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http://michigangolfer.com MICHIGAN GOLFER
Chris Lewis Herschel Nathanial Bernice Phillips Dave Ruthenberg Scott Sullivan Marc Van Soest John Wukovits
Publisher/Editor Art McCafferty artmccaf@glsp.com Editor Emeritus Terry Moore
Photo/Video Mike Brown Kevin Frisch Tim Hygh Dave Richards Carter Sherline Joe Yunkman
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 Marty Henwood Kelly Hill Greg Johnson Vartan Kupelian Brian Manning Jim Neff Norm Sinclair Michael Patrick Shiels Ron Whitten Gary Holaway Janina Parrott Jacobs
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SPRING
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Splendid Spartans By Jack Berry
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Lakers, The Meadows Host National Championships
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University of Michigan Golf Team Reaches the Final Four
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Oakland University Golden Grizzlies: 2009-2010 Golf Season Preview
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Western Michigan University Women’s Golf
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EMU Golf Makes Impressive Gains
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Wayne State University Warriors: 20092010 Golf Season Preview
By Terry Moore
By Terry Moore
By Chris Lewis
By Kelly Hill
By Susan Bairley
By Chris Lewis
Cover: Matt Thompson (l) and Ryan Brehm play Hole Number 18 during the final round of the 2009 Michigan Open at Orchard Lake Country Club. Photo by Jennie McCafferty.
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Splendid Spartans
Photo by Art McCafferty
Michigan State University Golf
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John Brehm caddies for his nephew Ryan Brehm at the 2007 Michigan Amateur, Red Run Golf Club. By Jack Berry
et’s clear up a little confusion among nonMichigan State University folks. Forest Akers isn’t a play on words. It isn’t acres of trees. MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
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Photo by Tim Hygh
“It’s phenomenal,” said Ryan Brehm who spent a week at the practice complex of three acre bentgrass range with six target greens, short game area and 20,000 square foot putting green with plenty of rolls. Brehm put all the practice together to win the Michigan Open championship last week at Orchard Lake Country Club.
Ryan Brehm meet the press following his wire-to-wire win at the 2009 Michigan Open.
The man who donated the land was Forest Akers, born in nearby Williamston in 1886. He graduated from Michigan Agricultural College in 1908 although there was a blip in 1907 when Akers was asked to leave school. He was accused of placing a keg of powder near the spot where President Teddy Roosevelt was going to speak, celebrating MAC’s semicentennial.
Akers denied it and was readmitted but in his lifetime he lit the fuse that has exploded into one of the best golf complexes of any university anywhere. It complements Michigan State’s worldwide reputation as a leading center of all facets of the game from the dirt up. 4
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Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Forest Akers is MSU’s golf course and it does have a lot of trees with representatives of nearly every type of tree that grows in the North American temperate zone.
The 23-year-old, 6-foot-4, strawberry blond Brehm is arguably the longest hitter in the state, and he blew away the field by eight strokes with a 20-underpar 264 for the $10,000 first prize. He’s the second Spartan to win the Open in three years. Andrew
2007 Michigan Open champion, AndrewRuthkoski Rutkowski,ofplays in the final Muskegon, nowround a of the 2009 Michigan Open, Orchard Lake CC. player, won in 2007. minitour MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
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There must be something in the water at Mt. Pleasant that is conducive to smashing golf balls out of sight. It’s the home of Dan Pohl, once the leading long driver on the PGA Tour, and Kelly Robbins who did the same on the LPGA tour.
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he drive to give the men’s and women’s golf teams, the student body and staff and the community a top-of-the-line facility came after decades of having two nice courses. The West was the original by alumnus Bruce Matthews. When it was built in the mid-1950s, it cost $397,300 including fencing and a paved 250-car parking lot, peanuts to today’s construction costs. The shorter East course was added later and while both were good courses, there wasn’t a lot of excitement. 6
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Photo courtesy of the LPGA Tour
“We didn’t have a practice area,” Hills said. “We’d just go to Walnut Hills (Country Club) and play our matches. Ben Van Alstyne was the coach and he said the only guy on the team with Allison Fouch, who won 3 tournaments playing for Michigan State, now plays on the a future in golf was LPGA tour. Albright.” Hills laughed and said that’s one line he’s always remembered. Perne became a PGA professional and served at St. Clair Country Club, Shaker Heights in Cleveland and then a long career at Inverness Club in Toledo.
Ewigleben eventually became president at Ferris State University and between him and Perne, they talked the PGA of America into forming a Professional Golf Management degree program that has Ferris State graduates at top courses all over the country and 19 more universities around the country have followed Ferris’s lead. Zinn was a fine amateur at Red Run Golf Club and Albright never turned pro-
Photo courtesy of Michigan State Univ.
One year out of MSU where he led the Spartans to the Big Ten championship, Brehm plays the Hooters and Nationwide tours and will try the PGA Tour Qualifying School in the fall. He missed by two strokes advancing to the second stage last year.
But it certainly was a great improvement over the early 1950s when Art Hills was an agronomy student and on a team that included Don Perne, Bob Ewigleben, Jack Zinn and Bill Albright, that era’s big hitter.
Michigan State’s Jack Newman (r) played a round at the Masters with Rocco Mediate.
Photo courtesy of Michigan State Univ.
Brehm, who has been playing since he was 5, when his family built the Pohlcat Golf Course by their Mt. Pleasant Holiday Inn motel, had two eagles on par 4s in the first round and was a birdie machine throughout. The final round was played in a combination of drizzle and rain and Brehm holstered his driver and went with a 2-iron off the tee. He added a 2under-par 69 to earlier rounds of 63-68-64.
Michigan State’s LIndsey Solberg and Laura Keuny are named to the NCAA All-Regional team.
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fessional but was one of the leading amateurs in the state.
And Hills with no future in golf? He became one of golf’s best course designers with more than a hundred to his credit, all across the country and overseas. In 1992 Golf Course Manager Ken Horvath called him back to modernize the West course and it’s one of the best in college ranks. Hills said it’s “like an arboretum” and that was Forest Akers mandate when he donated the land. The East was redesigned in 1997 with, of course, additional trees and bunkers. Hills and his teammates missed out on a little practice area in a corner of Old College Field, by a bend in the Red Cedar River, when Biggie Munn appointed Bruce Fossum head coach.
Garety, Ken Janke and Jim Dewling.
None of them had the benefits of today’s men’s and women’s teams.
“The only thing missing is 70 degrees every day,” Fossum said, leading a tour of the expansive layout which actually does resemble forest acres. Although retired, he can’t stay away and does a little teaching.
The East course renovation included the big practice complex and last fall a covered, heated 18 station range with two additional stations for teaching plus an area with video and computer equipment for teaching was added. In the winter balls are picked up by a snowmobile.
Eventually MSU got a coaching “twofer” when Fossum’s wife, Mary, was hired as women’s coach. Between them they recruited top players including Lynn Janson, Joyce Kazmierski and Bonnie Lauer and now the Fossums, Janson, Kazmierski and Lauer are in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.
They joined other Spartans in the Hall of Fame, Bruce Matthews and his son Jerry who between them designed more than 100 courses in the state, five-time Michigan Amateur champion Glenn Johnson, Bud Stevens, Joan
Ruthenberg said all revenue from the facility goes back into maintenance and improvement. The courses and practice area are open to the public and the range was rated by Golf Range Magazine as one of the top 10 new ranges in the country when it opened and it has been in the list of 100 top ranges ever since. MSU officials looked at other operations in the state and Big Ten and said that
Photo courtesy of Michigan State Univ.
“It was a wonderful place to teach,” Fossum said. “There was a green and bunker tucked into the corner.”
Before there are screams about public funds, Interim Golf Course Manager Steve Ruthenberg said the golf courses are self-supporting. Greens fees on the East course are $25 during the week and $27 Friday to Sunday. On the West they are $40 during the week and $44 Friday to Sunday. Carts are $16 per person. Walking is permitted and there’s a reduced rate for students and alumni.
Michigan State Women’s Golf Team (l. to r.) Coach Stacy Slobdnik- Stoll, Laura Kueny, Michelle Bowles, Lindsey Solberg, Shannon Warner, Aimee Neff, Assistant Coach Lorne Don.
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The center is open to team members from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. so they can fit practice times into their academic schedules. Ruthenberg said MSU officials visited other schools and facilities prior to the expansion. He said Purdue “is equally as good” and Ohio State “has done a great job. If we don’t keep improving, we’ll lose our place.”
Photo by Art McCafferty
The teams have done well. The men won two Big Ten titles in three years but the Spartans lost Coach Mark Hankins who returned to homestate Iowa to take over the Hawkeyes program. Now stalwarts Brehm, Ruthkoski and Matt Harmon are gone to the pro side but Jack Newman remains. He won the United States Public Links title last year and played in the Masters this year.
Art Hills, who played on golf on an early 1950’s Spartan team, went on to became one of golf's best course designers.
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Ohio State and Purdue also have outstanding facilities.
he piece de resistance for the men’s and women’s teams is the stand-alone Paul R. Rearick Golf Complex by the 13th hole of the West Course. It opened in 2004 and there are separate lockerrooms for each team. There are offices for the coaches, a Video Swing Analysis System whereby players can see their swings and match against the swings of the 8
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Sam Puryear succeeded Hankins for the 2007-08 season. He’s a native of North Carolina, graduated from Tennessee State, was executive director of the East Lake Junior Golf Academy in Atlanta and spent two years as assistant coach at Stanford when the Cardinal won the 2007 NCAA championship. Puryear took Hankins’ last recruited team to the Big Ten championship but the Spartans slipped to last place last season. He said his goal is to “win on the national stage.”
Photo courtesy of Michigan State Univ.
game’s best players. There’s a lounge area with ping pong table and flat screen TV. In the Bruce and Mary Fossum section there’s a 1,080 square foot putting green putting with chipping areas and three hitting stations into nets.
Spartan Coach Bruce Fossum and his wife, Spartan women’s coach, Mary Fossum, are both members of the Michgian Golf Hall of Fame.
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tacy Slobodnik-Stoll has been the women’s coach since 1997 when she succeeded Mary Fossum and the Spartans won the Big Ten in 2001 and 2007, made 10 straight NCAA Regional appearances with six teams going on to the national championship meet. Slobodnik-Stoll has done well on her own – she captained the Spartans in 199293 and 1993-94, twice won the Michigan Women’s Amateur and she recently won her fifth straight Michigan Women’s Mid-Amateur title.
But before you have a place to play or a team, you need someone to move dirt, come up with the right kind of grass and someone with the vision to create a golf
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course. Michigan State is involved with all of those, too.
Grass needs tender loving care and no one knows that better than golf course superintendents and MSU alumni are at practically every golf course in the state and are in demand in other states.
Spartan alums have designed well over 300 golf courses in Michigan – Bruce Matthews, his son Jerry and grandson Bruce III did courses from Jerry’s Timberstone at Iron Mountain to Bruce III’s Angels Crossing in Vicksburg, south of Kalamazoo. The patriarch, Bruce Matthews, did Salem Hills near Detroit and Grand Haven, which he owned, just inland from Lake Michigan. They worked in nearly all of Michigan’s 83 counties.
Art Hills has an Arthur Hills Golf Trail that stretches from 27hole Bay Harbor at Petoskey to Egypt Valley in Ada and Shepherd’s Hollow in Clarkston with more in between. Don Childs did Michaywe Pines and a string of Huron-Clinton Metropark courses. Susan Nyquist did three Metropark courses.
Photo courtesy of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame
Turfgrass is a $1.8 billion industry according to the nonprofit Michigan Turfgrass Foundation located at MSU’s Robert W. Hancock Turfgrass Research Center. It is supported by about everything and everyone that has grass – golf courses, homeowners, athletic associations, municipalities, parks and recreation areas, seed and sod growers and cemetery associations.
Golf course architect Jerry Matthews and Spartan alumnus is a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. Ray Hearn apprenticed under Jerry Matthews and then went solo with the Golf Club at Yarrow, Island Hills in Centerville, Hemlock in Ludington, Moose Ridge in South Lyon. Pat Conroy and Jim Dewling did Timber Trace in Pinckney, Boulder Pointe in Oxford and Mystic Creek in Camp Dearborn.
Others went out of state. Gary Panks is in Arizona where Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, home course to Geoff Ogilvy, Paul Casey and Gary
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McCord, is one of his efforts. Eric Nelson is in Texas and Keith Evans, A. John Harvey and Stephen Kay are in New Jersey. Evans worked with Rees Jones on Thousand Oaks, Harvey worked for Robert Trent Jones, then after Jones passed away, went with Roger Rulewich, Jones’ chief designer. Kay teaches construction and design at Rutgers, has renovated more than 250 courses in addition to designing 20 new ones.
And that’s a sampling of the heritage of Forest Akers. MG •
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Photo courtesy of Grand Valley State University
Lakers, The Meadows Host National Championships
Grand Valley State University Golf
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By Terry Moore
s Grand Valley State University heads to its sixth straight Directors’ Cup as the best all-around athletic sports department in the NCAA Division II, it’s not surprising to find the men’s and women’s golf teams flourishing in Allendale, Michigan. With a nationally rated golf course (recently ranked as a Top 25 college course in the U.S. by Links Magazine) and an expansive practice and teaching area the golf teams at GVSU are blessed with the facilities and a dedicated coaching staff to expect continued success on the fairways and greens for the Lakers. And in 2008-2009, both the women’s and men’s teams fulfilled those high expectations by excellent play all season.
The second place national finish for the women’s team was no fluke as it dominated team play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
The Lakers’ stellar play carried over into the NCAA regionals. Competing in the East Regional, the Lakers won the event by a
whopping 42 strokes. The Lakers were paced by Allie Tyler who was medalist with an 11-over par total of 227 for the 54-hole event. Langton finished second overall at 228 and Smith finished in fourth place at 233.
For their outstanding year, several Lakers earned post-season honors. Coach Mailloux was named Coach of the Year from the Eastern Region while Langton was
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
On the women’s side, first-year coach Rebecca Mailloux led her team to a runner-up finish at the National Championship in Findlay, OH. Consistent play over the four days of competition was the key to the Lakers’ success at Findlay CC. In fourth place going into the final round, the Lakers carded a team score of 309 which catapulted them into the runner-up spot. Four GVSU golfers finished in the Top 25 including Caitlin Smith, Ashley Smith, Kristina Langton and Sarah Hoffman.
Conference (GLIAC) this season. In fact, at the rain-shortened 36-hole conference championship held at The Meadows, the Lakers won the title by twenty five shots over runner-up Ashland. GVSU sophomore Langton was medalist with a twoover par 146 total.
Grand Valley’s Matt Malloure finished tied for 11th at the Michigan Open at Orchard Lake.
Photo left: The Meadows Golf Course, Hole Number 11.
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Photo courtesy of Grand Valley State University
named first-team All-America— only one of sixth golfers so recognized. Smith was tapped for honorable mention All-America status while also being named Player of the Year for the GLIAC.
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he contributions of Lori Stinson, the Lakers’ first full-time women’s coach who resigned last July to return to her native Ft. Wayne, should be noted and applauded. Stinson must
be credited in helping the Lakers rise to a prominent place in Division II golf. During her tenure since 1999, she guided the Lakers to four GLIAC titles and seven national final appearances includ-
The Meadows Golf Course, Hole Number 4. SUMMER
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ing a second and third place finishes. In 2005, the Lakers’ Melissa Sneller was the medalist in the NCAA finals, the first Laker golfer—male or female—to claim an individual national title.
Although it didn’t advance as far as the women’s team, the men’s golf team at GVSU also had a successful season. Led by Coach Don Underwood, the Lakers took its third conference title this season, the second in the past three seasons. At the GLIAC championship, the Lakers established a new 54-hole record with a score of one-under par 863.
Unfortunately, the men’s team faltered at the NCAA Super Regionals conducted at The Meadows in early May. The Lakers
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and Ben Brooks. Hering paced the team with a 71.6 scoring average.
long with being the home course for the men’s and women’s golf team, The Meadows has the distinction of hosting a number of national championships at the Dr. Michael Hurdzan layout. Opened in 1993, no other Michigan golf course has hosted as many national championships as The Meadows—a total of six NCAA national finals (1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007.) A seventh NCAA championship is set for 2011 when the Women’s Division II Finals will be held in Allendale. In addition to the NCAA and GLIAC events, The Meadows also is the annual host to one of the
championships,” said General Manager Terry Sack. “They keep us on our toes but more importantly provide a wonderful way to give back to the community and the game.” Sack has been the General Manager since the course opened over 15 years ago and became an important asset to the campus. With an MBA from GVSU, Sack is committed to operational excellence and sure-handed stewardship of The Meadows. The underlying credo of The Meadows, according to Sack, is “the promise.” Borrowed from the customer loyalty tenets of the Disney Institute, “the promise” is distilled into this simple message: “We will make our guests feel
“First-year coach Rebecca Mailloux led her team to a runner-up finish at the National Championship in Findlay, OH.
were aiming to be one of the five low teams from the event to qualify for the nationals. Instead, the team struggled and finished in ninth place. In spite of the disappointment, the Lakers had much to be proud of for the season.
Underwood was named the GLIAC “Coach of the Year” and several players were named to AllGLIAC teams. They included Tyler Hering, Matt Mallour, Matt Johnson 14
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Divisions each year of the Michigan High School Golf Finals, both boys and girls. On a local level, the course is home to the Grand Valley Amateur—one of the premier amateur events in the area—as well as the West Michigan Senior Amateur. (Full disclosure: this writer assists The Meadows and GVSU in its media relations endeavors.)
“We look forward to all of these
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great about The Meadows and GVSU.” Out of this promise, Sack espouses everyone on staff feeling “great about how we treat customers and how the course plays and looks.”
Judging by the impressive number of national championships as well as hosting state and local events, one can surely say The Meadows is not only feeling great but doing great things. MG
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Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios
University of Mic Reaches the
chigan Golf Team e Final Four
University of Michgian Men’s Golf
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By Terry Moore
from an all-stroke play event to a combination stroke and match play format. Certainly, there’s no question now that the new format created considerable excitement.)
ertainly one of the surprises of this golf season, in terms of team play, was the superb finish of the University of Michigan men’s team. Coming into the NCAA finals seeded 29th
The showdown between USC and U-M delivered high drama as Michigan’s Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla, Lake Mary Prep) clinched the deciding match against USC’s Matthew Giles on the 17th hole
out of 30 teams, the Wolverines “shocked the world” (sorry, Fab Five) and qualified for the match play portion of the NCAA national championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo. Michigan finished sixth (the final spot) out of the 30 teams that competed in the medal play portion of the finals. In its quarter-final match, U-M upset perennial powerhouse Southern California to reach the coveted Final Four of the championship. (Note: In a controversial decision two years ago, The NCAA Golf Committee changed its format
when his 212-yard second shot with a hybrid 2-iron landed 18 inches from the cup and was conceded for a birdie. “It’s definitely the best shot of my career,” said Kim. “I was so focused on that shot and completely in the zone.” When Giles missed his 35-footer for a birdie, Kim and Michigan won the match. The first four head-to-head matches were split between the Trojans and the Wolverines.
Photo courtesy of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame
In its semi-final match against Texas A & M, Michigan again played inspired golf. Losing two of the three matches early, it came down to the matches between Michigan’s co-captain Bill Rankin (Traverse City, TC Central HS) and the Aggies’ Matt Van Zandt. The match was all-square going to 18 after Rankin won both the 16th
John Morse 18
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and 17th holes. Meanwhile, behind the Rankin and Van Zandt match was U-M’s Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Lakeview HS) battling John Hurley in another close contest which was also all-square going to 18. So the entire match for getting into the Finals was on the line at
the short but devilish par-four 18th hole at Inverness.
Both Rankin and Van Zandt hit into the right rough on 18. Then Rankin’s second shot hits the green but couldn’t hold it and rolls into a back bunker. Van Zandt’s approach shot found the green some 20 feet from the cup. With the Thompson-Hurley match in the fairway awaiting their second shots, Rankin’s bunker shot narrowly missed the flag but rolled off the fast green into the rough. When Rankin’s fourth shot again missed hitting the flag and on the green putting for bogey, the Michigan co-captain conceded the match thus ending Michigan’s title hopes. With the deciding match point already completed, the final match of Thompson and Hurley was declared all-square and the match ended in the fairway. Kim admitted that he was emotionally drained after his climatic morning match against Giles. “I just wasn’t mentally prepared to come right back and compete in the afternoon match. But I give Texas A & M full credit for its fine play.” As the Cinderella team of the NCAA, Michigan made a princely run at the Finals after finishing a disappointing eight-place tie at the Big Ten Championship less than a month before. But Michigan played superbly at the Southwest Regional in Austin, Texas, and advanced to the NCAA Finals for the first time in 12 years. In its final round, Michigan carded the
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low aggregate score of the day— 292—and jumped up two positions to the coveted fifth and final spot in the tournament.
69-70 and finished sixth. As such, both sophomores earned honorable mention All-America status this year.
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ichigan ended the season with a 292.05 scoring average, establishing a new U-M record. Kim closed the season averaging 72.89, becoming only the second Wolverine in history to average under 73 for a season. (The other Wolverine was Michael Harris, who later became a Michigan Open champion.) “As a team, we’re extremely confident about our future,” said Kim. “We have a young team and we’re all dedicated to working hard. And our coaches (Andrew Sapp and Assistant Chris Whitten) are eager to keep Michigan improving and getting better.”
Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios
Some observers say the key to Michigan’s resurgence began two years ago when top-20 out-of-state recruits Kim and Alexander Sitompul of Jakarta, Indonesia and Bradenton (Fla.) Prep decided to pass up the usually more attractive Sunbelt golf schools and head for Ann Arbor. In a recent telephone interview with me, Kim said: “As I was being recruited, I finally decided I wanted to go where I could look back and say, ‘Hey, look, I helped the team really turn around.’ And besides, Michigan is a great institution,” said Kim who is majoring in Sports Management. For the stroke play portion of the finals, Kim shot 72-68-74 and tied for 13th while Sitompul fired 72-
Freshman Matt Thompson helped the Wolverines advance to the NCAA semi-final match. Head Coach Sapp now has the distinction of taking three different schools and four total programs to the NCAA Championships. In his coaching career, he led North Carolina, Purdue’s men’s and women’s teams, and now U-M to the national championship.
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As a counter-balance to Spartan alumnus Jack Berry’s protracted recitation of Michigan State’s legacy to golf, please indulge this Wolverine a few moments of your time and attention. First, one should start with the two golf courses found on the Ann Arbor
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campus. Designed by the esteemed architect Alister Mackenzie (who also did Augusta National, Cypress Point and collaborated on Crystal Downs), the U-M Golf Course opened in 1931 and was one of the first collegiate layouts in the country. Later renovated (restored, really) in 1994 by U-M graduate Art Hills, the golf course was recently ranked no. 7 by Links Magazine in its Top 25 college courses roster. In addition to numerous Big Ten championships, it has hosted other notable events including a USGA Junior Championship, 3 Western Juniors, 3 Michigan Opens and 2 Michigan Amateurs. The course is open to students, faculty, alumni and accompanied guests and is
conveniently located near the main campus and across from The Big House, U-M’s famed football stadium.
The other U-M owned golf course is Radrick Farms which is a private club reserved for faculty, staff and alumni of the university. Designed by Pete Dye, Radrick was opened in 1965 and sits on 275 acres of rolling, woodsy land donated by Frederick Matthaei, a alumnus and former Regent of UM. The course has hosted several collegiate events as well as selected national championships, including the 1991 National Independent Insurance Agents Junior Classic which featured a third place finish
by a young 15-year-old phenom by the name of Tiger Woods who was the defending champion. Tiger did however win the Long Drive Championship at Radrick Farms with an uphill blast of 283 yards.
In terms of storied alums of the UM program, one must start with the legendary Chuck Kocsis, named the “Player of the Century” by the GAM. A six-time Michigan Amateur Champion, Koscis played on U-M’s back-to-back NCAA national titles in 1934 & 1935 which coincidentally was contested as a match play event. Kocsis also won the individual NCAA title in 1936. Besides Kocsis in the Michigan Golf of Fame, other former UM’ers and alums are Carlton Wells, John Malloy, Ben Smith, Bob McMasters, Randy Erksine, Elaine Crosby, Steve Maddalena, John Morse, John Morgan and John Lindholm. Last year, former U-M player Justin Hicks won a Nationwide event in Ontario. But the most celebrated alum and golfer from U-M never played at Michigan at all. And later in his illustrious career, he never was much of a golfer. In fact, his errant swings were often the butt of nationally aired jokes. However, this individual gave the dedication speech at the World Golf of Fame at Pinehurst in 1974 and today his golf bag is proudly displayed at the Hall now relocated in Jacksonville. His name? Former President Gerald R. Ford. MG
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Photo by Jennie McCafferty
Oakland University Golden Grizzlies: 2009-2010 Golf Season Preview
Frank McAuliffe, Jr made the cut at the 2009 Michigan Open and finished nine strokes ahead of his Dad, Frank McAuliffe of Ann Arbor Country Club.
Men’s Golf
This year’s Golden Grizzlies men’s golf team finished in the top ten in four of the ten tournaments in which they played and in the top
By: Chris Lewis 20 in all ten tournaments. While the Golden Grizzlies would have loved to have obtained a team victory, the young team is focused on the future and on continuing to improve its consistency during the 2009-2010 season. Of the seven
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man roster, only one member, Frank McAuliffe, is a senior while McAuliffe’s other teammates will either be juniors, sophomores, or freshmen. With such a young team, third-year head coach Brian Costello is certainly excited about •
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Junior Robby McNiff and senior Frank McAuliffe led the Golden Grizzlies this past season with scoring averages of 75.09 and 75.11, respectively. McNiff finished in the top ten in one of the eight tournaments in which he played in and in the top 20 in two tournaments. McAuliffe, meanwhile, finished in the top 20 in four of ten tournaments in which he competed and in the top ten in two tournaments. Along with obtaining a scoring average of 75.11, McAuliffe was also named to the First Team of the AllSummit League.
The Summit League is currently celebrating its 27th year as an NCAA Division I athletics conference. The League has ten member schools, ranging from Oral Roberts University to North Dakota State University. Recognition as a member of the All-Summit League First Team is truly an honor that McAuliffe will appreciate throughout the rest of his career with the Golden Grizzlies. Even though the Golden Grizzlies did not contend for a tournament this year, the future certainly seems bright for this youthful and talented team.
According to head coach Brian Costello, the Golden Grizzlies have the potential to have even more success this upcoming season. “Our goal for the 2009-2010 season is to win our conference championship and (to) take this 22
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Photo courtesy of Oakland Univ.
the future and is hoping to develop the skills of the freshmen and sophomore players so that they can continue to find success during the remainder of their collegiate golfing careers.
program to its first NCAA berth in school history,” Costello said. “Our early expectations are to be more Brian Costello, competitive Oakland with the top University ranked teams men’s and that we will women’s golf face in the fall. teams coach. That will give us the confidence we need to win our championship.”
In order to obtain the team’s first NCAA berth, all team members will need to believe in their abilities on a consistent basis. “We have talented players on this team but I think in many cases they lack the confidence and pre-round mental preparation to be consistent,” Costello said. “I am excited about the incoming freshmen’s national and worldwide experience, and I am hoping that they will come in more prepared to take on the nation’s best from the get go.”
In the meantime, Coach Costello is also expecting consistency from the oldest member of the team, Frank McAuliffe. “Frank has shown signs of being a great player, (but) he just needs to find that needed consistency to lead this program where we want to go. He has proven he can get it done in our league championship over the past two seasons, which has earned him first-team All Conference (honors) in each season,” Costello said.
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the Golden Grizzlies should be able to continue to develop during the 2009-2010 season. In the meantime, along with coaching Oakland’s men’s golf team, Costello has also been busy working with the women’s golf team as well. Just as the men’s team is hoping to continue to improve and to develop consistency, the women’s golf team is also striving to make their 2009-2010 season a successful and memorable one.
Women’s Golf
When the Golden Grizzlies’ women’s golf team reflects on its past season, three highlights will outshine all others. First, the team claimed its Oakland-Detroit dual match by eight strokes back in April. Secondly, the team finished third at the UD Fall Invitational held last October in Kettering, Ohio. Finally, the team also finished third at the Summit League Championship which was competed this past April at Katke-Cousins Golf Course in Rochester. These three strong performances will certainly provide hope for next season as head coach Brian Costello and his team will begin to prepare for the 2009-2010 season during the summer. Individually, three women really stood out above the rest during the 2008-2009 season. Austin McDermaid led her team with a scoring average of 81.15. In the meantime, Nikki Swan finished second on her team’s scoring average list with 82.70. Finally, Liz Ecker not only averaged 84.35 strokes per round for the third best
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Coach Costello is expecting his team to use its experiences from last season in order to improve its record this upcoming season. “Our women’s program is certainly on the rise as well. We had a tough season last year as we stepped up our tournament schedule,” Costello said. “Through the experience gained from last season, as well as our incoming freshman class, we expect to be more competitive within our conference.” Finally, Costello is hoping that Oakland will gain more recognition for its golf program during the coming years, as his teams
continue to progress. “Oakland University is one of the greatest universities in the country that most sports fans don’t know about.
Photo by Jose Juarez
average on the team, but she was also named to the All-Summit League’s first team list.
We have a beautiful campus and two of the best golf courses in the state Austin McDermaid led the Grizzlies with a scoring of Michigan right average of 81.15 on campus,” Costello said. “We have great athletic programs here For more information on and we are hoping that in the near Oakland University’s golf courses, future people will know more about Oakland University and our The R.S. Sharf Golf Course and the Katke-Cousins Golf Course, golf programs because we have please visit http://www4. the desire and the resources to be nationally competitive.” oakland.edu/?id=58&sid=65. MG
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Western Michigan University Women’s Golf
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By Kelly Hill
Managing Editor
he Western Michigan University women’s golf team has never won a MidAmerica Conference championship.
Winning such a championship, however, remains the Broncos’ goal each and every season. Perennial powerhouse Kent State has made WMU’s pursuit of that goal extremely difficult.
“Kent State is in the top 20 in the country just about every year, so that makes it tough,” said Broncos coach Cindy Trout. “Tiger doesn’t win every tournament he plays in though, so anything is possible. We have not changed our goal.”
A MAC championship would reward the Broncos with an automatic berth into the NCAA regional tournament. “The only way for us to advance to the regional is to win the conference because the NCAA only takes the top 64 teams so we have to either win our conference or be in the top 60 or so in the country, and we are a long way from that,” Trout said. “We would get an automatic bid from winning the conference, but it would still be very tough for us because we’re in the same region as the Big 10 and the Big 12.” 24
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Trout, a PGA professional since 1988, who is the only women’s golf coach Western Michigan University has ever had. The Broncos, who just completed their 12th season, enjoyed their best season in 2004, when they finished second in the MAC standings. “That was a great year for us,” Trout said. “We were second in the conferece and we won four or five tournaments that year.” With an extremely young roster this season, the Broncos finished tied for third, with Akron, in the MAC Championship. “This year was a rebuilding year,” Trout said. “We had five freshmen on the team and four of them played quite a bit.”
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he Broncos roster this season featured freshmen Maria Demarco (Troy Athens), Leah Grawburg (Mount Pleasant), Brooke Hovenkamp (Vicksburg), Briana May (Novelle Alliance High School in Barrie, Ontario) and Katrina Templar (Greenville); sophomores Britney Hamilton (Lake Orion) and Stephanie Koske (CarmenAinsworth) and junior Elise Swartout (Ann Arbor Pioneer).
“I try to recruit in a five-state area, but I don’t limit myself to that,” Trout said. “I look at Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana,
Ohio and Michigan, but we have also had several players from Canada. We are in a good location for Canadian players. Most of them have been from Ontario, but we did have a player from Alberta a few years back.
“We didn’t graduate anyone this year so next year we should be even better,” Trout said. In three more seasons, perhaps the Broncos can challenge Kent State for that conference championship.
Western Michigan University does not field a men’s golf team, although it did until the mid1980s. “I wish we did have a men’s program, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen anytime in the foreseeable future,” said Trout, who said she receives frequent inquiries concerning a Broncos’ men’s team, and has even received videos from wouldbe recruits. “I have a standard email that I send out, telling them that we do not field a men’s team,” Trout said. “There are gender equity issues, but I wish they had a team.” Western Michigan University plays its home matches at The Moors Golf Club, an Arthur Hills design that hosted the 97th Michigan Amateur Championship last year. MG
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
EMU Golf Makes Impressive Gaines
Photo by Jennie McCafferty
By Susan Bairley
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2002 Michigan Amateur champion and Eastern Michigan alum, Korey Mahoney, won a nice check with a ninth place finish at the 2009 Michigan Open. hile the NCAA does its best to keep the playing field level in collegiate sports, powerhouse schools often have an edge. Bigger recruiting budgets, better facilities and higher
paid coaching staffs often attract the top players, perpetuating the dominance of big name universities.
In collegiate golf, however, a program can soar based on sheer talent, individual coaching, a fully
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funded scholarship program and the promise of a good education. Such seems to be the case at Eastern Michigan University, where the ‘wind’ beneath its EMU Eagle golfers’ wings includes
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Bruce Cunningham and Sandy Wagner, great year-round training facilities and a University that cares just as much about the student as it does the athlete.
even matches among NCAA Division I players.
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Men’s Golf Team
MU Men’s Golf Coach Bruce Cunningham has been with the program for 16 years. During his tenure, he was also head golf professional at EMU’s Eagle Crest Golf Club from 1994 to 2001 and head coach of the women’s team in 1997-98. In recent years, however, he’s focused most of his time on coaching the EMU men, and it shows. The team’s been in the top three of the Mid-American Conference since 2005. The Eagles won backto-back MAC championships in 2007 and 2008, finished second this year and in 2005, and took third in 2006.
GolfStat ranks EMU 74th nationally in 2009, trailing only Kent State University in the MAC, which is ranked 39th . Golfweek/Sagarin
ranks EMU 73rd among the 298 Division I NCAA programs. In addition, the team’s overall 92-54-2 Division I NCAA record includes matches won against 8 of the Big Ten’s 11 schools and the team’s first Top 25 win. In his recruiting, which mostly focuses on Ontario and Michigan golfers, Cunningham looks for “scoring ability, mindset and talent.” Thanks to the Internet, he says, coaches can track and attract talent from just about anywhere, and as a result, he sees a lot of 26
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“Due to the talent pool, there is a lot of parity in Division I,” Cunningham said. “And the level of play and talent has really been elevated, across the board, during the 10 to 15 years. Much higher caliber junior programs, combined with advances in equipment has changed scoring. Not only are players better skilled in every area, but equipment has enabled players to hit farther and straighter. As a result scoring has dropped dramatically,” he said. “We play a national schedule. And while the players may have different entry points, we arrive at the same field, competing again the best amateurs in the world on challenging courses,” he added.
Cunningham’s coaching philosophy has several elements, including a “keep elevating your game” mindset. As a result, he looks at player development as the thread that runs through his golfers’ collegiate careers. “It’s not just a series of one-year experiences,” he said.
Three upcoming EMU seniors to watch are Cam Burke of Baden, Ont., Marty Jeppesen of Saline, Mich., and Brandon Lemons of Portage, Mich.
Women’s Golf Team
The EMU women’s golf team ended the 2009 season as runners-up at the Mid-American Conference Women’s Golf Championship. EMU’s second-place finish equaled the mark set by the 2003, 2007 and 2008 squads.
With three of those secondplace finishes occurring during her four-year tenure as EMU Head Women’s Golf Coach Sandy Wagner seems to be running a solid – and consistent – program.
Like Cunningham, Wagner focuses on the student as well as the athlete. As a result, three of her players – senior Courtney Aili of Chelsea, Mich., senior Stephany Fleet of DeWitt, Mich., and sophomore Darby Peters of Lake Orion, Mich., earned Academic All-MidAmerican Conference honors. In addition, Fleet finished the season ranked second in the nation in total short game, according to GolfStat, while the women Eagles tied for eighth as a team in total short game. The total short game rankings compare the statistics of more than 600 student-athletes and factors in sand saves and non-sand up-and-downs. Fleet was ranked the 129th best golfer in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin system with a 666-43-12 overall record in 2008-09.
As a team, EMU is ranked 81st nationally by Golfweek/Sagarin and 86th by GolfStat. With its overall 101-22-0 Division 1 NCAA record, the EMU women Eagles finished the 2009 season second in the MAC, behind 21st ranked Kent State University.
Training facilities for both teams include the championship EMU Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ypsilanti, and practice facilities at Miles of Golf in Ypsilanti and the Fox Hills Learning Center in Plymouth. MG
MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE
Wayne State University Warriors: 2009- 2010 Golf Season Preview - Men’s Golf
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By: Chris Lewis
in 2009-2010,” Horn said.
Along with the return of Juszczyk, Coach Horn is also looking forward to an incoming freshman class that will add depth and talent to the team. In addition to the freshman members, Coach Horn is also expecting some strong performances from older members of his team who are hoping to gain experience in collegiate golf.
Photo courtesy of Wayne State University
he Wayne State University Warriors are anticipating the 2009-2010 golf season while also reflecting on lessons learned this past year after recently wrapping up a season in which the team won two invitational tournaments (the Oakland Community College Invitational at Wayne State University Men’s Golf Team Pontiac Country Club in Waterford and the Northwood named the GLIAC (Great Lakes Invitational at Currie Golf Course in Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) Midland) and finished first at the Men’s Golf Athlete of the Year. NCAA Super Regional held at While obtaining two of the highest Meadows Golf Course from May honors in Division II golf, Cuzzort th th 4 – 6 . The Warriors also finished also posted the university’s all-time
13th out of 20 teams at the NCAA Division II Championship at Loomis Trail Golf Course in Blaine, Washington.
In addition to the team’s success, recent graduate Steve Cuzzort finished in a tie for fifth individually at the NCAA Division II Championship. Along with his strong showing at the championship, Cuzzort was selected to the Division II PING All-America First Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Furthermore, he was also
best season scoring average of 71.313, which beat the previous scoring record of 72.931 by a clear stroke.
Senior and co-captain Joe Juszczyk was selected to the AllGLIAC First Team and averaged 73.344 during the season, which is the third-lowest recorded average in the university’s history. According to head coach Mike Horn, Juszczyk’s performances this past season should be a sign that he will have a great senior year showing. “He should be a pre-season All American candidate
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“We have three freshmen coming in, three red-shirts ready to play, and one player back from injury,” Horn said. “We will be a lot deeper at the three, four, five and six spots next year.”
Through these additions, Coach Horn expects the Warriors to have a successful 2009-2010 campaign. “We look forward to making a run again next year as we will have the deepest roster we have ever had,” Horn said.
All Warrior golf fans are invited to the team’s annual golf outing on July 13th at Edgewood Country Club. For more information, please contact Coach Mike Horn at 313-399-3560. MG
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