Michigan Golf Journal June 2023

Editor’sLetter

Welcome to June, and the heart of the golf season now underway. A wacky but mostly dry spring is hopefully in the past, with two major pro tournaments on tap in this 6th month of the year – the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids, and the Rocket Mortgage PGA Tour event in Detroit.

We look at some very unique studies done by an MSU professor for the USGA on what happens when a town wants to close its struggling golf course. Even if it’s losing money it might prove to be the best greenspace option for the community.

In June we also cover:

The top 100 courses nationally for under $100

The early May two-foot snowfall clean up in the U.P. Advance looks at the Michigan Amateur and the Michigan Open A course review out of Ann Arbor Lots of other Michigan news pieces

We pride ourselves in bringing you the widest variety of Michigan-only golf news, which might be whyforthe thirdconsecutivetime,arecent independentannual surveyofgolfconsumers votedtheMIGolfJournal astheirmostenjoyed publicationinthestate.

We are proud to carry such a banner.

TomLang EditorandPublisher

What's Inside:

PG. 36

PG. 8 PG.

“The club will be ready for the Michigan Amateur and the U.S. Junior (Amateur) the following year. We are committed to doing the best we can under the circumstances.”

Michigan Michigan Amateur, Oldest Amateur, Oldest Major in the State Major in the State

ByGregJohnson

Oakland Hills Country Club’s commitment to hosting championship golf has not wavered despite the fire of February 2022 that claimed the historic clubhouse.

“We are going full speed ahead,” said Lee Juett, a longtime Oakland Hills member, GAM president-emeritus and GAM rules official who in June will serve as tournament chairman for the 112th Michigan Amateur Championship on the North Course at Oakland Hills.

By the end of the 2022 golf season Oakland Hills was operating most of its amenities, including some food service, out of temporary, high-end, corporate tents and that will be the case this month. Juett said the club is heavily involved with membership planning the new clubhouse and that a construction start is tentatively set for fall of 2023.

“We have two very nice temporary structures on the

South side and another on the North side so we don’t see any issues with providing all the things we have in the past when we have hosted championships,” Juett said. “We won’t have the first-class clubhouse, but the club and grounds staff and club members will provide a first-class effort.”

The North Course – the de facto other course at Oakland Hills in deference to the famous South Course that has hosted 11 USGA championships, including six U.S. Opens, as well as three PGA Championships and the Ryder Cup Matches – will host the Michigan Amateur for a fourth time.

Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Randy Lewis of Alma won his first Michigan Amateur title there in 1992, and Drew Preston of Ada took the title in 2012, holding off Tom Werkmeister of Grandville 2-up. In 2019, Ben Smith of Novi topped Patrick Sullivan of Grosse Pointe 2 and 1 in the finale.

“Oakland Hills is very supportive of amateur golf and they see it as part of their mission as a club and a membership,” said Ken Hartmann, senior director for rules and competitions for the GAM. “They like hosting top quality amateur tournaments, state and national, and they have two golf courses that test any golfers, including the best in the world.”

Hartmann feels the North course is one of the top golf courses in the state and Midwest and said the previous Amateur championships on the course showcased the challenge built into the design.

“The North is a strong golf course with a great set of greens,” he said. “It is not a long course at

6,900 yards, but it can hold its own easily with wonderful greens, some great par 4s and it is always in pristine shape, always tournament ready.”

Oakland Hills, which earlier this year was announced as a host site for six future USGA championships including two U.S. Opens (2034, 2051), used both the North and South in stroke play rounds during the 2016 U.S. Amateur.

In 2013 the late Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest renovated 30 bunkers on the North, fixed drainage issues and added 300 yards. The North, like the South, has Donald Ross lineage in routing and design, and was also renovated by Robert Trent Jones (1961). The North opened in 1924, six years after the South, and was presented for 35 years through the Great Depression and beyond as a public course (19321967). It has served the club’s membership as a private facility since.

In 2019, the North course hosted the Michigan Am during the celebration of the GAM’s centennial.

Gull

Lake View

Gull Lake View

Resort:

Resort:

Great Golf, Good Times Great Golf, Good Times

ByTomLang

Two years ago, when I moved westward from metro Detroit to the Battle Creek region, I was pleasantly surprised that so many people said, ‘oh, they have great golf there.’

I already agreed with them and was looking forward to being the new neighbor.

The great golf reputation is most assuredly because of the (tied for) 6th largest golf resort in the country – Gull Lake View – located between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo in the nation’s best golf mecca namesake, Augusta.

Founders Darl and Letha Scott designed and

Celebrating 60 Years Celebrating 60 Years

opened 60yearsagoin 1963, the first of what’s become six excellent golf courses, each with their own personality. Four generations later the Scott family continues to own and operate the property and they work hard to assure the family heritage of giving golfers a great experience stays strong.

The pinnacle of the family business was being recognized by the National Golf Course Owners Association with the 2021 Jemsek National Golf Course of the Year award – for Stoatin Brae, Gull Lake View’s most recent, and premier, 18 hole layout.

StoatinBraeHole2

The award recognizes a course that epitomizes exceptional course quality and management excellence, makes important contributions to its communities and the game and is a model of operations to its peers.

Stoatin Brae beat out three other national regional finalists, including Pinehurst Resort and Country Club.

“Gull Lake View has become one of the best stay and play destinations not only in the state, but

balanced by a sense of serenity. Whether you’re having a good day or bad day striking the ball, every golfer should be able to walk off the course and say that was a great way to spend their time.

Right off the bat, Hole 1 is the first of several with green complex lower than the end of the fairway, but then hole 7 is a long par 3 that is uphill but with bunkers and a ridge hiding most of the huge green (from the back tees). The flag is visible, but it plays much farther

in the Midwest,” said Bill Hobson, executive producer and on-air talent of Michigan Golf Live. “Their collection of courses, led by the stunning Stoatin Brae, has propelled Gull Lake View into a ‘must play’ destination.”

6Courses,6Experiences:

STOATINBRAE:The newest but core course in the portfolio is loaded with challenges but is

away than it looks to the naked eye, so trust the published yardage and then hit up one club at least.

Holes 10 and 11 are possibly the most attractive back-to-back holes in this region of Michigan. No. 10 (our cover image) is a shorter par 4 that with a big drive and a helping wind, golfers can flirt with reaching the small, elevated green.

No. 11 is a medium-length par 3 with a perched

WestHole9

tee and green and deep valley in between that plays farther away than it looks (but note, all references to playing distance is predicated on that day’s wind direction, a main feature of Stoatin Brae). On a clear day downtown Battle Creek can be seen in the distance across the valley.

Additional awards include Golfweek's Top 100 Courses You Can Play List 2019 -- 2023 … GolfWeek’s Top 10 course to play in Michigan for 2018 -- 2022 … and the 9 Michigan Courses You Should Play at Least Once, GolfDigest.

GULLLAKEWEST:This is the original course built by Darl after he gave up being the superintendent at Gull Lake Country Club to be his own course owner. Like most of the properties in the Gull Lake inventory, treelined rolling hills and water features are the highlight of this early 1960s design.

GULLLAKEEAST: Was the resort’s only

course I hadn’t played –until this spring. All I could keep asking myself was why did I wait so long. It was opened in the mid-1970s and launched the eventual need for overnight 2-bedroom, 2bathroom villa accommodations, which were all remodeled and updated in the past few years.

The East is situated on beautiful rolling hills with several elevated tee

EastHole5

boxes and natural ponds to navigate. In most cases the water is there for aesthetics, not overtly dangerous obstacles, unless your game is pretty wild. What stands out is 6,032 yards from the tips, which often fools men’s groups coming in. Some scoff at that yardage, thinking it’s too short, but I defy any of them to play their best game on the East.

STONEHEDGESOUTH:This gem, which this year earned Top 50 course in the U.S. by the GolfPass Golfers Choice Ratings, is a fun one. Similar in design to the East Course, and which butts up against Stoatin Brae’s back 9, South was the third course designed by the family. Completed in 1988, this is a favorite for players who enjoy a walk in the country as much as they enjoy playing championship golf. A variety of stone work around the course helped create the name.

BEDFORDVALLEY: Due north of Battle Creek, the formidable Bedford Valley continues to host important state tournaments annually, like high school state finals.

BedfordValleyalsousedtohosttheMichigan Open,andregularlyhoststheMichiganSr. Open.OnJune22-23ithoststheMichiganPGA JuniorChampionship.

According to Gull Lake View president Bill Johnson, the theme there is ‘big.’

“It’s a good old-fashioned golf course,” he said. “There’s no tricks. It’s big. The bunkers are big, the greens are big. The trees are big. And the yardage can be big (when necessary). Bedford withstands the challenge, for all ages and genders.”

STONEHEDGE NORTH:

Stonehedge North has also hosted Div. 3 college tournaments as Gull Lake expands in hosting more of those style events. It sits across M-89 from Stonehedge South but plays more open links style, despite the many trees on property.

Designed by Charles (second generation) and Jon Scott (third generation), with six each of par 3s, par 4s and par 5s, Stonehedge North opened in 1995 and has been impressing golfers with its dramatic landscape features ever since.

UpdatesandRenovations:

There is no resting on laurels for Gull Lake View Resort. After Stoatin Brae earned National Golf Course of the Year, when some course owners would sit back and simply buff the shine on such a trophy, the staff and family

got to work to make even more improvements to carry the torch long into the future.

The most noticeable renovations came in the 67 condos, utilized most often for family and buddies’ trips (yes, women have buddies’ trips too, which have been increasing), but the more than $2 million recent investments can be seen all over the multiple properties. Gull Lake View can sleep about 280 people per night on site.

They’ve added new golf carts to all six facilities in the past two years – and many cart paths were also replaced.

One popularity point for Gull Lake View is its location between Chicago and Detroit. Johnson said being in a chain of lakes region with rolling land and the closeness to the two large cities

makes it attractive; basically 2.5 hours in either direction.

While Gull Lake View Resort is a place that’s all about golf – meaning no swimming pool nor ongoing dedicated activities for young children – it sits at the southeastern tip of Gull Lake, where many restaurants and boating activities can be found.

“The Scott family have been and are true servant leaders of the golf course industry and within their community,” said Jada Paisley, executive director of the Michigan Golf Course Association. “Each generation of the Scott Family has embodied these characteristics, showcasing a legacy of unwavering dedication and service to the game.”

Tree Management

Affects

Tree Management Affects

Grass Health on Courses Grass Health on Courses

ByUSGAGreenSectionStaff

Trees can be a highly controversial topic on a golf course and their impact on turf health and playability are significant.

Managing and removing trees are often two of the most contentious topics at many facilities. To help guide tree management decisions and create consensus amongst decision-makers, it is valuable to seek input from outside experts, such as golf course architects and USGA agronomists.

One of the key components of a successful tree management plan is having well-defined criteria for how trees are evaluated. Some key questions to ask are:

Doesthetreenegativelyimpacttheturfgrass growingenvironment? Shade, limited air movement, root competition and traffic problems are all things to evaluate when it comes to trees and turf. Different grasses are impacted differently by shade. It’s no coincidence the worst turf quality is often found near trees.

Isthetreehealthy?Unhealthy trees are unsafe, unsightly, drop debris and become more challenging to remove as they continue to decline. Some species are more susceptible to pests and should be avoided as new plantings.

Whatimpactdoesthetreehaveon playability? The wrong tree in the wrong location can penalize high-handicap players unduly, cause playing corridors to shrink over time and greatly change the design intent of a hole.

Wouldremovingthetreeexposeagreatview orhighlightothersurroundingspecimen trees? You would be surprised how often great views of natural features such as streams, rock outcroppings or horizons are blocked by trees.

Whatspeciesoftreesarebestsuitedforyour golfcourse? Some trees are inherently flawed with undesirable characteristics such as surface rooting, weak or low-hanging branches, or the production of debris that requires regular cleanup.

Rocket Mortgage Classic Notebook: Rocket Mortgage Classic Notebook:

June 27 – July 2

Detroit Golf Club, 5th year

“Golf and Give” is a new fundraising program to support local nonprofits –making it easy for golf fans to contribute to their favorite charitable organizations, while those nonprofits throughout Michigan sell grounds tickets to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where $30 from each ticket purchase directly supporting their mission. Go to www.RocketMortgageClassic.com/golfand give and click on “Purchase Tickets,” then entering the code unique to the organization they wish to support. The top five nonprofits on the leaderboard will all earn two honorary observer positions for each competition day of the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic, which allow access to walk inside the ropes with select PGA TOUR player groups during tournament play.

The worlds of professional golf, football, hockey, basketball and WWE will collide on Tuesday, June 27 when the AREA 313 Celebrity Scramble tees off as part of Detroit Community Days. Pro Football Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, Red Wings All-Star forward Dylan

Larkin and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tom Izzo will return to the Celebrity Scramble, and will be joined by two newcomers to the marquee event – former Michigan basketball and NBA star Chris Webber and WWE Superstar “The Miz.”

All kids 15 and under receive complimentary admission to any of the 4 rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic when accompanied by a ticketed adult (up to four kids per adult) Thursday - Sunday. No ticket is required for those kids to enter.

Michigan Open Heading Michigan Open Heading to

carries and only one hole has an out-of-bounds threat. The course’s gently rolling terrain, with creeks and marshlands, many small copses of trees and several larger forested areas looks like a pleasant walk in the park.

But hold on! Katke’s fairways are narrow, doglegs are sharp and the greens have breaks that are very subtle and difficult to read. To affirm its challenge, Katke carries a course rating of 76.2 with a 143 slope.

Oakland

Oakland

ByDavidE.Bassett

University

University to

Katke Cousins Golf Course will join the University of Michigan’s noted Alister Mackenzie-designed course as only the second university facility in the state to host the Hall Financial Michigan Open Championship, coming June 12-15. The U-M course previously hosted the event in 1978-1980.

At first glance, Katke – located on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester Hills – seems fairly benign. Sure it’s long – nearly 7,300 yards from the tips – but water can be a factor on only a handful holes, there are no lengthy forced

“Katke definitely isn’t a bomb-and-gouge track,” according to Katke’s veteran director of golf, Bill Rogers. "Several Par 4s

are sharp doglegs that make club selection and shot execution very challenging, especially under tournament pressure. The 5th and 14th holes, for instance, bend right at 45 degrees. The 9th bends left at nearly 45 degrees and the landing area is only about 25 yards across.”

The Michigan Open is one of the country’s largest state events and one of only a few fourday tournaments. It was played at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa’s Bear course near Traverse City the previous five years, and 33 times overall at that location since 1981. The purse for this year’s event is expected to be the largest ever.

JakeKneen,anOUgraduateandmini-tour playerfromWhiteLake,isthedefendingOpen champion.Kneenalsowontheeventin2018as anamateur.

David Hall, CEO and founder of Hall Financial in Troy, says he’s delighted to have the Open held at a classic parkland-style course.

“It’s a gorgeous facility, and one that requires lots of thought and strategic shot planning, which poses wonderful challenges for an important event like the Michigan Open. I’ve played it many times over the years, and there are some shots that only very smart, patient players can pull off in competition. The winner is going to hit lots of fairways and putt very well,” Hall added.

“Whether it’s attracting students, donors or business partners, our golf facilities provide a welcoming, relaxing, friendly introduction to Oakland University. A round of golf on Katke or Sharf can break the ice and build strong relationships that last for decades,” she said.

The Hall Financial Michigan Open/Oakland University partnership is a two-year host agreement with an option to extend. Presenting sponsors include Brighton Ford, Make The Turn digital marketing firm in Troy and Copper Craft Distillery in Holland.

The Michigan Open is run by the Michigan PGA. Executive Director Kevin Helm said his organization has seen a definite uptick in

While this is the first time the Oakland University course has hosted the Michigan Open, it has been a go-to for a number of USGA and PGA Tour qualifiers, the Michigan PGA Professional Championship and conference championships for the school’s women’s and men’s golf teams.

Rogers, a former Michigan PGA president, has been the general manager of the Oakland University Golf & Learning Center since Katke Cousins opened its first nine holes in 1976. In addition to Katke, OUGLC includes the R&S Sharf course, designed by Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Rick Smith and opened in 2000, as well as a state-of-the-art practice facility. Rogers calls the courses “the front porch to the university.”

Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, OU president since 2017, agrees with Rogers.

JakeKneen

corporate interest in the event with the move downstate. Helm attributes that partly to the venue and partly to Hall Financial’s interest in growing the event.

“David Hall is very candid about wanting to make this the biggest and best state open in the country,” Helm said. “He’s a very successful business owner and competitive golfer, and he isn’t shy about getting on the phone and asking others to support this event. We couldn’t ask for a more committed, involved and dedicated title sponsor.”

Hall, who graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School, was a member of the University of Michigan golf team before graduating in 1993. Hall Financial’s sponsorship of the Open is in the second year of a three-year pact.

What’s next for the Michigan Open? Hall cautioned about looking too far ahead, but

pointed out that the site “has tremendous upside.”

“For instance, Katke abuts Meadowbrook Hall, OU is in the heart of Automation Alley, and the stature of the championship can yield tremendous value to sponsors and advertisers. Lots and lots of potential for growth,” he added. The Michigan Open is the state’s second oldest major, first played in 1916, 10 years after the Michigan Amateur began. Its winners include Walter Hagen, Leo Diegel, 6-time champion Al Watrous, amateur legend Chuck Kocsis, Horton Smith, and more recent local stars Randy Erskine (5 times) and Traverse City Golf & Country Club head professional Scott Hebert (6). Recent PGA Tour winner and MSU grad Ryan Brehm of Mt. Pleasant has won the event 3 times.

KatkeCousins18thHole

Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass

Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass

ByTomLang

12 Years Strong

12 Years Strong

The Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass – June 23-25 – has become such a staple on the EPSON Tour that for the past several years, its winners have been automatically exempted into the LPGA Tour’s major in France, the Evian Championship.

Though such a perk creates some tall expectations for a host tournament, the U.P. resort has lived up to the reputation on several levels, including earning 2022 National Golf Course of the Year.

Since its inception in 2011, the Island Resort Championship has truly been a melting pot for competitors from around the world. Following its first four years, which were dominated by Americans, the Championship has produced numerous winners from outside the U.S. These were followed by Michigan native Daniela Iacobelli in 2019, who won the tournament at 11-under par. The 2022 defending champion is Ssu-Chia-Cheng of Chinese Taipei.

“The players love it (at Sweetgrass) because it’s

such a hidden gem of a golf course, and if you haven’t been there, it’s the most unexpected place,” said Liz Nagel, a native of DeWitt, Michigan. She previously played in the Island Resort Championship but has had her LPGA Tour card for several years now – which is the entire point of the EPSON feeder tour.

“Most out-of-state golfers write off Michigan and especially the U.P., but once players get up there, they fall in love with the crisp air and the plush grass. I’ve had over a dozen people tell me it’s their favorite course we play all year and it’s been a great staple on the Epson Tour schedule – with an even better sponsor,” Nagel added.

Saying that the Escanaba region has welcomed the golfers and the tournament with open arms seems cliché, but not only does Sweetgrass golf course shine, it is one of the top charity-dollarraising tournaments on the feeder tour. The tournament is double- and triple-circled on the resident’s summer calendars due to its massive popularity for kids and families, and all for a good cause.

Country Music Country Music

Superstar Miranda Superstar Miranda Lambert to Lambert to headline Ally headline Ally Community Community Concert at the Concert at the 2023 Ally 2023 Ally Challenge Challenge

Ticketsnowavailable

Country music superstar and 2022 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Entertainer of the Year MirandaLambert will headline the sixth annual Ally Community Concert. The event will take place at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Saturday, August 26, following the second round of competition at The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren.

“We know that fans have come to expect top talent at The Ally Challenge and Miranda Lambert and her legendary high-energy hits will cap off an amazing day of entertainment for the whole family,” said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer at Ally. “Her music has entertained audiences for decades and we hope to attract a sell-out crowd to welcome her to Warwick Hills.”

Tickets for the 2023 Ally Challenge presented by McLaren go on sale. The tournament is open to spectators from Thursday (Aug. 24) to Sunday (Aug. 27) and ticket prices start at $10. For a complete listing of ticket options visit the tournament website at theallychallenge.com.

The Highlands Auctions Chairs, The Highlands Auctions Chairs, Raises $115,000 for Local Charities Raises $115,000 for Local Charities

The Highlands – Boyne’s property in Harbor Springs – recently awarded $115,000 from its ski lift Chairs for Chair-ity auction with funds donated to two northern Michigan organizations. The Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation received $75,000 supporting the first-ever Harbor Springs SK8 Park Fund, and Habitat for Humanity was awarded $40,000 to aid housing crisis efforts in northern Michigan.

The monies came from the sale of over 200 chairs from the resort’s Valley, Camelot, and MacGully lifts that went on sale in April and sold out in mere days with purchasers able to take home a piece of ski history. The Highlands sold the chairs in preparation for the install of Camelot 6, a six-person, high-speed Doppelmayr D-Line bubble chairlift opening for the coming 2023/24 winter season. The new lift is the first of its kind in the Midwest, and construction is currently underway.

V1 Sports and Bahle Farms Golf Course Partner

V1 Sports and Bahle Farms Golf Course Partner to Make Golf Instruction Available on Site to Make Golf Instruction Available on Site

V1 Sports will collaborate with Bahle Farms Golf Course in Suttons Bay on the Leelanau peninsula to bring mobile on-demand instruction and swing analysis tools directly to golfers where on-site instruction doesn’t exist.

V1 GOLF will provide QR code stations at Bahle Farms to connect golfers of all skill levels to golf improvement tools through the V1 GOLF app on-demand coaching through its mobile app. V1 GOLF provides in-app drawing tools to analyze, compare and contrast each swing,

access drills from top coaches in golf, and connect directly with a golf coach for remote, hybrid, or in person instruction.

“We have seen a need in our golf community with seasonal courses and municipalities that don’t have the resources to staff a full-time golf instructor and we have the technology solution to help resolve that need,” said Alex Prasad, CEO, V1 Sports. “This collaboration is just the start of how V1 Sports is going to make golf instruction accessible to all.”

Top

Top

Whenever the golf ratings staff at NBC’s GolfPass creates a cool list to help golfers find the best courses for their next dream golf vacation, inevitably readers respond about how expensive and unattainable playing some of the top places can be.

Almost every Top 100 list ever created highlights dozens of courses that cost between $200 to $500. That's a serious chunk of change. However,itslatestlistmightbeanall-time favorite:thetop100golfcoursesinAmerica thatcostlessthan$100.

GolfPass uncovered America's best courses that never charge more than $99 to play. You read that right ...never …unless they veer from their rack rates for a rare, inflated greens fee. They all include taking a golf cart (but not taxes and fees), even if you can walk the course. Golfers

can often find better rates in myriad ways, especially by walking or playing on weekdays and at twilight. Short courses and nine-hole courses were not considered.

It does include courses designed by Tom Doak, Gil Hanse, Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones II, Greg Norman, Rees Jones, Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast and other famous architects.

Following is the list of the five MICHIGAN courses found on GolfPass’ top 100 under $100 nationwide, but you can also click here to read the rest of the story to see where other top bargain courses costing less than a Benjamin are located across the country.

This list illustrates how great a state like Michigan is for top end golf at a value, boasting five such courses when the national average should be two per state.

100 courses

100 courses under $100 under $100

FromNBC/GolfPassreviewerJasonDeegan

Black Lake Golf Club

Onaway,Mich.

HighestGreenFee: $85

StarRating: 4.7

Architect:Rees Jones

Notable: Black Lake, owned by the United Auto

Sweetgrass Golf Club

Workers, features 228 sleeping rooms available in the Old Lodge, the Upper Lodge Conference Center or a selection of condominiums and apartments.

GolfPassReview: "Absolutely love to tee it up here! Staff is always friendly and professional... Highly recommend this as a must play!" - Wolverine10

The Orchards

Golf Club

Washington, Mich.

HighestGreen Fee: $95

StarRating: 4.0

Architect:

Robert Trent Jones, II

Notable:The Orchards hosted the Michigan Open from 2011-13 and the 77th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2002 won by PGA Tour pro Ryan Moore. (Hunter Mahan also competed).

GolfPassReview: "A beauty that bites. Orchards is a great golf course. It’s very well maintained, extremely photogenic, and has a very fun design. Don’t let this deceive you though, the greens are fast, the bunkers are deep, and the rough is THICK. Make sure you hit the fairway on this golf course. If you don’t, you will be punished."

– Nknotts

Harris,Mich.

HighestGreenFee: $85

StarRating: 5.0

Architects: Paul Albanese, Chris Lutzke

Notable: Part of the Island

Resort & Casino, this pristinelyconditioned Upper Peninsula gem comes equipped with nods to the presiding tribe as well as Pete Dye, who mentored its architect.

SweetgrassHole12

GolfPassReview: "Sweetgrass is one of the best golf courses in the UP and in the same class as Greywalls, Pine Grove, Wild Bluff and Timberstone. This is one of the best conditioned courses I have ever played. The layout and greens have a very modern feel."

– hornedwoodchuck

Diamond Springs Golf

Course

Hamilton,Mich.

HighestGreenFee: $65

StarRating: 4.8

Architect:Mike DeVries

Notable:Ridges, ravines and rollicking greens make this

woodsy layout south of Grand Rapids one of America's greatest bargains, and a walk that feels like playing golf at summer camp.

GolfPassReview:"Diamond Springs is one of the handful of courses I've played that has no weak holes. Each tee box provides a unique challenge that doesn't resemble anything you ' ve done elsewhere on the course. The collection and routing of par 3s, 4s, and 5s, is exceptional. The way the land flows through the course gives it some visual flair and strategy." - noahjurik

Pilgrim's Run Golf Club

Pierson,Mich.

HighestGreenFee: $99

StarRating: 4.7

Architect:Mike DeVries

Notable: A past #1

"Friendliest Golf Course in

America" in our Golfers' Choice rankings, this pleasant parkland layout north of Grand Rapids is full of charm, interesting shots and nice people.

GolfPassReview: "Was having major surgery in just a few days and I wanted to play one of my favorites before going under the knife. I have played almost 180 courses in Michigan alone and Pilgrims Run is easily in my top 5 favorites. Well maintained, great routing, friendly great Pro, and in a beautiful setting!" – VikingPro

DiamondSpringsHole14

Studying Life After Studying Life After a Golf Course; a Golf Course; What Then? What Then?

ByTomLang

Brian Horgan is not a mystic, but he is part of a large USGA research team trying to look long into the future of golf.

The task he and many others around the country have been reviewing for more than five years is: if a golf course is meant to no longer be a golf course, what are the alternate options? In other words, if not a golf course, then what becomes of the land? And what will be the impact – environmatally, financially and more – on the surrounding community of the new land use?

Horgan is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. Previously, he spent 18 years on the faculty in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. Horgan – who enjoys playing golf on occasion with hickory sticks –has research interests focusing on developing and integrating sustainability metrics for golf

facilities. Specifically, his research seeks to position golf courses as urban greenspaces that provide economic and community value through ecosystems services. He lectures around the world on these topics.

Both at Minnesota, MSU and for one full year at the USGA offices in New Jersey, Horgan looked primarily at what happens to the green spaces of golf courses, if, for example, the community believes the local muni is losing too much money on its operations.

He said teams from the business school or policy departments would alter a course model into new residential, or converted it into urban density, or a shopping mall – and try to answer the question, how does that impact the community when you change it from golf to something else?

“If the conversation is just about the sport, it’s only focused on those people who actually (play golf),” Horgan said. “But if the area of influence that surrounds that golf course exceeds the recreational value, which it does, (but) the community says, ‘we’re losing $100,000 a year on this golf course.’

“I would argue that’s probably the best

$100,000 you’re going to lose as a community, because of all the other things that that golf course does for the people that surround it,” living and working nearby.

“It can be looked at as a storm water retention area, or a pollinator or wildlife habitat, or an urban heat island, especially in the dense urban populations where green space is at a premium.

Then we ask the question, ‘okay community, you don’t want this golf course because it’s losing money every year. If you chose to do something else, now we have a toolbox that will help you evaluate the impact of your decisions outside of it being just truly economic.”

He hopes to preserve more golf courses for many decades to come, even if the hickory sticks don’t make it.

Course Review: Stonebridge Golf Club Course Review: Stonebridge Golf Club

ByTomLang

Stonebridge Golf Course in southwest Ann Arbor was ranked the No. 8 public course in metro Detroit last fall by the DetroitFreePress.

It was a good call.

Despite living in metro Detroit for 30 years, I had never seen the course until early this May, when on a reconnaissance mission with three other golfers planning to host a charity event there in August.

It will be a good event.

Stonebridge is the Arthur Hills design set within the confines of a housing development. But the good news is it’s not confining. The houses are pushed back away from the playing

area quite well, so as to not be intrusive on a majority of holes.

The fairways are wide and inviting off the tees. Playing the 6,000 yard tees, this 18 handicapper made it around quite well, sans the terrible day of chipping and putting (that said, the green complexes were partially responsible). Most greens had one or two flat ‘perches’ for challenging hole locations, and if your approach shot/chip didn’t find or stay on said perch, putting was a harder test of skill on the remaining undulating surfaces.

The par 3s were a workout. Even from the almost forward tees, two of them were 170 yards long. No. 4 is a gorgeous par 3 over the corner of a small lake. Then No. 6 has the tees set in a wide-open area, but on the way to the

Hole14

green things get very tight with sand bunkering and trees shrinking the gap immensely.

Hole 11 is a very unique par 4 with a 90-degree turning dogleg right. Following the cut fairway makes it almost 400 yards long, but just for fun I chose to layup the drive short right, which left only 145 to the green, over some water. The trade off is if you follow the fairway longways, you are hitting it to a skinny green that is very deep as to allow many club choices. Yet coming from the side like I did, the green is very thin ‘front to back’ (think Augusta National’s No. 12; wide but almost no

depth). My ball wouldn’t hold the skinny green from that angle and trickled over and into the rough.

No. 14 might be my favorite. It’s pretty, and pretty tricky for the second shot. The par 5 turns right at about where most player’s drives would land. From there on in, the very wide fairway gets narrower due to a lake extension that you cannot easily see encroaching the fairway from the left, with the right side

guarded by very large bunkers. The run up to the green is probably the skinniest section of fairway on the course.

A creek runs through the entire property, coming into play many times. And if you like watching small airplanes, the front nine is in the landing pattern of the local air strip. Lots of small and homemade planes to entertain the eye from below.

Maybe that’s another reason for terrible chipping and putting.

www.stonebridgegolfclub.net

Hole4

Meijer LPGA Classic, Meijer LPGA Classic, Another Classic Coming on Father’s Day Another Classic Coming on Father’s Day

Here are some of the players expected to play at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids in Mid-June:

LydiaKo(WorldNo.1)

BrookeM.Henderson(pasttwo-timechamp)

MinjeeLee

JenniferKupcho(defendingchamp)

LexiThompson(pastchamp)

LeonaMaguire

NellyKorda

LizetteSalas

AnnaNordqvist

StaceyLewis

MariaFassi

BrittanyLincicome

ValaryPlata(MSU)

OverheardfromJenniferKupchoonherwin attheMeijerlastyearonFather’sDay:

“It was pretty awesome. I think one of the greatest things about that was I was going to call him before the round because I had a fairly good amount of time before my tee time in the morning, but I just told myself, ‘I'm going to call him with a trophy in my hand at the end of the day.’ To be able to follow through and do that was pretty cool.”

Life as a Female Golf Course Owner: Life as a Female Golf Course Owner: Gilda Johnson Gilda Johnson

ByTomLang

Gilda Johnson has two grown children – and what she calls a third child that’s still maturing – called Lake Forest Golf Club, a public facility in Ann Arbor.

In the late 1990s, Johnson, who was born and raised in Argentina, became the owner and operator of the business after her husband built the course but had no interest in running it. At the time she was in corporate banking having earned BA and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan.

She said the married couple looked at each other and realized it would be her running the operation, even with a newborn girl and twoyear-old boy at home.

“When you build a business, no matter what kind, you really need someone with skin in the game to oversee the growth and figure out what your playbook will be,” said Johnson, who is one of about 15 percent of women course

owners in Michigan. “The next thing I know I went from putting together multi-milliondollar national banking deals in 1999 to running a golf course.”

She reminds people that the late 1990s was a boon for golf growth, and the market was highly saturated in that region. Shortly after came 9/11 and she said fathers were choosing to stay at home more to be with their younger children, rather than play as much golf.

“So, when you come into a market like that you have to figure out where you’re going to be,” Johnson said. “You can carve out a niche for yourself and that was my first order of business, to figure out what kind of business I would like.

“In Washtenaw County, it’s almost a given just to survive, your golf course has to be pretty good, or people are going to vote with their dollars and go somewhere else. But you can still

be one of the best golf courses and become a commodity and commodities don’t do that well. The differentiating factors such as service, providing a community and bringing people together make the difference.”

Neither of her children had interest in joining the staff at Lake Forest, but her son is studying for his PhD in animal behavior, which she says grew out of his love for doing surveys on animals and birds at the golf course. So, enjoying nature as part of golf got him into the environmental aspects of the land.

While owning and operating a golf course was never in Johnson’s wildest dreams growing up as a tennis player, she is forever grateful for the business.

“You meet wonderful people, it’s a great game, and it’s really a way to bring people together,” Johnson said. “Today it’s very important for

everybody to see golf as an opportunity to come together with family and friends. You don’t have to be a good golfer, but just enjoy being outside.

“It’s been interesting and fun and became like my third child – but one that’s never going to grow up, unfortunately.”

DougWhite,GildaJohnson,andAdamMing

Buried Under Two Buried Under Two Feet of Snow Feet of Snow

ByTomLang

Just as the Michigan calendar turned to May, tens of thousands of golfers were outside playing on the courses of the Lower Peninsula. Yet in the U.P., millions of new snowflakes weren’t going to let that happen.

Golf would start taking place in early May in many years, but the northern rim of the U.P. in Marquette and the heart of copper country, Mother Nature decided to pound the Lake Superior coastline with two feet-plus of snow on April 30-May 2.

“We were two days away from opening up the Heritage golf course, and another week away from opening Greywalls,” said Craig Moore, director of agronomy at the Marquette Country

Club, home to both courses. “Everything was cleaned up in April, just waiting on some areas to dry out. Then the snow came, and it was such a wet, heavy snow.

“But after the snow fell it looked devastating. It looked like we hadn’t done any spring cleanup in April. All those branches and sticks that came down in the storm, since the heavy snow and the wind picked up, needed to be picked up again because we got new branches and trees down.”

Moore’s team got to work fast and just one week later, on Tuesday May 9, golf was played on the Heritage, the original course at the club dating back to 1926 when William Langford designed the first 9 holes. Another week later, on May 16, Greywalls opened.

“The snow went quick because a few days later it was 45-50 degrees, and the 24 inches was already down to about 8 inches by then, by settling and running off because of the warmer ground. And by the end of the week, we were already out mowing some areas (on high ground),” Moore said.

The Greywalls front nine is routed throughout a rock base with big outcroppings, but the back nine is almost all sand base, so it drains faster than most.

“And with it being such a heavy snow that melted so quickly, we had water puddles and pools in places we’d never seen it before,” Moore added. “It was a great time to come up and see the waterfalls in the U.P. that’s for sure. Our ground water levels, and lake levels, are way up.”

Moore is 46 and an MSU graduate. He served on the grounds of Kingsley Club before moving to the U.P. when Greywalls was being built in 2003. He said the full time, year-round staff is he and two others. Then two more work full time for 10 months, and the remainder is a half year full time seasonal group of nine staff, and another dozen part time helpers. He credits the entire team for the fast snow clean up, and the fact Greywalls has invested in good equipment to where the grounds crew “could not have done the same job 20 years ago.”

Greywalls has very unique geographical characteristics that designer Mike DeVries brought to life in his strategy and routing. The course is located on rolling land high above downtown Marquette and Lake Superior, filled

Hole9

with sheer granite walls, striking elevation changes, rock outcroppings and more sand than anyone expected to find.

“Just trying to figure out that puzzle and make it fit together was really the challenge, but fun to figure out,” DeVries once told me about the routing he hoped to make as walk-able as possible. “It can be a roller coaster at times but it’s really great golf.”

Despite the sand base that populates a large portion of the back nine, DeVries didn’t think adding a ton of bunkers was the only option to add golfing challenges. The course has 36 traps, and half are placed on just two holes. Instead, DeVries utilized the rock formations as hazards in some cases.

“It has so many beautiful rock outcroppings,” he said. “You could never build those. You can’t manufacture that. So, utilizing those as a hazard or a feature – where just like in a bunker you can get a good lie or a bad lie – you can get a good bounce or a bad bounce off a rock outcropping.”

My favorite hole is No. 5, a short par 4 that requires a tee shot high and up onto a landing area of the fairway that’s above the tee box and to the right of a sheer rock wall. It could resemble trying to hit a home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Then the green complex is surrounded by different granite walls to make no doubt you are in old mining country.

Visit: https://golfgreywalls.com/

ByGregJohnson

Kimberly Dinh of Midland made sure the only drama involved others asking why her foot was in a brace.

The 30-year-old senior research specialist for Dow Chemical, who broke bones in her lower leg and damaged ligaments in a late January snow skiing accident – and started playing complete golf rounds again just over two weeks ago – shot a closing 2-under 69 and rolled to victory in the 25th GAM Women’s MidAmateur Championship on May 30-31 at Saginaw Country Club.

Dinh’s 36-hole total of 139 was nine shots clear of the field, and she will again have her name added to the Jeanne L. Myers Trophy. The 2022 GAM Women’s Player of the Year and 2021 Michigan Women’s Amateur Champion also won the Women’s Mid-Am in 2020.

Dinh said she felt gratitude for being able to return to form and win.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “I finally got out of the boot and my leg was super skinny and I couldn’t do much with it. I couldn’t understand how I could be ready to

Kimberly Dinh Kimberly Dinh

Wins Her Wins Her

Second GAM Second GAM Women’s Mid- Women’s MidAmateur Title Amateur Title

play competitive golf again so soon. A lot of credit goes to my physical therapists, my surgeon and Kyle (Martin, her teaching professional at The Fortress in Frankenmuth), who got me ready like he always does.”

Laura Bavaird of Trenton shot a closing 73 for 148 and second place, and Rachel Sampson of East Lansing shot 72 for 149 and third in the championship for golfers age 25-and-over.

Champions were also determined in a Senior Division (age 50-plus) and the age 19-24 Division.

An emotional Shelly Weiss of Southfield shot 77 for 152 and then topped runner-up Julie Massa of Pentwater in a USGA formula scorecard playoff to take top Senior honors. Massa, last year’s GAM Senior Women’s Player of the Year, also shot 77 for 152, but had a higher overall score on the back nine.

Katherine Potter of South Lyon, home for the summer from the Marshall University golf team in West Virginia, shot a second consecutive 72 for 144 and the win among the college players. Grand Valley State University’s Olivia Stoll, and Megha Vallabhaneni of Northville and WMU, were next at 146.