional. Let’s use Whistling Straits, site of the 2010 PGA Championship, as an example. A decade ago Herb Kohler asked you to design an unforgettable championship course on a flat stretch of old farmland that had been used later as an anti-aircraft range along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. You apparently thought he said for you to move heaven and earth— and spare no expense. And so you did and didn’t! You moved more than a million tons of cubic earth. You had 13,126 truckloads of sand hauled to the site. And, mentioning sand, who but you would design a golf course with almost 1000 sand traps? (Bulletin: you were not named Course Architect of the Year by National Association of Rank and File Golf Course Maintenance Workers Who Have to Rake Traps [NARFGCMWHRT]).
Finally, greens averaging 7500 square feet and tee boxes of 6000 square feet represent areas larger than the home sites of 90 percent of Americans. In fairness to you, I determined one rumor floating about at the PGA Championship was unfounded. Your original course design (drawn with a pencil on the back of an envelope) for the Straits Course did NOT include the relocation of Lake Michigan two miles to the east. Photo by Art McCafferty
time at another of your courses. Pete, you ARE THE MAN in modern golf course design.
Pete Dye Speaking of water, Pete. The TPC asked you to create a bunker or hazard in front of the 17th green at Sawgrass. Did you misunderstand? How did you interpret that
17th Green, TPC Sawgrass
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
•
FALL 2010
33
request to become a rather substantial lake with an island green? No one can argue that you don‘t give owners more than asked. Take, for example, the Ocean Course at Kiawah.
Photo courtesy of The Ocean Course
You were asked to design a Scottish linksstyle course along the Carolina shore linethat would be worthy of hosting major championships and, specifically, the Ryder Cup. And did you ever fulfill that request! The Ocean Course is one of the sternest tests in modern golf and indeed incorporates all of the challenges and complexities of links golf. Unfortunately your perfection resulted in a distinct playing advantage for the European team and a stunning defeat for the USA. Have you done it again at Whistling Straits, host of the 2020 Ryder Cup?
There are just a couple of other excesses of your designs that should be addressed. First,you apparently have some trouble with the proverbial question, “how long is long?” Pete, the par 4 fourth hole at Whistling Straits is 493 yards. That is extremely long. The par 4 fifteenth hole is 527 yards. How can I explain? Try this, you tee off in one time zone and putt in another! The 2010 PGA National Championship was played at your 34
FALL
2010
•
The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina new French Lick Course in Indiana and I know how proud of it you are. But, really Pete, does any course below 10,000 feet above sea level need to stretch more than 8000 yards? (I have only been able to play the front nine since I failed to bring my passport.)
There is one other message I have been asked to deliver. Your frequent use of railroad ties in course designs has been well documented. You must stop! The American Railroad Institute has alleged that you have almost single handily have crippled our nation’s rail system. Pete, their message is clear—”We want our ties back.” In closing, there are a couple of areas that we think more, not less, is needed. First, your 85 years of life have given us so much and we want
more. We want you to stay around a whole lot longer and continue to design spectacular courses. Second, Alice has been your wife and business partner for 60 years. She is professional in every sense in the world of golf. We feel you two make a great combination that should continue for a very long time. Third, about your dog who is your constant companion. You named him Sixty, the same name as your former dog and your dog before that and perhaps even more. Pete, could you possibly name your next dog Sixty-One? It just seems to be the right thing to do.
Your Friend and Admirer,
Bill Shelton Representing The American Golfer
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
- MG -