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OCTOBER 2021

GOLF.COM SAYS MICHIGAN LEADS COUNTRY IN TOP VALUE COURSES

Bahle Farms: Leelanau’s Gem

HIGH SCHOOL GOLFER CONQUERS AUTISM IRELAND GOLF ON A BUDGET

GOLF BALL BUYERS GUIDE PHOTO TAKEN AT 11 TEE BOX

Michigan Golf Journal Michigan Golf Journal

Letter From the Editor The month of October begins the slowing down of the golf season in Michigan, but also seemed to be the perfect time to bring you one of the most significant stories I have every tried to tell. It starts on page 4 and introduces you to Bennett Lewis. Bennett is a great kid, and one who taught me more about Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of Autism) in one day than I knew in the prior decades of my life. The number one thing he taught me was how anyone else like him can accomplish a TON in life despite facing such challenges and using golf to do it could be one of the best ways. I also took time to revisit a wonderful course in northern Michigan I never heard about until June, when I stopped in for an hour. This time there is room to give you much more of the background of Bahle Farms and its new owner, the youngest course owner in Michigan and maybe the country at age 25.

What’s Inside: 14

Cover story: Bahle Farms on Leelanau

Freeways and Fairways: The Emerald

Golf ball buyer’s guide

Top premium courses found in Michigan

Enjoy and thanks for coming back every month.

GAM Tournament wrap ups

Tom Lang Publisher/Editor

Great golf in Ireland on a Budget

Plus, Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press and my media friend Tony Dear from the west coast bring us great reviews on Michigan award-winning, high-value courses – and golf in Ireland on a budget, respectively.

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Michigan Golf Journal Team Leader

Conquering Autism:

Troy Athens Senior Led Team to Undefeated Season By Tom Lang I have been around high school and Junior golfers for almost 30 years, watching and reporting on their joys and their struggles, their victories and their heartache. And I must honestly say, one of the most inspirational young men I have met in those three decades was the last high school golfer I got to know this summer. He is Bennett Lewis. In many ways Bennett is how a typical, good high school golfer would be viewed. He scores well. He studies the game and makes improvements. He is not typical, however, in that he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is firmly planted on the Autism scale. Bennett recently graduated from Troy Athens, with Summa

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Cum Laude honors and as a member of the National Honor Society. He co-led the team to the Division 1 Regional title to qualify for the state finals for the school’s first time in nearly 30 years, and to the program’s first unbeaten record in a season for almost 40 years. He made the All-Oakland County honorable mention team. He averaged 39.8 for 9 holes, 75.2 for 18 holes, to lead the team in total-season scoring by a few fractions over teammate Nate Hazen, the now graduated Athens football quarterback who was neck and neck with Bennett all season. Bennett is known as very fun-loving, but also very talkative person who moved around a lot with boundless energy his first two years on the high school team. Those traits sometimes got in the way of playing competitive golf where a quiet persona is paramount in respect for others playing the game. During his sophomore season, he figured out why his energy level was higher than most – the Asperger’s. His energy remains high today, but

Billy Mayfair with Bennett Lewis

as he has adjusted and matured; he maintains control better now. “When I first found out I thought to myself, ‘oh, that makes sense, that’s why I act like that,’” Bennett told me. Athens head coach Dan Cooper knows about people with special needs. He has a family member in a similar situation. He didn’t know Bennett had Asperger’s when he joined the team, but Cooper still knew from the first of his four years playing varsity golf that Bennett would

hold a special place on the team despite his outward actions that other players didn’t understand upon first meeting him. “All I had to do was coach those kids to look at Benny, smile, and tell him it was time for their shot and could he please stand still for a minute,” said Cooper, who calls him Benny. “And Benny would go statue on them. He wouldn’t move a muscle.” A fellow golfer that Bennett admires and respects is PGA Tour player Billy Mayfair, a five-time pro Continues on next page >>

Michigan Golf Journal Team Leader

winner on Tour including a Buick Open in 1998 – plus the 1987 U.S. Amateur champion. Mayfair was recently diagnosed in 2019 with Autism – had it his entire life and didn’t know it. But he has learned how to handle it, how to thrive on the PGA Tour Champions and had 2 top5 finishes and a T15 at the Ally Challenge just the past couple of months.

I introduced the pair after Mayfair’s second round this summer at Warwick Hills. Mayfair was very attentive to Bennett and gave some great advice and encouragement as they shared their commonality. “I was in denial a very long time,” Mayfair said of his own diagnosis. “My wife kind of saw it, she felt it. Other friends saw it. I

thought everyone else was wrong, that it’s everyone else that’s different. And then I read the doctor’s report that was about 20 pages long, and things started clicking for me. And we knew we could use this to our advantage, to help me – not just to being a better golfer but to being a better father, being a better husband and just being happier in life.” To help Bennett understand more about their shared situation, Mayfair told him: “We are a very unique breed. We’re very picky, we’re very anal in a way, and we’re perfectionists; that’s why you’re so good at golf. I can tell you’re good with your studies, too. I can just tell by talking with you the last five minutes…you’re going to do things your way, and you should. Don’t let anyone else tell you differently. You’ll figure things out your way. Your brain works one way, and you know how it works.” Although Bennett has had many lightbulb moments in recent years, Mayfair provided the latest. “When he took the time to establish his message Continues on page 8 >>

Michigan Golf Journal Team Leader

that we’re a very special breed, I don’t think he (Mayfair) could have summed it up any better,” Bennett said. “I think Asperger’s Syndrome hinders you in a lot of respects, but it also makes you stronger in other aspects. Sometimes with Asperger’s you’re a little too deep and too honest around other people. And I’m not saying honesty is a bad thing, but sometimes you can get a little too personal and it makes others a little uncomfortable. “But at the same time, Asperger’s gives you the ability to relate to other people when they feel the same way, because you feel that way all the time. You feel awkward. You feel left out, and you can relate with them and tell them how you’ve dealt with it. And I think that’s what makes Asperger’s Syndrome more of an advantage in the world instead of a limitation.” Bennett has taken advantage of the opportunities golf has brought to his life. His next goal is to get accepted into the PGA management program at Ferris State. He also creates fantastic videos of some of his rounds of golf, with full commentary and a funny, unique perspective: https://m.youtube.com/channel/ UCDB6gN4TvuGj314-xMvDPnQ “Benny was so good about getting everybody pumped and getting everyone involved,” Cooper said about the team’s

interaction. “And I don’t even know if he realized how much of a positive affect he had. “He is the most diverse person we’ve had on the team. We have a very wide variety of students at Athens, and he’s one that shows everyone a different perspective. He looks at things differently and he’s so good at expressing himself, he doesn’t even know he’s doing it and he’s teaching people how to be better as a person. The team wanted to be around him. He made us better. He is responsible for making us better people, and that turned into positive results on the course.” MGJ

Michigan GolfGem Journal Leelanau’s

Bahle Farms: The Heart of Beautiful Leelanau County New owner is the youngest in Michigan at age 25 By Tom Lang Crosley Duckmann is like many Chicago-area natives whose family would venture north for many years to spend summers on the peaceful Leelanau peninsula that juts north from Traverse City. Duckmann, now at age 25, decided this summer he would stay in Michigan permanently.

The driving force behind that decision was also like many avid golfers’ dream – potential ownership of a golf course. His young business career came to a crossroad this year and merged perfectly at a time the family owners of the Bahle Farms Golf Course were ready to sell, and Duckmann

was ready to put his college studies in business information systems and accounting to good use in an environment he loved the most – golf and northern Michigan. “Every day we go to bed and say, ‘today was a good day,’ even if something goes wrong, we still feel that day

October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com

was good,” Duckmann said. “My overall happiness with life has definitely increased by moving up here.

year. If we didn’t have that we would have been hurting and struggling to find people for sure.”

“I knew I was going to have to work hard and spend longs days and long hours, and I was ready for that, and it was as I expected. The ongoing operations is still a learning experience every day. There’s something new we’re coming across and scrambling to figure out and it just makes us ready for the next time.”

Duckmann played competitive high school golf and stays very active in the sport today. He wants to draw from his experiences that made him the most grateful as a golfer himself.

The ‘us’ Duckmann refers to is his girlfriend, marketing and events director Melissa Obis, plus about a dozen staff that stayed on from the previous ownership and a couple new people. His father, an accountant, also helps with business advice. He said thankfully the staff had a ton of background knowledge, and their availability has helped avoid the pitfalls other businesses across Michigan have experienced with a lean 2021 workforce. “The biggest thing was keeping the employees from last

“Knowing what I’ve liked and what I found to be a positive experience on other golf courses, I’m then trying to recreate that here to give golfers a positive experience,” he said. “We’re not trying to pack the course at maximum capacity.

Crosley Duckmann

We want everyone to have that unique experience out there. We could do 8-minute tee times and fully pack the course, but then people get cranky about slow play and waiting to make shots. We have 12-minute spacing to allow the groups to feel almost out there by themselves, to have a unique experience on the course.” Covid-19 cut back or eliminated weddings and large gatherings at most golf course properties nationwide, but Duckmann and Obis hope to bring those events back in 2022 after a season getting their feet wet in golf operations. They have a unique element with a large cherry orchard on site that could make a great outdoor venue, and the extra revenue the harvest supplies is a huge bonus to maintaining the financial bottom line.

Playing the Playing Course:the Course: Not long after the sale to Duckmann was completed, Obis sent out a news release when I was covering Continues on page 13>>

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October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com

the Michigan Open at Grand Traverse. It allowed a short trip over to Leelanau to which I published a short story in the July edition. This is a paraphrase of some of the comments I made mid-summer that still hold very true: There is always hesitancy when someone in marketing or in the media uses words like ‘breathtaking views’ or ‘incredible vistas’ to describe any golf course destination.

With that fair warning I can honestly say a course I’ve never heard of before, fits those exact descriptions – the 20-year-old Bahle Farms Golf Course – nestled on high ridges of central Leelanau County. Of the courses I have played in Michigan, this little-known course is easily in Michigan’s top 5 courses of those laid out across so many drastic elevation changes and rolling hills.

The tee boxes at No. 10 and 11 (cover photo) are easily 100 feet above the fairways below. They are the most severe drop offs on this course and the photos from the tee boxes look like they are taken by drones – but literally every hole except the par 3 Hole No. 4 over a pond and No. 13 (which cuts through the heart of a cherry orchard) is built on land that goes uphill or downhill Continues on page 14>>

18th Green

Michigan GolfGem Journal Leelanau’s

or crosses sharp valleys – while many have slanted fairways along the way. To call it naturally rolling countryside is an understatement. “Every single hole is designed in a way that they aren’t the same to any other,” Duckmann said. “Our elevation changes are magnificent. It’s very beautiful out there, and you get not only great views on the course but of the surrounding county as well. You get big, huge, long views of forest areas and orchards (and of Suttons Bay).” If players are looking for fast and challenging greens, this course is the one to try tackling. Greens

are quite the challenge for a few reasons, in part because many putting surface sections along the outer edges fall toward false fronts or greenside sand – ultimately making the putting surface much smaller than it looks when trying to land approach shots. Pin placements are a key factor on whether the average golfer scores well or not. I was paired up in midSeptember with two metro Detroiters who were giving Bahle Farms a first try. Both men said they liked the course, loved the views and the scenery, but also agreed the pin placements can be a huge factor with all the undulations.

My favorite stretch of three holes is 10-12. No. 10 kicks off the back nine from the highly-elevated tee on the par 4 that goes back up to a slightly elevated green. No. 11 is a huge drop off par 3 to a large green, but the view from the tee over the valley can be districting, in a good way. No. 12 is a long par 5 that slowly climbs back uphill to reach the level of the 13th hole, which cuts through the cherry orchards. Any golfer that wants a true ‘Northern Michigan’ experience with grand views and a challenging up and down golf course layout – this is one you’ve got to try. More information found here. MGJ

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Michigan Golf Journal Freeways and Fairways

Freeways and Fairways: Emerald Golf Course

This review is part of an occasional series that looks at golf courses found along Michigan freeways – those you drive by frequently, or on that annual vacation, but never seem to have time to stop and explore. Make the time.

Hole 18

By Tom Lang The season is winding down on 25 years of The Emerald, situated along U.S. 27 to the north of St. Johns. Right across the highway is a long-time family staple for trips up north, the Uncle John’s Cider Mill.

October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com

Value for the money: Considering the experience of rolling terrain mixed with five ponds and many hardwood tree-lined fairways, rates are very fair at mid-Michigan’s “gem.” Why try it:

Hole 13

Playability: For several years the course previously hosted high school state finals, so it sports a good combination of challenges from select tee boxes, yet Emerald remains a course that won’t bury junior golfers and others new to the game. For those who like to know which club to pull out of the bag (and all will be tested), multiple markers made of tall native grass bushes placed 100-150-200250 yards from the green, plus sprinkler head measurements to center of green, helps everyone. Yards: 6619 from tips, 5031 from forward tees. Hole to Remember: No. 17 (451 yards from back tee) is one of those reachable par fives that can call out your name and whispers into golfers’ ears, “go for it.” But the approach can be tricky due to a stream that tightens the fairway near the green, making it a great risk/reward hole for those big hitters going for it in two to the elevated green. Balancing out a hole like 17 on the other side of the course is No. 4, a tough par 3 with water on the right and OB to the left; 223 yards from the tips. Many holes in between are a lot of fun, too.

• Women friendly award as a top 100 course in the nation by Golf for Women magazine several years ago. • Known for very fast greens if that’s what you’re looking for. • The main comments inside the clubhouse of new golfers is: “I’ve driven by for years and always wanted to stop and try it.” Do it. MGJ Web site: www.emeraldgolfcourse.com

MichiganGuide Golf Journal Buyers

Golf Ball Buyers Guide 2021 From the staff at Miles of Golf, Ypsilanti Editor’s note: There are three overall levels of golf ball styles, construction and pricing. This broad overview below is backed up by Miles of Golf testing and you can find extra details on many types of golf balls using the link at the end of this story. Tour Performance Golf Balls

player gets to their highest lofted clubs, creating the Tour caliber golf balls are the most amount of spin and the most advanced golf balls on lowest launch for the best the market today. They feature green side control possible. multi-layer construction Combining these features give consisting of three to five layers players of all skill levels the (core, mantel, cover, etc.) which greatest opportunity to score allow the ball to perform best from tee to green. with all clubs. Some golf balls have multiple mantel layers to Low spin and great ball provide feel and higher launch speeds off the driver and angles as the loft of the club control and feel around the becomes lower. greens make these golf the most complete in the sport. The Urethane cover of a tour ball may be the most Examples of Tour balls: important feature. Urethane Titleist ProV1 and ProV1x is soft and creates friction TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x between the ball and the Callaway Chrome Soft, club faces. This becomes increasingly important as the Chrome Soft X and New

Chrome Soft X LS (low spin) Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV These are a few examples of Tour level golf balls on the market. Other companies that offer tour balls with multilayered construction and a urethane cover are: Wilson Staff, Bridgestone, Volvik, and Mizuno Golf. From tee to green there is no better choice than a tour caliber golf ball. The technology that exists in these products is second to none and can benefit any level of golfer. If the price is justifiable, play a multilayered construction tour ball and bomb it off the tee,

October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com

hit it high with the mid & long irons, have great feel and spin in the short game. With these characteristics you will be sure to be the best version of yourself. Test them and see which one fits you. Performance Golf Balls The performance golf ball category is for the player that wants a quality golf ball that will be consistent enough for their game, but not break the bank. These are generally your 3-piece construction golf balls offering a good mix of launch and distance off the tee with solid spin around the green. One of the big things to look at when choosing a performance ball is the cover. There are typically three cover material options: surlyn (plastic), ionomer and urethane. Urethane cover golf balls offer the closest thing to a tour ball in terms of performance. Here are some examples: Titleist: Tour Speed (TPU cover) & Tour Soft (Surlyn) Callaway: ERC Soft (Hybrid Cover featuring PARALOID) TaylorMade: Tour

Response (Urethane) and Soft Response (Ionomer) Bridgestone: E12 Contact (Surlyn) Srixon: Q Star Tour (Urethane with SeRM) & Q Star (Surlyn with SeRM) Value Golf Balls When choosing a golf ball there’s always the question of performance vs price? Most people would say they want good performance, but they don’t want to pay $50 for a dozen balls. The “value” golf ball is a perfect fit for this kind of player. A ball that will be long off the tee and have a soft feel around the greens but doesn’t hurt your soul when you lose it in the woods.

Most of the golf balls in this category are of a 2-piece construction, meaning there’s a core and a cover. Typically, there are two styles of balls in the category; High compression and low compression. High compression balls have a slightly firmer core which gives higher ball speed off of the driver but lacks in feel around the greens. Low compression golf balls have a slightly softer core giving them great feel around the greens but slightly less energy transfer off of the driver. MGJ For details on each ball listed above, go here: https:// www.milesofgolf.com/2021golf-ball-buyers-guide/

Michigan Corner Golf Journal College

Wolverine Women Start Season Off Right

Double Down on Bucket-List Golf

The Michigan women’s golf team opened its 2021-22 season winning the Wolverine Invitational in midSeptember by 12 shots. It was the program’s 11th home event title in 24 tries with a U-M Golf Course women’s team record 851 (-1) -- the first sub-par tally ever at U-M’s home course. The entire starting five finished in the top 20 individually, including comedalist Mikaela Schulz, who shot 68-7072 = 210 (-3). “To win anywhere is special and meaningful, to do it at home, under the conditions we had, was just icing on the cake,” said U-M head coach Jan Dowling. “We’ve been knocking on the door several times in the past year. “What a great win for Mikaela,” said Dowling. “She got off to bit of a rocky start but pushed through and really had an awesome back nine in very windy conditions.” Michigan’s Ashley Lau placed 4th individually with 214 and Hailey Borja took 6th place at 215.

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MSU Men Captured Island Resort Intercollegiate Tournament U.S. Amateur Champion James Piot earned co-medalist honors with teammate Troy Taylor II Harris, MI – The Spartans dominated the two-day Island Resort Intercollegiate by beating runner-up University of Central Florida by 23 strokes at Sage Run Golf Club in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. James Piot, the 2019 winner of the same event, shared medalist honors with teammate Troy Taylor II with a 54-hole total of 209. MSU also had three other players in the top 10 that had 13 players (including ties). MSU’s primary all-sport

rival, Michigan, finished third with 880.

conditions with a slight wind.

Piot, who recently became the first Michigan native to claim the prestigious U.S. Amateur golf championship, said he would have wanted a playoff if a golfer from a different school had claimed a share of first place.

“It was weird, but I had a blast playing against my teammate,” Taylor said. “I just wanted the team to do well. I enjoyed being in the hunt of things. I knew I had to play good golf because he is the national (amateur) champion.” MGJ

Taylor, whose father Troy Taylor played basketball at Ohio State University, maintained “a good mindset” in the final round played under balmy

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Michigan Golf Journal Top Value Courses

Stoatin Brae

Michigan Leads Golf.com Ranking of the Top 100 Value U.S. Courses for $150 or Less

Reprinted with Permission. This story first appeared in Detroit Free Press on Aug. 20

By Carlos Monarrez I’ve played a lot of golf all over the country. I’ve played in golf hotbeds like California, Florida, Arizona and Hawaii. I’ve even played internationally (OK, it was Windsor, but still). After playing so many courses in so many states over several decades,

there’s something I’ve long suspected about Michigan’s golf courses but that I wasn’t able to quantify or prove. Until now. Thanks to the recent legwork of a select group of 10 raters at Golf.com, my suspicion has been

confirmed: Michigan leads the country in top value courses you can play for $150 or less. That’s right. Not California, Texas, Florida or even New York — all of which have least twice Michigan’s population of about 10 million. It’s the Great Lakes

October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com

State that leads the way, with seven selections. California and New York each have six courses on the list. Texas has five and Florida has just three. I’m sure many Michiganders are curious about our neighbors to the south. Sadly, those poor Ohioans only have four courses on the list, plus they have to root for Ohio State. Life just isn’t fair sometimes. I’m sure many of you think $150 isn’t cheap and doesn’t exactly sound like a great “value.” But the editors at Golf.com noted

they chose $150 to cast a wider net of choices and that you can play these courses in many cases for much less than $150. For instance, Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix is the top-ranked Michigan course at No. 10 and when rater Ran Morrissett played it, he noted “the cost was well under $100.” Here are Michigan’s seven courses that were ranked, with fee ranges based on walking 18 holes or with an inclusive cart fee:

• No. 10 Belvedere in Charlevoix, $40-$110. • No. 14 Stoatin Brae in Augusta, $55-$118. • No. 29 American Dunes in Grand Haven, $100$150. • No. 39 Diamond Springs in Hamilton, $31-$56. • No. 45 Pilgrim’s Run in Pierson, $47-$71. • No. 71 Eagle Eye in Bath, $71.25-$120. • No. 94 The Gailes at Lakewood Shores in Oscoda, $42-$78. I’ve seen or played all of these courses, except Belvedere and Diamond Continues on next page >>

American Dunes

Michigan Golf Journal Top Value Courses

Eagle Eye

Springs. But if they’re anything remotely close to as good as the five others on the list, there’s no question they deserve this accolade.

take a guess. If you picked Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, you get a cookie! It runs $39$150, depending on your residency status.

Belvedere has been on my bucket list for a while and I promise to play it before the end of next summer, if my boss approves my time off. And my wife says it’s OK. And my kids aren’t too busy. And we can find a dog sitter. And we aren’t up to the Omega variant by then. So, by the end of 2023 for sure!

My guess would have been Torrey Pines’ South Course, but I’ll bet it didn’t make the cut because it tops out at $252 for nonSan Diego residents. Ouch! (Pro tip: I’ve been to Torrey. At that price, skip it. I’d rather sell a couple kidneys and pay $575 to play Pebble Beach).

The top course on the list is … go ahead and

Golf.com didn’t mention courses that just missed out on the ranking. But I’m

sure the price cutoff kept revered Michigan courses like Arcadia Bluffs, Forest Dunes, Bay Harbor and Greywalls off the list. The ranking only provided comments for the top 20 courses, so here’s a sampling of what the editors thought of Belvedere and Stoatin Brae. Belvedere: “Thanks to how Golden Age architect William Watson incorporated meandering creeks, dramatic valley walls and gorgeous Michigan rolling landforms into his routing here, the golfer wants for nothing.”

October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com

Editors also lauded Belvedere for being a private club that allows outside play. “As a big believer in the notion that great architecture should be shared, I tip my hat to the club,” Morrissett wrote.

stretches on this entire list, even though a lot of people don’t know about it.”

I couldn’t agree more. We’ll meet one of these days, Belvedere.

Being named national golf course of the year for 2021 won’t keep Stoatin Brae a secret much longer. I also found some tee times (in August) starting at $39 with a cart, but don’t tell anyone.

Stoatin Brae: “Much of the front nine traverses a plain, and then, starting at 10, the land goes crazy — a topsy-turvy six-hole stretch that you won’t soon forget. It is one of the best

I love golf and I can find something to enjoy about any course I play. Last week, I went on a golf vacation with friends and family from Pennsylvania. We played a Robert Trent

Sophistication and moder n comfort come together at our landmark four-diamond resort with golf cour se, 5ive Steakhouse, heated and covered driving range with Trackman, and the ar areas largest retail golf store - Carl’s Golf land. For stay & play packages, resort reservations and tee times call 734-414-0600 or visit theinnatstjohns.com. 44045 Five Mile Road Plymouth, MI 48170

Jones Sr. and an Arnold Palmer course at Oglebay Golf Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia. The courses were beautiful and challenging. There were too many sidehill lies for my taste, but we were on a mountain, after all. As much as I loved the golf and the camaraderie, there was one thought that kept coming back to me. I wished I was playing golf in Michigan, where I’ve always known the courses are majestic and the value can’t be beat. MGJ

MichiganUpdates Golf Journal Boyne

Boyne Highlands Remodels Hotel and Donald Ross Memorial Golf Course

By Tom Lang Changes abound at Boyne Highlands north of Petoskey with really cool and sophisticated, modern updates to 87 rooms at the iconic Main Lodge, which has operated with an English Tudor-style design for several decades. Also seeing updates is the work on the Donald Ross Memorial Course’s opening hole, which is a replica of Seminole No. 6 along the coastline in Florida. A completely

restyled green is going in right now to be more accurate with Seminoles’ design plus changes to the fairway surround has more sand and fescue and fewer northern Michigan trees, all to add increased authenticity to the hole’s overall look. The initial goal from the beginning was to replicate as much as possible some excellent Donald Ross holes from around the country. The Boyne team

some 30 years ago picked from over 400 hole designs and narrowed the choices down to those that fit the Boyne topography the best they could, to help make the replications that much more accurate. The course won Golf Digest’s ‘Best New Resort Course in the U.S.’ in 1990. It was never constructed to be a “top 18” type course, but rather one that fit the land’s authenticity and give golfers a strong flavor of

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Ross. If selections came down to the last few holes, priority was given to those holes at private clubs so the public golfer would have a chance to see and play some. “Some of the technologies today allow us to have better access to the designs,” said Ken Griffin, Director of Golf Marketing. “And one of the ones we thought we could improve upon today from the original (development) was to better replicate Seminole No. 6, our first hole. It’s especially important being the first hole you play, and we wanted to get it right.” Griffin noted that other holes are under consideration for change – in part because just one of the Boyne holes has undergone four changes at its home course since the time Boyne built the one it has now. Changing it would remove the original Ross design for people to see. “We are not going to change it otherwise we’d have nothing but a course always under construction.” My recent hotel stay in the updated section of the hotel was impressive. The bathrooms are

stunning, and the seating and bedroom areas have improved use of space and style. Information provided by the property explains how the changes took place to blend traditional English countryside with contemporary features. The colors draw on rich earthy tones of the surrounding seasonal landscape, along with classic materials from tufted leather headboards and rich wood built-in

cabinetry to wainscoting and metal elements. Bathrooms feature marble floor and wall tiles, fixtures from British manufacturer Lefroy & Brookes, with handcasted, forged, polished, and assembled taps, Euro-style toilets, custom designed lighted mirrors, vanity toe kick nightlights, and local art decorating the walls. The Moor Course is undergoing even more changes that we’ll explore in the future. MGJ

Michigan Golf Journal Tournament Results

Tournament Results By Greg Johnson

Dan Ellis, Jimmy Dewling Repeat Winners in GAM Four-Ball Championship LANSING – Brighton’s Jimmy Dewling said the GAM Four-Ball Championship is circled on the calendar each year. “It gets us together to play golf,” said the Brighton High School golf coach and real-estate broker of teaming up with former MSU golf teammate Dan Ellis, now the associate head coach for the MSU men’s golf team. Dewling, 30, and Ellis, 31, a pair of overpowering long ball hitters, shot a winning 8-under 62 at Country Club of Lansing, winning GAM’s FourBall title for the third time overall and second consecutive year.

Lorenzo Pinili, Lauren Timpf Win GAM Junior Invitational Titles EAST LANSING – Lorenzo Pinili of Rochester Hills and Brother Rice High School – and Lauren Timpf of Macomb and Lutheran North High School – finished the summer golf season as GAM Junior Invitational champions at Forest Akers West. Pinili, age 17, won on the first hole of a playoff with Jack Zubkus of Ada. They were tied after regulation play at 1-under 143 with Pinili shooting a closing 73 and Zubkus coming from behind with a 4-under 68. Pinili parred the first playoff hole, No. 18, while Zubkus hit a second shot from a fairway bunker into a pond and couldn’t save par.

A pair of junior golf standouts, Carter Housler of Lansing and PJ Maybank III of Cheboygan, teamed up to shoot 63 and finish second to Dewling and Elli.

In the girls’ competition, Timpf, who soon after turned 15, rallied from behind with a closing 71 for 148 and slipped past Adie Maki of Canton, who shot a 74 for 149. Timpf said back-to-back birdies on holes No. 6 and 7 were critical to the win and she credited improved putting in the second round.

“We’ve played in a few things, did the USGA Four-Ball (earlier this season) and we get together in this,” Ellis said. “It’s fun to get the juice going and to play and see how low we can go.” MGJ

“I found I was focusing too much on the line on the ball and just tried to focus on visualizing a line into the hole,” she said. “That really helped. My putting was a lot better.” MGJ

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Grand Blanc’s Terry Delcamp Wins GAM Women’s Senior Championship in Playoff Jackson’s Steve Maddalena Wins 35th GAM Senior Championship ANN ARBOR – Jackson’s Steve Maddalena didn’t miss a green in regulation and held off his playing partners to win the 35th GAM Senior Championship at Barton Hills Country Club. “I played pretty solid except for two threeputt bogeys and felt really good with what I was doing tee to green,” he said after shooting a closing 3-under 68 for a 5-under 137 tournament total and three-shot win. “I love this golf course. I could play here every day and never get tired of it.” Mitch Wilson of Portage and fellow Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Randy Lewis of Alma, who played in the same group with Maddalena, tied for second. Wilson shot 70 and Lewis 71 for 140. Leo Daigle of Wixom, and recent U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up Jerry Gunthorpe of Ovid, rounded out the top five at 141. It was the second GAM Senior Championship win for the 61-year-old Maddalena, who also won in 2019, and he was coming off a prestigious invitational win in the Senior Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club near Buffalo, N.Y. It was his second big national win of the year. He also won the Trans-Mississippi Senior in May. MGJ

Terry Delcamp of Grand Blanc made a seven-foot par putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Shelly Weiss of Southfield to win her third GAM Women’s Senior Championship, at Birchwood Farms Golf & Country Club. “I had the same putt in regulation play and missed it, but this time I knew it was straight in,” she said. Delcamp won her first two Women’s Senior titles back-to-back in 2014 and ’15, including the previous visit in 2015 to Birchwood Farms. Both players totaled 157 for two rounds and the medalist tie. “I retired this year so I’ve played a little bit more golf and had expectations that I would play better,” Delcamp said after accepting the Sara Wold Trophy. Four golfers tied for third behind Delcamp and Weiss. Cathy Netter of Monroe, Susan Campbell of Kalamazoo, Barb Schmid of Grand Rapids and Pam Tyler of Grand Rapids all finished at 161 with defending champion Julie Massa checking in at 165. Massa went on to reach match play of the USGA Women’s Sr. Amateur soon after. MGJ

Michigan Golf Journal Tournament Results Michigan Golf Journal

DeWitt’s Nate Clark Survives Playoff, Wins 39th GAM Mid-Amateur Championship DeWitt’s Nate Clark has been runner up too many times in significant Golf Association of Michigan tournaments but broke through by winning the 39th GAM Mid-Amateur Championship on the second hole of a suddendeath playoff with John Quigley (2017 MidAmateur champion) of Sterling Heights, at Boyne Highlands Resort. “I’ve been playing in GAM stuff since I was 16 or 17 and to sort of finally break through and win one is awesome,” he said. “I’ve had a two second (places) here (in the Mid-Am) and a second in the GAM Championship at least once. I’ve been in the final group a few times like today, the semifinals of the (Michigan Amateur), a few Sweet 16s, and to finally break through and do it, feels great.” Clark is a 42-year-old financial advisor. He and Quigley, age 37, finished two rounds under par at 139. Boyne Highlands hosted the championship for Michigan male amateur golfers over age 25 for the 20th consecutive year and 24th time in the history of the championship that honors the winner with the Glenn H. Johnson Trophy. MGJ

Monroe’s Cathy Netter Wins 17th Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur Monroe’s Cathy Netter never led and had to rally from a three-down deficit through nine holes to top Lewiston’s Lori Schlicher on the final hole of the title match in the 17th Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur Championship. “I just tried to stay consistent, tried to just play my game and you know, it worked out in the end,” she said after the 1-up win and accepting the Jean Murray Trophy at Mount Pleasant Country Club. “She made a few really key putts on the front nine, and I didn’t, and then I was fortunate to take a couple of holes early on the back nine and that helped me get some momentum going, and I think that really helped.” Netter, 61 is a GAM tournament winner for the first time since winning the 2002 GAM Mid-Amateur Championship. Schlicher, age 59 and playing in her first Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur. Netter said she played little competitive golf for several years while working as a special education administrator for the Monroe Public Schools, but since retiring a few years ago has worked back into tournaments. MGJ

Michigan News and Notes

Three Michigan Turfgrass Scholar Winners By Kelsey Underwood

Payton Perkinson, a student at Michigan State University who is from Buffalo Grove, IL, is the winner of the Mendenhall Award of $6,000 in the 2021 Scholars Competition offered through the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

range from $500 to $6,000.

In May 2020, she began an internship at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. At the end of the summer, she was recognized as the Intern of the Year award. She returned to Oakmont Country Club for the summer 2021 season and was fortunate to be able to help the club prepare for the 2021 U.S. Amateur – where fellow MSU student James Piot won the national title. MGJ

She enrolled at Michigan State University (MSU) in the fall of 2018, pursing a bachelor’s degree in crop and soil sciences in the turfgrass management program, with a minor in horticulture. While at Michigan State, she helped The GCSAA Scholars plan a diversity and inclusion Competition is funded by workshop for students in the Robert Trent Jones the plant, soil and microbial Endowment and administered science department. by the GCSAA Foundation. It was developed to recognize Other award winners are: outstanding students working Spencer Cole, Grant, Mich., Michigan State University, toward careers in golf course Scholars Award, $3,000 management or other related Brendan Stuchell, Union City, Mich., Michigan State areas of the golf course University, Scholars Award, $2,500 industry. The scholarships

Girls High School State Finals October 15-16, 2021 Div. 1 at The Meadows, Grand Valley State Div. 2 at Bedford Valley, Battle Creek Div. 3 at Forest Akers West, MSU Div. 4 at Forest Akers East, MSU In 2020 the finals were shortened to one round to minimize Covid.

Winners were: Div. 1: Kate Brody, 70, Grand Blanc (medalist) and Northville (team) Div. 2: Allison Cui, 70, Okemos (medalist) and South Lyon (team) Div. 3: Shannon Kennedy, 70, (medalist, playoff) and Bloomfield Hills Marian (team) Div. 4: Kamryn Shannon, 74, Michigan Center (medalist) and Montague (team)

Michigan Golf Journal Historic Hotels and Golf

Two Midwest Hotels Make Top 25 of America Most Historic Golf Courses List French Lick and Mackinac Island Earn the Two Midwest Selections by Historic Hotels of America French Lick Springs Hotel (1845) French Lick Springs, Indiana

West Baden Springs Hotel (1902) West Baden, Indiana

Golf and history enthusiasts are in for a treat at French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana, which boasts three courses designed by three greats of 20th century golf course design. Notably, the resort’s most historic golf course – on account of its age, closeness to the original form, and the distinction of its designer – is the Donald Ross Course. Designed in 1917 by Donald Ross, the course was an immediate success. It first hosted the PGA Championship in 1924, won by Walter Hagen. The course has hosted LPGA championships and Senior PGA events in the years since. Along with the greats of the game, worldclass golf has attracted scores of celebrities to French Lick over the years, including singer Bing Crosby, comedian Bob Hope, business magnate Howard Hughes, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and professional football player Peyton Manning. French Lick native Larry Bird also worked and played on the French Lick golf course in his youth.

The French Lick Resort encompasses two historic hotels, The French Lick Hotel (1845) and the West Baden Springs Hotel (1902), where guests have access to the Donald Ross Course as well as courses designed by Pete Dye (2009) and Tom Bendelow (1907).

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Grand Hotel (1887) Mackinac Island, Michigan The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island provides guests of the Lake Michigan luxury resort a wonderful historic 18-hole golf course, The Jewel, comprised of the Grand Nine and the Woods Nine. It is the only course in the country with horse-drawn carriage rides between nines. The Grand Nine, located across from the hotel with views of the Straits of Mackinac, was designed in 1901 by golf links artist Tom Bendelow and redesigned in 1987 by golf course architect Jerry Matthews. In 1994, Matthews designed the Woods Nine, located in the interior of Mackinac Island with views of the Mackinac

Bridge and the Upper Peninsula. Among the many sports champions and notable figures who have played the Jewel include 1987 U.S. Open Championship winner Scott Simpson, sports announcer Jim Nantz, and former U.S. President Gerald Ford. President Ford himself was fond of Mackinac Island throughout his life, with his first visit taking place all the way back during his youth in the 1920s. (He specifically served as an Eagle Scout at the Mackinac Island State Park Commission’s Scout Service Camp.) As such, President Ford returned frequently while on vacation, engaging in activities like sampling fresh candy at Mary’s Fudge, touring Fort Mackinac, and playing a round or two at The Jewel. MGJ

Others on the top 25 list include: Omni Homestead Resort (1766) in Hot Springs, Virginia Woodstock Inn & Resort (1793) in Woodstock, Vermont Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa (1806), Pennsylvania The Sagamore Resort (1883) in Bolton Landing, New York The Jekyll Island Club Resort (1886) on Jekyll Island, Georgia

Michigan Golf Golf Journal Ireland on a Budget

The Irish Links Experience Without the Big-Course Green Fees

Rosslare Golf Links

By Tony Dear You’ve saved and planned for months/years and, at last, you’re heading east across the Atlantic to the Emerald Isle for two weeks of world-class golf and the sort of hospitality you’ve read about in tourism guides but didn’t think actually existed. Your itinerary has been set in stone for ages and likely includes any number of fabled links – Royal County Down, Royal

Portrush, Portmarnock, Co. Louth (Baltray), The European, Waterville, Tralee, Connemara, Carne, Enniscrone, Co. Sligo (Rosses Pt), Donegal (Murvagh), Ballyliffin and Rosapenna where Michigander Tom Doak’s amazing new St. Patrick’s course opened in June. It’s a pretty impressive list of venues from which to choose. What will make your trip even more

memorable though, is finding an obscure links course your friends won’t know about but which you have time to visit having played a big-name course in the morning. At the lesserknown links, you’ll find the same expansive landscapes and firm, sandy turf as at the more famous courses, but you’ll pay half or even a third as much to play them and be welcomed like a long-lost member.

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Portsalon

Here are 10 of the best on the island of Ireland with green fees ranging from €35 (about $41) to £105 (about $146).

Southeast

Rosslare – Co. Wexford (60 minutes south of the European Club) It says so much about the golf in this country that a course like Rosslare, designed by Fred G. Hawtree and five-time Open champion JH Taylor and opened in 1925, is barely known outside it. The club abandoned its original nine holes for 18 on a superb stretch of linksland a little further north in 1925 and

since then little has changed. Rosslare is a fairly standard out and back routing about the same width as the Old Course at St. Andrews and possesses the sort of humps, hollows, cropped turf and random contours that make links golf such an adventure. €50 – rosslaregolf.com Arklow – Co. Wicklow (15 minutes south of The European Club) Hawtree and Taylor laid out the course on classic

linksland in 1927 since then a few changes have had to be made due to the ever-meddlesome Irish Sea. Eddie Hackett, the Godfather of Irish course design, was called upon to restore some lost holes in the 1970s and, toward the end of the century, Eddie B. Connaughton, who specialized in turf care and agronomy but also redesigned a number of courses, made several alterations. Arklow is a

Michigan Golf Golf Journal Ireland on a Budget

Corballis

wonderful round of golf, with the thrilling frontnine providing most of the highlights. €45 – arklowgolflinks.com

Northeast

Ballycastle – Co. Antrim (25 minutes east of Royal Portrush) The delightful Ballycastle, one of the Golfing Union of Ireland’s (GUI) founding clubs, begins with five parkland holes on the south side of Cushendall Rd and which circle Bonamargy Friary, a Franciscan foundation established in 1485, before crossing the road and heading for the coast. After three or four pure links holes, the course begins to climb the high

ground above Glenshesk, one of the Nine Glens of Antrim. The views from the top of the cliff over Rathlin Island, the North Atlantic and the Mull of Kintyre are spectacular. You drop back down to sea level at the short 17th then finish with the linksy 18th. Ballycastle may only measure 5,876 yards, but it’s quite a journey. £105 – ballycastlegolfclub. com Corballis Links – Co. Meath (5 minutes north of The Island, 25 minutes north of Portmarnock) After a hugely enjoyable, though somewhat stern, morning round at Portmarnock or the nearby Island GC, you will enjoy

the opportunity to shoot a lower (much lower) number at the Par 66 Corballis Links. Now owned by Fingal County Council, the course has existed in one form or another since 1906, though today’s layout was created by American architect Ron Kirby in 2004-05. It is, in short, an absolute blast to play with so many quirks and so much character you may find yourself juggling your itinerary to make room for another visit. €35 – corballislinks.com Laytown and Bettystown – Co. Meath (20 minutes south of Co. Louth) I’ll never forget the day I first played L&B in September 1997. After meeting him in the clubhouse, the club

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secretary escorted my friends and I to the first tee chatting all the way and generally making us feel like the most important non-members to ever play there. I’ve also heard about the German visitor who arrived at the 18th green to see the Flagge Deutschland flying on the club’s flagpole. I don’t know if this sort of thing happens with every visitor, but it gives you an idea of the sort of club we’re talking about. Anyway, the course, originally laid out in 1909 but later totally rebuilt by club pro RJ Browne, is everything a great links should be – all fescue/ marram-covered dunes, firm fairways, hollows, rises, sea views and fun greens. €95 – landbgolfclub.ie

Northwest

Portsalon – Co. Donegal (75 minutes west of Ballyliffin, 25 minutes east of Rosapenna) One of the nine clubs that together formed the GUI in 1891, Portsalon was originally designed by Charles Thompson, pro at the County Club (now Royal Portrush). Today’s course, however, is really the result of Pat Ruddy’s phenomenal redesign in 2000 when the former journalist and founder/designer of the

Lahinch Castle

European Club built nine new holes and left only five of the originals untouched. €100 – portsalongolfclub.ie Dunfanaghy – Co. Donegal (25 minutes west of Rosapenna) British soldiers are said to have whacked balls here as far back as 1740, but it wasn’t until 1906 that the golf club officially formed. The course was designed by six-time Open champion Harry Vardon (he’d won four of the six when he first visited Donegal) whose narrow routing alongside Killahoey Beach runs from west to east and back again, turning for home at the exquisite 124-yard 9th hole which crosses an arc of beach sand. €60 – dunfanaghygolfclub.com Strandhill – Co. Sligo (20 minutes south of Co. Sligo, 45 minutes east of Enniscrone) Eddie Hackett extended Strandhill’s original nine

holes to 18 in 1973 creating a Par 70 of about 6,350 yards (the club’s scorecard uses meters) that is a fabulous follow-up to your morning game at Co. Sligo. Bordered by Cullenamore Beach, Strandhill Beach and the lower slopes of a 1,000 ft limestone hill called Knocknarea, Strandhill is another of those courses that might not appear on your starting itinerary, but which you’ll be so pleased you added along the way. €100 - strandhillgolfclub.com

Southwest

Castlegregory – Co. Kerry (45 minutes east of Ceann Sibeal, 45 minutes west of Tralee, 60 minutes south of Ballybunion) It’s likely a fair chunk of your trip to Ireland will be spent in Kerry where legendary links courses seem to proliferate. But after a morning round at Waterville, Tralee, Ballybunion, Ceann Sibeal

Michigan Golf Golf Journal Ireland on a Budget

(Dingle), Dooks or Hog’s Head (Lahinch and Doonbeg are just a little way further north in County Clare), you’ll appreciate the change of pace at Castlegregory, a wonderfully natural links nine-holer bordered by the Atlantic to the north and Lough Gill to the south. Other great nine-hole courses that will fill sunny evenings, when there’s enough light to play until a little after 10pm, include Cruit Island, Spanish Pt, Achill Island, Mulranny and Gweedore. €40 (for 18 holes) – castlegregorygolflinks.com

Lahinch (Castle) – Co. Clare (adjoining Lahinch) A number of Ireland’s great clubs have more than one course. Royal County Down has the Annesley and Royal Portrush the Valley. Portmarnock has a third nine called the Yellow while Ballybunion boasts a ‘secondary’ 18 designed by Robert Trent Jones - the Cashen. Co. Sligo’s 36 holes include the Bomore Links, Enniscrone’s the Scurmore Course. Carne has the Kilmore Nine, Castlerock the Bann Nine. With the addition of St. Patrick’s, Rosapenna now has 63 holes while Ballyliffin has 45.

And, in addition to its world-renowned Old Course designed by Alister Mackenzie in 1927, Lahinch offers visitors the Castle Course which occupies flatter ground to the east of its more illustrious sibling. Whether you’re tuning up for, or winding down from, a round on the Old, you’ll enjoy a relaxing saunter round the Castle whose first nine holes were designed by Englishman John Harris and opened in 1963 with the second nine debuting in 1975. €40 – lahinchgolf.com MGJ