Michigan Golf Journal May 2023

Editor’sLetter

Welcome to May with Michigan snowfalls in the rearview mirror (crossings fingers). This is one of the most packed monthly editions of MI Golf Journal in a while, where we take a lighthearted look at high school hockey players ‘taking over’ their school’s golf teams this spring in a few locations across Michigan.

We also share warmhearted stories about MSU golfer Leila Raines and her life growing up as an adopted child from Russia – plus the life-saving impact golf makes on military Veterans through the PGA HOPE program.

In May we also cover:

Broader military golf options locally and nationally News from GAM on awards and the Junior Kickoff

A course review on a place I bet 99.5% of Michigan golfers have never heard of The NCAA Regional coming to Eagle Eye in Lansing

All this and the cover story (cover photo, David Lee) about Meijer LPGA Classic defending champ Jennifer Kupcho and all the fan features of the tournament that last year reached $1.25 million for community food pantries, and much more.

Thank you for joining us for the cart ride.

TomLang

EditorandPublisher

PG. 18

PG. 12

PG.

A Golf Job Is Easier To Find With New Website A Golf Job Is Easier To Find With New

ByAdamIkamas

Do you love to golf?

I would assume you do since you are reading Michigan Golf Journal.

Are you looking for a job?

Have you ever considered working in the golf industry? If you have not considered golf as a career path before or at least a summer job, there is a new place to find that opportunity to get started.

The golf industry is booming here in Michigan and with over 800 courses the need for employees is great. Often offering flexible hours, competitive pay – and don't forget the benefits which usually include free golf. From golf maintenance to pro shop staff to Food & Beverage and up to professional level management areas as well, the golf industry is a great place to work and play!

Now there is one place to find those jobs, www.makegolfyourcareer.org. This developed

Website

from the national program, Make Golf Your Thing – a collaborative effort across the golf industry committed to making the sport more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

This multi-faceted, multi-year movement is actively seeking individuals, organizations and businesses from all backgrounds, identities and abilities, to pick up the game, pursue a career in golf or promote their business within the industry.

Browse by city, keyword or job title to see what is available near you.

Golffacilities: if you want to post jobs that is also free; simply make an account and post all your available positions. The Michigan Golf Alliance has already launched a paid social media campaign to drive prospective employees to the site. Do not miss out on this opportunity to bring together the golfing community and the golf industry.

From From Russia Russia with with Love Love

Anadoptionstory:LeilaRainesofMSUWomen’sgolfteam Anadoptionstory:LeilaRainesofMSUWomen’sgolfteam “thankfulforafamily”andhowgolfmakeslastingbonds “thankfulforafamily”andhowgolfmakeslastingbonds

ByTomLang

Adopting a child is one of the strongest expressions of love two parents can show.

Nolan and Michelle Raines of Galena, Ohio, expressed it in triplicate, first adopting their daughter Leila from Russia at almost age 3 –who has since gone on to star for the MSU women’s golf team and is now in her junior year. They later adopted two girls from China, and all three have grown up together to develop a love for each other, and subsequently, for the game of golf.

Leila earned Big Ten Player of the Week in February after tying for medalist at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida. There she fired a 7-under par 65 in the final round to tie for first place with a 13-under par 203 –

which tied her for the best 54-hole score in Spartans’ program history, originally set by Allyson Geer-Park. As a freshman, Leila placed 11th at the Big Ten tournament to lead the MSU team to the 2021 conference crown.

While those are nice accolades in the golf world, Leila has some of her fondest memories of growing up, going to the driving range with her dad and then having her two adopted sisters start coming along as well.

“My husband used to be a social golfer and he would go to the driving range and hit balls,” Leila's mom, Michelle, explained. “He just started taking Leila with him on Saturday mornings and then it just became every Saturday morning. Leila would go to the driving range with Nolan and that became their like, father daughter special time. As that went

on…it became three girls, three daughters and Nolan at the driving range.

“Golf has helped Leila in so many ways,” Michelle continued. “It's helped all three of my daughters in so many ways. It's a great lesson in life. Within 18 holes you ' re going, ‘oh this is great. Oh, this is awful, this is great, this is (hard).’ You're overcoming challenges on a daily basis. It is just so many different life lessons that are taught by golf that I think helps them succeed in life.

“Over the years has been wonderful family time for us. We've taken trips where they're just golf trips, so it's been great for our family to have.

The girls are very competitive, and they always find that time.”

Accepting new sisters into the family became natural for Leila. She said her parents remind her she enjoyed being the only focus of attention early on, but she knew there was something more to be experienced. Leila also expressed no memory of living in Russia specifically.

“It was really cool to kind of grow up with a few different cultures,” she said. “My cousins were adopted as well. That's not something you get a lot these days. So, definitely feel blessed to have the opportunity to grow up in a little bit different lifestyle. I remember tagging along with my sisters when they would go to Mandarin class and because my parents kind of wanted them to keep up with that. Little things like that that you know aren't big to you when

you ' re little but looking back at them they were like cool experiences for sure.

“When they went to adopt my younger sister, I was at home with my grandparents and they came back with a little girl. I was like, ‘What's going on?’” Leila said with a chuckle.

“It was definitely an adjustment at first, for all of us to kind of, you know, grasp, you know we ' re all three adopted and we ' re not really related but we are sisters – and to just create that bond over time and see how it's been able to grow has been a really neat experience.”

Continuesonnextpage>>

Leila,Kara, andMiaRaines

Michelle said they would always try to “instill pride” in each girls’ culture from their home country. One for Leila was shopping at a local Russian grocery store where she would buy Russian branded candy.

Michelle explained how her brother and sisterin-law adopted a baby boy first, and that experience guided her and Nolan to eventually do the same. She followed their progress throughout and was telling all her friends and co-workers about it as if she herself was adopting the boy.

“It wasn't until he was placed in our arms and the first time I held my nephew, my husband and I, we just looked at each other and … We knew our adoption journey's about to start.”

The family went to China with Leila to pick up oldest sister, Kara. “Kara and Leila, from the moment they got together, they just had this own little language and they bonded so tight when we were in China,” Michelle said.

“I had my 8th birthday in China when we adopted my

sister who was 12 at the time,” Leila said. “I think it's different for my older sister … seeing how we were interacting with her and how she interacted with us and was just very clear that she was super thankful to have a family that wanted her; and going to China and having that experience is something I'm really thankful for.”

Younger sister, Mia, is motivated by what she sees Leila accomplishing in life, currently at the college level.

“I think (her work ethic) has really motivated me to be more like her,” Mia said. “Golf has really helped me feel closer to my sisters

Rainesfamilyonvacation

because I think we were able to bond on a golf course and I was also able to bond on the range even when we were little, we were constantly going out with each other and in competitions which I think really strengthen our bond.

“Leila's golf career has kind of pushed me to be better in my own golf game and so she has kind of motivated me to just keep bettering myself and you know, seeing her be so successful here on the college level, it's made me kind of strive to have what she has just because I know how happy she is (at MSU).”

Leila cannot imagine not having sisters around, especially ones who have the same passion for golf – and she hinted that the process of adoption is not finished in the Raines family.

“We would take golf as our time to, you know, three of us go and have some quality time together and go to the course, go to the range and putt putt here and there,” Leila said. “But it was definitely a bonding moment between us, which was really nice to have.

“I think to many people it's very interesting, you know, three adopted sisters and they all play golf is not something you see every day but wouldn't trade it for the world,” Leila said. “And we all know going forward it's gonna be a big part of our lives and we can use it any way that we may need to.

“And the same thing with adoption,” she added. “We all three have a big passion for it because it's given us so many amazing things and we ' re just really excited to see where it takes us.”

Tolearnmoreaboutadoption: https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/adultchild-serv/adoption

Meijer LPGA Classic Meijer LPGA Classic Returns for 9th Time Returns for 9th Time

ByTomLang

LPGA pro Jennifer Kupcho made a clean sweep of Michigan’s two LPGA tournaments last summer, and she first returns to Grand Rapids this June 15-18 – where the $2.5 million purse attracts one of the top LPGA fields in the world outside the majors.

Kupcho had a career-worthy season just in 2022, winning three times – first getting a major at the Chevron Championship, then coming to Grand Rapids for win No. 2, before teaming up with Lizette Salas to win the Dow GLBI team event in Midland.

“Honestly, I just feel honored,” Kupcho told me by phone recently in regard to holding the title

of defending champion in Grand Rapids. “I think it was just such a big accomplishment for me to get that second win (in pro career). It’s not easy to win one, but to compete against such a big top-player leaderboard was really exciting to be able to do that, and to be able to say defending champion is very special.”

Those three victories, with 2022 season winnings near $2 million, followed a stellar amateur career that included winning the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, which she said is very high on her list of golf accomplishments. And in 2018, she won four college events at Wake Forest to be named NCAA Player of the Year, also winning the NCAA Individual Championship.

JenniferKupchotodefendhertitle JenniferKupchotodefendhertitle

Kupcho gives high praises to the golf knowledge Michigan fans possess and says that fact is a bonus for players.

“I think it’s good in general when you have fans that know the game and know when to cheer you on and know when to not say something,” she said. “I think fans in Michigan are really good at that. It’s very similar I would say, in going over to the British Open. They are obsessed with golf, and that’s kind of the feeling I get from Michigan. It’s just such a great environment.”

She really likes playing the Meijer

host course, Blythefield Country Club. Who wouldn’t when you win there?

“I think the golf course itself really sets up to my eye,” Kupcho said. “Just being able to step on property anywhere out on Tour, and feel comfortable, is really important. And I definitely feel that in Grand Rapids. It really sets up well for my game. It’s a little bit shorter (than other set ups on Tour) and I can get to most of the par fives (in two). That’s one really good strength that I have.

“I still struggle a little with putting, as I always have pretty much my entire life, so that’s one thing I need to work on, but I think if I can hit the ball well … I can hit it a lot closer (at Blythefield) and not have to rely on my putting as much either. All their par 5s I like, so I am always excited for those holes. Other than hole 12, that’s kind of a weird drive for me; other than that it’s just a really comfortable golf course for me.”

Since the beginning in 2014 Meijer has been focused on getting families out to Blythefield for the tournament, and in the process helping

raise charity dollars for the SimplyGive program that restocks food pantries and allows for fresh food choices, not just traditional boxed items. The 2022 tournament raised $1.25 million for local food pantries and in total, the annual tournaments combined have generated more than $8.65 million for the Meijer Simply Give hunger relief program.

Hosting the event on Father’s Day weekend the past several years has been a big plus as well. Fathers get in free with their children that Sunday and that’s something Kupcho loves and supports.

“I think Meijer always does a really good job,” she said. “I love the Grand Taste (Now the J. Brewers). Doing that for the fans, and really just getting families to bring their kids out I

think is one of the most special things about being out here on this Tour.

“All the players love hanging out and getting to know and really be role models for all of the kids. And I think that’s just one thing Meijer does a really good job of is getting the kids and their families out there – as well as being on Father’s Day. It makes it a really good environment.”

PastMeijerchampionsinclude:

Nelly Korda

Brooke M. Henderson (twice)

Lexi Thompson

Mirim Lee (the inaugural winner)

More information and tickets for all activities can be found at: www.meijerlpgaclassic.com

A Meijer Volunteer’s A Meijer Volunteer’s

Perspective Perspective

ByEllenBruinsma

The Meijer LPGA Classic forSimplyGiveis one of the best weeks of the year at Blythefield Country Club. I have been involved with the tournament since it began. I am the chairperson for Volunteer Services. Over 1,000 individuals are registered to volunteer throughout the week. My committee members check the volunteers in each day and make sure they know where they need to go, and also hand out their volunteer shirts, hats and golf passes.

I enjoy meeting the volunteers each day. Many of them return each year to work the tournament and sign-up to do the same job. That consistency helps to make this tournament so successful. We may not see each other during the year but when the tournament week arrives, it is like "old home week.” We get a chance to catch up on each other's lives and share the good times and also the hard events in our lives.

Being a golfer myself, I enjoy watching these professional women golfers. After their round of golf, many of the ladies are very willing to sign autographs for the kids who come to watch the tournament.

I love this tournament because the proceeds go to the Meijer SimplyGiveProgram. The money goes to food pantries to feed people in need wherever Meijer has stores in the Midwest. This is a program that is important to me since I help to run a food pantry for my church. Each week we serve about 70 families in our community who are in need of food and other basic necessities. I see firsthand how important a food pantry is in our community.

This tournament is one of my best weeks at Blythefield. We are all just ordinary people, but together we are doing some extraordinary things!

To sign up to be a volunteer, visit the tournament website at: https://meijerlpgaclassic.com/volunteers/

Meijer LPGA Classic Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give Keeps for Simply Give Keeps Focus on Food, Family Focus on Food, Family Fun and Convenience Fun and Convenience

The community assistant program called SimplyGive gets funding from proceeds of the Meijer LPGA Classic, that focuses on family fun. Here are a few things of note beyond watching the top LPGA golfers in the world:

TheGrandTasteConcessions might be taking a cue from Augusta National? Good quality food for families will be available with no item priced over $4. Menu highlights include a cheeseburger for $4 and a hotdog for $2. Meijer Purple Cow ice cream will be available for $1, making for arguably the most-affordable concessions in Michigan professional sports. There will be four concessions locations on course at the 10th tee, 16th fairway, 18th tee and 18th green.

The famous J.Brewer’s public hospitality area along the 4th hole gets bigger and better, with golf’s finest food and beverage selections that always delights foodies and families, with allyou-can eat buffets, and admission includes grounds passes.

Tournament officials will expand the pavilion in 2023 to include a new "Frederik's" food experience. Named for co-founder Frederik Meijer, this new feature will offer fans additional menu and beverage options. The Frederik's menu will change daily and feature products exclusive to the retailer's premium Frederik's product line, including seafood.

DiscoveryLand will return to just off the 18th fairway, offering young golf fans and their families an open-air kids’ destination featuring character visits from Universal Studios guests and Wimee of Wimee’s Words, a Grand-Rapidsbased TV show on PBS, and card making with American Greetings, a Grand Rapids Children’s Museum activity, and outdoor lawn games, including a Kraft Heinz mini golf course, cornhole and fowling.

TheMeijerLPGAClassicFamilyCareAreas will be expanded this year to two on-course locations for nursing mothers and parents in air-conditioned tents with private lactating rooms and diaper changing stations.

The annual 5K road race and walk is also on tap for teams and individuals to rev up the competitive juices while also supporting the event proceeds for SimplyGive.

Information and tickets are available by visiting www.meijerlpgaclassic.com

Hockey Hockey Players Players

‘‘Invading’ Invading’ High School High School Golf Golf

Somegolfcoaches

Somegolfcoaches welcomehockey welcomehockey playerswithwide playerswithwide openarms openarms

ByTomLang

When the Michigan seasons shift from winter to spring, some high school golfteams are a little more eager than others for the hockey season to officially end.

This is especially true for the school golf programs in Brighton, Hartland and Muskegon Mona Shores as a few examples – who love having hockey players transition from the indoor frozen ice to play golf outdoors on the lush green grass.

“I would take a golf team full of hockey players any day,” said Hartland golf coach Nathan Oake. “I love them.”

He better, because his program is full of them.

Hartland and Brighton each have eight hockey players on their varsity and JV rosters.

Mona Shores has three hockey players this year, but usually has more. In 2023 it’s Oliver MacDonald (all-state honorable mention in hockey), Nathan McNarland and Nicholas Taylor, who was voted Division 1 all-state golf last spring, leading his team to No. 5 at the state finals.

Brighton golfer Winston Lerch was also Div. 1 All-State last year in golf and was an assistant captain on the hockey team this winter that placedstatechamprunnerup to Detroit Catholic Central.

Joining Lerch in the Bulldog golf program are hockey players like Levi Pennala, winner of the Wall Award sponsored by State Champs, as the top high school goalie. Pennala finished in the top 30 last year at the golf state finals – then

No.16ingoldisIanKastamo,avarsitygolferatHartland

early this spring when he was away at a highlevel junior hockey tournament, freshman hockey player Adam Forcier stepped in and shot a school record 18-hole round for a freshman at 73. Jacob Daavetilla also sneaks into the starting lineup at times.

Forcier tied the record of Davis Codd – who as a pro hockey player on leave from the Saginaw Spirit OHL hockey team when Covid shut down the league – won the MHSAA Div. 1 golf state final in 2021 for Brighton.

Brighton golf coach Jimmy Dewling said Codd was one of the earliest to prove to others you can play both hockey and golf and excel. In fact, that June in 2021, Codd went to an NHL scouting camp in Pennsylvania before the golf state finals, drove overnight back to Forest Akers to play the two state final rounds, won the title, then immediately returned to PA to resume the hockey camp.

“On our team, we believe, and TBone (Codd) was a perfect example of it, if there’s any time you have the opportunity to be competitive, it is going to make you a more wellrounded competitor and therefore better at your particular sport,” Dewling said recently.

“We like hockey players. In the winter, they have to think to where the puck is going, be smart enough to react, and understand how that emotion is going to carry over from one play to the next. When it's your

shift you have to forget about the last shift, or take something from the last shift and put it into the next shift, to have consistent play.

“It’s the same on the golf course,” Dewling continued. “It’s one hole to the next, one shot at a time, being tough, and that’s only going to come from competition reps. We love the athletic ability more so than anything, the toughness and competitiveness all year.”

Continuesonnextpage>>

NickTaylorofMonaShores

HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY AND GOLF

In addition to Lerch and Pennala starting on varsity golf, they are joined by traditional golfers Matt Doyle, Riley Morton and Andrew Daily, who is committed to Wayne State and is the reigning Div. 1 golf state runner up from 2022. More recently, the team won an April 24 tournament played at Oakland Hills North Course versus many state-ranked teams.

Oake admitted that this is a rebuilding year for Hartland’s golf program. The varsity lineup only has two returning players with any varsity golf experience – Keller King and Brady Betteley.

“So, we opted to keep a group of tough competitors with a solid combination of speed and strength – and who are not concerned about the cold conditions that we play in,” Oake quipped.

Five others rotate into the golf starting lineup with King and Betteley: Isaac Frantti is an All-State Hockey Defensemen playing his first season of golf but shot a career low 79 at American Dunes recently. He just signed a USPHL tender to play in Connecticut next year.

Ian Kastamo scored the winning goal in Hartland’s team state championship in 2022, and LJ Sabala, a varsity hockey player as well.

Then there are two non-hockey freshman getting shots to start occasionally – Dallas Korponic, who finished 3rd in the wrestling state finals, and Michael Maurin. Five more sophomores and juniors are hockey players on the JV golf team.

“We hope to be competitive with (Brighton) again soon, but they have the talent to make a big splash this year,” Oake said. “I also play golf at the same club as many Brighton players so I see them quite a bit and we are friendly. When the Brighton team walked by our team on a recent Monday and all said hello to me and our guys – one of my players looked at me and said that this was the biggest difference between hockey and golf. In hockey – the small talk would be (traded) for the ice, and it would not be very nice out there.

“Either way, I believe both sports are filled with fierce competitors and respect, but when the game is over a handshake and a golf hat tip are offered to the victor.”

LeviPennala

Course Review: Iyopawa Island Golf Club

Course Review: Iyopawa Island Golf Club

ByTomLang

What I like about golf in Michigan is that we have so many different golf courses that cater to all kinds of golfer skills, price ranges, land features and golf challenges.

Per Google, I recently happened upon a course I never heard of before while hoping to get the winter rust off the clubs by taking advantage of one nice day near the end of April before another rain/sleet/snow cold snap came along. Anything within a one-hour drive, that seemed different than others, and might not be crowded would do.

I found such criteria in Iyopawa Island Golf Club, situated on an island in the middle of Coldwater Lake, 3 miles north of the Indiana border.

The course opened 91 years ago in 1932 and has always been 9 holes and will stay that way –since the golf course already takes up about 80 percent of the island and family cabins and homes take up the remainder along the shoreline rim.

It’s not a breathtaking golf course – but it is perfect for families, beginners and intermediates to the game – without boring the accomplished golfer who might be joining them. To last for over nine decades and still be going strong proves this out as a needed option for summer vacationers.

The layout has three each of par 3’s, par 4’s and par 5’s. Forward tees are at 2154 yards with the backs at 2781. Only one sand trap, on the par 3 5th hole, requires a golfer to hit over it, and there’s only four bunkers on the entire course.

Coldwater Lake Coldwater Lake

The only water is what you can see between the homes of Coldwater Lake.

Due to being on an island in a shallow lake, the only elevation challenges come on holes 1 and 9. A deep valley runs across both fairways, and when you are in it on 9, you’ll have a totally blind shot to the closing green.

All greens are void of any major undulations, but the 7th and 8th are heavily slanted from back to front, and depending on the pin placement could easily become three-putt or worse.

Verbal lore claims that the location of the golf course used to be a sunflower farm, but now trees rim the property and line many fairways, but are not intrusive.

All in all, Iyopawa Island Golf Club is a great location for families to recreate and for long hitters to leave the driver in the bag but still have a nice time. It’s very affordable and is in a remote, soothing location. Would I suggest driving more than an hour to try it; no. But with its location not too far from Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson, and right off the I-69 freeway on the way to Indianapolis and points south, it could be a nice break from the car for vacationers to fit in a quick nine.

Letter from the President: Letter from the President:

Michigan Golf Journal Readers,

I’m excited to share another of my quarterly updates as I write to you all from our PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico. Each year the top 312 players in our association from around the country come together to compete for a chance to hoist the prestigious Walter Hagen Cup and to represent the PGA of America at the PGA Championship as one of the 20 members of our Corebridge Financial PGA Team.

I was fortunate enough to have competed in 5 separate PGA Professional Championships during my career in the industry so I know first-hand the hard work and effort that goes into the preparation for this championship. I hope that you will be able to tune in and cheer on our great competitors.

The PGA Professional championship marks the start of an incredible championship season for the PGA of America. Our PGA Championship kicks off in May at a renovated Oak Hill Country Club. The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship (which alternates every other year in Benton Harbor) marks the major championship debut of our new home of PGA Frisco and our KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be played at historic Baltusrol.

All three of these majors will feature PGA Professionals who have earned a spot on their respective Corebridge PGA Team and I hope that you will cheer them on as you would your

favorite PGA, Champions and LPGA Tour athletes.

While our championships are sure to draw the eyes of the golfing world, it’s what’s going on with our nearly 28,000 PGA Professionals including the over 800 in the Michigan PGA Section that truly have me fired up for the remainder of 2023.

I know how much the sport of golf means to our great state and am proud to represent it at the national level as the President of the PGA of America. I can’t wait to keep you updated on the progress we are making over my two years in office.

I’ll close with that message and call to action that I say at the end of every meeting I lead with the PGA of America:

“Play more golf. Play more golf. Play more golf.”

Sincerely,

John Lindert, PGA President, PGA of America

Owen Brewer, Andrew Hendren Named Owen Brewer, Andrew Hendren Named James D. Standish Award Winners James D. Standish Award Winners

ByGregJohnson

Country Club of Lansing caddie Owen Brewer of the University of Michigan and Andrew Hendren of MSU, a caddie at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak, are the 2023 winners of the James D. Standish Award – for demonstrated scholarship and leadership in their chapters.

The award is presented each year to an outstanding Evans Scholar at the Michigan State and Michigan chapters. The Golf Association of Michigan established the award in 1968, a year after the passing of James D. Standish, a former champion golfer, GAM and USGA president who helped Chick Evans of the Western Golf Association start the renown caddie scholarship program.

Brewer, 21 and an Aerospace Engineering major with a 3.7 GPA, is the first Evans Scholar from the Country Club of Lansing to receive the Standish Award. He said he was inspired by the last three Standish winners from the Michigan Evans Scholar house – Erik Haneberg, Noah Zaatar and Reily Ellis.

During his time at Michigan, Brewer was

elected twice to serve on the Michigan Evans Scholars Executive Board. He was vicepresident of community engagement in 2021 and chapter president in 2022. Last summer he completed a summer internship as a software development engineer at Apptio in Seattle, and will soon start his career in aerospace engineering with Raytheon Technologies, a missiles and defense company in Tucson, Ariz.

Hendren, 22 and a finance and psychology double major with a 3.9 GPA, plans to continue his education in law school. He said winning the Standish Award is an honor and he is grateful to be recognized for leadership in the MSU Chapter.

As a caddie Hendren said he focused on carrying the bag and knowing the rules, and he didn’t start playing the game regularly until he was in college.

“I know it's going to be a lifelong passion and a lot of work, but my swing is improving,” he said. “I’m still in the learning phase. My favorite part of the game is being able to spend time with family and friends on the course. My dad always says, ‘drive for show, putt for dough,’ but a drive right down the middle is my favorite shot.”

Golf Marches Forward: Golf Marches Forward: Military Greens Military Greens

ByJaninaParrott-Jacobs

Imagine teeing it up at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Pasatiempo and Cypress Point with no waiting, no fees – just go. During World War II, soldiers stationed at California’s Fort Ord enjoyed such exceptional perks. Offering this today might spark a welcome stampede to military recruitment offices.

For decades, golf and the military have enjoyed a special relationship, most notably with U.S. Presidents and their penchant for the game.

Since WWII, commanding officers prided themselves on showing off their units’ stellar golfers. After completing 21 European flying missions, scratch-golfer and Army Air Corps B17 pilot Billy Hamlin, now 97 and living in Portage, returned to the Pacific to lead the Air Force golf team.

“The captain’s job was between another guy and me,” Hamlin said. “But he was a dentist and they needed him home to fix choppers… and not the flying kind!” The lively Hamlin recently

hung up his clubs because seemingly ‘there’s no one to play with.’

Golf was used strategically during the Vietnam War. Ejecting from his EB-66 ‘Bat-21’ aircraft, avid golfer and USAF Lt. Col. Iceal ‘Gene’ Hambleton, communicating with rescuers, pinpointed a daring extraction site using familiar golf holes’ yardages and direction.

Today, golf remains popular in all service branches, with steadfast competition among them. The military is one of the top course management companies in the U.S., operating 125 facilities, but courses receive no taxpayer funding and, by law, must be self-sufficient. Many are currently meeting financial goals through public access ‘Golf Guest Card’ programs – like the one offered at Selfridge Air National Guard base in Macomb County –

which require simple vetting, background checks and annual fees of $10-30. Green fees are structured by pay-grade and range from $20-60.

National Guard Association of Michigan Executive Director Jeff Frisby says that many installations do find unique and adaptable sections of land to use and some courses rival the best attributes of top private clubs.

“Fort Gordon in Georgia is a favorite,” said Frisby. “It’s

extremely nice, but there was something special about playing in Augusta, knowing just miles away is one of the most famous courses in the world.”

Passionate golfer and veteran Communications Specialist Doug Waite, another Michigander, didn’t realize he’d played so many base courses.

“As a Navy retiree, these low-cost courses are still available to me… a nice benefit,” said Waite, who fondly recalled playing Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Navy/Marine Golf Course. “Without courses allowing personnel to play a first-rate Hawaiian course at mainland military prices, options would be limited due to high costs.”

The Navy course at Sewell Point in Norfolk, Virginia is a stunning facility where Arnold Palmer played during his 3-year Coast Guard stint.

“The USMC Boot Camp at Parris Island, South Carolina isn’t really noted for having a good time,” chuckled Waite. “However, the Legends

course is a delight…a beautiful layout winding through marshes and ponds, with huge alligators sunning themselves.”

One unique aspect of playing military courses is paralleled nowhere else.

“There is so much happening, with military aircraft flying around while enjoying the game…and this helps inspire patriotism,” said Frisby. “For 10 years of my military career I lived at Little Rock AFB in Jacksonville, AR. This outstanding course was tucked away in the Arkansas pines and on any given day you’d see aircraft overhead, training and conducting routine exercises. Being there, under those perfecting their profession to protect our nation… never grew old.”

Piggybacking on this concept, charitable groups might consider modeling their own golf fundraisers after what the Michigan Freedom Center, a 501 c-3 operating military assistance facilities at Detroit Metro Airport, has cleverly

sold out for years at Selfridge Golf Course: scheduling Friday before airshows that often feature the Navy’s Blue Angels or the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. It’s practice day for aerial acrobatics, minus the congestion of 100,000 people attending the Selfridge Air National Guard Base weekend performances.

Check area airshow schedules well in advance, and call the course to arrange. There’s added advantage: placing blame elsewhere for not keeping your head down!

In mid-July, the USGA will host the 2023 U.S. Girls Junior at the Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower GC in Colorado Springs, the USGA’s first-ever major championship at a military facility. It was previously named the top golf course in the Department of Defense by Travel and Leisure Golf magazine and is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design.

Similarly, the GolfAssociationofMichigan

(GAM)willholditsownU.S.GirlsJunior qualifierforthatnationaltournament,at SelfridgeANGBinJune.

GAMalsoplanstohostaGAMGolfDaysevent atSelfridgeonSeptember15, to help honor the connection of golf to military members and Veterans and allow the general public play a course dating back to the 1942 and was updated in 1997 by noted Michigan course designer W. Bruce Matthews III.

Go to: https://gam.org/play/gam-golf-days/

Super patriotic golf legend Jack Nicklaus partnered with Lt. Col. Dan Rooney and his vision to resurrect the family’s Grand Haven Golf Club, and designed American Dunes, sans architectural fees. A true tribute to military traditions and fallen warriors while benefitting Folds of Honor (FOH), this destination course and reverent complex has gained top national recognition from the golf world as well as military and civilians alike.

More importantly, millions in scholarship dollars have been awarded through FoH to the children of those who gave all for their country.

Nicklaus sums it up: “I love the game of golf, but I love my country even more.”

In addition, other organizations address physical and emotional trauma many veterans experience after leaving the service. Two of them are Tee It Up for Troops and the PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) programs, which teach adaptive golf to disabled veterans and also host events to raise both awareness and funding. (See additional PGA HOPE story on pages xx-xx)

“Tee It Up (for Troops) offers opportunities for wounded warriors to learn golf, sometimes after they’ve lost limbs in combat,” explained

Army National Guard veteran and former Apache helicopter pilot (Capt.) Kate Melcher, of Ann Arbor. “There’s an annual event at Florida’s Reunion Golf Resort where wounded veterans meet others who served during any era. I went in my role as Executive Director at Fisher House Michigan but ended up reuniting with a friend from Officer Candidate School, Matt Anderson, who was injured overseas; but that hasn't stopped him becoming a scratch golfer.”

it Up for Freedom”

Golf Outing

Supports the Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center (MI Freedom Center) at Detroit Metro Airport

August 7, 2023

Stonebridge Golf Club, Ann Arbor

Email: Tom@mifreedomcenter.org

Golf for Heroes Scramble

Supports the Heart of a Lion – a John Daly, Major Ed Foundation

July 17, 2023

Coyote Golf Club, New Hudson

Email: Golf4HeroesScramble@gmail.com

“Tee

Life Saving PGA Life Saving PGA HOPE Program HOPE Program Teaches Golf to Teaches Golf to

Military Veterans Military Veterans

ByTomLang

Michigan PGA section member Bob Bales has been called a hero, but he wants no such praise.

He heads up the PGA HOPE program at the U.S. Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Battle Creek, one of six golf skills training sites across the state this year. Bales is the GM at Angles Crossing south of Kalamazoo. Also

helping led the lessons is Dean Kolstad of Gull Lake View Resort, and Dean Marks of Milham Park and two others.

“AfterwefinishthisPGAHOPE program,theVeteranscomeupand thankmeforbeingahero,andIgo,‘no, notatall,youguysaretheheroes.’I’m justshowingthemhowtoplaygolf."

BobBales

“I’ve had countless number of Veterans tell me that this program saved their lives,” Bales added. “One in particular said to me he was going to take his own life, but was introduced to this program. He said playing golf he was able to get his mind in a better place and was able to channel what he called his addictive tendencies into golf instead of into destructive things. He has since gotten married and started a family, and he’s told me, ‘if it hadn’t been for this program I wouldn’t be here.’ And if saving one person, it’s worth it all.”

PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. PGA HOPE introduces golf to Veterans with disabilities to enhance their physical, mental, social, and emotional wellbeing.

The program introduces the game of golf through a developmental 6-8 week curriculum, taught by PGA Professionals like Bales, Kolstad and Marks who are trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency. All programs are funded by PGA REACH

and supplemented by PGA Section Foundations, so the cost of programming is free to all Veterans.

The Michigan PGA is offering six PGA HOPE programs in 2023 including Rochester, Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, metro Detroit, and Midland. They are full this spring.

Two friends and U.S. Army Veterans that came to the Battle Creek session are from the Lansing area who told me that as women wanting to learn the game of golf they wanted to do so with others like them.

“I have been interested in learning golf because it’s a great way to get outside and move, but I’ve always felt very intimidated to walk onto a

PGAHOPEinRochester

golf course and try to hit a ball the first time –not knowing what I’m doing, and having others around me,” said DeDe Luebbert, of DeWitt. “So, learning about golf and doing it around people I’m comfortable with, like other Veterans, peers, friends, in a low-pressure environment and in a program that is doing such great things for the people I respect and admire so much.”

Her friend and fellow Veteran Kerri Kruckeberg of Grand Ledge, concurred.

“I always wanted to learn to play golf, and learning how much they do for this hospital and all, makes me even more interested in it,

knowing how much (the instructors) are giving back to the Veterans here,” she said. “It’s a really cool program.”

According to Bales, the VA Medical Center in Battle Creek – which also has a 9-hole par 34 golf course called Custer Green, built by area teaching pros after WWII not far out the front

door of the main hospital – cares for Veterans mostly dealing with mental health challenges like substance abuse issues, PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. Many patients served there are inpatient and on site. Some also have physical injuries, “but

most of what we see here is not necessarily seen as an outward challenge.”

Bales also described a blind man who had never played golf, so he had no preconceptions of what

was going on. But at the end of the program they played a golf scramble, and on the first hole the player’s team chose to hit a shot out of the bunker. “This blind gentleman hits the bunker shot and holes it out,” Bales said. “He didn’t see any of it, but the reaction of everybody else, he could be part of that.

“He was as much a golfer as anybody else.”

Which is the main point of it all.

More information can be found at:

https://www.pgareach.org/services/military/

… which includes a video from Jack Nicklaus featuring other Veteran testimonies.

Chelsea’s Chelsea’s Brian Brian Tillman, Tillman, Rockford’s Rockford’s Jessica Jolly Jessica Jolly Win GAM Win GAM

Junior Junior Kickoff Kickoff

Titles Titles

ByGregJohnson

Brian Tillman of Chelsea and Jessica Jolly of Rockford are the first Golf Association of Michigan champions of the year after securing wins in the fifth GAM Junior Kickoff recently at Washtenaw Golf Club.

Tillman, a sophomore at Chelsea High, shot a final-round 4-under 68 and won the boys’ title by four shots – while Jolly, a junior at Rockford High, closed with a 74 and held off her future college teammate Elise Fennell of Caledonia and East Kentwood High by one shot. Tillman gave up basketball a year ago to focus on golf.

Winners were also crowned in the 15-and-under age division – by Nemo Tsai of Ann Arbor firing a second-round 67 to win by seven shots and Sophia Lee of Midland shooting a final 78 to win by nine shots.

“I practiced a lot more than ever before this winter after stopping playing basketball,” Tillman said. “I had a lot of free time, so I was

able to work in a couple of trips south to spend time in Florida and improve my game.”

Jolly, who recently turned 17, had a three-shot lead going to the 18th hole in the final round, missed the green long and left and played to a double-bogey 6. She totaled 3-over 147 for the tournament, one better than Fennell, who shot a pair of 74s. Lauren Timpf of Macomb shot 75 for 150 and third place.

Fennell and Jolly have both committed to play at Illinois State University starting in the fall of 2024. The Redbirds are coached by former Kentwood resident and 2003 Michigan

Women’s Open Champion Breanne Hall.

In the boys’ 15-and-under Tsai made a 10-shot improvement from a first-round 77 to his 67 for 144. The 13-year-old was playing in his first GAM tournament; whereas he typically plays national events and wins a good share of those.

Lee’s win in the 15-and-under girls’ competition was her first win in any tournament.

GAM

Distinguished GAM Distinguished Service Award: Sara Wold of Service Award: Sara Wold of Ann Arbor Ann Arbor

ByGregJohnson

Sara Wold qualified for the now defunct U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 1984 and remembers a conversation that she credits as the launching of her many years of service to golf.

“I had qualified and played in stroke play for the first two days … and didn’t play very well,” she said. “I remember sitting and talking with Dee Klockow, a good Michigan golfer, and telling her instead of playing poorly and feeling bad about it I should do something useful with golf. So that’s where it started. I became a rules official.”

In recognition of her career service, which includes being the second female president of the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) in 2018, Wold has been named the GAM’s Distinguished Service Award winner for 2023.

“Sara set the bar for a lot of volunteers,” Chris Whitten, the executive director of the GAM said.

public golfer members of the GAM and is a founding member of the Michigan Women’s Golf Association (MWGA in 1986).

GAM Club Services GAM Club Services

Representative of the Year: Representative of the Year: Terri Anthony-Ryan Terri Anthony-Ryan

Terri AnthonyRyan has taught a countless number of golfers while working for 33 years as a teaching professional at the Southfield’s Evergreen Hills and Beech Woods golf facilities, and

she is in year 39 as a PGA member.

“I love working with people, teaching, talking, on the tee, in the shop, I haven’t had a day where I wake up and don’t want to go do it again,” she said.

Anthony-Ryan, 63, has been named the 2023 Club Services Representative of the Year.

An Ann Arbor resident, Wold has served the GAM in almost every possible way including tournament volunteer, rules official, governor, executive committee member and president. Now 84, she was one of the first women and

Anthony-Ryan has been involved in golf at multiple levels. She is probably best known though for her coaching of high school and college golf teams and individuals, most notably serving as the head coach at the U-D Mercy women’s golf team for 13 seasons, winning three conference championships and being named the Horizon League Coach of the Year three times. She has also coached at Farmington Hills Mercy, Redford Union High and Henry Ford Community College, and helped several other programs and individual players.

Brett’sstoryastoldtoJordanPerez

Editorsnote:Carryisauniquefanengagementplatformforsupporting "early-stage"professionalgolfers.CarryfounderDonnieDotson’s programhasmadeitpossibleforfansofgolftoinvestin10professional golfersinexchangeforuniqueaccess,"brag-worthy"experiences,and potentialreturns.Dotson’sbackgroundincludesbusinessdevelopment andinvestingrolesatSportradarandGoldmanSachs,andasaformer MarineandCIA-trainedOperationsOfficerwithintheUSIntelligence Community.BrettWhitewonthe2020MichiganOpenatGrandTraverse Resort,andthe2022TournamentofChampionsatBoyneMountain.

Michigan’s Michigan’s Brett White: Brett White: More than More than You Know You Know

Whiteisoneof10 Whiteisoneof10 youngprosthe youngprosthe generalpubliccan generalpubliccan iinvestdollarsin nvestdollarsin withCarry withCarry

A lot of people have seen my name recently since my comeback from a huge health scare. Though I’m proud of what I’ve overcome, that’s not my entire story.

Growing up in west Michigan, hockey was the first sport I loved, but golf caught my eye when the weather complied. My dad was a physical education teacher and had the summers off, which he spent driving me and my sister (Sarah, also a pro golfer) to golf tournaments. I started beating older kids,and my biggest strength was being a pretty powerful long-hitter

compared to my peers.

Still, I would have told you that hockey was my favorite sport. My potential in golf started to unveil itself once the recruiting process began and I saw some offers. I ended up committing to Eastern Michigan.

When I got to Ypsilanti, I was quickly humbled.

I had a lot of raw talent, but I didn’t know a whole lot about course management. I got my butt whooped in my first two years and being competitive, I hated losing. I started reading golf books, understanding ball flight and

trackman, and focusing on what made good golfers great. My last two college seasons were decent, but after seeing a steady improvement in my scoring average year over year, I decided to turn professional after my graduation in 2016. It’s since been seven crazy years professionally, but the year that followed turning pro was probably the extreme. I played the first half of 2017 on the Latinoamerica Tour. I was back in the states, and suddenly, in a matter of 10 days, went from losing a playoff in the New Hampshire Open to needing help just to walk. I came down with a bad bout of mono that didn’t seem to let up, and after a few tests, I was diagnosed with viral encephalitis.

There were many days when I could only spend 30 minutes out of bed, leaning against and grabbing walls. My motor skills and speech were severely impacted due to my brain swelling up. I spent 13 days in the hospital. After those 13 days, I was able to walk on my own which really showed me the light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as I could stand up, I started trying to play golf again – but it took me about two months before I could even break 100.

BrettWhitewithhisfather

By my side that entire time was my wife, who I had met in college. She was a gymnast at Eastern Michigan University and understood how competitive I was. She pushed me through my rehabilitation and never let me make excuses. She is a big reason for the success of my recovery, and through this process I knew she would be the person I would spend the rest of my life with. I underwent 10 to 12 weeks of outpatient therapy, and it took about six months before I felt normal again.

I was back to grinding on mini-tours from 2018 onward but was able to play Korn Ferry Tour QSchool in 2021 and took 28th place at final stage. That was good enough for my first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour (2022), where I made nine cuts – and missed five cuts by just one stroke. I wound up back in Q-School to finish 74th in Final Stage, allowing me conditional status for this season.

But I’ve been in worse places, and there’s no point in feeling sorry for myself. There’s nothing else to do but keep improving. After losing full Korn Ferry Tour status, I Monday

qualified for my firstever PGA Tour event at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. I ended up missing the cut, but that week really validated the fact that I belong out there. It lit a new fire under me – I must get back to the PGA Tour. I’m really proud of myself and how I’ve fought to get to where I’m at, but I

have higher standards and goals for myself.

To be one of the few chosen this year by Carry from a deep pool of applications is to know that someone really believes in me. I can give myself every opportunity possible to get back onto the Korn Ferry Tour full-time and eventually the PGA Tour. Monday qualifiers are all over my schedule.

Dozens of guys like me go home empty-handed every week with plenty of expenses, and the handful who advance are still in a hole until they make the cut. So much of my time in golf has been a lot of picking and choosing my opportunities and working an array of jobs just to get them ever since I was 15.

I hope by the end of my career, people will know me more for my golf rather than my health struggles. Carry is giving me that chance to return to the PGA Tour and to show the world how good my game is, and I’m ready to take it.

Learn more at https://www.invest.carry.golf or on Instagram @knowyourcarry.

Eagle Eye and MSU to Eagle Eye and MSU to Host NCAA Regional Host NCAA Regional

May15-17fanscanwatchthecountry’stopcollegeplayersforfree May15-17fanscanwatchthecountry’stopcollegeplayersforfree

ByTomLang

Home field advantage is always nice.

That’s one of many reasons MSU Men’s Golf coach Casey Lubahn worked with Eagle Eye Golf Club and the Greater Lansing Sports Authority to bring the NCAA Men’s Regional to mid-Michigan this month. Eagle Eye is a frequent host to the MSU team for events and practice.

“We wanted to give this community a big college event and bring some of the best college players in the country here,” Lubahn said. “And it’s obviously an advantage for your program to host a regional and play in it. But really, it’s about the thousands of people in town who support our program and the countless fans of golf around Michigan who can see a top tier event in Lansing, which hasn’t happened in a long time.

“People can see how great college golf has gotten. Sam Bennett (Texas A&M) at The

Masters, and others, these are the next stars on the PGA Tour. And they’ll be here at Eagle Eye. There’s a lot of good players in these fields, and it’s free. It’s easy to get up close. And the student-athletes are very open and hospitable for people to follow them. You can bring the kids out to watch some of the best amateur players in the world.

“Eagle Eye is a great viewing venue. We’ll hope for some good Michigan weather so we can put on a good show.”

Both Lubahn, and player Bradley Smithson, who as an amateur won the Michigan Open over dozens of pros in 2021, agreed that Eagle Eye has lots of room off most tees, so the par 3s could end up being very pivotal. Those are holes 2, 5, 12 and 17 – the latter an island green that’s an exact replica of the treacherous hole 17 at TPC Sawgrass that has dashed the dreams of many pros in The PLAYERS Championship each spring.

“I think the back 9 is going to be a good test coming down the stretch, having the pressure of trying to make it to Phoenix,” Smithson said. “The final three holes especially 17; it’s a little wedge but with the pressure and the water and trying to hit that island green. But then the tee ball on 18 will probably the most important tee ball on the golf course with the water down the right side, and the heather on the left. That second shot trying to reach that (par 5) green is huge.”

Lubahn added: “I think 5 is a pivotal hole. It’s a very, very challenging par. I think that will dictate how the front 9 goes. I think it’s the hardest shot on the course.

“And when you turn onto 16, the last three holes at Eagle Eye are the real deal. No. 16 and 18 are long, and 17 is iconic. The nerves these young people are going to feel on 17 tee when they are trying to get into the NCAA Championship, or try to win, it’s going to be very similar to what you see at The PLAYERS Championship.”

Eagle Eye GM Luke Thode said they course is in wonderful early-season shape and the with tournament coming somewhat accelerated

preparations like green speeds that might normally be in place around June 1.

“We’re working on making sure the details of the course are in great condition, and things we strive to do anyway but making sure all the details are in place to make sure the college golfers have a great experience,” he said. “It should be a great venue for them on the way to the National Championship.

“It’s such a great stage for amateur golf and our entire staff is proud to have it here.”

Theeventisopenallthreedaystothepublic fornocost. Tee times will run between 8:00 and 10:10 a.m. off both nines, to make room for any weather delays or playoff at the end.

Note: The Michigan women hosted an NCAA regional last spring at U-M Golf Course, and the Wolverines were selected to host a regional again in 2026.