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Michigan Golf News
September 3, 2010
Vol. 10, no. 35
Hidden River Golf & Casting Club http://www.hiddenriver.com • Golf Information: http://tiny.cc/xkf4m • Golf Packages: http://tiny.cc/ihm6o
Marsh Ridge Resort and the Natural Golf Course http://www.marshridge.com • Marsh Ridge Resort Television Network http://glsp.com/marshridge/ • 2010 Golf Package Rates: http://tiny.cc/yf99k • Labor Day Madness Registration: http://marshridge.com
Herschel “Mac” McCafferty, top row, second from right.
In This Issue __/
MGN on the Road Bannon, New Brunswick
Treetops Resort http://treetops.com • Treetops Television Network http://glsp.com/treetops/ • Golf Packages, 2010: http://tiny.cc/497ku • Patriot Golf Day Registration http://tiny.cc/mtzrj • 23rd Annual Pepsi Charity Invitational Registration: http://tiny.cc/ie75d Sandy Ridge Golf Course • New course video introduced by Jerry Matthews http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhDSOrxw3z Half Off Golf • Jeff Lesson'sWebsite: • http://lessonongolf.com Michigan Golfer Magazine
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Top 10 Most Expensive Public Golf Courses in Michigan: By Chris Lewis
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New Shows on GLSP Network
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Garety Wins 14th GAM Women's Senior
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Thad Gutowski - The Cyber-Geezer - Part IV of a Series
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Minzey's Musings
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Michigan Golfer Magazine - Summer Issue
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Michigan Golf Calendar
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Michigan Golfer Television Upcoming Shows
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Michigan Golf Archives http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/archives.html
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Michigan Golf History http://michiigangolfer.com/mgn/history.html
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Michigan Golf Association Links http://michiigangolfer.com/mgn/associations.html
=================== MGN ON THE ROAD: =================== Bannon, New Brunswick-Canada As I write this missive, we are nearing Rivie're-du-Loup, our turning point to take the 185 to Bannon the birthplace of my father. This is a trip I took with my father some 55 years ago. Now that I find myself reaching that time in my life where I need to start to tidy things up, I felt this was a trip I needed to make. While I have many memories of my father, there are a number that pertain to the game of golf that I thought I would share with you. 1) When I was 12, my father brought home a driver. While I did not hit many golf balls with that club, I must have hit a couple of thousand rocks that were round and about the size of a golf ball. Great fun. 2) My father used to go to Oakland Hills as a kid and wade in the ponds to find balls he could later sell. I later took him to the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, and he had the opportunity to visit one of his early businesses. 3) In 1977, Terry Moore and i wrote a golf humor book entitled, "The Front Nine and Back Nine." My father contributed a thousand dollars to get it pubished. I told him i would pay him back with the profit. Year, right, a book profit. I still have a few copies of the book and my dad never asked when he was getting that thousand back. Thanks. Dad. 4) When we started covering the Buick Open for the Michigan Golfer, the Director of Marketing for the event at that time was Fred Rideout. I took my father to the Buick and when he met Rideout, he reminded him that they had gone to elementery school tpgether in Bannon, New Brunswick. He also reminded Rideout that he thought he was quite a soccer player, and that he admired him. Needless to say, the Buick account got much easler after that encounter. 5) When I began to think about starting the Michigan Golfer, my dad introduced me to Jack Saylor, the great Free Press golf writer. Saylor was best friends with Harold Horn, a very rich merchant who sold plumbing materials to plumbesr. Horn was a student of my father, who was a flight instuctor flying out of Pontiac Airport, at the time. Over a couple of beers, Saylor encouraged me to have a go at it. Unfortunately, the Free Press would not let him string for us at the time, which saddened me. About five years after the MG was up and running, Saylor said that that rule had been rescinded and he started writing for us. It was a pround moment to include him in our roster of writers. 6) Like many Americans, my dad was enamored with Arnold Palmer, when he started his run. My father was not only intrigued with Palmer's game, but also, with Palmer, the pilot. During the Grand Opening of the Legend at Shanty Creek, we followed Palmer to his room after he completed his round. Palmer always one to give autographs (I have one) greeted my father and i as we got out pf the cart. He needed to freshen up after his round and his handlers were wont to dispatch us as soon as possible. However, my dad and Arnie started talking about flying and they talked for about 10 minutes, while everyone stood anxiously by. I got a photo of the two of them together and it was forever on my parent's mantel. 7) When Garland's owner, Ron Otto, bought his jet, he began a promotion with Joe Falvey, who was
his PR guy at the time, tagged, 'You're only 28 mintues from the Tee at Garland". Essentially, they wanted to use his jet to take corporate golfers up to Garland and to also alert golfers that they had a runway there. Myself and a couple of other golf writers were asked to take the trip as they began to roll out this program. As, my parents lived right across the highway from the airport, I invited my dad to see the plane and then watch us take off. As I began to show him the plane, the pilot walked up to my dad and introduced himself, He said something to the effect that, "It was an airplane ride I had with you when I was a kid, that gave me an interest in flying. I always wanted to thank you for that, and now i can. Would you like to come and look the airplane over." Pretty cool. 8) My father retired at and early age and we were able to do a lot of traveling together. He could hold a conversation with most anyone on any topic and once introduced to someone, i never had to worry about working him into a conversation. Mike Husby, who met my dad on a number of occasions, still remembers him fondly. My travel bug most likely started with that trip 55 years ago, when we spent about a week and a half together, visiting the place where he was born and grew up. In the next couple of days, I will get a chance to relive some of those moments and memories with my Dad. God I miss him. I miss you too, Mom. ===================================================================== TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE PUBLIC GOLF COURSES IN MICHIGAN: By Chris Lewis ===================================================================== 1.) Arcadia Bluffs September Weekday Rates*: $180 Designers: Warren Henderson & Rick Smith Year Built: 1999 Location: Arcadia 2.) Bay Harbor Golf Club – Links/Quarry September Weekday Rates*: $139 - $159 Designer: Arthur Hills Year Built: 1998 Location: Petoskey 3.) Forest Dunes Golf Club September Weekday Rates*: $125 - $150 Designer: Tom Weiskopf Year Built: 2002 Location: Roscommon 4.) Bay Harbor Golf Club – Quarry/Preserve September Weekday Rates*: $119 - $139 Designer: Arthur Hills Year Built: 1998 Location: Petoskey
5.) The Resorts of Tullymore & St. Ives – Tullymore Golf Course September Weekday Rates*: $125 Designer: Jim Engh Year Built: 2002 Location: Stanwood 6.) Treetops – Masterpiece, Premier, & Signature September Weekday Rates*: $115 Designers: Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Tom Fazio, & Rick Smith Years Built: 1987, 1992, & 1993 Location: Gaylord 7.) Treetops – Tradition September Weekday Rates*: $110 Designer: Rick Smith Year Built: 1997 Location: Gaylord 8.) The Resorts of Tullymore & St. Ives – St. Ives Golf Course September Weekday Rates*: $100 Designer: Jerry Matthews Year Built: 2002 Location: Stanwood 9.) Shanty Creek Resorts – The Legend & Cedar River Golf Courses September Weekday Rates*: $79 Designers: The Legend – Arnold Palmer, Cedar River – Tom Weiskopf Years Built: The Legend – 1986, Cedar River – 1999 Location: Bellaire 10.) Sweetgrass Golf Club September Weekday Rates*: $75 Designer: Paul Albanese Year Built: 2008 Location: Harris Note – * Weekday rates include 18 holes with a cart ============================== 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 TelevisionThe 2010 Crim Festival of Races - http://michiganrunner.tv/2010crim
========================================= GARETY WINS 14TH GAM WOMEN'S SENIOR ========================================= Joan Garety (Ada) went out on the links at Crystal Mountain’s Mountain Ridge course and did what she has been doing for years: she made a lot of putts and ended up holding a championship trophy. Garety shot 80-77-159 to win the 14th GAM Women’s Senior Tuesday afternoon. “I putted well,” said Garety. “I didn’t strike the ball as well as I would have liked or hit as many greens as I would have liked, but at the end of the day I ended up with the low score. When you write your score on the card you don’t have to describe your shots so it may not always be pretty.” Garety said her bogey on the par 3 17th hole was indicative of how the tournament was for her. She hit her tee shot into the rough, took two strokes to get out of the very-tall grass, then sunk a tricky 7foot putt. “That putt kept me in a three-shot lead going into the last hole,” said Garety. “It turned out to be really important.” Garety chalked up her success on the greens to her familiarity with them. She has played Crystal Mountain many times, particularly at the Michigan Women’s Open over the past few years. She knows the subtleties of the Mountain Ridge greens and felt that gave her a little edge. “There are some greens here that appear to break in odd ways until you’ve played it a few times,” said Garety. “It was helpful to know flat out how the greens were going to react. I could look at something with the knowledge of what it was going to do. Some of the stuff is pretty subtle and you can miss your putt if you don’t know the greens here.” Full results are available on the GAM web site at http://www.gam.org Taken from a Susan Smiley GAM Release
======================================================= THAD GUTOWSKI - THE CYBER-GEEZER - PART IV OF A SERIES ======================================================= All email messages are not created equal. And all are not opened at the same rate. So what else is new? How about this: In a study of over 200 million emails, open rates ranged from an astounding 93% to a low of less than one per-cent. I am sure the creators of the latter expected more. The Subject line opens the door to your message. You can have the greatest email content in the world but if the viewer doesn’t open your message all the work, thought, time and effort is in vain. The key to success in opening your message depends on a SPAM filter along the line, as well as to what the receiver is interested in at the moment. In the next issue we will address how SPAM in the can, a portmanteau of spiced and ham become an important element of internet communication lexicon.
For now we will look at the starting point to your success with email marketing – the Subject line. Studies show that almost 40% of recipients use this to determine if they will open the message. Though the From line really comes first, I am presuming those on your email list recognize your full name and facility, so include both. But be sure to use the same identification on every email to everyone on your list. Resist the urge to be clever! Remember your facility is not the only game in town. Not by a long shot! The Subject line is the single most important key to your success and great care is required, no let me rephrase that, demanded, to entice the viewer to open the message. Anything less just will not work. And how about this – studies show that the viewer makes the decision in about three seconds! Start by promising a reward or with a positive statement - not a question, which incidentally, I painfully see far too often. Needless to say your body copy must deliver on the promise. Which of these Subject lines do you believe will have a higher open rate? Info from Goat Track Hills or Inside: How to swing like Fred Couples. If you picked the first, accept my condolences! The rule of thumb is to keep the Subject line under 50 characters and spaces. Freddie’s above came to thirty-seven. If you have done a good job in segmenting your email list the open rate will increase when the message fits the audience. I know from decades of experience that a shotgun approach does not deliver the results of target marketing. I talked to someone the other day who said he sent out an email “blast” (I hate the word!) to a list of 8,000 and received one response. One! If your email marketing software offers it, I suggest you test your Subject lines by sending your message first to a small group (10%) on the list. After a couple of days check to determine how you did with opens, bounces, opt-outs, forwards and spam reports. If the numbers leave something to be desired you can make the necessary changes before you send out the final version. I fully realize, this is going to take some time and effort, but if you want to be a success in this specific marketing concept it must be done. One of the rewards is your competition probably won’t follow much of what I have covered and will continue to turn the crank the same old ineffective way. I’m out of space so I will close fulfilling the implied promise relative to Fred Couples. Just click here: http://www.golfpromaster.com/golf-pro-master-tips-and-guide/. Reminder: I continue to look for prize-winning email messages. Please send to: cybergeezer@inbox.com
================== MINZEY'S MUSINGS ================== Little Firefighter A firefighter was working on the engine outside the Station, when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle. The girl was wearing a firefighter’s helmet. The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat. The firefighter walked over to take a closer look. 'That sure is a nice fire truck,' the firefighter said with admiration. 'Thanks,' the girl replied. The firefighter looked a little closer. The girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles. 'Little partner,' the firefighter said, 'I don't want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think you could go faster. ' The little girl replied thoughtfully, 'You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren.' *** A man and his wife rushed into the dentist's office and the man told him that he needed to have a tooth pulled. He told the dentist that he had two buddies waiting to play golf and that they had a tee time in 30 minutes. He said he did not have time for the gums to numb so he wanted nothing for the pain. Just pull the tooth. The dentist was impressed with his bravery and his willingness to endure pain and asked the man "which tooth is it." The man turned to his wife and said, "Open your mouth, honey, and show him which one." *** A professor told his English class that in English, a double negative forms a positive. He further stated that In some foreign languages, a double negative is still a negative. However, he pointed out that in no language does a double positive form a negative. At that time, a voice from the back of the classroom stated, "Yeah, right." =============================================================================== FOREST DUNES GRABS 45TH RANKING IN GOLF MAGAZINE'S LATEST TOP 100 COURSES YOU CAN PLAY =============================================================================== The list of accolades for Forest Dunes Golf Club grew longer in August with the course’s debut at the 45th spot on Golf Magazine’s latest ranking of its Top 100 Courses You Can Play. Former British Open champion, Tom Weiskopf, who has praised it as one of his three best designs, designed the 10-year-old course, nestled in the Huron National Forest in northern Michigan.
Securing a place on Golf Magazine’s Top 100 is a natural for Forest Dunes. Last year readers of Golf World magazine selected it as the top public course in the country. It was also ranked No. 18 on Golf Digest magazine’s list of the 100 greatest public courses in America. It is a perennial choice on Golf Week’s list of their top 100 modern courses in the country. “The course has been here for 10 years and its still climbing up in the rankings. That says a lot about the golf course,” said General Manager Mark Gurnow, who acknowledged that Forest Dune’s remote location has been a detriment to getting critics to review the layout. “Our goal is to move up every list that we can not just from a golf course stand point but from a service stand point as well.” Gurnow saluted course superintendent Jim Bluck, who he said is the best in the business, and deserves the credit for maintaining the course in such a pristine fashion that voters for the magazines cannot help but be impressed. While Weiskopf was the artist who created this masterpiece, Forest Dunes owes its wide appeal to its roots – the 40,000-acre Huron National Forest with rolling white sand dunes underfoot. The 7,141yard course has five sets of tees and is cut through and around acres of gleaming natural sand that adds to its unique looks for an inland course in a forested area. Complementing the golf course is a huge practice facility, a two-and-a-half acre-putting course, and a 15,000-square-foot clubhouse reminiscent of a great Adirondack lodge. The golf club’s location is also an environmentally sensitive one as it is in the Au Sable River valley, adjacent to the Mason Tract stretch of the river. Because of its unflagging efforts to protect the river, the course earned a coveted Gold Signature Certification from the Audoban International organization in 2003. It is the highest level of certification a golf course can receive, and Forest Dunes is the only course in Michigan to achieve that distinction. There are only 21 other golf properties in the world with that gold certification. Troon Golf, a worldwide leader in luxury golf clubs, manages the club. Members and guests of Forest Dunes Golf Club enjoy a scenic lifestyle experience unique to northern Michigan. For more information, call (989) 275-0700 or visit http://www.forestdunesgolf.com. Taken and edited from a Resort & Golf Marketing -Dave Richards- Release ============================================= MICHIGAN GOLFER MAGAZINE - SUMMER ISSUE ============================================= Table of Contents Alma Scots - Chris Lewis Walter Hagen Returns to French Lick - Brad Shelton French Lick Defies Economic Downturn - William Shelton Forest Dunes - Mike Duff Acquinas Golf - Chris Lewis http://issuu.com/michigan_golfer/docs/mg0610 Past Issues 1996 - 2010 http://michigangolfer.com/#pastissues
================================ 2010 MICHIGAN GOLF CALENDAR ================================ September 3-6 Labor Day Madness at Marsh Ridge Resort, Gaylord, MI Registration: http://marshridge.com/golf/proto/marshridge/calendar/calendar.htm Videos of Past Tournaments http://glsp.com/marshridge 3-5 3rd Annual Patriot Golf Day Shootout, Treetops Resort, Gaylord, MI Registration: http://treetops.com/index.php?method=golf&subpage=patriotgolfday Videos of Past Tournaments http://glsp.com/treetops 11 MIAGT at Coyote Preserve GC, Coyote Preserve Golf Club, Hartland, MI http://www.miagt.com/index.php?pg=schedule 13-16 Michigan PGA Match Play, Oakland University, Sharf 18 MIAGT Tour Championship, The Grande Golf Club, Jackson, MI http://www.miagt.com/index.php?pg=schedule 26-28 23rd Annual Pepsi Charity Invitational, Treetops Resort, Gaylord, MI Registration: http://www.treetops.com/index.php?method=golf&subpage=pepsitournament Videos of Past Tournaments http://glsp.com/treetops October 1-3 Ryder Cup, Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Wales 2 Golf League Championship Tournament. Eagle Eye Golf Course, Bath http://www.migolfleague.com or http://www.mgcoa.org 9-10 Toughman Scramble, Treetops and Black Bear GC, Gaylord and Vanderbilt, MI http://www.treetops.com/index.php?method=golf&subpage=Toughman_Tournament November and December 30 - Dec 2 Michigan Golf Business Conference and Vendor Fair,Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids http://www.mgcoa.org -- MG --