Welcome to the September 2026

Golf Up North Newsletter

Well, I screwed up.

If you tried to take the poll in last month’s newsletter and found yourself clicking away with absolutely nothing happening, that was me.
I forgot one little symbol in the code.

One.

Apparently, computers are very picky about these things. You can be 99 percent right and the computer does not say, “Close enough, I know what you meant.” It just sits there and lets you embarrass yourself in front of your entire email list.

I did get several emails letting me know the poll was not working. Unfortunately, by the time I figured out what happened, the newsletter was already sitting comfortably in everyone’s inbox and there was nothing I could do about it.

So I decided to make the best of my technological incompetence.

Nancy S. was the first person to email me about the problem, so I sent her some Golf Up North schwag as a thank you for being my unofficial quality control department. I also randomly drew a name from everyone else who emailed me.

Congratulations, Fran D.!

I replied to your email asking for your address so I can send your goodies.

And because I really do want to know what everyone thinks, we are running the same survey again this month.

This time it will be clickable.

I hope. I checked the code about fourteen times.

If you would like a chance to win some Golf Up North schwag, you have to subscribe to our newsletter. Subscribe at Golf Up North Newsletter and be on the mailing list for our next issue.

Still Golfing A LOT!!

Since getting back from Marquette, I have continued golfing a few times a week

At this point I am trying to squeeze every possible round out of summer before Northern Michigan decides it is fall at 8:00 Tuesday morning and winter by lunch.

I golfed with Patrick and Dom, my new son in law, at The Crown. Then Patrick and I took Anna and Bray to Bay Meadows Family Golf Course.

The front nine at Bay Meadows is all par 3s, and the back nine is what they call an executive course. It is a great setup for families and newer golfers.

There were a few tears. Not mine this time. So I am calling the day a success.

I will talk more about Bay Meadows in a future newsletter.

After Dom and Ness left for their honeymoon and Patrick and the family headed back to Virginia, things around here finally started settling down.

Guy had a makeup round the following Monday, so I decided to go play nine holes. And then something very strange happened.

I shot a 41. FORTY-ONE!

That, my friends, is only five over par.

I am not saying the PGA Tour should be expecting my call, but for roughly 24 hours I was unbearable to live with.

Naturally, I have not golfed Elmbrook since. Why mess with perfection?

I do plan on getting back there this week. With the season winding down, I thought maybe changing courses for a while would somehow preserve that magical 41.

That makes absolutely no sense, which means it fits perfectly with most of my golf strategy.

I have explored courses in Kalkaska and Cedar on my own, and Guy and I went back to Interlochen for the first time since Mother’s Day.

We even got another round in with the Up Mid Kid, but more on that later.

I also have a couple more courses on my radar for mid-September. It is hard to believe fall is right around the corner.

I am excited about football, but I am going to miss hot summer days and being able to golf without wondering how many layers of clothing I can wear and still complete a backswing.

Friday Round in Marquette

I mentioned in last month’s newsletter that Guy, his son Casey, and I golfed Northern Michigan University Golf Course (NMU) while everyone else took a boat ride to see Pictured Rocks.

I promised I would tell you how the round went.

Hoping for some tips about the course, I reached out to Mike Osier ahead of time.

Obviously, I wanted valuable information about the golf course.

I also wanted anything that might help me beat Guy.

Mostly the second one.

Hoping to Meet Mike

I also told Mike that I would love to meet him while we were there and thank him in person. Mike and I first exchanged emails about five years ago when I interviewed him for Golf Up North, so it was nice to finally put a face to the name.

As always, we pay for our rounds and never ask courses for free or discounted golf when we visit. The only time I do not pay for a round is when one of my kids is treating (Thank you Alex for last Saturday’s round). I raised them right, well, mostly. 😊

I did bring Mike a bunch of Golf Up North schwag as a thank you for being the only one out of about 10 Superintendents that I emailed that was kind enough to respond.

We ended up chatting for about 15 minutes about the course, golf, and whatever else golfers manage to talk about when they are standing around a golf course.

Mike was exactly as nice in person as you would expect him to be after exchanging emails with him.

And naturally, after waiting five years to finally meet him, bringing him Golf Up North goodies, and spending 15 minutes talking with him, I forgot to do one fairly obvious thing.

Take a picture of the two of us.

Did not even cross my mind.

Apparently I can remember to photograph golf course signs telling people not to pee near someone’s house, but getting a picture with the superintendent I specifically wanted to meet was asking too much.

Thankfully, Mike was nice enough to send me a photo of himself that I could share with all of you.

So technically I have a picture of Mike. And I have pictures from our trip. Just not a picture of Mike and me together.

Maybe in another five years. 😂

Mike was also incredibly gracious about sharing some course information with me ahead of our round. And yes, he even remembered our email exchange from five years ago.

He gave me some great information about the course:

“Greens, tees, fairways are looking good, we have some spots that are dry. The course gets praise for its playability, especially among the high handicap golfers. We don’t have many forced carries and only one hole where water is a focal point. We have put considerable effort into irrigation expansion over the years, adding two outside rows on most holes to what was originally a single row system that ran down the center of the fairways, this has improved our roughs considerably. While we typically maintain a firm and fast course we do work to keep green speeds within reason. Honestly, slow pace of play is a concern for us, and we like playable rather than tournament greens speeds because of that. We are set up like a municipal or public course in many ways.”

Now, being a 20.9 handicap, I read the words “high handicap golfers” and immediately decided this was going to be my course.

I went in confident. Possibly too confident.

Okay, definitely too confident.

But the front nine backed me up.

I shot a 47 and beat Guy.

This was it.

After all these years, I was finally going to beat him with my raw score.

No handicap math.

Creative accounting not needed.

No explaining that technically I played better if you looked at things a certain way.

I was going to BEAT HIM.

Then we played the back nine.

Golf apparently heard me talking.

I did not get a single par.

I had one bogey, a few doubles, several triples, and one quadruple bogey.

That is what we call a complete collapse.

I prefer to blame the lack of alcohol. 😊

Guy ended up beating me overall, and once again I learned one of golf’s most important lessons.

Never start trash talking after nine holes.

Knowing me, I probably did not learn that lesson at all.

Even with the beating I took on the back nine, I really enjoyed the course and hope to play it again next year.

I liked the layout. The holes did not intimidate me, and I felt comfortable playing the course.

Interestingly, even though Mike described it as friendly for higher handicap golfers, Guy thought it was challenging too and did not have one of his better rounds.

So naturally we both want another shot at it.

Casey is just getting started with golf and did not want to keep score, which is probably the smartest decision any of us made that day. He played well considering he has only golfed a few times.

Guy worked with him on his irons and he started hitting some nice shots. It will be fun watching his game develop. Assuming golf doesn’t frustrate him to no end first.

There were also a few signs that caught my attention.

At Hole 1 there were two.

“Groups of 5 or more players are not allowed.” YAY!!! Fully support this message.

The second was:

“No Carry-on alcoholic beverages allowed.” The course has a liquor license, but it is reserved for NMU sponsored events. Because of the license, outside alcohol is not allowed.

So apparently, I will just need a designated driver and some careful pregame planning next time. 😊

Then we got to Hole 2 and found another sign:

“NO URINATING. Please be respectful of our neighbors.”

I totally appreciated this one. I have golfed a lot of courses, and I am pretty sure this is the first time I have seen a course have to put that in writing.

Which also means there is probably a story behind that sign.

Maybe several stories.

And honestly, if you are close enough to someone’s house that the golf course has to remind you not to pee in their yard, perhaps the sign is not the real problem.

Somewhere, there is a homeowner who has seen things.

Things no homeowner living next to a golf course should have to see.

Course Operations

Mike also shared some interesting background about how the golf course operates and its relationship with Northern Michigan University:

“The course is owned by the NMU Foundation but runs like a small business in that we don’t get any university funding. We exist solely on the income we generate by selling golf to golfers. With the exception of the GM Ben Johnson, Me the Superintendent and Mike Brady the Equipment Manager, our staff is entirely students. Usually about 10 on the grounds crew and the same amount working in the Pro Shop.

Part of our mission is to provide real world experience to the students in a way that relates to their major. Of course we have to mow and set things up daily, but we tailor the other work to the students’ relevant interests. Mechanical Engineers fabricate, maintain and repair equipment. Construction Management majors maintain and upgrade irrigation and facilities. Environmental Science students do soil testing and work establishing lower input turf varieties as well as maintaining pollinator patches and monitoring water quality. Business students work on budgets, program sprinkler timing in Excel and hone their management skills. The students really are the engine of the golf course machine.”

I thought that was cool. The golf course is not just giving students summer jobs. They are getting hands on experience connected to what they are studying.

If you did not get a chance to read Mike’s original interview, you can find it in our October 2021 Newsletter.

One More Thing I Noticed…

While I was going through our pictures from the round, I noticed something I completely missed while we were actually golfing.

Take a look at the bunker on Hole 12.

It is shaped like a cat paw! 🐾

NMU is home to the Wildcats, and their mascot is Wildcat Willy, so someone had a little fun when they designed this bunker.

I love little details like this on a golf course. The funny part is that I never noticed it while we were playing (probably because I was struggling at that point!). It took going through all my pictures afterward for me to see it.

And thankfully, I was looking at the paw from my photos and not from inside one of its toes

👉 See all the pictures from our round at Northern Michigan University Golf Course on NMU’s picture page.

---

Did You Know?

That a Yip is when you miss an easy putt because of extreme nervousness?

I suffer from a very advanced form of the condition.

Mine occurs when I have a chance for par.

Or better.

Or when someone I do not know is watching.

Or when nobody is watching.

Or when the sun is shining.

Or when it is cloudy.

Or raining.

You get the idea. I can somehow sink an unexpected 40-foot putt and then walk up to a six-inch putt and completely forget everything I have learned about golf, gravity, geometry, and basic motor skills.

---

Golfing with the Up Mid Kid

I got a chance to golf with the Up Mid Kid and Dom (new son-in-law) this past weekend.

Dom is an Orthopedic PA and works out of the hospital in Cadillac. He had heard quite a few people talking about Eldorado Golf Course and has been wanting to try it, so we decided to head back there.

The previous two times I played Eldorado were in early November and early April. Both times it was cold and windy.

Because apparently, I had previously decided Eldorado could only be played while dressed for possible hypothermia. It was nice to finally play it in August.

The course looked completely different.

There is quite a bit of scruff you have to hit over, especially on the back nine. Alex kept saying something had changed. Eventually we figured it out.

When we played in the colder months, they were dead, thin, and you could see through them.

In August they were basically a 10-foot wall of green saying: Go ahead. Hit your ball over here. We dare you. It made the course more challenging.

None of us had a score we particularly wanted documented for future generations. 😊

I did have one shot that made up for some of the others.

I was on hole 11 and about 120 yards out on the fairway, pulled out my 3 wood and hit one of those shots that makes you wonder where that swing has been hiding all day.

The ball landed on the green, rolled toward the hole, circled the cup and stopped.

There was a group on the tee box next to the green watching the whole thing, and they started cheering the ball on.

They drove over afterward to congratulate me on the shot and told me the ball was less than an inch from the hole. They said it was so close they thought it might fall in before we got to the green.

Now THAT would have been nice.

When we finally got up there, the ball was still sitting right on the edge.

Alex took a look and noticed there was a little raised lip around the edge of the cup. His opinion was that without that tiny lip, the ball probably would have dropped.

So naturally, he decided to see if he could blow it in. And he did.

Technically

I never touched the ball. So for a moment I made the very reasonable argument that this should count as a birdie.

Apparently, the official Rules of Golf do not include the “your son blew the ball into the hole” exception. Who knew?

I picked the ball out of the cup and wrote down on my card a par.

But in my heart?

That was a birdie.

And I am still blaming that raised lip.

I also updated our photos of the course, so they show the much greener summer version of Eldorado.

👉 See the new pictures of Eldorado Golf Course on Eldorado’s picture page.

Quote of the Month

Considering how much golf I have played over the past few months, this quote seemed appropriate. I have even forgotten my phone at home a couple times lately.

And you know what?

I did not miss it.

If I thought my aging body could handle it, I probably would play every day.

Brent Musburger is one of those voices longtime sports fans immediately recognize. During a broadcasting career spanning more than five decades, he covered everything from college football and the NFL to the NBA and the Masters. He is probably best known for opening broadcasts with his famous, “You are looking live!”

Latest Blogs

The short game can make or break your score.

And in my case, it occasionally takes a perfectly respectable round and turns it into something I would rather not discuss.

Check out our latest Chipping Guide

📍How  to Chip with Confidence

🌟 And do not miss the other short game posts:

• Bunker Shots: Confident escapes from sand traps → How to hit out of Sand Traps

• Putting: Roll more putts with better speed and accuracy → Putting Basics

 

---

The weather has continued to cooperate, and I am taking full advantage of it. Those hot summer golf days are slowly disappearing. I know what is coming. So for now, I am getting as much time on the course as I can. Until next month…

May your drives find the fairway,

Your six-inch putts somehow find the cup

The groups in front of you keep moving

And may Northern Michigan keep the cold stuff away just a little bit longer.

Hit ’em straight!

Or at least somewhere you can find them.

See you on the course!

---

Click here to see all the pictures we have taken of courses over the years.

---

Follow us on Social Media

Join the discussion on Golf Up North Facebook Group

Let us know your favorite course, tips or anything golf related! We encourage golf courses to share their news and specials with our group.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X(formerly Twitter), Pinterest, BlueSky, Threads and/or Tumbler. We share information on golf courses Up North and what we think are funny or interesting tidbits about golf.

---

Share Your Favorite Course With Us

We would love to hear about your favorite Course in the Upper Peninsula or Northern Lower Michigan. Send pictures of golfing your favorite course and a couple of sentences about why you love the course. We will share your pictures and recommendations with our readers and on our social media accounts. If you include a mailing address, we will send you some Golf Up North schwag as a thank you!! Send your pictures and comments to marisa@golfupnorth.com

Find your Up North Golf Course

If you would like to find your perfect Up North golf course visit Golf Up North.

Disclosure: We never tell a course who we are when we book and play a course. We do not ask, nor will we accept free rounds to write about a course. We pay full price for our rounds for everyone in our group.

Golf Up North is part of the Up North Entertainment Group.
Our family of sites also includes Up North Entertainment, Up North Wineries, Up North Breweries, Up North Distilleries, Adventures in Northern Michigan, and Northern Michigan History