Welcome to our April 2026 Newsletter!
Congratulations
Steph S.
You are the winner of the March Newsletter
You correctly answered the question about Evergreen Resort’s former name.
It was McGuire’s Resort.
Steph, thanks for including your address. Your schwag is on the way.
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❄️Still Winter. Still somehow winter.
Pretty sure I could resend the opening paragraph from last month’s newsletter and nobody would notice because winter apparently signed a long term lease.
It is April Fools Day, and honestly it feels like Mother Nature has been committing to the bit for a few weeks now.
As I am writing this there is still a ridiculous amount of snow on the ground, the temperature is in the 20s, the roads are icy and it is snowing AGAIN! We were supposed to get a warm up and melt everything. That did not happen. At this point I am starting to think golf season is just a rumor people downstate started just to mess with us.
Last month I mentioned heading to Lauderdale to meet up with some of my kids. Everything went great. Until it really did not.
We had a blast. Lots of pool time. Explored the canals. I met some very friendly dogs on a walk to the liquor store, which felt like a productive use of vacation time. I also rediscovered that I am terrible at ping pong. The grandkids took great joy in confirming that.
Then came the text.
Fifteen minutes before we had to leave the Airbnb. Three hours before our flight home. Cancelled. No explanation. No alternate plan. Just a polite digital shrug.
Alex and Danielle had flown out on the same airline that morning without any issues. Which honestly felt a little personal.
Customer service wait time was over two hours both chat and phone. That was not happening. The cleaners showed up early and were already hovering, so we finished loading the car and relocated to the end of the subdivision to regroup. Nothing like ending a vacation with a parking lot strategy meeting.
We could not find a flight available on our airlines until 2 days later. That was not going to work.
Thankfully Lauren found us a flight on American for Sunday (the next day). Which meant going through O’Hare. Not my favorite airport. Not even in my top ten. Possibly not in my top one hundred.
The last minute one way tickets home cost almost as much as the original round trip flight. At that point we were past logic and into survival mode.
Next challenge was finding a hotel during Spring Break.
Thank you Hilton for coming through. It was more than I have ever paid for a single hotel room for one night, but I am now officially too old to consider sleeping on a beach to save money as a reasonable life choice.
With the crisis somewhat contained, we headed to lunch. We ended up at an Italian restaurant. I am usually skeptical about Italian food since I grew up on my Italian momma’s cooking. Most places do not compare. This one did. Best meatballs and polenta I have had in decades. My Aunt Edie used to make polenta. She passed more than forty years ago and my mom has been gone almost 30 years. Try as I might, I still cannot make polenta like they did. Most restaurants cannot either. This one nailed it.
The next morning the airport was absolute chaos. I was convinced we were going to miss the flight. Then an American Airlines angel appeared out of nowhere, grabbed those of us with flights leaving soon, got our bags checked, and pointed us toward security like a shepherd herding her flock.
We made it. Barely.
So, why the cancellation? Turns out there was a hailstorm in Atlanta that damaged a bunch of Delta planes. Our plane was sitting in Minnesota, but it looked like Delta reassigned it, maybe for a more profitable route. Airlines do airline things.
I fly Delta for a reason. Customer service has always been excellent. I have the Delta Amex which means free checked bags (American Airlines charged me $115). They fly through Detroit and Minneapolis, both airports I can tolerate without needing emotional recovery time. O’Hare always seems to come with drama delays for me (yes, it did this time as well). This whole situation caught me off guard.
Did Delta make it right? Absolutely.
They reimbursed the hotel, dinner, and drinks. Refunded more than half the cost for our original Delta flight even though we flew a higher class on the way down so the tickets home should have been cheaper (not complaining). They also gave generous eCredits and SkyMiles to both me and Guy.
Would I have preferred getting home on time? Of course. But Delta stepped up. That is why I will keep flying them.
Open for the Season
As of writing I cannot find a single course open in Northern Michigan. I am hearing rumors from Southeast Michigan thanks to Alex, but nothing up here yet.
At this point I would play a course that was half mud and one confused goose if someone just open the gates.
We are getting close. I can feel it. Like standing on the first tee with your glove already on even though the starter has not called your group yet.
As soon as the first course opens, we will activate the Open for the Season section on the website and start monitoring all the Northern Michigan Golf Courses. We will share openings as they are announced everywhere. Newsletter. Social media. Possibly smoke signals.
Did You Know?
A stymie is when one ball sits directly between the cup and another player’s putting line.
These days we just let the closest player finish. But this reminded me of a story.
I had been golfing about three years and was still at the stage where chipping across a green felt like a risky decision. One shot finally came off perfectly. I mean perfect. Tracking for a short putt for par.
Instead, it hit Guy’s ball and ricocheted straight into the hole.
He tried to argue it did not count.
I knew better. I happily wrote down birdie and moved on to the next hole
Sometimes golf loves you. Rarely, but sometimes.
Possible surprise course review later this season
One of my sons has a good friend whose family builds golf courses. Most of their work is in New England, but there is a chance they will be doing something closer to home this summer.
Nothing confirmed yet, so I am not naming names until I am physically sitting in a cart on the first tee trying to act like I belong there.
If this happens, it will be a course I never imagined I would get to play. Which means it will absolutely become newsletter content.
Stay tuned.
Golf Quote of the Month
This one felt very appropriate this month. The flight cancellation situation had strong triple bogey energy.
This one felt very appropriate this month. The flight cancellation situation had strong triple bogey energy.
It is a reminder to accept what happens, stay resilient, and occasionally rely on family to help save the day. Thanks again Lauren!
🌀 Check Out Our Latest Blog
Golf etiquette has definitely relaxed over the years. I am all for people enjoying the game. That is kind of the point. As long as your enjoyment does not ruin someone else’s round.
Slow play. Loud music. Hitting into groups ahead. It feels like I see more of it every season.
Entitled or Oblivious?
I saw a social media post recently where someone argued that because he was not very good, his slow play was okay since he paid the same green fee as everyone else. Basically, he felt those behind him could “suck it up, Buttercup”
I get the logic of the paying the same price to play. I really do. But letting faster groups play through is not admitting defeat or a ding to your ego. It is just being a decent human on a golf course.
As someone who proudly identifies as not a naturally gifted golfer, I can still keep pace when the course is moving and if I am not, we offer the group behind to play through. Put me on an empty course and I move like I have somewhere to be. Which I usually do. The 19th hole. 😊
I play ready golf. I look briefly for lost balls. My bag doesn’t get reorganized after every shot like I am preparing for a yard sale. I putt out and move on.
The article covers simple etiquette basics. None of it is complicated. Yet somehow it still seems to confuse people.
That is it for April
May your snow melt quickly.
May your opening day arrive sooner than expected.
And may most of your breaks bounce the right way.
See you on the course!
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