As the outdoor golf season closes down in Michigan, it’s amazing how much golf news there still is to share.
In recognition of Veteran’s Day, we bring you two military/golf related pieces and hope that all readers will honor in some way those who have served us.
Golf is such a wonderful sport that inspires people to do things they might not normally. One such person is Dave Kendall, a course owner and teaching pro out of Ypsilanti. He has terminal cancer but has used golf in ways we might not imagine, so we bring you his touching story.
You can also find:
Augusta GA and the Augusta National Golf Club and Augusta Country Club took large hits by Hurricane Helene… we feature our insider’s look.
Our cover story on all the great golf on the west side of Michigan, in and around Grand Rapids.
High school golf final’s results, and Miss Golf Alena Li of Okemos
The Michigan Golf Course of the Year: Harbor Shores
Season-ending tournament results
100 Years: Sharp Park in Jackson Eastern Michigan University’s fall season results after huge financial investments.
And so much more !
Thank you as always for joining us.
TomLang
EditorandPublisher
What's Inside:
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Harbor Shores Named 2024 Harbor Shores Named 2024
Michigan Golf Course of the Year Michigan Golf Course of the Year
“Harbor Shores embodies all of the characteristics of the Course of the Year award,” Paisley said. “The golf course, through its development on reclaimed land, involvement with the PGA Tour Champions, the onsite First Tee program and more has
By Greg Johnson
By Greg Johnson
The Jack Nicklaus Signature design course at Harbor Shores Resort was named the 2024 Michigan Golf Course of the Year by the Michigan Golf Course Association (MGCA).
“I think this is one of the biggest honors a golf facility can receive in the state of Michigan,” said Josh Doxtator, PGA General Manager at the resort. “Harbor Shores has been the catalyst for the community and honors like this continue to prove that point and tell our story.”
Jada Paisley, executive director of the MGCA, said the award honors a member course that meets four criteria: Unique characteristics of the course; exceptional quality of ownership and management; outstanding contribution to its community; and significant contribution to the game.
fostered a vibrant community hub where people can come together for golfing, socializing and events while supporting charitable causes that benefit the broader community.”
Harbor Shores has served as home to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship every other year starting in 2012 and running through its final year this past May. In August it hosted the 2024 Michigan PGA Professional Championship.
Doxtator said the resort is more than just a host of championships, however.
“Harbor Shores has been committed to the community since 2010 and before when the vision first started, and it has been served with a great golf course that revitalized part of the community, been a big part of Whirlpool’s charitable efforts, created a First Tee program that serves so many kids on-site, and more,” he said.
The award-winning Nicklaus course is part of a beach, golf and residential waterfront community, and the design features golf holes on four diverse terrains – parkland, sand dunes on the lake, woodlands and wetlands along the Paw Paw River and Ox Creek.
The development of Harbor Shores building up to its opening for play in 2010 made national news by reclaiming abandoned industrial and polluted land as part of a nonprofit effort. It helped to revitalize the area and provide economic growth and continuing development. Harbor Shores is a not-for-profit facility, and a portion of fees collected help maintain the area’s trail systems and beach at adjacent Jean Klock Park.
The course was honored in several best new course rankings in 2010 and has been honored as environmental leaders by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. In 2023 it was named to Golf Digest’s biennial list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses. Nicklaus’ lead design assistant on the project was Chris Rule of Holt.
While golfers play, they are welcomed at the tees of each of the 18 holes by a sculpture/dedicated display honoring each one of the major championships won by Nicklaus. The legendary golfer and designer also boosted the marketing of the course when he answered a challenge by fellow golf legend Johnny Miller and made a 100-foot putt on the dramatically
undulating No. 10 green during a grand opening round (Champions for Change event) that also included Tom Watson and the late Arnold Palmer. Video of the putt went viral globally.
Doxtator, who has been at the resort since 2019, said he believes Harbor Shores provides a premium experience when his team, including PGA Head Golf Professional Jackson Davison and Superintendent Matthew Volrath, executes the plan.
“We have built a staff that is dedicated and welcoming and always trying to make each golfer’s experience memorable,” he said. “The golf course does its part as the only Jack Nicklaus designed course with holes on the shores of Lake Michigan. We are 90 miles from Chicago. The Inn at Harbor Shores, the development of condominiums on site, being involved in the community are all part of it. It’s a place that we can talk about, but it must be experienced and then you realize it is a powerful example of the impact golf can have.”
CHERRY CREEK COURSE REVIEW
Course Review: Course Review:
Cherry Creek in Shelby Township Cherry Creek in Shelby Township
By Tom Lang By Tom Lang
I unexpectedly found myself playing at Cherry Creek Golf Club in Macomb County this summer, and I unexpectedly enjoyed it.
My overall impression of the property was its aesthetic appeal and beauty – which doesn’t come often in a high traffic area like those bordering the M53 highway running north and south. Yet that is what I found when playing in a media and sponsors event the week of the Cairns Cup, an international match play tournament for adaptive golfers with various handicaps like missing limbs, blindness and neurological challenges. By the way, the U.S. team won for a second year in a row, with almost half of the national team members coming from Michigan.
In general, I really enjoyed the course. My notes indicated that some of the holes are rendered to target golf to avoid a fair amount of water on the course.
The overall land is also flat, making for a very walkable course if you so choose, but very nice manmade shaping added to the beauty of the challenges. It’s a Lanny Wadkins/ Mike Bylen design.
I also recall that the greens had much less break to them than the eye test revealed, so take that into account when lining up putts.
No. 8 was fun as a drivable par 4 dogleg left (not drivable for me), but with an overabundance of sand traps protecting the green.
The sister courses in
the Cherry Creek portfolio include Pine Trace and Shepherd’s Hollow – a very nice collection of properties. If you haven’t tried it, Cherry Creek needs checking out.
Watch action of the Cairn's Cup here: https://youtu.be/RQf 3tCgNM0
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Grand Golf Grand Golf
By Tom Lang By Tom Lang
Beer City.
Annual host of the Meijer LPGA Classic.
Nationally ranked golf at a lower cost.
All three describe what golfers will find visiting Grand Rapids – that and more.
Just last month, our MI Golf Journal reported that GOLF Magazine put out its list of top courses from across the country which cost under $100, at peak weekend rates for walking. Three locations from the small sliver of west Michigan made the list ranging from Texas to the Canadian border: Diamond Springs in Hamilton; Pilgrim’s Run in Pierson; and the Mines Golf Club that sits near the edge of downtown.
Greg Johnson, a long-time resident and recent
inductee into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame as a media representative, mentioned two of them directly.
“Diamond Springs is out there, but it’s country roads, a pretty little drive through some corn fields and you pull up to this place that’s a really cool and unique golf course,” he said. “And The Mines is less than five minutes from downtown. You can stay at the Amway Plaza and catch an Uber to The Mines easily. They’ve got a brand new clubhouse and a really nice golf course.”
Johnson’s perspective goes back more than 40 years when he began covering golf for the Grand RapidsPress.
“First of all, there’s a lot of golf courses, even prior to the building boom in the 1980’s. Kent County alone had like eight private clubs and 15 public courses. Then it really boomed,” he added. “Grand Rapids just developed its own audience with just a bunch of really nice public
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golf courses, from the original Grand Haven Golf Club (now American Dunes), to the L.E. Kaufman, a county owned park and golf course with great greens, which are maintained really well for a municipal golf course. It hosts the Kent County Amateur every year, one of the biggest in the state.”
Johnson isn’t the only person who loves the choices available in the region. Enter Mike Brady, a volunteer for GAM who with his wife, Connie, helps rate course handicaps. He pointed out the known tourist destinations of Meijer Gardens, John Ball Zoo and the Gerald R. Ford Museum, a national treasure.
He suggested that the Meijer LPGA Classic is also an event to plan around. And as for the nickname Beer City: “I think it’s a tribute to the entrepreneurial nature of the community in general,” Brady said. “Craft beer development across the country is big, and Grand Rapids has certainly had its share of
craft brewers who have made their mark in the industry. They have created brands that have real value.
“The Kaufman golf course is wonderful,” Brady added. “It’s a country club experience really, at reasonable public golf course fees. All the locals know about it, but visitors might not. That would be number one on my list for recommending any one single public course in Grand Rapids.”
For first-timers to the area, it can be helpful to create a stay-and-play package. The Country Inn & Suites by Radisson Grand Rapids East has been putting them together for almost 10 years. The hotel closely works with eight courses: Pilgrim’s Run, Quail Ridge, Thornapple Pointe, Boulder Creek, Ravines (near Saugatuck), The Mines, Diamond Springs and Links at Bowen Lake. Call: (616) 464-7272 for packages.
General Manager Ed Wilson said most groups Continuesonnextpg.>>
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range from 8-to-40 people, and they explore anything they can off the course, like casino runs and Whitecaps baseball games, the Detroit Tigers’ affiliate.
“The golfers say they love the golf around here,” Wilson commented. “Some stay in Grand Rapids a night or two as they’re heading to other places, and we have a variety of courses in what’s available. They love the area, then you throw in a little Founder’s Brewery, or all the different options around here. There’s certainly a lot to do. Everyone’s looking for a little
steak; we have all the options, depending on the group.
“So many people think of Up North, but the quality of golf we have here is equal, and if you mix in a little something you can do whether it’s downtown or in the suburbs, we have lots of options.”
Grand Rapids is a top destination for ‘foodies’ –and one of the most affordable as well – offering every kind of cuisine, for every kind of budget. The city is ringed by family farms and fruit orchards that supply restaurants with just-
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harvested ingredients, putting farmto-fork meals on the menus of mom-andpop diners and upscale steakhouses, and everything in between.
There are more than two
dozen public courses within a 40-minute drive, but most are less than 20 minutes from downtown. Personally, I have played the following layouts:
AmericanDunes:This new course is a classic in the sense Jack Nicklaus designed it from the former Grand Haven Golf Club in honor of our military heroes who died serving this country. The natural sand dunes near the Lake Michigan coastline are on full display in this masterful layout.
Pilgrim’s Run: The course designed mostly by Mike DeVries was first developed as a private family track, that once under development the owners realized the property was too beautiful to not share with the world. I played it most recently, with a man I’d never met before named Steve Grimm, owner of Northwinds Insulation.
“This course never disappoints; it’s always fresh,” he said. “The weather and the colors change, but it’s always in pristine condition. For me it’s my solitude. You come out here and there’s no distractions. This is pure golf.
I love how it’s all nature. You feel like you’re out here and with no distractions.”
Thornapple Pointe: For a Detroit Free Press course review at the time, I wrote this about my favorite hole … No. 13 is not unlucky; it’s simply a gorgeous golf hole (photo here doesn’t do it justice). To start, the tees are elevated for a beautiful pause in your round to watch the Thornapple River flow the length of the par 5 and onward to additional holes. If playing the white tees, which are generally pushed far to the right of the others, a stand of trees lay straight ahead about 200 yards out. This forces a drive to the left, toward the river, but with plenty of fairway landing room. The remainder of the 500-plus yard hole is river left, trees right. Walking that hole is best to soak it all in.
TheLynx: One of those pleasant surprises, The Lynx is nestled on land high above and down along the mighty Kalamazoo River – a beautiful course in a very natural setting except for a few condos on the front nine. Hole No. 1 leads off with a great example of what golfers will find on their
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day. The fairway first appears flat and perhaps boring – but hit it to the end of the fairway and you’re faced with a drastic 75-foot elevation drop to the green. Beware, however, that going long over that green, and many others and you’ll find big trouble.
Saskatoon: A long-time favorite of golf leagues, Saskatoon recently added a new nine (the Silver Course) that gives the property outside of Caledonia 45 holes and lots of choices.
The Mines: I haven’t played a full 18 at The Mines since it first opened and I joined designer Mike DeVries for the round. Shame on me that I haven’t fit it back into my busy schedule. I recall it being beautiful, challenging and a great experience –words I hear repeated all the time by others.
TheMeadowsatGrand ValleyState: A wonderfully beautiful and tough course
that hosts Grand Valley State’s nationallytalented teams, and gives high school golfers their toughest state finals experience in the MHSAA rotation.
“We’ve just always been a little bit of a golf-crazy part of the state,” Johnson summed up. “West Michigan has probably been known just for the sheer number of courses and the nice price you could get, because of so much competition.
“It’s just always been an affordable sport here, with a golf crazy audience to boot.”
More information can be found at: https://www.experiencegr.com/things-todo/outdoors-and-sports/golf/
College College Corner: Corner: Eastern Eastern Michigan Michigan University University
COLLEGE CORNER
By Tom Lang By Tom Lang
The Eagles golf program made the largest waves of any college in the state this year when the university named two new head coaches and opened the prolific $8 million GameAbove Golf Performance Center for indoor practice and team facilities.
Josh Brewer was tapped as the new women’s head coach. During his tenure at the University of Georgia, Brewer guided the Bulldogs to 16 tournament wins, 10 NCAA Regional qualifications, and four NCAA National Championship appearances.
Andy Walker was brought in from Virgina Commonwealth (VCU). Walker had just been named 2024 Black College Golf Coaches Association (BCGCA) Coach of the Year for NCAA Division I – and was a four-time national champion as a player (at Pepperdine) and coach.
“The (women’s) team improved throughout the first 10 weeks together, however, our goal is to not only win the conference, but to make the NCAA Regionals and nationals and we still have steps to take,” Brewer told me. “There’s a lot of positives and momentum, but at the same time we know we need to continue to build.
“The team has a common goal; they want to see Eastern golf get to the post season and be part of something very special that 15-20 years from now they return here and can share with their families. They’re working very hard, we just need to see better results on the golf course.”
The results for sophomore Savannah de Bock have been solid.
de Bock won the Golfweek Red Sky Classic –shooting a school record 65 – and finished as the tournament runner-up at both the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational (tie) and the Hurricane Invitational. She owns five (23.8 percent) of the 21 rounds of 69 or lower recorded
in program history. In other words, she holds the top three scores all-time at EMU and five of the top seven all-time. de Bock shot par or lower in 14 of 15 rounds this fall.
Brewer just needs the rest of the young team to follow de Bock’s lead, but he’s enjoying the personal bonds they have created so quickly.
“I don’t know how they did it, but they developed an amazing bond,” he said. “We had a couple recruits visit, and the one thing the family members said was, ‘I can’t believe this group has only known each other three months.’
For the men, senior transfer Tim Chan has led the way, finishing third at the Bahamas tournament with a 14-under 202.
Chan was a junior college transfer the year prior when he went to VCU. Walker said he broke into the line up there the second semester “and he was a catalyst for (VCU) going so high in the rankings, with his low numbers.
“The last few weeks, there were a lot of low numbers in practice and he was shooting 65s, 64s,” Walker added. “And we went to Florida where the tournament got canceled, but he was leading at 4-under through nine, in the wind and rain.”
In EMU men’s program history, teams had shot 859 or lower in 18 tournaments. Already in 2024, the men have done so twice, shooting
856 at the White Sands Bahamas Men’s NCAA Invitational (Oct. 25-27) after opening the season at 857 at the Southern Dunes Invitational (Sept. 9-10). This squad is one of five teams in program history to record multiple scores at or under 859 with the 2016-17 and 2018-19 teams accomplishing the feat three times.
Walker is expecting even more improvement.
“I don’t think we’ve played really well at all,” Walker openly admitted. “Played mediocre for a few weeks. To not sugarcoat it, it saw some things I liked out there, and a lot of things that need to be improved upon and get better.
“I think a lot of guys are hitting golf shots that we like to hit, not the shot we should be hitting. Super talented team, but they don’t always trust themselves. Once or twice a round they get a little doubt and when they swing with that doubt, the results are never good ones. They guys got better th f ll t th ff ill b
Augusta GA Augusta GA Community Community Takes Huge Hit Takes Huge Hit from Hurricane from Hurricane Helene Helene
ByTerryMoore ByTerryMoore
When the unthinkable happens to a community, it’s hard to imagine in its immediate aftermath when normalcy will ever return.
Indeed, the citizens of Augusta, GA home to the Masters harbored those dreadful feelings as they coped with the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. The Category 4 hurricane tore through the metro area on September 27, causing deaths and personal injuries, massive property loss and damage, and outage of major utilities and services. In its cruel wake, The Augusta Chronicle and other media ably reported the sobering reality of:
More than 31 deaths in the region, many from fallen trees on homes and vehicles
A county-wide water outage was followed by the city issuing a ‘boil water’ advisory saying it's unsafe to drink.
County-wide curfews from 7 am to 7 pm
Closing of all area schools
Most area businesses closed
Severe shortages of fuel forcing many residents to drive to Atlanta, Athens, Macon and Columbia, SC for gasoline and other essentials.
Georgia Power reported on its website the entire state faced the daunting task of repairing or replacing over 5,000 power poles, 425 miles of wire, over 500 transformers and over 1,500 fallen trees on power lines. The Augusta area represented a significant share of such destruction.
With that background, it was understandably prudent and sensitive of Fred Ridley, Jr., chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, to promptly deflect attention away
from the iconic golf course and tournament and to focus concern for the community and its recovery.
In a brief statement issued by the club on September 28, Ridley said: “Our Augusta community has suffered catastrophic and historic impact from Hurricane Helene. We currently are assessing the effects at Augusta National Golf Club. In the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our staff, neighbors and business owners in Augusta. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well as everyone throughout Georgia and the Southeast who have been affected.” No details were provided about any dire effects to the property.
Given the worldwide appeal of the Masters, it was inevitable that some information, however sparse, about Augusta National and any storm damage incurred would be posted online by those outside the gates of the storied club. On the same day as Ridley’s statement, video footage from a drone appeared on YouTube, depicting extensive damage and fallen trees on Magnolia Lane, the famed canopy entrance to Augusta National. Later, a photo was posted from Eureka Earth, showing more tree damage in one of the club’s perimeter and Masters tournament parking lots.
Other than those postings, little was known or shared at the time – but an Oct. 25 Sports Illustrated story indicated damage to the 16th green from fallen trees.
From attending and covering the Masters for 38 years, I learned from one trusted source (who requested anonymity) that “the storm
crushed Augusta National with hundreds if not thousands of trees on the ground, many snapped into pieces.” This person also shared a screenshot of a photo of the 11th green “blown up” by the raging waters and flooding of Rae’s Creek. The damage shown was massive and daunting. The source said the neighboring Augusta Country Club was also “crushed” by Helene. Heavy rains which preceded the 85 mph winds softened the soil and made trees, especially pines, vulnerable to Helene’s fury.
With added poignancy, alarming images were received of the person’s home, ravaged by the storm.
“We got hit hard, but we are alive. We got lucky. But the decimations are beyond belief,” he said.
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I also contacted the Augusta homeowner whose house I and others have rented many years during Masters week. In a text, he shared the following:
“We stayed with a friend in Atlanta for 11 days mainly due to lack of power and water. We were very fortunate. Most of Augusta got little warning as the storm was directly headed toward Atlanta. So, we finally fell asleep at 4 am (with no great damage) but by 6 am we awakened and it was surreal. The storm made a right turn and made a direct hit on our area
(Forest Hills) being the center. Parts of town are unrecognizable, Walton Way especially.”
Weeks have passed since Helene pounded Augusta and a large swath of the South. In the six-state area of Helene’s cruel path, more than 250 people (as of Oct. 14) were killed, making it the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005. Remarkably, Augusta is not only getting back on its feet but is running again albeit with a noticeable limp. Despite the ongoing recovery work that will take months to fully complete, power, water and other utilities have been restored, schools and businesses are open, and major roads, streets, and neighborhoods are being cleared of mountains of debris.
Such herculean recovery endeavors by the public and private sectors, spirited volunteerism, and financial contributions by the Augusta community including Augusta National, the Masters, and an area foundation for their $5 million donation to local relief efforts have been inspiring and noble. People invariably and instinctively rally and fight back against a calamity and that’s true of the Augusta community.
So yes, Augusta the home of the Masters is slowly returning to normal. Given its sizable resources and relentless determination, Augusta National will undoubtedly appear whole and
pristine come April when the tournament is held.
But Hurricane Helene was a heartless reminder of life’s fragility, where golf, even a quintessential major championship, was humbly assigned to stand in a long line behind more urgent needs.
By all odds, he really shouldn’t be alive today –but, oh man, is he ever living – and more importantly he’s showing others they too can live well under dire circumstances.
Back in March, Kendall was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Dozens of tumors were found in multiple areas of his body, including his throat, lungs and brain. He told friends that his round of golf in Florida on February 1 was his last. Some looked at him like he was crazy and told him – in a sense – that he still needed golf, and golf needed him.
Like the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame golfer and instructor he is, Kendall has been applying the life lessons he’s given to so many students over the years, to himself.
Understandably things didn’t look good. Kendall was told most people with his types of cancer die within two months of diagnosis.
Living just eight months would be about normal. Going a year is reserved for just 25 percent. Here in early November, it’s been 8 months. This month is his and wife Karen’s wedding anniversary.
Kendall credits golf, family and friends with earning all the extra time. And with the added time – after some surgeries and chemotherapy and slowly recovering by walking a few miles a day – he worked his way back to playing golf several times a week. His first round back on course was nine holes on July 10. Slowly but surely, he’s added distance to his daily walks, added holes and yardage distance to his golf rounds – and this fall, he’s had more fun and success at golf than some people do in a lifetime.
Kendall recorded his 11th career hole-in-one in September (his first came at age 17 when skipping school in Jackson so he couldn’t brag about it). Then on Oct. 3, shot his age of 69 from the white tees at Washtenaw Golf Club, where he is the lead owner.
“What I learned from golf was to not set unrealistic expectations – because people who do expect to win when they never have before, or to finish second when they’ve never finished in the top 20. It’s unrealistic,” Kendall told me in late August at Washtenaw, which turned 125 years old this year and is one of the oldest courses in Michigan. “You should try to finish 18th. Then if you accomplish it, or exceed that, you’re happy and you get to celebrate – but if you’re always disappointed, it doesn’t build confidence, and a person can’t be a champion without being confident.
“So, if you continue to chip away and make the little gains, it adds up to something. It’s about the road it takes to get there. You don’t get from here to there,” he said while pointing to a line on the table, “ you go from here to here, then to here,” tapping his finger further down the line.
God willing, Kendall turns 70 in January and wife, Karen, has a birthday in February. “And if we make it to those, it’s another thing to celebrate,” he said. “And then we’ll try to make our granddaughter’ s fourth birthday, that’s a lot
of fun. So, I said this to my Oncologist, and she said she hadn’t heard it put that way before, but she thinks that’s perfect.”
Kendall’s life has been dedicated to teaching the game, from beginners to fine-tuning the skills of very talented golfers. His Kendall Academy in Ypsilanti – housed at Miles of Golf – is always abuzz with students, and with multiple teachers he’s taught how to teach. Kendall Academy is nationally ranked, but any student of his will tell you Dave’s as much about the life lessons he teaches outside of the golf stroke.
“I can’t think of anyone who goes through what Dave is experiencing and would handle it the way he does,” said Miles of Golf owner, Chris Mile. “He knows he does not have a long life, but he is grateful for his past and the future time he has, and is clearly not depressed. His life has been like a really wonderful round of golf.”
MSU men’s golf coach Casey Lubahn told me: “I’m a monster fan of Dave professionally and personally, so I’m not surprised at all by him handling this situation in the same way he has always lived.”
While at a recent event, a long-time golf industry rep said to me, “Dave is absolutely the nicest person I have ever known.”
As he taught golf the last several decades, Kendall has had a heck of a competitive golf career as well, especially as a senior – including two Michigan Senior Open titles and one Michigan Senior PGA Championship.
He’s also had 11 holes-in-one including six in competition and three double-eagles. The first ace for Kendall, growing up in Jackson, came when he was 17, in 1972. Problem was, he skipped school to play golf that day, so he couldn’t even tell his parents.
Kendall admitted that other friends and family connections have died as early as age 30 from cancer, “and I
think they got a bad deal. But I’ve lived to be almost 70, and I think, ‘ wow, that’s really lucky.’ So, I’m not sad at all. I’m grateful.
“Through this (cancer) journey, the encouragement I have received is a blessing. It made me want try harder,” he said. “I believe that if walking and playing golf causes me to live one week or one month longer, it will be worth doing it every day.
“I thought if I could break 40 for nine holes from the Senior tees, before the end of the year, would be a good goal,” he said about the July 10 ‘restart.’
“I was able to do that within a month. I started to get a little stronger every week. In September, on
each 9, I started playing 6 holes from the White Tees and 3 holes from the Senior tees. I decided I would play the Course that way until I shot under par, or better yet, until I shoot my age (69).”
When he accomplished that incredible feat, he shot 35 on the front nine at Washtenaw.
On the back 9 he birdied the first two holes and was 3-under.
“I had shot my age several times since I turned 67, but not since all of my health issues,” Kendall said as his story continued. “On my 13 hole, after a perfect drive I hit a poor 2nd shot and made a bogey. It was a nervous swing. It felt like the nerves I have had when trying to win a big tournament. I now have four holes to go and have to play 1under the rest of the way. The next three holes I have very good putts at birdie, but missed. Now on the last hole, I have about 12 feet for birdie. It was exactly like trying to make a big putt to win. I made it! I was able to accomplish my comeback.”
Yet by no means is Kendall finished.
“I was thrilled to be able to feel what it feels like to win again,” he exclaimed. “I am so glad that I decided to make playing golf a big part of my physical therapy. I never dreamed that I could ever experience the adrenaline that attracted me to competitive golf many years ago.
“I am so glad that I did not believe that because I have a terminal cancer diagnosis, that my life is over and to just sit around and wait for the inevitable. Golf continues to teach me so much, and my friends and family would not let me quit trying to do my best, every day.”
That is Kendall’s lesson to everyone – even if it’s his very last one.
Record-Setting Scott Hebert Claims
Record-Setting Scott Hebert Claims
3rd Michigan PGA Match Play
3rd Michigan PGA Match Play
Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club won the Michigan PGA Match Play Championship for the third time, and in the process set a record for the most major championship wins in Michigan Section PGA history.
Leo Daigle of Wixom and Lori Schlicher of Lewiston closed out the golf season with wins in the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions presented by BOYNE Golf at Oakhurst Golf & Country Club.
The 55-year-old head professional made five birdies in 14 holes and topped Scott Cook of The Mines Golf Club in Ada, 5 and 4, in the championship match at Eagle Eye Golf Club.
It was a record 18th Michigan Section major title for Hebert, breaking a tie at 17 titles with fellow Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy. In addition to his three Match Play wins, Hebert counts eight Michigan PGA Professional Championship titles, six Michigan Open Championship titles and a Tournament of Champions win, too.
“I’ve had a decent summer, had a chance at the (Michigan PGA Professional Championship) in Benton Harbor, and I was disappointed that I had to withdraw from the Michigan Open with a work commitment,” said Hebert. “I was playing well then. But hey, it’s nice to finish out the year with one. As you say, it’s been a minute.”
Daigle, the Michigan Publinx Senior Match Play champion earlier this summer and a recent runner-up in the GAM Senior Championship, shot a 1-under 71 to edge a tightly packed top of the leaderboard in the men’s field.
“It was a battle,” he said. “It helped that I’ve played here in the past quite a few times, so I knew what to expect.”
Schlicher, a Garland Lodge & Golf Resort member and the recent Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur champion for the second consecutive year, shot a 74 to pull away and top the senior women’s field.
“I had kind of a rough start on the greens with a few three-putts, and then I kind of got it going,” she said. “I did have three birdies once I got used to the greens, which helped a lot.”
GAM Junior Invitational GAM Junior Invitational
Adam Thanaporn of Ann Arbor won his first GAM tournament and Alena Li won for the third time this year in the 12th GAM Junior Invitational Championship, at MSU’s Forest Akers West course.
Thanaporn, 17 and a senior at Ann Arbor Huron
GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship Championship
Grant Bruce of Birmingham and Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak made an alternate-shot par on the 4th hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the 15th GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Finals presented by Shanty Creek Resort at Oakland Hills Country Club.
High School, shot a final-round 3-under 69 and pulled away from the boys’ field to win by five shots.
Li, 16 and a senior at Okemos High School, shot a 74 in the final round and topped the girls’ field by six shots.
In the 15-and-under age group competitions, Saisha Patil of Okemos topped the girls for the second consecutive year in the season-ending tournament, and Parker Westcott of Manchester won his first GAM title. Patil shot a final 77 and pulled away to win by seven shots, and Westcott shot 74 and won by two shots.
The junior golfers in the field were invited by the GAM based on performances in GAM championships and a variety of other state and national competitions.
Club members teamed up to win the popular championship that started in May with three qualifiers and 139 teams featuring a senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed with a mid-amateur golfer (25-and-over.) The duo also won in 2019.
Eight teams played in the championship finals on the North course at Oakland Hills with Bruce and Coriasso shooting a 1-under 69 and tying with Mitchell Wayne and JJ Modell of Bloomfield Hills in regulation play (nine holes of four-ball or best-ball and nine holes of foursomes or alternate shot).
“We played very well, solid all day,” Bruce said. “We had a couple hiccups, but not much.”
Coriasso said they never really struggled. “I can’t think of a hole where we were really in trouble, and we played the alternate shot well, and that’s what is the decider in these things.”
TOURNAMENT NEWS AND NOTES
GAM Team Rides Four-Ball Success
to GAM Team Rides Four-Ball Success to Victory in 52nd Fuller Cup Matches Victory in 52nd Fuller Cup Matches
The Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) team built a 5-1 lead over the Michigan Section PGA team in morning four-ball matches to take control early and eventually won 11.5-6.5 in the 52nd Fuller Cup Matches held at Blythefield Country Club.
Top amateur golfers representing the GAM and top professionals representing the PGA squared off in a Ryder Cup-like format with six four-ball matches and 12 singles matches to determine a winning team. The GAM, which has won six times in the last seven years, still trails in the historic series, 36-14-2. The PGA dominated the matches in the first three decades of play.
The GAM won both sessions, four-ball 51, and singles 6.5-5.5.
Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak, Joe Montpas of Flushing, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake and Ferris State University, and Drew Coble of Lake Orion and Grand Valley State University won four-ball points with their partners and also won singles matches to lead the GAM victory.
Veterans Shine in League Veterans Shine in League
State Tournament State Tournament
Golfers from four different Military Golf Leagues from across Michigan gathered at American Dunes in late September to play their own state tournament.
General manager Doug Bell shared that four teams each from Grand Rapids, Gaylord, Ludington and Great Lakes Bay played in the 2-person team scramble, with handicaps, and they had a perfect CAVU day with calm winds to enjoy the course.
“The fortunate winning team plays out of Pilgrim’s Run Golf Course and represents Grand Rapids,” Bell said. “This wonderful group of veterans and the staff at Pilgrim’s Run also collected and donated $5,200 to Folds of Honor at the end of their season long league.”
Pilgrim’s Run head pro Michael Rey started the veterans-based leagues state tournament. This was year two.
“We see the need for this because there are a lot of people who struggle with PTSD and other syndromes and they want to play with likepeople and be able to open up and tell their stories,” Rey said. “I wanted to make sure these players had a place to go with like people. If they
tell me the issues they are having, I don’t know how to respond to that because I don’t know what they faced (while serving). But if they can confide in other Veterans, they’ll be able to help in a certain way (that I can’t).”
Rey admitted they are hoping for more leagues from around the state to get started. “We have a good system on how to run it and we’re looking for others to jump on board.”
At Pilgrim’s Run in the summerlong league, Veterans green fees are covered by the course’s Military Mulligans Campaign found on the first tee box. Anyone who takes a mulligan can donate to the Veteran’s League, any amount. Future funding options will help pay for golf equipment for Veterans, especially those participating in the PGA HOPE program.
MILITARY AND GOLF
SSaintJohn’sResort aintJohn’sResort
Metro Detroit Hosted Huge National Metro Detroit Hosted Huge National Guard Golf Outings Guard Golf Outings
By Janina Jacobs By Janina Jacobs
The National Guard always stands ready to serve, so when they called upon the Michigan golf community to assist in their largest annual event, there was no hesitation.
In August 2024, over 7,000 Guardsmen and women arrived in downtown Detroit for their combined national conventions – new to the Motor City and the first one ever held with back to back conventions in the same city. Normally, the gatherings are a week apart and in different locales, the first week serves Enlisted (EANGUS), the second is for officers and sponsors (NGAUS). In between, two highly anticipated golf outings are scheduled.
Four years prior to the Detroit event, NGAM Executive Director Jeff Frisby gave the Detroit Committee marching orders: “Most people attending have never been to Michigan and don’t know what great golf we have here. I want to wow them!”
Wowed and awed they were.
Perfect weather and course conditions
greeted players at The Cardinal, the sensational new course at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, and the majestic Pine Knob GC in Clarkston. Both venues impressed and challenged the 216 golfers .….with many more on the waiting list because the buzz of what awaited golfers in Detroit preceded the convention.
Pulte Family Charitable Foundation (Saint John’s ownership group) COO Kevin Doyle said, “It was a true honor for us to host the NGAUS Sponsors golf. As one of our three 'Humanitarian Hotels,' we strive to use this property to make the world a better place. Providing some of this nation’s bravest leaders the opportunity to experience our renowned facility was both a privilege and a meaningful way to give back.”
Pine Knob is a Michigan classic, and ownermanager Nino Catenacci personally escorted sponsors around the 27-hole facility, known for its forested and dramatic elevations and vistas as well as the Mansion-style clubhouse….in Rolls-Royce golf carts, no less.
Other Michigan helpers added to this grand Guard experience. GAM Executive Director Chris Whitten offered the use of Golf Genius to facilitate an orderly Registration process, no small challenge when thousands across 50
states and four territories contemplate sign-up.
Guardsmen and women do get some financial assistance to attend these conventions, but the golf is on their own. Both courses made the day affordable. Add to that, Carl’s Golfland – on premise at Saint John’s – and XXIO generously donated over 40 rental sets of clubs for use by the golfers to erase the expense and hassle of airline baggage issues and fees. A huge box of slightly used top quality golf balls were there for the taking at the Registration table, to assist with golf balls gone AWOL.
Next year, NGAUS visits Wisconsin and planning staffers now have numerous takeaways from Detroit to ensure success of the 2025 outing. They’ll find out if Wisconsin is up to the task of matching Michigan’s great golf.
Youth on Course Youth on Course
Continues Growth Continues Growth
The GAM Foundation’s support and promotion of the growth of youth golf opportunities can only strengthen the future of the game we love.
GAM hosted its final 100 Hole Hike events in October at three different locations, with the final tally for the fundraising initiative at more than $20,000.
One hundred percent of money raised from all sorts of Youth on Course fundraisers supports YOC member junior golfers, ages 6-18, as they pay $5 or less at participating facilities. Your donation makes it possible for public golf courses to offer this rate as a YOC participating club. A donation as small as $25 can underwrite a single YOC member for the entire year.
Youth on Course Michigan has seen incredible growth this year. More than 11,500 Michigan members have played over 45,000 rounds of golf. Over 100 public golf courses in Michigan welcome Youth on Course members to play for $5 or less. Special thanks go out to the NEW participating courses this year:
Saint John’s Resort, The Little Cardinal - Plymouth
Bay City Country Club - Bay City
Bay County Golf Course - Essexville
Cheboygan Golf & Country ClubCheboygan
County Line Golf Course - Reese
Double RR Ranch - Belding
Ferris State, Katke Golf Course - Big Rapids
Heather Highlands Golf CourseHolly
Lake O' The Hills - Haslett
Links at Whitmore Lake - Whitmore Lake
Maple Leaf Golf Course - Linwood
Northwood Family Traditions Golf Course - Fremont
Pine View Golf Course - Ypsilanti
Shanty Creek Resort (all courses)Bellaire
Taylor Meadows Golf Course
Twin Brooks Golf Course
100 Years: Sharp Park in Jackson 100 Years: Sharp Park in Jackson
By Tom Lang By Tom Lang
One of a half dozen Michigan golf courses that turned 100 years old in 2024 includes Sharp Park Golf Course in Jackson. It was the starting grounds for virtually every player in the community, including three men who recorded several PGA Tour victories – brothers Dave and Mike Hill, plus Brian Stuard.
“When you think of golf in Jackson, one of the places you think of is Sharp Park,” said Stuard, winner of the 2016 Zurich Classic in New Orleans that put him in the 2017 Masters. “I have some great memories of winning the Junior City Championship at Sharp Park. It was always such a fun place to play.”
I built my own memory there in September, one week after playing at the fabled American Dunes in Grand Haven. The comment I shared with my random playing partner at Sharp Park
was that while the two courses were polaropposites in style, size and persona, I had fun at both.
Sharp Park is a fairly-typical municipal course, in that many of them around the country are inside city limits, are land-locked and thus, a shorter parkland style. The Jackson land has some nice gentle rolls to it, enough to even create a handful of unexpected blind shots.
My favorite back-to-back holes are 12-13. Hole 12 is a long par 4, made longer and more memorable by a well elevated green. My best summation is the large green sits 40-50 feet above the fairway.
After being happy with a bogey there, golfers move on to the short par 3 blind shot hole 13 –blind because the entire green complex sits in a bowl below the fairway run up where an extended flagstick barely shows from the tee the tippy top of the flag.
3rdHole
The green complexes are not overrun with sand traps. Most holes have only one trap to avoid (seven holes have two traps). This makes for a less egregious golfing environment, but they’re still nice deterrents that require some accuracy for scoring success. Several greens have run-off slopes on the sides and back that demand precision on approach as well.
The only water on the course sits right of the 2nd green and in
front of No. 8’s back and middle tees. Each fairway also has a junior tee. Translation: this is a good course for those learning the game, while still testing good players.
There is a good mix of long, average and short par fours – the latter being short enough for some to try driving the green. But beware, as mis-hits will be penalized.
A very nice surprise for playing an affordable muni that is a good walk, is that their power carts have a nice GPS system. Not topof-the-line luxury, but still very useable and helpful.
The clubhouse is a classic style, with an older home first on the property serving as the main core. Extensions made to the building since then are architecturally tactful and cool. The Tom Bendelow design has
barely been modified over the years, but at least three greens were moved in the past couple decades in an effort to give more space from possible wayward golfers’ shots. The course is designed as you would expect for Bendelow’s era a century ago –and it still holds its own as a classic.
Michigan’s Michigan’s Miss Golf: Miss Golf: Alena Li Alena Li
Tom Lang Tom Lang
With the high school season she had this fall, Alena Li of Okemos is a slam dunk choice as the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association pick for Miss Golf 2024.
Li, still only 16-years-old but a senior at Okemos High after skipping 8th grade, ran the table during the season, winning every 18hole tournament she played in, from the start of the season to the Division 1 state championship – 11 events in all.
“I haven’t seen a more worthy winner in recent years than Alena was this year; incredible year,” said Okemos coach Dan Stolz. “She’s such a good example of how to conduct your business and how to be great. People say these things often but it’s true that she’s the first one there and the last one to leave. And she’s so humble and hard working. She deserves everything she’s getting.”
Most golfers are ecstatic to drop a few strokes off their scores from one season to the next, and at the high school level, that’s more often from an 85 to an 82. Li went from 71.75 last year to 68.6 this fall. Li’s worst score of the season was a 74, and she shot 64 on three different occasions, one of those when winning the Div. 1 regional.
“There isn’t a single (teammate) that’s one iota jealous of the accolades she gets because they just know how good she is and how muchbetter she is than they are, and how kind and humble she is,” Stolz added. “You have to dig it out of her to find out anything of what she’s done. She’s just super humble and a kid I’m really proud of. I think she had her most fun this year than any other.”
Although not part of the Miss Golf voting, Li blitz the summer junior schedule with Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) wins. She won the Michigan Junior Girls’ State Amateur title, and the GAM Girls’ Championship, before her recent victory at the GAM Junior Invitational.
She won the latter with a 74 at MSU’s Forest Akers West Course, home of the Spartan golf teams, for a six-stroke winning margin.
MHSAA High School Finals Results: MHSAA High School Finals Results:
Division1
Northville won four consecutive team titles in 20018-21, then won again this fall for five titles in the last seven years.
Northville senior Sanya Singhal, sophomore Naaz Gill, and freshmen McKenzie Stevens and Cam Baker were mirroring each other for Northville. In rounds one and two, Singhal, Stevens, and Baker shot 80-82, respectively, while Gill went 82-80 in that order over the two days.
Okemos senior Alena Li won as medalist with a two-day 73-73-146.
“I think winning some tournaments in the summer gave me a lot of confidence coming into the high school season,” she said. “I was really confident with my game, and I was feeling good and it’s super exciting to win states for my senior season.”
Division3
Medalist Lillian O’Grady of Grand Rapids Christian was the only golfer under par (-2) during the final round at Bedford Valley. She closed out a 145 (75-70) for a ninestroke win over second place Averie Pumford of Freeland.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central defended its state championship from 2023 by finishing with a two-day total of 652, well ahead of runner up Detroit Country Day, which had 717 strokes. Williamston, the team runner-up last year, recorded a 722 for third place.
Division4
Traverse City St. Francis senior Grace Slocum, a Wisconsin commit, slam dunked an approach shot from 40 yards to eagle the 6th hole, on her way to winning the state title. She shot 75-69-144.
Division2
Farmington Hills Mercy completed a three-peat as the Marlins fended off a late comeback from runner-up Dexter to win by five strokes with a two-day total of 677.
Speaking of Dexter, junior Avery Manning claimed the medalist honor with a 1under-par 141. She finished ahead of Spring Lake’s Zoe Dull, who shot 146.
Kalamazoo Christian won its first ever girls’ golf title when senior Jordyn Bonnema led her team with a two-day score of 157 (78-79) to place 4th individually.
