Welcome to our June Newsletter!
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Guy’s Ace was on hole 15!
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Potpourri
May has been a busy month for us. Guy’s league started May 2nd and we drove to Virginia for both of our VA grandkids birthdays and parties. Got to meet Captain America and several “pop stars”. 😊
We have golfed several times in both Virginia and Northern Michigan this past month and have been having a blast. My drives are definitely improving!
So many story ideas, rants and raves ran through my head this month while waiting for my turn that I decided it made the most sense to just do a hodgepodge of the random golf thoughts in my head. This could either be very entertaining or very scary, proceed at your own risk. 😊
Sort of Big News!
After Guy’s hole in one last month, kind of hard to call anything else big news, but it was for me. While in Virginia we golfed twice.
First at a course called Stumpy Lake Golf Course that we have golfed several times. It is a public course that is part of a public park on Stumpy Lake. The course is usually a little wet and the crazy grass they have in Virginia Beach acts like a sponge and retains the water. My feet were soaked, but still had a fun time. That area is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed so it is to be expected.
The second course was at my son, Patrick’s golf club, Cavalier Yacht and Country Club. This was my first-time golfing at a private club and have only seen them in movies/television. I was envisioning ladies on the veranda with their parasols and men in tails and top hats on the golf course. LOL
Everyone was very nice. This course was also my first experience with golf carts that have GPS (more on that later). Patrick’s neighbor joined us to complete the foursome.
BUT the sort of big news is that I broke 100 for the second time on this course! Got a 99, only 1 under, but still under 100! My son had warned us that the course was challenging with a lot of bunkers and surprises. All I have to say is HA! I still came in last place though if you do not count my handicap, if you count my handicap, I crushed all three men! 😊
My son tried out the Kaede balls at both courses and did not think they helped much with his drives and fairways, but he thought he saw a difference in his short game. He has some sort of trackman that analyzes swings, gives ball speeds, spins etc. and he said he would try the Kaede balls with that and send me the stats. Once I have them, I will share them with you.
Back to Northern Michigan
We got back to home the evening of the 22nd and life went back to normal (well kind of). Guy golfed on Thursday with his league and Memorial Weekend was beginning. Guy’s older brother came into town from New Orleans for a visit and arrived on Saturday. After driving all night with only a nap he was ready to golf.
We made a tee time at Interlochen Golf Course and headed over early to hit some balls. His brother Tim has a wickedly fast and powerful swing (just a horrible aim) and so we had him try the Kaede balls to see if that would help. It was hard to tell if they made much of a difference other than his slice was more powerful. That poor man played so many balls from the fairways next to us. But we all had fun.
Sunday, we made a tee time for 18 holes at Emerald Vale Golf Club in Manton. Guy had golfed this course 3 years ago on one of his boy’s golf trips and I had written about their trip and this course in one of our earlier newsletters. Visit our September 15, 2021 issue to read about the course.
This round was me and 3 of the 5 Throop men. Always a good time when any of the brothers get together.
This course worked out a little better for the slicing brother because a lot of the fairways were wide open. When he hit into the neighboring fairway, he still had a clear shot to the green. I took a lot of pictures that day and one of each hole that you can view at Emerald Vale Golf Course Photos.
Our tee time for Monday at Elmbrook Golf Course was rained out so instead we got work done around the house. ☹
Did You Know?
That Tiger Woods made his first hole in one at 8 years old?
Tiger Woods took an interest in golf at only six months old and his father started teaching him at two years old. He regularly practiced and made his first hole-in-one at only eight!
Rants and Raves
GPS Carts
As I mentioned earlier, Patrick’s club was my first experience with the GPS carts. It was pretty frustrating for me to have a golfcart screen “yelling” at me in my happy place. I get staying in a designated area but it was not always clear what that was. Because it was misting, they asked that the carts be at 90 degrees, a common request at many courses and one I follow happily. But at one point I may have been 10 degrees off and the darn screen started flashing a warning it was going to shut me down if I did not go 90 degrees. Fine, I made sure I went 90. At one point the cart shut off for some reason, tried backing up as instructed by the golf cart and that did not work. Guy got us out of that mess.
Elmbrook has GPS carts this year and the initial reaction has not been very good. The league guys have complained that the “fencing” is not always accurate and they have had to call into the clubhouse for help. I asked the GM Jamie how bad it was and if I was going to end up stuck in the middle of the fairway crying. She has assured me I would not. A good sign is that on the way home from picking Guy up from league on Thursday he did say that between them getting use to the carts and the course tweaking the fencing the GPS carts are fine. My son Jeff and Golf Up North co-owner Josh played there last week and said that the drone shots of each hole showing approach were pretty cool.
I played Elmbrook this morning for the first time this year. Guy drove the cart so that I could pay attention to how the fencing worked and using the screen to stay where we are supposed to be. Still not sure if I am a fan, but doesn’t look like it will be that much of a hassle for me. The screen does pop up with a lot of instructions that you have to close, there are other “helpful” windows that you need to close and the ads that pop up get in the way of the information about the hole. All the stats about a hole don’t mean much to me so I will only be using to the screen to make sure I am not outside the fencing by using the cart icon and the yellow dots.
Would be interested to hear your opinion of the GPS carts and any helpful tips to keep me tear free. I am hoping that my experience with them was mainly user error cause it was my first time and that I will learn. You all should know how to reach me by now, but just incase email me at marisa@golfupnorth.com.
Golf Etiquette
I am all for encouraging teens to golf. Heck one of our signs at a Northern Michigan golf course has a picture of my grandson Ryker teeing off. That said, I do expect common courtesy, not asking for strict adherence to etiquette. At one of the courses there were 3 teens that came up behind us rather quickly. They were not really golfing but were horsing around. Chasing each other on the tee boxes, throwing balls at each other and being extremely loud. I raised four kids and noise does not bother me. I can read a book with kids screaming and not bat an eyelash. These kids were extreme, they were not there to golf and ended up being a distraction.
Answer the Phone!
Last rant. I love the convenience of making my tee time online until it does not work and you have to call the course. This happened to us on one of the course we played in May. Attempted to make a tee time online using my tablet and ran into a problem and was not able to complete the booking. I tried calling the course 3 times and it just rang and rang eventually going to a recording that just said they were busy to callback later. It was looking like we were going to have to go to a different course. Went back to the course website using my laptop this time and was able to successfully book a tee time.
Now, it could have been user error, but regardless I should have been able to reach someone in the club house or at the very least leave a message with the promise of a timely return call. When we were in the pro shop checking in, I mentioned our challenge with getting help to book. Well, Mr. Grumpy said that they were too busy to answer the phone and waved me away (honest, he waved me away). I suggested that next time they answer and say ABC Golf Course, please hold. He did not like my suggestion and became difficult at that point. He would not tell me who we were after. I was told to come in 2 minutes before our tee time and he would tell me if we could go out. This was as I am watching a line start at the first tee.
Minor annoyance, we still were able to play and had fun in spite of his attitude. I understand being busy, I get busy, but we always answer our phones even if it is to put someone on hold for a minute. Just a little customer service goes a long way.
Summer Plans
It is looking better and better for us (me) to get out and golf more this year. We are going to drive over to Gaylord on the 8th and golf Michaywe Pines Course with another couple. Tried to create a golf stay and play weekend with the area courses but with the distance between courses and how busy they all were we decided to keep it a day trip.
We are also planning some trips to the Upper Peninsula. There are several courses I am hoping we get to golf up there this year. Going to try for some shorter weekend trips and at least one trip into central and western U.P.
All Northern Michigan golf courses are open with the exception of Les Cheneaux in Eastern Upper Peninsula, they plan on opening June 15th. You may remember this historical course from our May issue.
Golf Quote of the Month
This months quote is a nod to my brother-in-law, Tim, the master slicer. 😊
Pretty sure everyone knows who Lee Trevino is, but just incase. He is thought of as one of the greatest golfers in history. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and 290 PGA Tour events during his career. He won the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship twice. He never won the Master.
Trevino is also responsible for “the shot heard round the world”. He sunk a hole in one on the 7th hole at Threetops during the ESPN Par 3 shoot out at Treetops Resort in Gaylord. That shot won him a million dollars! We wrote about Threetops and Lee Trevino’s hole in one in our September 2022 Newsletter.
Last Month’s Issue
Thank you for all the wonderful feedback last month. It seems everyone (at least those that wrote to me) enjoyed the history. I have been working on a story about all the Northern Michigan Courses that are at least 100 years old for a future issue. Very surprising just how many there are. There are several that will be celebrating their 100th year this year. Watch our social media where we will share any celebrations/activities those courses are planning.
New? Courses
Several golf courses have recently sold and new owners have a lot of plans for improvements. Always happy to see some of the smaller local courses continue.
Black Bear Golf Club in Vanderbilt has suffered the last couple of years and is now under new ownership. Recent Google reviews suggest it is definitely worth checking out.
Wildwood Lakes Golf Course in Wolverine was closed last year when the owners retired. The course was purchased by a young family with a lot of plans for the course. You can meet them and read about their plans on their Facebook Page.
These two courses are in the Upper Peninsula and were acquired this year by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
Tanglewood Golf Course in Sault Ste. Marie has sold. They are offering an indoor golf simulator and other improvements to the grounds and facilities. They have also announced they will be partnering with UPGA and Golf Association of Michigan.
Hessel Ridge Golf Course in Hessel has sold and been renamed Bear on the Mountain Golf Course. The boys went to Drummond Island while we were in Virginia and played that course on the way. They all said it is looking great and worth visiting.
If you know of any other courses that have changed hands recently let us know at marisa@golfupnorth.com.
Click here to see all the pictures we have taken of courses over the years.
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