Welcome to the October 2026
Golf Up North Newsletter
First things first, congratulations to
Cindy L!
Your name was randomly drawn from everyone who responded to last month’s survey.
And speaking of the survey, it worked great! We had well over 100 responses, and I have to admit, the results surprised me a little.
Here is how you voted:
I love the idea of golfers learning basic etiquette before heading onto the course. What do you think the United States should do?
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30% YES! Everyone should have to pass a golf etiquette test to be allowed on a golf course.
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70% MEH! I do not think a test should be required, but maybe courses should publish basic etiquette rules in the clubhouse and throughout the course.
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0% NO! Anyone should be allowed on a golf course regardless of their knowledge of etiquette.
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0% HA! Survival of the fittest. Let the war begin!
I really expected the YES vote to be much lower. I figured maybe 10% of you would be ready to make golfers sit down with a No. 2 pencil and pass an etiquette exam before being handed the keys to a golf cart.
The 70% MEH vote was pretty close to what I expected. I thought the remaining votes would mostly fall into the NO category, with maybe one or two of you choosing “Let the war begin!”
Apparently, Golf Up North readers are a fairly well-mannered bunch.
Or at least you claim to be when answering surveys.
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The Season is Fading ☹
I cannot believe it is officially fall.
The weather here in Northern Michigan has still been hanging around in the 60s and 70s, so naturally I am pretending winter is not coming and continuing to golf.
Earlier this month, a friend and I decided to golf even though it was raining fairly hard. We figured we were already there, so why not?
By the third hole, the rain stopped.
By the fifth hole, the sun was out.
See? We were geniuses.
A couple of days later, the forecast looked beautiful, so I headed out again.
Hole two, it started sprinkling.
Hole three, full blown windy, cold downpour.
This time I was golfing as a single, wearing a golf dress with short sleeves because apparently I had complete faith in a Northern Michigan weather forecast. There was also a foursome out there, and the five of us just kept plugging along as if this was perfectly normal behavior.
I made it through the front nine, but eventually I was so wet and cold that I called it a day.
And guess what happened?
Less than a mile from the course, the rain stopped.
I actually debated turning around, but I was dripping wet by that point and decided to keep going home.
By the time I pulled into my driveway, the sun was out.
Of course it was.
I probably should have turned around. The sun could have dried me out while I played the back nine.
Guy and I have managed to golf a few times, and I played with another friend at The Crown just last week.
Guy had to head to Ohio for work this week. Tuesday was beautiful, so I got another round in, and I am hoping to squeeze in one more before I head to Virginia next week.
At this point in the season, every round feels like it might be the last one.
Which means every decent weather forecast must be treated as a golf emergency.
Visiting the Grandkids in Virginia
I miss those kids terribly anyway.
They play baseball and softball in the spring and fall because apparently summer in Virginia Beach is too hot for baseball.
Being from Northern Michigan, I have a hard time understanding the phrase “too hot.”
After spending half the year wondering if my fingers are going to freeze to a golf club, Virginia heat sounds pretty good to me.
The plan is to stay for a couple of weeks and catch some grandkid baseball and softball games.
I have decided to drive this time so I can take down some bigger things I have been meaning to send. I haven’t decided if I’m going to drive the 16 plus hours straight through or stop somewhere along the way for the night. I’ve done it both ways, and straight through works pretty well if you leave in the wee hours of the morning.
Hole 17 at Red Wing Lake Golf Course, Virginia Beach. Picture taken in the heat of summer.
Of course, somewhere around hour twelve, you start questioning every decision that led you to this point. 😂
And, of course, I am taking my golf clubs.
I am planning to golf with my son and hopefully sneak in nine holes here and there with Anna and Bray after school.
Hopefully the weather cooperates.
I do have an uncanny ability to bring cold weather with me whenever I visit them.
They are probably thrilled I am coming.
“Grandma’s coming! Get the winter coats!”
Did You Know?
That a thin in golf is a shot where the club head strikes the golf ball too high, usually around the mid point of the ball, resulting in a low sometimes slicing shot?
Usually when you catch the ball thin, you know it immediately because you can feel it in your hands.
And arms.
And possibly your teeth.
This is different from the bone jarring experience of swinging directly into hard ground.
True story, my daughter managed to put her arm out of commission for a couple of months after doing exactly that during our Mother’s Day golf outing. Her arm was still recovering during her wedding, which is why she could not participate in the wedding golf.
I have done some unbelievable things on a golf course, but fortunately I have never managed to injure myself badly enough that a doctor had to tell me to stop golfing.
Give me time.
Bay Meadows Family Golf Center
I mentioned last month that one of the places we took the kids while they were in Michigan was Bay Meadows Family Golf Course.
Our foursome was Patrick, me, Anna and Bray.
Anna rode in my cart for the front nine, and Bray rode with me for most of the back nine.
As I mentioned last month, Bay Meadows is a great setup for families and newer golfers. The front nine is all par 3s, while the back nine is what they call an executive course.
The back nine has some surprisingly long holes, so apparently “executive” does not mean “easy enough for Grandma.”
A little technical information, just because it is a unique course.
Bay Meadows Family Golf Center Hole 8 Par 3 Course
The Par 3 Course is called the Green Course (front nine) and offers blue tees at 1,272 yards, white tees at 1,097 yards and red tees at 934 yards.
The Executive Course is called the Blue Course (back nine). It also offers three sets of tees, with the blue tees at 2,488 yards, white at 2,149 yards and red at 1,845 yards.
The front nine has a completely different look and feel from the back.
It is hard to explain, but all nine holes are in the same general area. You can see much of the front nine from several of the holes, and it is very easy to walk.
The back nine feels more like a traditional golf course, with more distance between the holes and fairways.
I prefer a cart on the back nine, although I have walked it in the past.
These days, the hills and my bones have reached an agreement. The hills stay where they are. My bones ride in the cart. 😊
On to Our Round
Like I said, the course worked great for the kids.
The red tees on the front nine were perfect for both of them. The holes ranged from 69 to 132 yards, with most somewhere around 100 yards.
We had a great time, and they both managed a couple of pars.
The back nine was a little more ambitious. From the red tees, the holes ranged from 84 to 333 yards.
Bay Meadows Family Golf Center Hole 2 Executive Course
In the interest of pace of play, and more importantly making sure the kids were actually having fun, we created our own unofficial tee boxes closer to the greens for them.
It worked great.
They even had a couple more pars, well unofficial since we created the tee.
And an unofficial par counts when Grandma says it counts.
Everything was going great until the 17th hole.
Brayden had outgrown his golf glove, so he was golfing gloveless and it was a hot, humid day. He had struggled a couple of times with holding onto the club during his drives.
Yes, the club had gone flying.
We laughed about it and made it funny so he would not be embarrassed. It worked the first couple of times.
Then came the 17th.
There were five teenage boys behind us. They had been horsing around, sharing clubs and generally appearing to be out there having fun more than seriously playing a round.
That did not bother us. We stayed well ahead of them, so pace was never an issue.
Until the 17th.
Somehow, they flew through 15 and 16 and caught us. They were standing on the regular tee box while Brayden was hitting from his unofficial tee box.
And, of course, his club went flying.
The boys started laughing and making fun of him.
Enter Gramma Bear.
I turned around and told them that was enough. He was seven years old, and their behavior was unacceptable. Patrick told the boys to knock it off and let us play since we were almost done.
Unfortunately, the damage was already done.
Bray was embarrassed and thought I was mad at him because I raised my voice. That got him upset and he did not want to try to tee off again. Patrick told the boys to knock it off and let us play since we were almost done. Bray decided he wanted to ride with his dad after that.
Bay Meadows Family Golf Center Indoor Practice Facility in distance
We finished the 18th (with Brayden teeing off), and afterward I took Bray into the pro shop and bought him a new glove that actually fit.
Problem solved.
I also mentioned the boys to the guys in the pro shop, and they said they would handle it.
Normally, teenagers being teenagers would not be something I would bother mentioning to the course. But Bay Meadows really is a family golf center. They offer youth activities and lessons, and it is one of the best places around to find youth golf equipment and accessories.
I bought my granddaughter Maddie a new putter and driver there for her eighth birthday, back in the day.
We also saw plenty of other kids and teenagers being dropped off to golf on their own that day. Other than that one group, everyone was well behaved, and quite a few of those kids were pretty darn good golfers.
Five bad apples should not ruin something that is really good for young golfers.
👉 See all the pictures from our round at Bay Meadows Family Golf Center on the Bay Meadows Picture Page.
Golfing with the Up Mid Kid
I have a feeling Alex and I may have played our last round together for the year at Eldorado in August.
We did not get to golf nearly as much as we did last year. Between the major remodeling at their cottage, now including plans for a kitchen redo, my daughter’s wedding, and the Virginia kids being in town, there just were not many free weekends.
Now I am heading to Virginia, so our round last month may have been it for 2026.
I refuse to officially declare the season over, though.
That seems dangerous.
The minute you put the clubs away, Northern Michigan will give you a random 68 degree Saturday in November just to teach you a lesson.
Quote of the Month
This month’s quote seems especially appropriate.
We have already talked about clubs flying through the air, people hitting the ground hard enough to injure themselves, and thin shots rattling your hands.
So apparently September’s theme was simply trying to survive the golf swing.
For anyone under 30ish, Henny Youngman was a comedian famous for his one liners. His best known was, “Take my wife, please.” 😊
I am guessing there are now a few younger readers wondering what was funny about that.
Ask your grandparents.
Latest Blogs
Our final blog in the Golf Fundamental Series is a short wrap up of all the articles included in the series.
You can read it and revisit all the helpful tips at
📍From Tee to Green, The Complete Golf Up North Fundamentals Series
Or you can continue doing what I occasionally do, which is know exactly what you are supposed to do and then completely fail to do it once you stand over the ball.
Knowing and doing are apparently two different golf skills.
At this point, the weather is hit or miss, and I am pretty much planning to golf rain or shine.
Within reason.
Although based on what I told you earlier, my definition of “within reason” may need some work.
The golf season is much too short in Northern Michigan to give up early.
Now I will begin my annual tradition of hoping for a mild winter and maybe even a little winter golf.
I do this every year.
It rarely works.
Until next month, I hope you can sneak in a few more rounds before the snow flies. Stay dry, stay warm, and remember, once you need mittens to hold the club, it might finally be time to call it a season.
Here’s to finding the fairway, short putts, and at least one more unexpectedly warm golf day.
Happy Golf!
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