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Michigan Golf News February 17, 2006 Vol. 6, No. 7 _/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/__/ __/ __/ __/
BAY MILLS RESORT AND CASINO/WILD BLUFF GOLF COURSE
IN GAYLORD, GOLF THE NATURAL: A JERRY MATTHEWS COURSE
MICHIGAN GOLF SHOW, ROCK FINANCIAL SHOWPLACE, NOVI, MARCH 10-12
SHANTY CREEK RESORT & CLUB __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/
__/ WEST MICHIGAN GOLF SHOW OPENS TODAY- SHOW HEADLINERS INCLUDE:
Edited by Art McCafferty-Producer/Publisher, GLSP __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/
__/ MGN ON THE ROAD Edited by Art McCafferty-Producer/Publisher, GLSP __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/ __/
MGN ON THE ROAD Don White, the new Director of Golf at Garland brought their real estate salesperson Bryan Woodward to the show. While they were pitching golf and the summer Garland lifestyle, the folks they left behind were hosting another Gourmet Glide for cross-country skiers. Scott Seifferlein, one of those new faces, was there to promote the new golf school being started at the new Mines course in Grand Rapids. The Mines, a new course within the city limits of GR, opened last year. Mike DeVries was the course architect and he also designed the new Greywalls GC in Marquette and the "Can you find me now?", isolated but very special Kingsley Club, both on display at the show. Marc Gilmore, of the new Greywalls course, was beaming at his booth. The Greywalls GC has been getting some nice play and nice notice by the national and state media. The new course has made Marquette CC a 36-hole layout and you need a lot of rounds to feed them. The tab for the busy new Mike DeVries 18 is in the $$$ range, so save up and call early for your tee times. Indiana golf was in full force, trying to entice Michigan golfers to begin their season early or to continue it later in the year. Steve Harris of Swan Lake Resort, Randy Ballenger of Walnut Creek and a contingent of folks from Hamilton County, home of Purgatory, Prairie View, Bear Slide and Plum Creek. Michigan is a strong market for these properties and recent weather changes have made many of them playable almost year round.
Deb Kresak and members of the Shanty Creek Resort team were on hand
offering some terrific prices for the foursome of courses that they have.
Schuss Mountain, designed by Warner Bowen, the Summit Course designed
by noted architect, William Diddel, The Legend by Arnold Palmer and
their latest, Cedar River by Tom Weiskopf. Mike Husby was handing out great golf deals and terrific cookies at his Candlestone Inn Golf & Resort booth. Mike, the new GM at Candlestone, is working hard to make this fine W. Bruce Matthews design better known. Located in Belding, the course has been a tad out of the way for most golfers, but the population centers of Grand Rapids and Rockford are growing toward it. John Kennedy, co-owner of Hemlock, the Ray Hearn design in Ludington, said his rounds were up 15% last year. I would imagine the numbers would keep heading north as the Hemlock offers both, a visual delight and a serious golf challenge. Dave Hill, representing The Chief and Hawk's Eye properties was reminding all of the great golf there and the fact that Tom Izzo is their new golf ambassador. Izzo is the face for the courses and surrounding real estate, much like J.P. McCarthy was for Birchwood Farms and Al Kaline was for Crystal Mountain. Steve McGhee, who is in charge of tournament play for Boyne, indicated that they have two special tournaments coming to Boyne Highlands this year; The Michigan Amateur June 20-24 on The Heather course and the Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands scheduled for July 3 - 6 at the Donald Ross Memorial course. He also chatted about the time that he and Bill Laimbeer of the Pistons got the Celebrity Players Tour to hold one of its events at Boyne. Steve said that John Brodie, former quarterback and Senior Tour player, indicated that he felt that, excluding ocean courses, the Boyne courses were in the" Top Ten in his book."
Members of the Grand Rapids Elks, "Home of the Highlands² were on hand
promoting the 3rd Annual Greater Grand Rapids Charity Pro Am. The
tournament has been expanded to two days this year, July 17th and 18th.
Randy Barnard of Lady Links Golf Management is heading up the outing.
There are thoughts of hosting an LPGA tour one day and with the Farmers
Charity Classic now history, this could be a possibility. John Brehm, of Mt. Pleasant¹s Holiday Inn and the Pohlcat GC and his brother Tom, have settled in to a "happiness is positive cash flow", lifestyle with their golf and lodging properties doing so well. Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort is the elephant in the room and its presence has made for high occupancy and scarce tee times in Mt. Pleasant. Brehm said he spend most of his time last year, caddying for his nephew and family prodigy, Ryan Brehm now a junior at MSU. I remember when covering the Michigan Open, I asked the 18th hole marshal, who has been longest on the hole that day, and he said, "That young kid from MSU, Ryan Brehm. He drove it pass everybody on the fly." Brehm also indicated that Dan Pohl, now on the Champion's Tour, made more money last year, that he did when he was the leading money winner on the tour. Pohl has some back problems for a while, but now is in the hunt in the 50 and over crowd. Finally, Brehm indicated that the long awaited second course at Th e Pohlcat is starting to get some serious consideration. W. Bruce Matthews III would be the architect of record once the go decision has been made. Beeches Golf Club http://beechesgolfclub.com gathered general interest by show goers, as it is one of very few new golf courses opening this year. The course, located in South Haven, is a W. Bruce Matthews III design. Matthews has gotten some nice mileage out of his new or shall we say old design at Angel's Crossing. The award-winning course is a throwback to how courses were designed in the 20's. Matthews has also been tapped for the new course at The Pohlcat, when John and Tom Brehm, give the go ahead. Brad Dean and Elaine Crosby, the top teaching duo of Crystal Mountain Golf School, were on hand for instructional talks and some assistance in the Demo area. Crystal Mountain Golf Schools launched a satellite location a couple of years ago at Fox Hills. Scott Wilson heads the school there up. When you think of the top golf schools in Michigan, there is Crystal Mountain, the Jim Flick/Bill O'Neil Schools at Boyne and Treetops Academy with Henry Young and Judy Mason Judy Mason indicated that Treetops would again be offering 10 Women's Golf Schools. She said that the early bookings point to another successful year. Judy is also the Director of Golf for Michaywe. For the past couple of years Michaywe has been marketing both The Pines and The Lake courses. However, the Lakes course is up for sale and she indicated that the situation would have to play out to determine whether they will be marketing the two courses together or not this year. Speaking of women golf teachers and classes, Black Lake golf professionals, Pam Phipps and Debbie Massey, will be holding two three-day golf schools this year, one from May 21-24 and the second from June 11-14. http://www.blacklakegolf.com/instruction.html Tom McGee of Grand Traverse Resort & Spa was bullish about the coming year. It seems that, Tom, young as he is, has been at resort forever. He has been in charge for the last 6-7 years and always does a great job. The resort has sunk a couple of million into the lobby area and original hotel. We were given a tour during the holidays and it clearly will be a new experience when you enter the hotel. While tossing down, make that nursing a couple of adult beverages at downtown Flanagan's we ran into Joe Kau-Be-Naw, the Special Events Coordinator for the casino side of the resort. He and others in the business are looking for the next best thing in gaming. The Poker craze has leveled off. Actually, poker playing became such a hot game on TV, because ESPN had to find some programming when the NHL pulled the plug last year. Josh Bruswer, whose family owns Arrowhead Golf Course of Lowell, was trying to put Lowell on the golf map. Original owner Gene Kaye designed arrowhead in 1963. Lowell, home of the Lowell Showboat is a quiet little community and a round on Arrowhead might be a good alternative to bright lights, big city. Roger Wilson, Darin Philport and the staff at Hidden River Golf & Casting Club seem to be doing some nice business at their booth. It was at Hidden River, where W. Bruce Matthews III had his breakout course. Matthews has been getting some nice press for his work at Angels Crossing and a building buzz from his work at the new Beeches course in South Haven. Kate Moore, Stu Healey, Lisa Healey Postma and Ken Kapcia attracted a lot of attention at their combined MGCOA and Handicomp booth promoting the new League Championship Series. Their first effort at Eagle's Eye http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/mgcoaleaguetournament/ drew national attention. Ohio, for example, will be launching their first tournament this year and other states have contacted MGCOA about the idea and Handicomp about the software. Chuck Olson and John Jessup were representing Traverse City golf. Olson indicated that they are still hoping that Sugar Loaf will come back as a full-fledged resort. He indicated that the new owner had put some money into the courses, but getting it ready for skiing is still a year or two away.
Bill Fountain of the Majestic at Lake Walden in Hartland and "Dozer
Doug" O¹Rourke of The Grande Golf Club are teaming up on some marketing
ideas to promote each of these very special properties. Fountain has big
ideas, twice nailing some ink in the Wall Street Journal. During the
Thanksgiving season you can check out their Birdie Drop, which is a
helicopter passing over the course and dropping hundreds of pre numbered
golf balls that represent some great prizes. Since MG TV has the
footage, look for the show near that time of year. Steve Helmer and Larry Bowden have been a strong team over the years. They have provided some great golf and lodging in the Gaylord area. In the wintertime, they are working the snowmobile market. Two years ago, Bowden sold his Beaver Creek Resort, but held on to the award winning Jerry Matthews designed, The Natural GC. He has combined the course with lodging packages from Marsh Ridge Resort. They have a new website http://golfthenatural.com The new site is from the Golfer's Guide group and allows online bookings and nice navigation. Craig Peter, of Lakewood Shores Resort, is another golf show warrior. He has done a classy job at representing some first-rate golf properties in and real estate in the Oscoda. The award winning Gailes, the Seradella and the new Blackshire are great golf courses and worth the trip. http://lakewoodshores.com
Chris Cullen, Director of Instruction for the Old Channel Trail, was
reminding all that the facility has three generation of courses. Old
Channel Trail has three generations of courses; The Woods designed by
Robert Bruce Harris in 1926, The Meadow designed by W. Bruce Matthews in
1967 and The Meadow designed by Jerry Matthews in 1995. The courses all
have a very distinctive look a feel. It is a great place to golf
history. Mark Hogan was brandishing the new Michigan Golf magazine, where The Tribute finished 4th in the state. The Tribute is a fantastic course, with a short, but rich history. Golfers can also golf "The Classic" while at the Otsego Club. William Diddel, one of the original members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, designed it. Rob Lussenhof, of Wild Bluff, can look to a year where it is a little less stressful. This year, the Bay Mills Open will not be held, therefore, leaving Rob a bit of a breather. Rob is now in his third year as Director of Golf for this great resort and Mike Husby course.
*** Stuart, we could not agree with you more.
Signed, -----Advertisement----
*** "A Herculean effort is underway at Van Cortlandt Park. Our goal is to clear the vast majority of snow on the race course by tomorrow evening," said Mary Wittenberg, president of NYRR, during a conference call on Monday. "Van Cortlandt Park -- 1,146 acres atop the ridges and valleys of the northwest Bronx -- is New York City's third largest park. Playing fields and playgrounds are scattered about the park's edges, surrounding a richly forested heartland fed by Tibbets Brook. Van Cortlandt is home to the country's first public golf course, the oldest house in the Bronx, and the borough's largest freshwater lake."
***
For those of you who are curious about the four seasons at Gaylord, we
bring you some visual information with a new video gallery we have
assembled for them. The GLSP Television Network has collected and
consolidated a number of our shows and put them together in one location.
Viewers can click on any of eight videos on the Gaylord page, that will give
them tours of The Loon and The Natural golf courses, allow them to
catch the action at a Treetops golf tournament, see the over the top
excitement of Michigan SnoCross at the Otsego Club, swim, ride and bike
Gaylord within the natural challenges of the Mark Mellon Memorial Triathlon,
ski the slopes of Treetops and the Otsego Club or watch the
snowmobilers blast out of Marsh Ridge Resort on their way to the area's massive
trail system. We hope you enjoy the site and we look forward to
developing additional shows for Gaylord in the coming year.
GLSP Television Network
JACK BERRY: GOLFING IRELAND PART III -(Available at noon today)
Upcoming Shows
*** ³Our mission is to impact youth in Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Emmet counties by providing a learning facility and educational programs that promote character development and life enhancing skills through the game of golf,² Bezilla said. ³It is very exciting for Northern Michigan to bring an opportunity like this to our youth.² Taken and edited from a Resort and Golf Marketing release
*** Native American golfers will have an opportunity to earn spots on TEAM NAFOA in the 2006 Native American Cup "Presented by Charter Communications," by participating in the 2006 NAFOA Golf Classic held May 2, 2006. The NAFOA Golf Classic will be a 4 person scramble event, with a shotgun start of 1 PM. The site of the 2006 NAFOA Golf Classic is the beautiful Rhodes Ranch Golf Course in Las Vegas, NV. "We are very excited to partner with the Native American Finance Officers Association and help create more excitement and participation for their golf tournament, as well as the increased scholarship funds the event will generate." said Henry Boulley, board chairman of the Native American Cup organization. "We are very pleased to be partnering with the Native American Cup to offer this opportunity to earn paid spots in the field for this year's matches to be held in August at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa," said Terry Cornelius, Secretary of NAFOA and main organizer of the 2006 NAFOA Golf Classic. "We are very grateful to Notah Begay III for donating golf equipment to be raffled in support of the Scholarship Funds of our two Native Organizations." The 2006 Native American Cup "Presented by Charter Communications" will be held at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, which is located just north of Traverse City, Michigan. The resort is 100% owned and operated by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians. The event will take place August 4-5-6, 2006. http://www.nativeamericancup.org *Note-The Michigan Golfer Television Show will provide final day coverage on the Native American Cup on http://michigangolfer.tv/archives.html Taken and edited from a GTR&S release.
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