10 minute read
Life on Our Links
DENNIS WOLFE PGA Golf Pro If you have questions about golfi ng in Canadian Lakes, call Dennis Wolfe at The Royal Golf Shop. 231-972-8979 dwolfe@clpoc.org
(231) 972-8979 6898 Club House Dr E Canadian Lakes, MI 49346
(231) 972-7155 11560 Belle Isle Canadian Lakes, MI 49346
(231) 972-2900 10690 Pierce Rd Canadian Lakes, MI 49346
2022 Golf Tournaments
WE OFFER A WIDE VARIETY OF EVENTS for our members and their guests. Th e spectrum runs from competitive, charitable, and social to just plain fun. We also conduct these events using all of our golf courses. Th e following is a list of our one- and two-day events for the upcoming season.
Apr. 9 Green Jacket Betterball @ Th e Royal May 7 Derby Dash Scramble @ Th e Royal May 11 Remus Lions Golf/Bowl @ Th e Royal May 21 Match Play Blitz @ Th e Royal May 25 Prostate Cancer Benefi t @ Th e Royal May 29 BIG CUP Family Scramble @ Th e Pines June 4/5 Canadian Lakes Classic @ Th e Royal, Th e Pines, & Th e Highlands June 8 Tri-Lakes Golf Benefi t @ Th e Royal June 18 La Senorita Scramble @ Th e Royal June 22 Habitat for Humanity @ Th e Royal July 2 Firecracker Open @ Th e Royal July 13 St. Mike’s on Spikes @ Th e Royal July 20 9-Hole Ladies Invite @ Th e Royal July 23 Match Play Sixes @ Th e Royal Aug. 3 Play for Pink @ Th e Highlands and Th e Royal Aug. 6/7 Canadian Lakes Men’s Invitational @ Th e Royal Aug. 11/12 Junior Club Championship @ Th e Pines Aug. 20/21 Club Championship Weekend @ Th e Royal, Th e Pines, & Th e Highlands Aug. 24 Gals on the Green @ Th e Royal Aug. 24 Mobile Watch Outing @ Th e Pines TBA Ladies Cup Matches @ Th e Royal Sept. 2 Who Cares We Care Event @ Th e Royal Sept. 3 Patriot Golf Scramble @ Th e Highlands Sept. 4 Closest to Pin @ Th e Royal and Th e Highlands Sept. 15 Canadian Lakes Cup Matches @ Th e Royal Sept. 24 Forward Tee Open @ Th e Royal Oct. 15 Chili-Dog Scramble @ Th e Royal Oct. 31 Last Day of the Season
Some of these events are restricted to members only and some require a USGA Index. For complete details, check the golf page on members.canadianlakes.org or contact Th e Royal Golf Shop (dwolfe@clpoc.org).
Canadian Lakes Golf Wants You!
We have plenty of employment opportunities in our golf operation. For the upcoming season we are looking to fi ll these positions: golf shop customer service, player assistant, golf cart attendant, and golf maintenance crew. If you are interested in golf maintenance positions, please contact Bill Hull (bhull@clpoc.org). If you are interested in golf operation positions, contact Dennis Wolfe (dwolfe@clpoc.org or at 231-972-8979).
What is the Canadian Lakes Cup and How Do I Make the Team?
THE CANADIAN LAKES CUP is a Ryder Cup style match that we play annually against our neighbors from St Ives. It is one of the most unique golf events that an amateur club member can compete in (ask any former Cup player). The team consists of 12 players and one alternate. We offer five events in the qualifying process, as follows:
Match Play Blitz (May 21) Men’s Match Play Championship (season-long) Team Match Play Championship (season-long) Match Play Sixes (July 23) Men’s Club Championship (August 20 & 21)
Match play is the foundation of virtually all of this qualifying. Players/teams are awarded points for all their victories in these events. A Cup Team qualifying package has been put together that provides full details on these events. Request your package via email by contacting dwolfe@clpoc.org. AS YOU HAVE READ, many of our tournaments and leagues require a USGA Index. We are a Golf Association of Michigan club, and the association facilitates our golf handicap service. We charge a seasonal fee ($35/player) to manage your account. You need a minimum of three 18-hole scores (six 9’s) to establish your Index. You can register for this service after April 1 at any of our golf shops.
Golf Leagues
We have several golf league opportunities for you to participate in. Almost all require a USGA Index. Some have a structured format, while others are available for your participation when it is convenient for you. The following is an outline by day and course. You can find more details for each league on the golf page at members.canadianlakes.org.
DAY LEAGUE COURSE MISC.
Monday 18-Hole Men Royal tee-times, no dues, flighted, weekly entry 9-Hole Ladies Royal 2-player match play, dues, structured Highlands 2-player match play, dues, structured Pines 2-player match play, dues, structured Tuesday 18-Hole Ladies Royal tee-times, dues, flighted 9-Hole Men Pines tee-times, no dues, weekly entry Highlands tee-times, no dues, weekly entry 9-Hole Men Royal 2-player match play, dues, structured Wednesday 9-Hole Ladies Pines social, casual, no dues, tee-times Highlands social, casual, no dues, tee-times Thursday 9-Hole Ladies Pines dues, flighted, tee-times Highlands dues, flighted, tee-times 9-Hole Men Royal 2-player match play, dues, structured Friday Jr. Golfers Pines
Golf Handicap Service
Golf Instruction and Golf Services
GOLF INSTRUCTION is provided by PGA Professional Dennis Wolfe and LPGA Professional Carolyn Allingham. Instruction is provided at The Highlands Driving Range or at The Royal for developing your short game. The range at The Highlands offers range balls by the bucket ($5 each) or you can purchase value cards (15 buckets for $45 or 50 buckets for $120). Club repair services are also available at The Royal Golf Shop. In many cases, we can offer overnight service on regripping.
Carolyn offers a Women’s Player Development Program that begins in May. She has had great success over the years introducing or reconnecting gals to the game of golf. For more details on our Women’s Player Development Program, send a request to dwolfe@clpoc.org.
We also offer week-long Junior Golf Camps in June and July. This summer the dates are June 20, 21, 23, and 24 and July 5, 6, 7, and 8. The camps are designed for players ages 7-15. We provide equipment for players as necessary.
BY CHRIS ZIMMERMAN
Outdoor Mysteries
The Secretive Otter
THE LAST TIME I saw an otter it took me by surprise. It was last May, and I was in the turkey woods of Mecosta County, dressed in full camouflage. On one side of a small beaver pond was a tom turkey; on the other side, me. The tom gobbled voraciously the way they do in the spring of the year, early in the morning.
Back and forth we went, dueling the duels of hunter and the hunted with our audible slings and arrows. I did my best to sound like a lonesome hen by serving up yelps and clucks. The tom roared the rebel yell of courtship with his throaty gobbles. That volley between us is what makes turkey hunting so much fun.
But then I heard leaves rustling behind me. Although somewhat uncommon, I’ve had toms approach my calls without gobbling. Slowly, I turned my head and glanced ‘round the massive oak tree I used as a comfy backstop. Expecting a second turkey, raccoon or possum, I was surprised to see an otter. It moved with grace and elegance – low to the ground – and hardly made a wisp of noise as it steadily came my way. Twenty yards to my left became ten, then five. I didn’t dare move. The otter slid past my boot tops and into the inky darkness of the beaver pond, leaving a trickle of bubbles in its wake.
The pond was quite small...scarcely bigger than the deli department inside Hixson’s market. There were no discernable rivers nearby and only farm fields behind me. It wasn’t exactly perfect otter habitat when compared to other places where I’ve seen otters in my outdoor experiences – such as about 25 years ago when I had an otter swim through my duck decoys on the St. Marys River near Sault Sainte Marie. Another time, in the Soo, a whole family of otters swam past our boat while we were fishing for Atlantic salmon behind the electric power plant.
“The Canadian Lakes area is ideal habitat for otters,” says Pete Kailing, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources in Paris, Michigan. “They’re very common and are expanding their range into southern Michigan.”
Kailing said that otters are part of the weasel family. They dine on a variety of items: fish, crayfish, snakes, water beetles, and clams are preferred, but since they’re omnivores, they will eat just about anything. They’ve been known to raid fish hatcheries, or private ponds. Their sharp front teeth and molars in back are well suited for catching and grinding their prey into digestible portions. The fierce disposition of an otter makes them a formidable creature.
Although extremely rare, otters have been known to bite humans. The
Gotcha! Trapper Jer VanSyckle captured this otter on a trail camera.
Wall Street Journal reported that a pack of smooth-coated otters attacked a pedestrian in Singapore. Closer to home, a swimmer in Newaygo County was bitten by an otter last summer. Kailing theorized that the swimmer’s flutter kicking may have triggered the attack because it mimicked a struggling fish.
Late winter is a good time to see otters because it’s their breeding season. Males in particular expand their range, as they’re looking for females. They may run a week-long circuit that takes them across several waterways. Tracks in the snow may reflect the way otters kick and glide.
In April or May, otter pups are born. A litter of two to four is normal, according to Kailing. Abandoned beaver dens are favorite places for otters to live and raise their young.
Last winter, I found an otter that had been struck and killed by a vehicle just east of Coldwell Banker, Canadian Lakes. I called the DNR, obtained a permit to keep it, then took it to a local taxidermist who did a great job mounting it. Otters have relatively small eyes, and big, webbed feet. Despite their fierce reputation, the otter on my office wall looks to have a bit of a grin.
But the mystery remains: if otters are so common in the Lakes area, how come we hardly ever see them?
“Otters have hundreds of dens. They spend a lot of time out of sight,” says Jer VanSyckle, an avid fur trapper from Big Rapids. Based upon his 18 years of trapping experience, he says the Canadian Lakes area is loaded with otter, if you know what to look for. VanSyckle knows there are otters nearby when he sees an “otter toilet” on the edge of a river or creek. “Toilets,” according to VanSyckle, are nothing more than a pile of leaves, sticks and river debris, piled high. “They use the pile like a cat uses a litter box. The scent left behind is a way otters mark their territory.”
Once upon a time, trappers could make decent money in the fur trade. Today, fur prices are quite low. At fur sales, an otter pelt now sells for about $20-$40, depending on size and quality.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Canadian Lakes has an abundance of otters. Based on the DNR’s trout stocking program in the Little Muskegon River, and the multitude of chubs and water beetles I see during trout fishing season, I imagine otters have plenty to feast upon. As spring weather approaches – and a walk in the woods or kayak trip seems appropriate – don’t be alarmed if you happen to see one of Canadian Lakes’ coolest residents…the amazing otter.
Chris Zimmerman is a Canadian Lakes resident, a freelance outdoor writer, and the author of six Michigan based novels.
