Michigan Golf News, October 8, 2010

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

"So, let’s see. For Medinah we make Mickelson and Furyk assistant captains, add Charley (Hair) Hoffman and Nick Watney, get Anthony Kim, Sean O’Hair and Ryan Moore to automatically qualify, put Woods and Fowler in the lead and the Cup returns."

-- Jack Berry In This Issue

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Ryder Cup Thoughts: No Exhibitiion: By Jack Berry Post-Ryder Cup News Conference Says It All: By Terry Moore Next Up on the Tee: MGCOA Business Conference Golf Rounds Continue to Plummet Art Dils Sells Golfing Michigan to Abby and Aaron Elowsky Fall Golf Deals Michigan Golfer Magazine Fall Issue Now Online http://michigangolfer.com/fall10/ New Shows on G:SP Upcoming Michigan PGA Events for Professionals and Amateurs Thad Gutowski - The Cyber Geezer Minzey's Musings Michigan Golf Calendar Michigan Golf Archives http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/archives.html Michigan Golf History http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/history.html Michigan Golf Association Links: http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/associations.html

__/__/__/__/__/__/___/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/ __/__/ CIRCULATION 16, 047 Subscribe http://lyris.dundee.net/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=michigangolfnews Edited by Art McCafferty artmccaf@glsp.com Michigan Golfer Magazine http://michigangolfer.com/#pastissues Editor - Jennie McCafferty Archived, graphic, Michigan Golf News: http://issuu.com/michigangolfer Michigan Golfer Television http://michigangolfer.tv Producer - Art McCafferty Associate Producer - Jennie McCafferty __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/__/ __/ __/ __/__/ __/ __/__/ __/ __/ __/ ===================== RYDER CUP THOUGHTS ===================== NO EXHIBITION: By Jack Berry Rory McIlroy, the precocious 21-year-old Northern Irishman who has won more than $6 million in two years as a professional, earlier this year called the Ryder Cup “an exhibition.”

Four years ago Hunter Mahan, who didn’t play in Europe’s 18-1/2 to 9-1/2 slaughter of the United States at Oakland Hills, blasted the PGA of America, sponsor of the Ryder Cup since its beginning in 1927. Mahan said in a Golf Magazine interview the PGA didn’t care about winning, that it was played wherever it could make the most money, that the week was “extremely long” with huge massive dinners every week and that “you’re just a slave that week.”

Check with McIlroy and Mahan now.

McIlroy gushed that Europe’s one point victory in one of the best played, most dramatic Ryder Cups in history, was the best thing that he’s experienced in his golf career. Granted, the career has been pretty short up to now but McIlroy has been tabbed for sure superstardom since his mid-teens and has played all over the world.

Mahan’s career hasn’t been quite that supercharged. All-American at Oklahoma State, loser in the U.S. Amateur to Ricky Barnes at Oakland Hills and a member of the winning American Ryder Cup team two years ago in Kentucky where he played in all five matches with a 2-0-3 won-lost-tie record.

Winning was pure elation for Mahan. Celtic Manor, where he lost 3-1 in the deciding match to the other Northern Ireland star, Graeme McDowell, was pure heartbreak and tears.

Mahan and McIlroy have learned the Ryder Cup is much more than the sponsors picking spots where they could make money. It’s much more than an exhibition and thanks go to Jack Nicklaus, who spoke up during the 1977 matches in England, America’s 10th straight Cup without a defeat (nine mainly runaway victories and a tie), against the Great Britain and Ireland, the Ryder Cup charter was amended to include all of Europe.

America won the next year but it was the dawn of Seve Ballesteros who became the heart and soul of European Ryder Cup golf which this year had the best 12 man team ever assembled over there with players from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, England, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. And

Paul Casey and Justin Rose, winners on the PGA Tour this year, didn’t even make the team.

Asked to compare winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the first Irishman to win the Open, and the Ryder Cup, McDowell said the Ryder Cup was for Europe, for his teammates, for Ballesteros, for Colin Montgomerie, his captain, and for the cheering fans who slogged through monsoon rains, then mud and, finally on the unprecedented extra day because of the weather, bright blue sky and sunshine.

The Ryder Cup. Some exhibition.

OTHER THOUGHTS: I still don’t think Tiger Woods is going to break Nicklaus’s majors record but he sure looked good in his singles victory over Francesco Molinari. He’s also erased the old criticisms that he wasn’t a team player, that the Ryder Cup didn't mean that much to him. This has been some learning year for Woods who was a captain's pick and very much into the spirit.

I’m a European Tour fanatic on Golf Channel and have enjoyed watching Martin Kaymer, Francesco and Edoardo Molinari, Ross Fisher, the Scandinavians, several Frenchmen and my fave, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Malaga, Costa del Sol. I don’t think anyone enjoys life on tour more than Jimenez.

It was good to see Sergio Garcia getting excited again. It would be nice if he rediscovered his game and was on the team in 2012 at Medinah, the spot where American fans fell in love with him in his duel with Woods and dash from the trees to the fairway to see where his shot landed.

My fellow columnist, Terry Moore, laments that the Ryder Cup, isn’t played on a links, like the British Open. It hasn’t been played on a links since 1977, at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. The next European site is Gleneagles in Scotland, an inland resort.

Ann Arbor’s man-in-motion, Mike Tirico, handled the first round on ESPN and made it back to the U.S. on the weekend to prepare for Monday night’s Patriots-Dolphins game. As I’ve said, frequently, Tirico is the best in the business.

The American uniforms, supposedly picked by Corey Pavin’s fashion-conscious wife, left a lot to be desired. Desired: Red, White and Blue. Or, as Johnny Miller said he’d pick Red, Red, Red. No problem with Captain Pavin’s team picks, Woods, Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink.

He got heat especially for picking Woods and Fowler but both responded and Fowler, who birdied the last three holes plus one on the 13th to wipe out a four hole deficit, sank a pretty downhill left to right putt on the 18th to get a halve in his match with Edoardo Molinari. It made the score 13.5-13.5 with the Mahan-McDowell match the only one left on the course. One point. A halve would enable the Americans to retain the Ryder Cup. Instead, McDowell birdied the 16th to go 2-up, won the 17th and it was 14.5 to 13.5. Europe.

Jim Furyk was a disappointment. Again. One halve in three matches was all he had to show for his seventh Ryder Cup. It’s hard to understand. He’s such a grinder, meat and potatoes guy – and he’d just won $11.5 million in the Fedex Cup final. And do not confuse the Fedex with the Ryder Cup. They really aren’t playing for money in the Ryder Cup. Furyk is 8-14-4 overall, won-lost-tied and a puzzling 1-8-1 in four balls, best ball to us. Phil Mickelson was 1-3-0 to run his record to 11-17-6. The best thing Mickelson did was rescue Mahan in the postevent mass interview. Mickelson stood tall there.

So, let’s see. For Medinah we make Mickelson and Furyk assistant captains, add Charley (Hair) Hoffman and Nick Watney, get Anthony Kim, Sean O’Hair and Ryan Moore to automatically qualify, put Woods and Fowler in the lead and the Cup returns.

********************************** ********************************** POST-RYDER CUP NEWS CONFERENCE SAYS IT ALL: By Terry Moore I had plans for a winners and losers column (shame on me) about the Ryder Cup. I was going to mention the faulty and garish rainsuits and golf bags, the wet Wales weather, the nifty “audible” on the revised schedule, slow greens, a driveable par-four, and player performances over the four-day affair.

But after watching Monday’s post-match media conference with the somber USA squad, I scrapped those superfluous comments. You may have watched snippets of it on ESPN and the Golf Channel but I would strongly urge you to watch a lengthier 16 minute excerpt available online at the Golf Channel.

(Just Google “Tough pill to swallow” + Golf Channel.) This Q & A session provides one of the most revealing insights into what makes the Ryder Cup such compelling, emotional and unparalleled competition. And as much as it painfully exposes the hurt felt by Hunter Mahan as he tries to absorb the loss of his pivotal and enormously stressful final match against Graeme McDowell, it also magnificently unveils the unwavering support of his fellow teammates. There are many telling moments in this news conference.

First, there’s the early question to Mahan who is so choked up with emotion he can’t continue.

"I'm just proud to be a part of this team," Mahan said. "It's a close team, and ...”

Instinctively and as if jumping into a pool to save a drowning swimmer, Phil Mickelson takes hold of the microphone and picks up the answer.

“We are all proud to be part of this team," said Mickelson, giving Mahan a pat on the back. "We came within half a point. But we could look anywhere throughout those 28 points for that half a point."

But Mickelson also talked about his own failings during the matches and how he didn’t deliver on the expected leadership of winning play. It was a candid self-assessment by the world’s third ranked player but it also provided needed solace and perspective for his teammate. It was an impressive moment of team solidarity and compassion.

Later Steve Stricker also lent his perspective. "We can all think about a shot here and there that could have turned the match to make up that one point," Stricker said. "You hate to see Hunter go through what he's going through because it really shouldn't come down to that. But, unfortunately, it did."

And then Stewart Cink picks up on Stricker’s comments and adds, “"If you go up and down the line of the tour players in Europe and the U.S. and asked them if they would like to be the last guy to decide the Ryder Cup, probably less than half would say they would like to be that guy and probably less than 10 percent of them would mean it," Cink said.

"Hunter Mahan put himself in that position today. He was the man on our team, to put himself in that position. Hunter Mahan performed like a champ out there today. I think it's awesome. Not many players would do that."

And then the USA team breaks out in applause for Cink’s remarks about Mahan. What a stirring moment.

It’s been observed that due to the ease and private jet luxuries of the PGA Tour, its players seem to be aloof and unattached to one another. Yes, polite business partners as fellow ‘private contractors’ but certainly not intimate friends. Well, not this time and not at this event.

Before the matches began, Captain Corey Pavin asked Major Dan Rooney, the celebrated PGA golf professional, Air Force fighter pilot, and founder of Patriot Golf Day, to speak to the U.S. team.

Rooney, whose parents own Grand Haven Golf Club in Michigan, spoke to the players about the importance of the team unit and how accountability to one another is vital.

After watching this sensational Ryder Cup Match and especially the emotional news conference at its conclusion, it’s evident the U.S. team took Rooney’s advice to heart.

Never have such fallen golf heroes stood so tall in defeat. =================================================== MGCOA: BUSINESS CONFERENCE NEXT UP ON THE TEE =================================================== The 2010 MI Golf Business Conference is quickly approaching at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids.

"The Voice of Michigan Golf Business" will have attendance from MGCOA, MI GCSA, and the MI PGA. The audience will include: owners, operators, superintendents, golf professionals, club managers, and other industry personnel.

The theme for the conference is "New Decade, New Direction " ===================================== GOLF ROUNDS CONTINUE TO PLUMMET ===================================== Golf rounds played continued their downward trend in August, with a 4.9% decline, following declines of 5.1% in July and 2.1% in June, according to the National Golf Rounds Played Report.

Year-to-date rounds are now down 3.6% through August. The reporting is based on data from operators at 3,865 golf facilities.

Private courses showed a 6.2% decline in August, bringing the YTD decline to 4.7%. Play at public access courses fell 4.5%; YTD was down 3.2%.

Rounds played for the entire year of 2009 were down 0.6% versus the 12 months in 2008. For 2008, they were down 1.8%. For 2007, rounds played were down 0.5%; in 2006, they had been up 0.8%. ================================================================ ART DILS SELLS GOLFING MICHIGAN TO ABBY AND AARON ELOWSKY ================================================================ Hi Art Like an old soldier, I'm just fading away.

After 20 years of publihing the Golfing in Michoigan Travel Guide and providng travel services throughout Michgan, I have sold the company.

"For a number of years, I have been looking for the perfect match...people who know golf and will not only continue to serve our clients' needs, but will enhance our services in print and web. I've found the perfect match in new owners, Abby and Aaron Elowsky.. They bring new energy and extensive experience in web marketing services and knowledge of golf.

I will, however, remain involved in a consultant capacity for the next two years.

I wish to thank our many Michigan clients for their support over these 20 years, it's been a great ride.

I also appreciate our friendly competition over the years. You do a great service for "Michigan Golfers".

Art Dils President/Publisher Golfing in Michigan ================= FALL GOLF DEALS ================= Treetops http://www.treetops.com/index.php?method=promotions Marsh Ridge Resort http://marshridge.com/golf/proto/marshridge/ Hidden River Golf October 21st - 12:30 Shotgun 4 Person Teams $75 per person 18 Tough Holes, Dinner, Skins, Cold Beer http://hiddenriver.com ================================================= MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE FALL ISSUE NOW ONLINE ================================================= Contents http://michigangolfer.com/fall10/ Senior Tournaments Put Michigan Golf Back on the Map: By Jack Berry Michigan Tournament Round Up with Tim Hygh Strom Storms From Behind to Win Women’s Michigan Open Andy Matthews Wins Over Fouch and Do at the Tournament of Champions Brehm Wins Second Michigan Open at Orchard Lake CC Ron Beurmann Wins PGA Championship at Eagle Eye Teaching Pros Compete with the Touring Pros: By Brad Shelton Dyebolical: By Jack Berry The Golf Club at Harbor Shores Grand Opening: By BR Koehnemann For Pete’s Sake, Enough is Enough: By Bill Shelton Manitou Passage: Rebirth of King's Challenge: By Terry Moore Michigan Golfer Fall Issue http://michigangolfer.com/fall10/ Past Issues 1996 - 2010 http://michigangolfer.com/#pastissues ============================= NEW SHOWS ON GLSP NETWORK ============================= Michigan Travel Television

Scenes From Porcupine State Park http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIq0yBh1H0 Michigan Skier Television Stephen Kircher -Winter Olympics, the Golf Market and Pure Michigan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8ecYP9c_cc Michigan Golfer Television

Scott Hebert at the PGA Championship - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-B_2Y2PGJM Wisconsin Golf- Peter Allen and Mike Duff discuss their favorites http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTmzwSPmA7w Sweetgrass GC - Jennie McCafferty interviews Dave Douglas, Dir. of Golf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5g4spcm40

Michigan Runner Television

Marathon Oasis de Montreal - http://michiganrunner.tv/2010montreal/ The 2010 Crim Festival of Races - http://michiganrunner.tv/2010crim Milford Labor Day 30K http://michiganrunner.tv/2010milford/ Kensington Challenge http://michiganrunner.tv/2010kensington/ Playmakers Spartan Invitational http://michiganrunner.tv/2010spartan_invite/ Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo http://michiganrunner.tv/2010runwild/ The Brooksie Way http://michiganrunner.tv/2010redoctober/

======================================================= THAD GUTOWSKI - THE CYBER GEEZER = PART VIII OF A SERIES ======================================================= As a long time proponent of target marketing I have always preached that business must know as much as possible about its customers. In line with this, I enroll in a plethora of Michigan golf course E-clubs in an effort to learn how they might handle my new membership. Many follow-up with a nobrainer, drop-down questionnaire relative to the usual stuff: How often I play; my average score; age and a few other rather mundane but harmless questions. But when I signed up this week on a midMichigan stay-and-play resort’s website, I was introduced to what I call Segmenting - Super Sized!

Not only was I required to check the usual boxes, but they also wanted to know what ball I play.

From a choice of eighteen familiar brands like Callaway, Titelist and Nike, there were a couple I never heard of: Avant and Voluk! Quite frankly, I play anything I find (there was no box for this) and after almost fifty years of ball-hawking, I am proud to say I have never encountered an Avant or a Voluk.

(The last one sounds like something Vladimir Putin might tee-up at a Moscow Country Club memberguest event!)

But wait, there’s more. Along with my golf shoe and shirt brands (like most golfers, I have at least several in each category, but I was allowed to select only one) I was asked my size. Frustrated, I decided to click XXL for the shirt, and size 5 in the shoes. That should put the profilers in a tizzy! The point is, don’t insult your viewers by seeking answers to bizarre questions you have no intention of using in your target marketing. Incidentally, let me know if you would like the link to the complete questionnaire. But, let us move on.

When I opened my In-box early today (Monday) I found an announcement relative to an upcoming Senior Scramble at a local daily-fee facility. Great, but along with over a dozen other messages, this hit me at a time when I have a ton of more important issues to address. To most people, Monday morning is the time to get everything in gear for the new week, and playing golf may not be a very high priority. (That is, unless you are part of the third-shift at Dodge Main.)

Studies have shown there is a much better chance of an email message being opened (and hopefully acted upon) if it is received between 10 am and 3 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday. But every audience is different, so by checking the metrics and results after the emailing, you may learn how many were bounced, opted out, opened, clicked through, and forwarded. This takes a bit of time, but to get the maximum return on your future creative efforts it should be done. May I remind you as I often do, that chances are pretty good your competition isn’t doing much of this back-end checking.

The other day I was asked what I recommend when it comes to email frequency. Simple. When you have something worthwhile that the viewer wants to read, do it. That may sound a bit evasive, but I assure you it is not. Can you come up with something that truly meets this qualification weekly, biweekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, whatever? That’s the answer.

To develop the enviable and rare reputation that your emails are worth reading, always remember it is called internet marketing, not sales. Do you know the clear-cut difference? Do you care? Most people don’t. But for those who do, SALES is (sic) giving the prospect what you want them to have.

MARKETING is giving the prospect what they want to have. We are talking about internet marketing here folks, not internet sales!

Reminder: From the inception of this column eight weeks ago my mission was to present a refresher course in successful internet marketing. Metaphorically speaking I hope we are walking the same fairway.

Contact me at: cybergeezer@inbox.com My contact: cybergeezer@inbox.com =============================== MINZEY'S MUSINGS: BLOND JOKES =============================== Did you hear about the two blondes who froze to death in a drive-in movie? They went to see "Closed for the Winter." *************** Did you hear about the near-tragedy at the mall? There was a power outage, and twelve blondes were stuck on the escalators for over four hours. ***************** A blonde was driving home after a game and got caught in a really bad hailstorm. Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it to a repair shop The shop owner saw that she was a blonde, so he decided to have some fun.

He told her just to go home and blow into the tail pipe really hard, and all the dents would pop out.

So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands and knees and started blowing into her tailpipe.

Nothing happened. So she blew a little harder, and still nothing happened.

Her roommate, another blonde, came home and said, "What are you doing?"

The first blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the tail pipe in order to get all the dents to pop out.

The roommate rolled her eyes and said, "Uh, like hello! You need to roll up the windows first." **************** A blonde was shopping at a Target Store and came across a silver thermos. He was quite fascinated by it, so he picked it up and brought it over to the clerk to ask what it was.

The clerk said, "That's a thermos... it keeps some things hot and some things cold"....

"Wow," said the blonde, "that's amazing. I'm going to buy it!" So he bought the thermos and took it to work the next day. His boss saw it on his desk.

"What do you have there?" the boss asked. "Why, that's a thermos...it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold," the blond replied.

His boss inquired, "What do you have in it?"

The blond replied, "Two Popsicles, and some coffee". *************** =============================== 2010 MICHIGAN GOLF CALENDAR =============================== October 9-10 Toughman Scramble, Treetops and Black Bear GC, Gaylord and Vanderbilt, MI http://www.treetops.com/index.php?method=golf&subpage=Toughman_Tournament 15-16 MHSAA - Girls Finals (LP) Division 1 - Eagle Crest Resort Division 2 - Forest Akers West Division 3 - Forest Akers East Division 4 - The Meadows November and December 30 - Dec 2 Michigan Golf Business Conference and Vendor Fair, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids http://www.mgcoa.org ------------------------------------------