The cover story is about the major developing news on the sale of Fox Hills Golf and Banquet Center, after almost 50 years of family ownership in western Wayne County. We share its deep history and new future starting on Page 8. We’ll also share feature stories about Junior golfers on the topics of First Tee and Youth on Course, and how the adults in their lives can support both. There is also Michigan News and Notes, and lots of August state tournament wrap ups to discover. Thanks for joining us during each month on our golfing adventures. TomLang EditorandPublisher Page18
MI GOLF JOURNAL What's Inside: Page8 Page34
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Editor’s Letter
Please say it isn’t so … the end of golf season in the Great Lakes will be here before we know it. Yet there is still a bunch of time left to get in several more rounds. I myself will be headed to Boyne and to Mackinac Island soon for some fall golf to bring you some pretty cool golf and travel information in near future magazines. Inthemeantime,it’sbacktocollege. In this edition we bring you an entertaining golf Q&A with MSUFootballcoachMelTucker – plus 10 pages of college golf team previews and tournaments news. Get out your reading glasses all you college alumni and fans.
Maybank is looking forward to meeting more PGA Tour pros as they mingle at the President’s Cup event for a couple days. He hasn’t met very many Tour pros so far, but he’s been to Augusta National a lot more than most pros have three times in the Drive, Chip and Putt finals. He did a Golf Channel promo for the Drive, Chip and Putt with Rickie Fowler and Tommy Fleetwood several years ago and met others when he won DCP at age 12. Calling it the highest honor in team golf for Junior players, PJ Maybank arguably the best high school aged player in Michigan – has earned his way onto the PGA of America’s Junior President’s Cup team. Former PGA Tour player Notah Begay III will be the captain – and he’s been texting Maybank.
representing the USA and all non European countries. In 2022 Maybank’s had two top 5s and two more top 10s in AJGA events, which is the point system for Junior President’s Cup. Maybank trains in Florida in the winter but gives his Michigan golf experiences a huge thank you. “Grinding in the wintertime in Michigan before I started going south, that had a huge effect on my play,” he said. “It’s helped me in bad weather tournaments; in fact, a lot of the tournaments I’ve won over the years have been in horrible weather. So, growing up in cold weather helped me.”
Cheboygan’s PJ Maybank To Represent USA in Junior President’s Cup
Maybank was voted Mr. Golf in 2021 as a sophomore at Cheboygan High but did not compete this past spring season in the MHSAA, so he could travel and play national events. He is skipping high school golf again this coming spring, while enrolled online as a senior. He previously committed to the University of Oklahoma. “It’s been a goal of mine for quite some time,” Maybank said about the Junior team. “I think it’s the most prestigious team you can make in Junior golf, besides the Jr. Ryder Cup, which is basically the same and alternates different years, of course. It’s the biggest thing you can do in Junior golf and I always wanted to represent my country.” The match-play 54-hole tournament while consist of alternate shot, foursomes and singles play and will be contested at Myers Park CC, on Sept. 19 20, a few miles from Quail Hollow, where the ‘big boys’ will battle it out
J3 R. PRESIDENT’S CUP
ByTomLang
For Jorge Garcia, his first foray into golf was playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 on PlayStation 2 when he was in elementary school. For younger brother Nicholas, it was a partnership between school and First Tee West
full-ride room and board scholarship through the prestigious Evans Scholarship caddie program making him the first in his family to attend college.
Brothers Finding Growth and Success –
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FirstTeeWestMichiganbuildsgamechangerslike JorgeandNicholasGarcia
On the Links, in the Classroom and in Life Michigan that initially drew his interest. While he wasn’t so sure he’d like golf, Nicholas told his mother about it, and she signed him up for the free classes. Jorge later decided to sign up for classes as well. To say both boys caught the golf bug is an understatement. Soon after participating in the school partnership, mom Maria signed up her boys for First Tee six week class sessions at the $5 scholarship rate. After more than five years in First Tee, Jorge just started his third year at the University of Michigan on a
Meanwhile, Nicholas, who just began his junior year at Wyoming High School, is on track to hopefully receive the same game and life changing scholarship. Jorge and Nicholas are second-generation immigrants from Mexico. The affordability of the First Tee program provided their initial experience on a golf course, swinging a club, and learning the rules and etiquette of the game. With a rapidly growing interest in the game, coupled with hard work and intelligence, First Tee connected Jorge with caddie opportunities at Kent Country Club. After two years of looping at Kent CC, Jorge ascended to the highest level in First Tee while playing three years of high school varsity golf. To top it off, he held exemplary grades. In order to be considered for the Evans Scholarship, however, Jorge needed help to reach the required amount of caddie loops. Through a game plan hatched that spring by First Tee, along with a network of Kent CC members, Jorge was able to get enough loops that summer to give him a chance at the Evans scholarship. Jorge and his mother, Maria, then met with the executive director of First Tee every other week to ensure his application for the Evans Scholarship was the best it could be. “Perseverance was a skill I learned through First Tee that’s come in handy during my first THE FIRST TEE two years at U M,” admitted Jorge. “I learned quickly in my first semester that college would be a lot harder and more work than high school, but I had the fortitude to persevere and succeed.”
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Taking a similar journey, Nicholas is a member of the varsity golf team and in the Eagle level at First Tee. Just like his big brother, Nicholas began his caddie career at Kent CC. He’s participated in First Tee since he as 8 years old, including four years on their PGA Junior League Team. Earlier this year, Nicholas applied, interviewed, and was accepted to Sankaty Head Caddie Camp on Nantucket. He just returned from a summer staying in the caddie barracks on the island, making money by walking loops up to 36 hole a day. Back in Michigan, Nicholas wants to be a looper again next summer and follow in Jorge’s footsteps by earning an Evans Scholarship upon graduation. “First Tee has had a very big impact on my life,” Nicholas said, while enjoying island life. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for the life lessons I’ve learned. First Tee has helped me mature into a good person.” Maria agrees. “While I don’t play golf myself, I immediately saw the benefit of First Tee by instilling in my boys core values both in life and in school. First Tee gives lots of opportunities, not just in golf.” Learn more about how First Tee empowers kids and teens through the game of golf.
Sandy, who had planned to go to nursing school, lived in a house that once stood near the original, still used today, log cabin clubhouse. “I would literally stay in my home until I saw a golfer pull up,” Sandy told me several years ago in an early example of their bedrock principle of customer service. “I’d walk with him to the clubhouse, take his green fees, serve him his coffee. After a couple hours I could go back then to make him his hot dog and pop (at the turn), go back home, then watch until he finished and walk him back to his car.”
TheFamilyLegacy:
Fox FHills: ox Hills: A Legacy AReborn Legacy Reborn
Fox Hills began very small and intimate in its early days when Kathy and Sandy’s parents, Al and Estelle Dul, in 1974 purchased the former Fox Hills Country Club (est. 1927).
FOX HILLS THEN AND 8NOW
ByTomLang Sisters Kathy Dul Aznavorian and Sandy Dul Mily never had grand visions of operating the largest and perhaps busiest golf facility in metro Detroit. And now they no longer do, as retirement came calling. After owning and managing Fox Hills Golf and Banquet Center as a family for nearly 50 years, building it piece by piece to its current fullblown glory, the pioneering sisters have sold Fox Hills Golf and Banquet Center to the Heritage Golf Group. Based in Arlington, VA, its portfolio includes a collection of nearly two dozen golf courses ranging from Illinois and now Michigan, to New Jersey, Virginia, Missouri, the Carolinas and Florida. We’llget intomoredetailsonHeritageGolfGroup’splansin upcomingpages.
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So, after obtaining 250 acres from three farmers on their western property line in the late 1980s, the sisters hired designer Arthur Hills. “Art Hills comes in and looks at it and is just getting more excited by the minute,” Sandy once told me. “That was the time links style courses started to pop up (more prominently).”
More than 48 years later, the Fox Hills property in Plymouth has grown like no other in metro Detroit, totaling 63 holes, three clubhouses, three wedding venues including a more recent outdoor covered option, two driving ranges, short game area and the year round Performance Center. Kathy recently said their parents purchased Fox Hills while in their 60s. “So, they obviously weren’t buying it for themselves, they were buying it to give us an opportunity to run a business long term. “And all the stars were in a line. It seemed like Fox Hills was out in the boonies at the time,” she continued. “But the demographics were in our favor as the population continued to move out west (of metro Detroit) and we were blessed with the timing then, when golf was going great guns in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.”
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By the early 1980s, there were already wait times of 45 minutes or more at the first tee of Fox Classic, so Sandy suggested to their late father, Al, a builder by trade, a third nine holes needed to be developed. The expansion now comprises the Hills, the Woodlands and the FoxClassic
Sandy would grill up for large groups, wait times at the first tee were again 45 minutes or more. Time for another golf course, of course.
Lakes courses. Each are appropriately named for the type of land a golfer will find, and a perfect for hosting high school teams. With more golf growth and the steak dinners
KathyandSandybeforearoundofgolf
GoldenFoxHole13
The sisters noted that back in the 1990s golf courses were getting a bad rap for chemicals going into water ways and other similar situations. “Even the kid’s magazine ‘Ranger term rarely heard before in the 1980s: Upscale Public Golf. Many in the golf industry credit the sisters for being pioneers in providing that type of improved golf environment to the average public player.
TheresultwasGoldenFox, a championship level course that eventually became the 2002 National Golf Course of the Year named by the National Golf Course Owners Assoc.
WeshouldnotetheirmotherEstelle,began workinginfactoriesatage17,eventually buildingacareerinindustryastheowneroftwo manufacturingplants.Oneshestartedin1954is stillfamilyoperatedtodayinPlymouth.
Soon, Fox Hills became a prominent regional venue for weddings, their famous Sunday Brunch, corporate meetings, charity outings and league play and it remains so today. “But we went against our mother’s best advice,” Kathy said. “She found
“We probably would never win course of the year on glamour, like a Bay Harbor, because we’re not that kind of a course sitting on Lake Michigan,” Kathy noted. “But the honor of it for our management, the community work, and our environmental development was wonderful recognition from our peers. “There was a little rolling land and a small forest that runs through the property,” Kathy added. “Arthur Hills integrated that line of trees very nicely. I thought he did a fabulous job with it.”
FOX HILLS THEN AND 1NOW 0
A simultaneous move was hiring an architect out of Chicago to design a beautiful country club style clubhouse that helped launch an industry out we were getting a loan through the bank and she was beside herself. She did not trust bankers and did not want us to have money owed. Fortunately, we caught golf on the upswing, and we were able to pay that loan back in a short amount of time.”
DespiteGolfDownturns, ProgressisNotDoneYet:
Rick’ was vilifying the golf industry,” Kathy said. Soon after, they heard about the efforts of Audubon International helping educate golf courses to become the nature sanctuaries that many of us take for granted today. The sisters studied books about how to keep water on a course cleaner. They created buffer zones, added bird boxes and more. Their Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification is as proud of an effort to the sisters as the national course award they received. There are always economic ups and downs in golf, but the two most crippling were the events of 9/11 and the following hit on the Michigan auto industry, plus the 2008 recession from the national real estate mortgage collapses. “Golf was really down then, and we asked ourselves what can we do to build our golfers,
because if we don’t build up these young kids and get them excited about golf, we’re not going to have a golfer down the road,” Kathy said. Such thoughts drove the development of the Strategic Fox an 18 hole par 3 course with holes of wide-ranging lengths to test all clubs and the Fox Hills Learning Center. Both are located on a former corn field they rented out to a local famer. Strategic Fox which also offers FootGolf receives wonderful praise as a place kids can learn the game right alongside mom and dad, where advanced golfers can practice their short game and the Learning Center offers top PGA teachers for kid’s programs, adults and even wounded Veterans. The Performance Center building at 6,900 square feet offers six indoor bays for teaching, equipped with stateof the art technology. Programs include V1 Analysis software, TrackMan, FlightScope, SAM Putting Studio, and BodiTrak Performance Pad. It’s open year round. There is a huge outdoor range and chipping greens as well. “Kathy Aznavorian and Sandy Mily are trendsetters in many ways. Building Fox Hills throughout the decades elevated public golf courses and what they mean to the communities that surround them,” said Jada Paisley, director of the Michigan Golf Course Association. Brian Cairns, one of the award winning teachers at the Performance Center who has guided 2021 U.S. Amateur Champion James
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“The legacy of the Fox Hills sisters not only includes adding to and building a 63-hole golf facility, but building learning centers to instruct and help golfers,” he said. “There is no facility like it in the Midwest, and all done with the sisters’ vision of what public golf on a higher level should be. They should be heralded for their leadership within the golf course owners, not just in Michigan but throughout the country.”
“Heritage Golf Group just felt like a perfect fit,” Kathy said. “They are not too big, but they have the resources. They have good management experience, so it was like, ‘oh, they’ll make Fox Hills even better than we did,’ and they want to keep most of our staff, which of course is important to us that they all have a place to be, and not feel like we’ve ditched them. Those are some of the things that entered into our decision.”
“Our goal is to continue with business as usual, and we hope to offer the same great experiences that the sisters have been offering for so many years,” Heritage COO Jim Oliver told me recently. “It’s not on the drawing board to turn it private.” Oliver said they look at each property individually. Some are private, residential or lifestyle communities. Other are semi private and Fox Hills is one example of their goal to include in their handful of high end public properties. In the last 2.5 years, Heritage has grown from six to 23 golf properties.
FOX HILLS THEN AND 1NOW 2
The announcement of the sale of Fox Hills to the Heritage Golf Group a golf focused team based in Virginia just outside Washington, DC sent small shockwaves across western Wayne County and the Michigan golf industry when the news came out, so it was understandable for the sisters to get questions from the golfing public. A big one was ‘why Heritage?’ Both sisters studied their selling options well in advance once they knew retirement was coming. two dozen properties around the eastern half of America are private golf clubs and would Fox Hills follow a similar path? From what I saw on a recent Wednesday evening tells me going private would be detrimental. The parking lots at the Learning Center, the
TheNextStepsfor HeritageGolfGroup
The big question asked about Heritage seems focused on the fact that many of their almost Golden Fox and Fox Classic are large, yet were overflowing into the street.
Piot since he arrived at Fox Hills in elementary school, could only praise the efforts at Fox Hills.
Oliver who positively acknowledge what a golf crazy state Michigan is despite, and maybe because of, a condensed season went on to say that people always ask what Heritage wants to do in Plymouth, where most of the staff is staying on, including Kathy’s son in law Jeff O’Brien as general manager.
“We are committed to continuing the quality experience that’s been provided for years, and we’ll listen to the customers and to our employees and where there are opportunities to make improvements, we’ll certainly do that,” Oliver said. “That’s really what we do when we purchase properties, we’re always looking at how we can make them better, whether it’s in technology or capital improvement; how we can make the experience better and we’ll do that here in Michigan as well. “It’s a special place and making any improvements will be a tall order.”
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"In our opinion Fox Hills has a little bit of everything,” Oliver pointed out. “You’ve got entry level golf with the Strategic Fox, and you can upgrade to the Classic golf course, and then when you go to the Golden Fox, it’s a little bit higher end experience. “So, you couple that with a Learning Center that’s really well done … I’m a long time PGA member myself and we always talk about how to grow the game of golf. What’s interesting about Fox Hills is you really can grow the game of golf with all the different levels that are offered, and it allows golfers to ‘graduate’ into different experiences. It’s unique and has a great reputation. Those are things that really drew us to Fox Hills. We are excited to be in the market.”
Youth on Course YAmerican outh on Course American Dunes DExperience unes Experience
ByJaninaParrottJacobs
Four junior golfers from GAM’s Youth on Course (YoC) program were randomly selected to visit Grand Haven’s American Dunes Golf Club last month, discovering exactly how privileged they are to play golf and enjoy the freedoms living in America can provide. “Everything seems surreal. Playing salute to fallen comrades. The YoC players, each allowed two invited guests, were overwhelmed by the entire experience, combining the stunning renovation with unapologetic patriotism. To ensure everyone understood its true meaning, the group entered American Dunes through American Dunes exemplifies my pride of being an American,” said Olivia Ohmer, a multi award winning golfer and scholar and Adrian College sophomore. “My Grandpa GG was a POW while in the Navy during WWII and one of few men on his ship to survive. I grew up with him encouraging me in everything I did. No matter what I’m dealing with on or off the course, it’s nothing compared to what he endured. It’s crazy to think I’m about the same age he was when this happened." Sailor Somerville, a graduate of Lansing Catholic High School, was grateful to share the time with her dad and grandpa. “The day was even better than I expected...listening to Taps while eating lunch was special, or throwing a nickel on the grass after hole 17. This is not normally associated with golf and I’m blessed to have experienced this.”
YOUTH ON 1COURSE 4
The ‘nickel-in-the-grass’ is a tradition unique to military pilots as a final NolanBrowning
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the Folds of Honor Memorial, a walkway framed by walls bearing plaques of heroes who paid the ultimate price. “I don’t think anyone could have a dry eye walking through the Memorial Pathway,” said Todd Ohmer, Olivia’s father. “Our family includes many war veterans.” This occasion was the inspiration of GAM Foundation Director Laura Bavaird, who wanted information about those benefitting from YoC. Getting survey responses is nighimpossible, unless you dangle something like complimentary golf at one of the most high profile Jack Nicklaus designs in the country. “The survey took ten minutes to complete,” said Somerville. “I’ve been filling out scholarship applications incessantly, so why not?” For these YoC members, including another, Preston Fogel, the course was breathtaking. “It surprised me, with the dunes and nice
Ohmer and her older sister signed up immediately. “We thought it was so cool to have cards with our names on it, like we were LPGA members,” she said. “I had to explain to pro shops, but they were accepting…. it was probably unusual to see two little girls with big bags of clubs wanting to play." These young people learned that golf isn’t simply playing the game but also about embracing a spirit of camaraderie. Enter the League of Friends, a group of avid golfers who live off the 9th fairway and provided gifts, refreshments and encouragement for everyone. “They had no idea who I was and still treated me with great hospitality,” said Browning. “Even better than the gift bags were the memories I’ll have of them cheering us on.” WW.MIGOLFJOURNAL.COM
greens,” said Grand Ledge High School senior and 2 year YoC member Nolan Browning. “More importantly, in meeting Laura, I’ve gained a golf mentor. She was very kind and knowledgeable.”
Ohmer rated it 10 out of 10. "It’s a challenging, modern-styled course that benefits a strategic game…..and is unlike courses on the east side of Michigan.” The teenagers truly appreciate opportunities YoC provides and have become Ambassadors of sorts. Somerville, a 5 year member, stated “I couldn’t have played 30 40 rounds this year but for YoC’s $5 greens fees. I brought the idea to Golf Coach Kim Johnson. He implemented a mandatory ‘join’ for golf team members and encouraged their families to play.”
100 Hole Hike Sites in Michiganbenefitting Youth on Course at Verona Hills raised directly support the ability for YOC members, ages 6 18, to golf at participating courses for $5 or less. "Hiking to support YOC was an easy decision, though frankly, at age 65, I wasn't sure about walking and carrying 100 holes in one 8-hour day,” said Janina Jacobs,
ike
on
on Course
a GAM Governor. “However, my anticipating the task was much worse than actually doing it...and after playing the first 50 holes, the last 50+ were a snap.” On September 28th, there’s a unique fundraising event on the Little Hawk Putting Course at Hawk Hollow GC. This allows those unable to golf 100 holes of typical golf to play 100 holes of "putt-putt" style golf on Hawk Hollow’s natural grass, putting course. Once registered, you will receive your own dedicated fundraising page in the GAM.org website. Each fundraiser's goal would be to raise $1,500 by the end of the 100 holes at Little Hawk. There are limited spots available for this new fundraising event email Laura Bavaird for additional details or to get registered as a fundraiser. Contact: LBAVAIRD@GAM.ORG or visit the Hike at the Hawk site to financially support those that are fundraising.
September 16 The Highlands at Harbor Springs (Boyne) Par 3 Course September 29 Cascade Hills Par 3 Course October 6 - Country Club of Detroit Par 3 Course October 10 The Hive
The 100 Hole Hike has been a staple fundraiser in this state since Youth on Course was first introduced in Michigan just a few years ago. This national initiative allows each state to facilitate their own hike sites while each hiker reaches out for pledged donations. Each hiker is challenged with a goal of raising $2,500 by the completion of their hike. Michigan has multiple hike sites across the state on different dates this fall, so if you ' re able and willing, join us and choose the one that would best suit you. To become a hiker download the 100 Hole Hike app and register as a new hiker to officially sign up at any of these courses or click here to financially support our registered hikers currently listed in Michigan. Funds
Hike at Little Hawk for Youth HCourse at Little Hawk for Youth
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“Also, with Jack Nicklaus being an Ohio guy, Q: A:
“I’d ask him to go because I liked to ride in the cart at the municipal course, and they had the best hotdogs ever. They had the really big hotdogs and I’d get ketchup and mustard and relish on there. At that age I was going primarily to ride on the golf cart; that was so much fun. Then I’d go chase some balls, try to find some golf balls but stay out of the way and not get hit.”
Highly successful college football coach Mel Tucker is also a huge fan of the game of golf. He has a really sweet golf simulator in his house, according to MSU Golf Coach Casey Lubahn. In this Q&A we explore a perk like that, plus avoiding alligators, how golf is like the sport of football and so much more about why he loves chasing around a little white ball.
(Tucker also followed his dad’s interest in baseball): “I found out pretty quickly, that I thought if I can hit a baseball, I can of course hit a golf ball that’s sitting there. But it’s not the same,” he said with a belly laugh.
(As a young kid Tucker’s dad took him to the local driving range at Highland Park Golf Course, where he grew up in University Heights, OH near Cleveland.)
Doyourecallwhenithappened,andhow youfellinlovewithgolf?
TUCK’ TTALKIN’ UCK’ TALKIN’ GOLF Q & A
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WithTomLang WithTomLang
A golf Q&A with MSU AFootball golf Q&A with MSU Football Coach Mel CTucker oach Mel Tucker
Doyouseesimilarities betweenthesportsofgolfand football? “I do. We tell our football players that each play has a life and history of its own. And it’s all about giving your undivided attention to that play. What has happened up until that point has created the situation that you’re in, but the most important thing is to play that play, and then learn from it, good or bad, and then move on to the next play. A:
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Q: A:
Q:
AsawaquickTVcliponyourindoorgolf simulatorathome.Doyouusethatin recruiting? my dad and I would follow him. This was before Tiger Woods, and then my dad would tell me about (Detroiter) Calvin Peete, and how he would be one of the few black golfers you’re going to see on TV. So, I followed him too. “As a kid, anything that had a ball in it, I was interested.”
“When I have recruits come over on official business, I make sure I put that simulator on the putting games. I learned early on that I have to put the drivers away. It’s a lot safer that way; there’s no other clubs in sight (except putters),” Tucker said with a chuckle. “And it’s not the kids, it’s my staff.
Darien Harris, I don’t know how he did it, but the head of a club (broke off), hit the screen, and bounced off the screen and hit two framed jerseys (mounted on the wall) and broke the glass on both; all in one swing. That was after someone else (in the span of one hour) had broken a driver. So, when I framed the jerseys again, I put those behind plexiglass.” “It’s the same thing in golf. Just because you hit a bad shot the play before, that doesn’t mean you’ll hit a bad shot on the next. And if you have a really good shot, it doesn’t mean your next shot will be good. It’s all about what you do next and focusing on that. It’s not about focusing on the (final) outcome. “No matter what your end game plan is, to win the tournament or shoot a low score, or just par a hole, you have to take one shot at a time to get there.”
It’s great living in a place where you have golf year round (like when coaching at “I like golf courses that have a little bit of everything. Water and trees and some elevation changes, and you get all of that here. And of course, living here in Michigan you go through some tough winters. But then in the spring, when winter finally breaks, I think there’s an appreciation for the beauty of the state and the courses we have. play in Florida and the ball goes near water, don’t even think about going over there, it’s not even an option (with potential alligators). At least in Michigan you can take a little peak,” he added with a laugh. Whatcoaching tacticsormotivation wouldyoutryifyou couldbeacaptainof thePresidentorRyder Cups?
A:
Jacksonville in the NFL), but, don’t you appreciate it more here in Michigan when the time comes to go play? And man, when you
Q:
GOLF Q & A You’vehadthegoodfortunetotravel acrossthecountry.Whatdoyoulikeabout Michigangolfcoursescomparedtootherareas ofthecountry? 20 Q:
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“I know you want the best players, the best competitive players you can have, but it’s important not to just have a collection of players, but that you have a team. You don’t want all guys that can knock the hell out of the ball, or all guys with really good short games. You have to have really good synergy, really good teamwork, cohesiveness and be able to compensate for each other’s weaknesses and play to each other’s strengths. And you have to have guys who will buy into something bigger than themselves. And I think that’s important when you’re basically putting together an All Star team that’s not for exhibition, but that’s really for winning. You have to consider everything, and not just maybe someone’s ranking in the world.”
“I think golf can teach you a lot about yourself. For myself, if I am measuring up a putt, walk around it, look at it from all angles, pick a line then stand over the ball and second guess myself and hit it a different direction, I think I should have trusted my first plan. And then going on to the next shot and having to be ready. Having a routine, I think is critically important because we all want consistency in our performance. It’s really about self discipline and self control and being able to repeat something at a high level… golf just keeps you in the here and now, it’s all right there. It’s all reality and you have no one to blame but yourself.”
Whatattributesofgolfdrawyouinto thegame?
MICHIGAN NEWS AND NOTES
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Rob Goulet, President and Co-Founder of ClubsHelp said, “This effort is a tremendous example of what can happen when the club industry comes together and lends support in times of need, which is ClubsHelp’s mission."
Elaine Crosby, the Jackson native and resident who spent many years on the LPGA Tour, scored the 4th hole-in-one in U.S. Senior Women’s Open history, in August. Her ace in the second round allowed her to make the cut on the number. The hole was the 122 yard 13th. Crosby, age 64, finished in 48th place at the USGA tournament in Kettering, Ohio.
Hole-inOne at U.S. OSenior ne at U.S. Senior Women’s WOpen omen’s Open
ClubsHelp, a 501(c)3 Foundation, in cooperation with the National Club Association (NCA) and Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation raised over $150,000 in two months, to support Oakland Hills Country Club employees impacted by February’s devastating clubhouse fire. Tapping into their mutual golf industry networks across the golf industry, including the media, the three organizations pooled resources and presented the check in early August to representatives of Oakland Hills.
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ClubsHelp ClubsHelp Led LCharge
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Michiganders Becky Iverson of the U.P. placed T36, while Sue Ertle missed the cut.
According to Richard Palmer, Oakland Hills’ President, “Oakland Hills Country Club paid all staff for their scheduled work hours from their planned season start date, so their compensation remains unaffected by the fire.” ClubsHelp was formed at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist frontline workers secure difficult-to-get PPE and food supplies. ed
Club of Lansing in August.
Bridget Boczar of Canton, playing for Oakland University’s golf team this fall, shot a 69 for 142 and second place. Jessica Jolly, a Rockford High School student, shot 71 for 144 and third place.Stevens, a runner-up to Grace Wang in the recent Michigan Junior Girls’ State Amateur Championship, bogeyed holes 2 and 3 to fall behind early, but took all the drama out of things by shooting 4-under 32 on the back nine and pulling away.
All fourstoriesbyGregJohnson. of the 101st GAM Championship at the renovated Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield. Meekhof, an MSU golfer, made an eagle-3 on the par 5 No. 17 hole in regulation play to take the lead by one shot. Grant Haefner of West Bloomfield, who was playing in his last amateur tournament before turning professional, then birdied No. 18 with an approach shot to three feet while Meekhof made a par save following a wayward tee shot and punchout.
Meekhof shot a final even-par 70 in regulation and Haefner shot 69 for the tie at 7 under 203. On the third extra hole Meekhof rolled in a 24 foot birdie putt for the win. “That’s what golf is playing under pressure so it was a lot fun that we played pretty close coming down the stretch,” said Meekhof, who is a former teammate of James Piot who won the same GAM tournament last year.
August Meekhof of Eastmanville Wins 101st GAM Championship GAM 2CHAMPIONSHIPS 4 Highland’s Sophie Stevens Wins 31st GAM Women’s Championship
“I honestly don’t know if I’ve had eight birdies before, at least I don’t remember having that many in one round,” said Stevens, who has one-year of home school remaining before taking her golf talents to the University of Florida. “It was pretty cool. There's a lot of great competitors in this state and it feels awesome just to get it done today.”
It took some late dramatics and three holes of sudden death playoff golf before August Meekhof of Eastmanville emerged as the winner Sophie Stevens, the 16-year-old home schooled standout from Highland, made eight birdies and shot a closing 6 under 66 to pull away from the field and win the 31st GAM Women’s Championship at the Country
Strickland kept plugging away and topped 3time champion Anthony Sorentino on the second hole of a sudden death playoff to win the 40th edition of the Mid-Amateur Thursday at The Highlands at Harbor Springs. The 40-year-old senior VP for Morgan Stanley shot 4 under 67 in regulation on Boyne’s Moor course for a 140 total, the same as Sorentino. Strickland made two pars in the playoff and was aided by Sorentino making bogey. Champions were also determined in three other age divisions. Greg Davies of West Bloomfield won the Mid Seniors (ages 45 54) title, Steve Maddalena of Jackson won the Senior (ages 55-plus) title and Ron Perrine of Holt won the Super Senior (ages 65 plus) title.
Julie Massa of Holt, a two time past champion and the top senior player in Michigan in recent years, shot a closing 75 for 153. Both Massa and Slobodnik-Stoll represented Michigan in the US Senior Women’s Amateur in Alaska.
Stacy Slobodnik Stoll Adds GAM Women’s Senior Championship
Stacy Slobodnik Stoll of Haslett, the winningest golfer in GAM history, won the GAM Women’s Senior Championship on her first attempt with her usual sense of purpose. Scott Strickland of Bloomfield Hills said winning the GAM Mid Amateur Championship for the second time was more satisfying. “It’s been four years since the
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Scott Strickland Wins His Second GAM Mid Amateur Championship
“To me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the state Amateur, the U.S. Senior Amateur or the senior state championship, it’s all competition and there are people here playing to win,” she said after shooting a final 5 over 77 for a tournament total 149 and a four shot win in the championship at Petoskey-Bay View Country Club. “And as long as you put yourself in that realm, and you know there are people chasing you or you are chasing them, then you’re going to have the exhilaration and the nerves and what you feel inside when you compete. I hope to continue to compete for the rest of my life, at least as long as I can.”
last one and there have been a lot of close calls in between,” he said. “Golf is a goofy game. You have to just keep plugging away and good things will happen.”
Max VanderMolen of Richland and Lauren Timpf of Macomb have won their share of trophies as junior golfers and now they are starting to repeat themselves. VanderMolen, age 14, won a second consecutive boys’ title in the 14th GAM Junior Stroke Play Championship while Timpf, 15, added a second girls’ title to the one she earned in 2020 at age 13.
GAM AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
VanderMolen’s final round even par 71 for 3 under 139 helped him hold off Cooper Reitsema of Ada, who shot 73 for 141. Andrew Chang of Bloomfield Hills tied for third with Adam Thanaporn of Ann Arbor. Meanwhile Timpf’s closing 69 for 139 was six shots clear of runner-up Lillian O’Grady of Grand Rapids, who shot 145. Grace Slocum of Traverse City and KT Leinwand of Kalamazoo tied for third at 147. Champions were also crowned in the 12 and under age groups, who played nine-hole rounds each day. Saisha Patil of Okemos, 11, won the girls’ title for the second consecutive year, and this time it took a 20 foot birdie on the first sudden-death playoff hole to turn back Madison Manning of Dexter. In the boys’ competition Tommy Preston of Grand Rapids, 12, shot 37 for a two-day total of 73 to win.
Max VanderMolen, Lauren Timpf Win Their Second Junior Stroke Play Championships ByGregJohnson
14th GAM Junior Stroke Play Championship
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The Island Resort and Casino’s Sweetgrass Golf Course has hosted the LPGA Tour’s EPSON circuit every June for more than 10 years.
Illinois State’s Valentin Peugnet takes Medalist honors at third annual event
ByTomLang ByTomLang
“It’s just positive,” Peugnet said about the win kicking off his fall season. “I’m not trying to think too much about it. Today I played good golf but next week’s a new week and I’ll try to play my best, like I did this week.”
The UniversityofMichigan took third place with a team total of 860, just four strokes behind the co champs. Wolverine sophomore Hunter Thomson placed T9 and junior Will Anderson (Portage Central) was T11. Kentucky placed fourth, 4 more shots behind the Wolverines. However, a huge bright spot for Michigan was sophomore Ben Hoagland. He placed fourth overall (72-67-71) playing as an individual and his 6 under was his career best tournament score by 19 shots.
U M coach Zach Barlow said: "Ben played great. We need guys to step up in those individual roles and send a message that they want to be in the lineup too. That's how we will get better. I am very happy for him; he has worked so hard."
Toledo coach Jeff Roope said the team was playing well right from the first round. “They’ve been playing good golf at home, so it was nice to see them keep that up,” Roope said about his team. “Sage Run is a great course, the conditioning was fantastic and the weather was great. It’s certainly nice to have a good, positive experience to take with us,” to their next event in a few days at Minnesota.
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The Island Resort Intercollegiate, an up-andcoming top Midwestern tournament, crowned two co champions in its third year of action – the University of Toledo and Illinois State, which added the individual medalist in Valentin Peugnet. Peugnet ran away from the field in the third and final round by shooting 7-under on Labor Day (72-66-65) to place four strokes ahead of Toledo’s NJ Botha (68 69 70 207) and Caleb VanArrogan (72 66 69 207) of Valparaiso. For Peugnet, a native of France, it was his first college tournament win. He was presented with the winner’s plaque by Tony Mancilla, GM of the Island Resort and Casino.
University of Toledo and Illinois State USplit niversity of Toledo and Illinois State Split the Title at Island Resort tIntercollegiate he Title at Island Resort Intercollegiate
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ByMikeCarey GAM Championship title and reach the semifinals of the Michigan Amateur. Meekhof was second on the team with a 71.84 scoring average, the fifth best single season mark in program history, and posted four top-10 finishes. Troy Taylor II returns for his fifth season in East Lansing following a summer that saw him play in the U.S. Amateur and the John Shippen Invitational, and win a District Amateur title in Ohio. Also back is junior Bradley Smithson, who posted a 73.14 scoring average and had three top 10 finishes. He enjoyed a strong summer, finishing as the top amateur at the Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions and reaching the Round of 16 in match play at the Michigan Amateur. He is also the 2021 Michigan Open champ.
MSU returns a pair of players who earned All Big Ten honors last year and four players who appeared in all 13 events and played 37 rounds apiece last year. Ashton McCulloch was named All Big Second Team and was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He is just the third player in program history to earn that honor, joining Piot and current PGA Tour professional Ryan Brehm. McCulloch was third on the team with a 71.89 scoring average, the sixth-best single-season mark in program history, and posted nine top 20 finishes last year. Also back is junior August Meekhof, who was named to the All Big Ten Second Team and to the All-Big Ten Championships Team. He is coming off a strong summer that saw him win the 101st
AugustMeekohof
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It will be a changing of the guard, so to speak, for the Michigan State men’s golf team as Head Coach Casey Lubahn and the Spartans take to the course for the first time in five years without 2021 U.S. Amateur winner and four-time All-Big Ten selection James Piot. The Spartans do, however, return a deep and talented team coming off one of the best seasons in program history. MSU finished the season ranked No. 46 in the country by Golfstat, fell just 2 strokes shy of winning the Big Ten Championships and played in the NCAA Bryan Regional, the program’s fifth postseason appearance in the last six years.
Michigan State Mto ichigan State to Host the Folds Hof ost the Folds of Honor HCollegiate onor Collegiate
College golf programs are always looking for more opportunities to do something special and unique to keep drawing in some of the best competition they can find. That’s one reason MSU worked with the Folds of Honor, American Dunes Golf Club, and the Golf Coaches Association of America to host the Folds of Honor Collegiate, with proceeds benefiting the Folds of Honor and the GCAA Presidential Scholarship Fund. The inaugural tournament will be held September 26-28, and feature 18 schools: Air Force, Arizona, Army, Central Michigan, Clemson, Eastern Michigan, Florida State, Grand Valley State, Illinois, Kansas, Liberty, Michigan State, Navy, NC State, Oregon State, Texas Southern, UCLA, and Virginia Union. Annually, the tournament will feature two HBCU programs. This reflects the 41 percent of Folds of Honor recipients that are minorities and the GCAA and Black Golf Coaches Association of America partnership to help grow opportunities for HBCU and black college golf.
Lake Michigan in Grand Haven. Michigan in Grand Haven. “The Folds of Honor Collegiate will be a trailblazing event with great college golfers playing the game for a greater purpose supporting Folds of Honor recipients,” said Folds of Honor founder and CEO Lt Col Dan Rooney. “Being the host institution for the Folds of Honor Collegiate is one of the greatest opportunities of my career,” MSU golf head coach Casey Lubahn said in a statement. “What started as an idea to honor true American heroes and their families has inspired us to think boldly about how we can combine an elite collegiate event and more importantly, share the incredible sacrifices these heroes and their loved ones have made to make America a beacon of freedom for the world. We look forward to working tirelessly to make this event impactful to all those involved.” Fans can attend for free.
FOLDS OF HONOR COLLEGIATE
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As most Michigan golfers know, American Dunes Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that is a tribute to the military and commemorates the birthplace of Folds of Honor. It sits very near the coastline of
Junior Valentina Rossi and sophomore Brooke Biermann, who both competed in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur, will be back in the lineup. Rossi was third on the team with a 74.55 scoring average and tied for the team lead in rounds played (33). Biermann enjoyed a strong first season in East Lansing, posting a 73.94 scoring average that was second on the team and tying for the team lead in rounds played.
MSU
Year in and year out, Michigan State’s women’s golf team has continued to be not only one of the best in the Big Ten Conference, but among the top programs in the country under Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik Stoll. The Spartans finished the year ranked No. 28 in the Golfstat rankings, finished as the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships and played in the NCAA Stillwater Regional, the 22nd time since 1999 that the team reached the postseason. The 2022-23 season should be no different, as the Spartans return its entire starting lineup from last year, led by fifth year senior Valery Plata. An All Big Ten First Team selection in 2022, Plata led the team with a 72.63 scoring average, the seventh best single season mark in program history. Plata, who won the Latin American Amateur in 2021, played in two LPGA events this summer and finished runner up at the first leg of LPGA Q School in August. Also returning is junior Leila Raines, who was an individual qualifier for the NCAA Championships last year. Raines was fourth on MWomen SU Women LeilaRaines
ByMikeCarey
Junior Nina Rissi, who posted a 76.56 scoring average in seven events, and sophomore Katie Lu, who carried a 77.25 average and posted three top 20 finishes in the spring, are both back and will battle for a spot along with freshmen Paula Balanzategui and Caroline McConnell. Former MSU men’s golfer Zach Rosendale, who was Michigan’s Mr. Golf in 2017 at St. Johns High School, was recently named assistant women’s golf coach to Stacy Slobodnik Stoll. He is a 2021 graduate, and takes over for Caroline Powers-Ellis, who was named the head coach at Notre Dame earlier this summer.
College CPreviews: ollege Previews: COLLEGE CORNER the team with a 74.56 scoring average and posted a pair of strong finishes, tying for 6th place at the Big Ten Championships and for 10th place at the NCAA Stillwater Regional, winning a playoff to reach the NCAA Championships.
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University of Michigan Men
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ByTomWywrot
Barlow has created a challenging 2022 23 schedule with four fall events with seven in the spring. Opening at the Island Resort Invitational in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, U M heads to events at Yale, Georgetown and Little Rock to begin the season. After the winter training break, the Wolverines will make return trips to the Big Ten's Match Play event as well as Houston's Border Olympics and Arkansas State's event in Las Vegas. The Maize and Blue will once again host the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in Scottsdale, Ariz., over spring break before finishing the regular season in Big Ten country at Illinois. The Big Ten Championships move to the east coast at Galloway National in New Jersey. "There are always going to be challenges covid 19, roster changes as well as straight up competition,” Barlow said. “We are looking forward to continuing to move forward with our culture and taking those experiences from last season and applying them this season. I am excited to see where we can go this year. "
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Moving forward and gaining experiences was the mantra for coach Zach Barlow's Michigan men ' s golf team last season. This year, it will be capitalizing on those moments to take that next step for not only in the Big Ten, but nationally as well. The Wolverines are led by their young core of sophomore Hunter Thomson and junior Will Anderson. Thomson burst onto the scene, leading U-M in scoring (73.09) in his first year, while Anderson was just behind at 73.40 per round. They combined to pace the Wolverines in eight of 11 events highlighted by Anderson's win at the Macdonald Cup and Thomson's runner up finish at Desert Mountain. With the decision to not sign any newcomers, Barlow elected to bring in graduate transfer James Hill from Detroit Mercy. Finishing as the top Titan in 12 of his 26 career events, he carried a career average of 75.86 per round. Michigan will use its young depth to help fill the lineup card. Current juniors Jude Kim (five starts) and Ben Hoagland (three events) gained valuable experiences last season, while in addition to Thomson's team-best 11 starts, fellow newcomers Bavake Sihota (six starters) and Yuqi Liu (five starts) got a taste of collegiate golf as they look to take that next step.
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Fellow seniors Mikaela Schulz and Anika Dy helped the Wolverines bring an experience level to each event. Schulz won the gold medal at the 2022 Maccabi Games in Israel, while Dy was the Michigan Amateur's runner-up losing to her sister, Anci, in the championship match. After not having any signees last season, Dowling welcomes in three newcomers to the program Mara Janess and twins Lauren and Sydney Sung. "This season, we will defend the Big Ten Championship for the first time in program history, and we are honored to do so,” Dowling said. “Having come off such an historic season the goal is to make small incremental improvements, while competing in our strongest tournament schedule yet.
season. She continued her strong play in the summer, winning the Canadian Women's Amateur to earn a spot in the U.S. Women's Amateur. Making an inspiring and valiant run to the final match before finishing as the national runner up.
After earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2021, she was an All Big Ten selection for a second straight
After arguably the greatest season in Michigan women ' s golf history, coach Jan Dowling's Wolverines return virtually their entire roster from last season ' s Big Ten championship squad. U M highlighted last season winning four events and earning three runner-up team finishes, while grabbing five individual medalist honors. The capper was winning the program's first Big Ten Championship led by Big Ten champion Monet Chun. U-M followed hosting, and advancing out of, the NCAA regional and making a second straight trip to the NCAA Finals the fourth under Dowling. U-M is led by 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year and first team All American Ashley Lau. After winning three events last season, Lau set the program record with four in her career as well as the lowest single-season scoring average (71.84) by nearly a shot and a half. She highlighted her summer play finishing third as an invited amateur at the Epson Tours stop in Ann Arbor, while also helping the International team winthe Arnold Palmer Cup in Switzerland.
University of Michigan Women
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Anchoring the lineup is senior Hailey Borja, who became the first Wolverine to earn All-Big Ten honors three straight years. Big Ten medalist Chun returns for her junior season as one of the mainstays in Dowling's lineup.
“I couldn't have imagined making it this far, and being here, it's an incredible honor and also just great to represent [the University of] Michigan and Canada, as well.” Chun has had a wonderful 2022 season. She started it off with a Big Ten individual and team championship in late April. The individual title was her first in college, where she shot a team record low of 205 (70-66-69, -8). She added to her successful summer schedule by winning the Canadian Amateur title, in her home country. It was that win that qualified her for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
“Honestly, I was trying to match it up, but it was pretty amazing just to watch,” Chun said of Baba’s run away performance. “She was going for every pin, making every putt, and that's hard to match up.”
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Chun became the first Wolverine to reach a U.S. Amateur final match in 66 years, following U-M men ' s golf legend Chuck Kocsis in 1956. Additionally, Chun became the third Michigan golfer to reach the title match after fellow U M men ' s golf legend John Fischer won the 1936 event in 37 holes at the Garden City Golf Club in New York.
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Michigan Wolverine junior Monet Chun made a valiant effort to reach the pinnacle of women’s amateur golf in the United States but came up one match short in a resounding defeat by a young Japanese player, 17 year old Saki Baba who won 11 and 9 over Chun in the USGA final at Chamber’s Bay in late August. It must have felt to Chun as if she got in the way of the Santa Fa Railway that runs through the property on the beachfront of Puget Sound, south of Seattle.
ByTomLang ByTomLang
rattled off 6 straight hole wins, including a birdie on the 9th hole – a downhill drop of 200 feet or so and majestic views of the course with Puget Sound as the backdrop to end the match after only the front nine was needed to crown the new champ.
Michigan’s MMonet ichigan’s Monet Chun Earns CNational hun Earns National Runner Up in RU.S. unner Up in U.S. Women’s WAmateur omen’s Amateur
“I’m extremely proud,” Chun added.
After the first 18 holes, Baba was 7-up. Early in the second round (the championship is always scheduled for 36 holes) on national TV, Chun won two holes to get within five. But then Baba
The women return their entire starting five from the team that won five tournaments last year, including the GLIAC Championship last spring, all of whom are reigning first team All GLIAC members, led by 2022 GLIAC Player of the Year Julia Sanchez and GLIAC Freshman of the Year Olivia Stoll. Also returning are Paula Badino, Megan Miron, and Kay Zubkus.
ByLoganTaylor ByLoganTaylor The Grand Valley State Lakers return plenty of talent on both sides from the men’s and women’s teams who played at the NCAA Championships, and both teams feature the returning GLIAC Player of the Year. The men’s team returns seven golfers from last season, including three All GLIAC performers Charles DeLong, Nick Krueger, and Drew Coble. DeLong is the reigning GLIAC player of the Year, and earned First-Team All-GLIAC, PING AllAmerica, and All Region honors as a freshman. Over the summer, DeLong won stroke play portion of the Michigan Amateur Championships and qualified for the US Amateur Championships. Krueger is also a returning All Region and First Team All GLIAC member and won the Michigan Amateur Championship this summer. Coble is the third returning All GLIAC member, garnering second
“Experience will be the key to our 2022 23 season with our entire starting five returning this year,” said women’s coach Rebecca Mailloux. “These five ladies recorded the 2nd lowest scoring average in program history, and I’m excited to see what success they achieve throughout the year.” team honors last season. “We are excited to kick off the new season with a roster that boasts experience and young talent,” said men’s coach Gary Bissell. “Having returning veterans like DeLong, Krueger, and Coble gives us the anchor we need, and we are excited to see who rises to the top to help our program reach new heights.”
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College Previews:
The men opened their season on September 4th with the Arendsen Invitational at the Meadows Golf Course in Allendale. The GVSU women open their season the following week at the Indianapolis Fall Invitational on September 12th.
Grand Valley State
CharlesDeLong
“Our team, we definitely look up to her a lot. This summer she was in some big tournaments and winning some big things. She’s fairly new to our program, Grand Blanc. She continues to inspire her players with a never give up approach, having been born with no right foot yet competed in college and the now EPSON Tour before turning to coaching about 8 years ago. “It’s just inspiring to sit back and watch,” Fish said about observing their
KimMooreandAlissaFish
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College CPreviews: ollege Previews: Western WMich.Women estern Mich.Women and to be able to watch her this summer and go out and compete and perform at the level she does, with the ability that she has, is something that is pretty awesome, and we definitely can look up to.”
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The WMU women’s golf team is excited to continue to grow under head coach Kim Moore, entering her third year. Last season the Broncos saw now-senior Alissa Fish become the first Brown & Gold golfer to finish as the individual medalist in two years, when Fish won Eastern Michigan’s Shirley Spork Invitational.
In the upcoming 2022-23 campaign the Broncos have an exciting schedule that will have them travel around Michigan and Indiana for the fall and head all over the country in the spring, including WMU’s annual home away from home, the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz. The regular season culminates with the first-ever playing of the Mid-American Conference Championship at the historical Kalamazoo Country Club. Moore has brought some unexpected, good attention to the women’s program by virtue of winning the inaugural USGA Adaptive Open in July at Pinehurst, later followed by a celebrity event playing side by side with Jack Nicklaus in 36 coach at the Ally challenge Celebrity Shootout. “We were in the clubhouse today (with WMU teammates at the Ally Challenge) and to hear what Jack had to say about her, and like the fact that Jack Nicklaus is watching her play is pretty insane, and something that’s very special and pretty cool.
Eastern Michigan Men and Women
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Conversely, theEasternMichiganUniversity women’sgolfteamreturns all nine members of last year’s team in 2022 23. Head Coach Stephanie Jennings’ crew posted the eighthlowest team scoring average in program history at 307.5 and wonthreetournaments.
The Eagles once again have a competitive fall schedule planned that includes tournaments at Marshall, Davidson, Purdue, Michigan State, and Dayton. The first fall tournament is scheduled for Sept. 12 13 at Guyan CC in Huntington, W.Va.
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Junior Anna Watson was selected Second Team All-MAC by the league's head coaches after leading the Eagles' scoring efforts throughout the season with a 76.1 stroke average. She ranked 7th overall in the MAC for scoring. Meanwhile, sophomore Kyleigh Dull had a tremendous freshman campaign that saw her post three top 10 showings in her first four career events and four top 10 showings overall.
EMU opened the fall campaign at A Ga Ming Invite, Sept. 4 5, before traveling to Muncie, Ind., Sept. 19 20, for the Cardinal Classic. Eastern’s fall is also highlighted by a trip to Wolcott, Colo., Sept. 26 28, for the Red Sky Classic, as well as hosting the annual Shirley Spork Invitational at Eagle Crest Club in Ypsilanti, Oct. 3-4. For the most up to date information on the Eagles, continue to visit EMUEagles.com.
ByGregSteiner ByGregSteiner
The Eastern Michigan University men’s golf program will look much different during the 2022 23 season than in past years. Men’s Head Coach Bruce Cunningham’s squad graduated five student-athletes from last year’s squad, but has reloaded with a talented group of freshmen to go along with senior captain Cam Kellett and junior Patrick Deardorff (Clarkston), who was this year ' s Michigan Amateur runner-up. The freshmen class will need to help replace a graduating class that included two time All Mid American Conference selection Ty Celone, all time career round leader Cougar Collins and multiple time MAC Player of the Week selection Zack Mason The newcomers include Logan Graf (Sylvan Lake, Alberta), Victor Caliguri (Cleves, Ohio), Ryan Somerville (Aurora, Ontario), Cooper Eberle (Richmond, Ky.), Sam Yono (West Bloomfield, Mich.), and Nathaniel Gray Lamont (Guelph, Ontario).
KevinJenningsisCMU’s men’scoach, and the new roster has nine players, including three Michiganders. Eight are freshman, led by Royal Oak Shrine graduate Jeffrey Andrus, winner of the 2022 Division 4 state title.
RyanWilliams
They won three of the five stroke play tournaments they played during the fall, 2021 season. The roster includes the top six career scoring leaders, and that group has rewritten the record book in its time in Mount Pleasant.
Women
COLLEGE CORNER
“Our team, we definitely look up to her a lot. This summer she was in some big tournaments and winning some big things. She’s fairly new to our program,
ByAndrewSneddon
Theuniversity hasresurrected itsmen’svarsity golfprogram aftera37-year hiatus, while its women’s program is under new leadership as former Adrian College and Cleveland State coach Ryan Williams took command in late July.
Previews: Central Michigan Men and
There’s a lot of new, but still plenty of familiarity, when it comes to Central Michigan golf. First, the new.
TheChippewawomenreturntheirentire lineup, led by the history making duo of junior Ashley Goh and sophomore Casilda Allendesalazar. In April, Goh tied for ninth in the Mid American Conference Championships, becoming the first Chippewa to post a top-10 finish in the tournament; Allendesalazar was named to the All MAC Second Team, becoming the first in CMU women’s golf history to earn All-MAC honors. The Chippewa women have indeed come a long way since the program’s resurrection in 2014 15. A native of Benton Harbor, Jennings coached both the men’s and women’s programs at Prairie View A&M the past five years. In 2021, his Panther men’s team won its third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. In May, Jennings was inducted into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in the College Golf Coach category. CMU sponsored varsity men’s golf from 1936 85. “We’re a new program so we’re going to take is slow and make sure that we’re learning,” Jennings said. “We have to make sure that we set the foundation in the proper way. Solid scheduling, and to play with those programs, is one way to move toward becoming an elite collegiate program.”
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Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy Dan Urban of Gull Lake Country Club Josh Jeffords of Hills of Lenawee Golf Club in Adrian George Bowman of Oakhurst Golf & Country Club in Clarkston
Kyle Martin Holds On, Wins 101st KMichigan yle Martin Holds On, Wins 101st Michigan PGA Professional PChampionship GA Professional Championship
RESULTS: See michiganpga.com
John Seltzer of Seltzer Golf School in Grand Rapids. Martin has also won two Michigan PGA Match Play titles. Others who qualified for the 2023 PGA Professional National Championship next April in New Mexico include those top-five named above and:
Kyle Martin, the head golf professional at Lochmoor Club in Grosse Pointe Woods, had some good fortune but also withstood a long rain delay and made some critical shots under pressure in winning the 101st Michigan PGA Professional Championship. The victory traditionally earns a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic the following year. “I did have some good fortune and I didn’t have my best stuff by any means, but when it counted, I produced shots,” said the 38 year old Grand Rapids native, who shot a final even par 72 for an 8-under 208 total. “I hit it solid on the back nine and with the rain delay it was nice to just go back out and get it done.” ICHIGAN PGA SECTION
ByGregJohnson
Kyle Dobbs of Oak Pointe Country Club charged with a 71, including an eagle birdie combination at holes 14 and 15, and finished second one-stroke behind at 209.
Josh Fryer of Franklin Hills Country Club shot 211 for third and Tim Pearce of Birmingham Country Club finished with 212. Rounding out the top-5 was Ron Beurmann of Country Club of Jackson, the recent Michigan PGA Senior Championship winner, with 214. “There will probably be a party for that, the (Lochmoor) members will enjoy me getting in the Rocket Mortgage and I’m really looking forward to playing in a (PGA) tour event,” he said. “I haven’t done that before.”
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