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Lasagna, Up Mid Visit, and a Lumpy Round at Grandview

Well, July was a blur. I aged another year (which is better than the alternative), we teed up on a few new courses and even squeezed in a weekend trip to the kids’ cabin “Up Mid,” where we snuck in a round over in Houghton Lake. We’ll save that little gem for a future issue. For now, let’s dive into this month’s adventures—which include lasagna, rainstorms, golf courses with attitude, and my aching hip.

⛳️ Still Waiting on Course Updates

This section’s getting repetitive, but here we are again: no major updates from a couple of the northern courses we’ve been watching. Their websites and social media pages are still saying what they were saying last month.

• • Les Cheneaux Golf Club – Cedarville
    Still under maintenance. Still no opening date. Still silent.
  • Loggers Trace & Springport Hills – Harrisville
    Looks like they’ve decided not to open until all 18 holes are ready on one or both courses. There’s no official date, but it’s starting to sound like we’re looking at 2026. Maybe.

So, no real changes—but we’ll keep an eye on their websites and social media report back when something shifts.

You can check for courses that are open by visiting Golf Up North and scrolling down the home page to just below the search boxes. There you can click on the region you are interested in and if any courses are open they will be listed there. Remember it is early in the season and many of the open courses are on a day to day basis. If you see any missing or incorrect info, let us know at contact@golfupnorth.com.

🐟 Lasagna Goes with Fish Camp, Right?

Guy’s annual fish camp rolled around again. This year, the gang met up at Tullymore Golf Resort—a solid halfway point for the folks trekking in from Illinois, Wisconsin, and points beyond. Same place as last year.

Now, because Guy walked away with that “perseverance” award or “champion of showing up” trophy or whatever it was last year, he got the honor of hosting the first-night “Champions Dinner.” Naturally, I volunteered to make the meal. Because what says “winner” more than pans of homemade lasagna?

Let me back up: I thought this would be easy. I’ve done this before—for football teams, booster events, Super Bowl parties. I just forgot one teeny, tiny detail. That was 20 years ago. My back and feet would like a word with Past Me.

Here’s what went into it:

• 10 pounds of ground beef
• 5 gallons of tomato sauce
• 2 or 3 gallons of water
• Half a gallon of tomato paste
• 25 pounds of mozzarella
• 60 cups of ricotta
• 12 pounds of noodles
• Enough fresh basil, garlic, and Parmesan to make an Italian grandmother cry tears of joy

Lasagna is done!

After two days of cooking, I had 16 full pans of lasagna, two personal pans of gluten-free lasagna, and five gallon-sized freezer bags of extra sauce. The house smelled amazing. My kitchen looked like a battlefield. My feet looked like they’d walked it.

Eight pans went to fish camp. Seven got divvied up between our kids, a neighbor and one of my co-workers. One pan made it into our freezer. Guy was mildly panicked about being lasagna-less when he got home. I told him not to worry—he was swimming in lasagna at camp. Still, I saved him a pan for later but it turns out I didn’t need to. He came home with 2 full pans. Apparently golfers don’t eat as much as football players; my math was wrong. 😊

Honestly, it was a ton of work, but very satisfying. And while Guy was off golfing and eating his body weight in pasta, I recovered and even managed almost a full round of golf with one of our grandsons (rained out after 15 holes) and then dinner out afterwards with him and one of my sons (no, not lasagna!). All in all, a win.

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Did You Know?

This one’s probably common knowledge, but in case it’s not:

An eagle is two strokes under par on a hole.

The most common eagle is a three on a par 5. Technically, it requires a “skilled player” to reach the green in two on a par 5. I chuckled at the “skilled” part—because, yeah, that’s the whole idea, right?

For the record, I’ve never had an eagle. A few birdies, sure. But getting to the green in two? Let’s just say I’m not quitting my day job.

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⛳ Grandview Golf Course: Round Two (Kinda)

Guy and I technically “golfed” at Grandview Golf Course about 4 or 5 years ago… except we didn’t make it past the second hole. A massive storm rolled in, we were called off the course twice, and eventually we just gave up and drove home. The kicker? We never hit the actual storm, just a whole lot of wind and rain. Based on news reports, the Kalkaska area and everything west/northwest got slammed. We somehow drove home dry(ish) and storm-free, but the round was a bust.

We’d always said we’d go back, and this year we finally did. We booked a Saturday tee time at 12:40. The online options were either $69 per person with a cart or a “Hot Deal” for $39 with a cart. Naturally, I clicked the cheaper one. It took me to a third-party booking site… but so did the $69 one. Hmm.

I scoured the fine print. Turns out, the only difference was that the Hot Deal wouldn’t hold your tee time if you were late. No problem, we’re always there at least 30 minutes early because I don’t like to start a round already flustered. With fees, we paid just under $85 for the two of us. Not bad at all.

Now let’s talk about the course.

Grandview is a little off the beaten path in Kalkaska, but definitely worth the trip. It’s in a peaceful area—no road noise, no distractions, just birds, breeze, and the occasional “fore!” from a neighboring fairway.

The clubhouse is currently under renovation, and it looks like it’ll be really nice when it’s done.

The restaurant wasn’t open for indoor seating, but you could order food and sit out on the patio, which had plenty of tables. Everyone we met—pro shop, starter, food crew—was friendly, welcoming, and professional.

That said… the course and I did not get along.

It looks tame at first glance—no dramatic water hazards, no screaming doglegs—but it played hard for me. I had three bogeys. The rest? Doubles or worse.

There are a lot of elevation changes and plenty of blind spots. A few holes even have platforms you can climb to check whether the group ahead has cleared out.

Each hole had its own quirky personality—one liked to tuck the green behind a hill, another dared you to carry over a scrubby ravine, and several seemed designed specifically to test your ability to swing while standing on uneven ground.

There were a few moments when the landscape just didn’t make sense. I’d be standing with my right (bad hip) leg lower than my left, ball sitting uphill in two different directions, trying to swing like a gymnast on a balance beam.

It was the kind of round where every time I thought, “Okay, this next hole will be better,” the course said, “Hold my beer.” LOL

I swear a couple of the holes were designed to test if your self-esteem was fragile. If I had golfed better that day I may have appreciated it more.

But credit where it’s due: the views are stunning. There are several spots where you look out over northern Michigan countryside that stretches for miles. I’m guessing that’s why it’s called Grandview. Even when I wasn’t playing well, I had to stop and appreciate the views. Towering trees, rolling hills, and countryside stretches that reminded me why we love golf Up North—even when the scorecard says otherwise.

Now, I don’t want to sound too whiny—because there were some wins that day. I’m finally (finally!) consistently hitting my irons well. I’m no longer gripped with panic when I have to hit over water or scrub. Chipping still needs work, but I’m sinking some pretty solid putts. One of these days it’ll all click in the same round. Hope springs eternal.

The course was in great shape and, despite being busy, we didn’t do much waiting. Tee times were spaced well and pace of play moved along nicely. I would definitely go back—but maybe not right away. My ego needs a minute to recover. I’ll return once my short game, and my self-esteem are both a little less tender.

You can visit Grandview Golf Course’s picture page on our website

Josh one of the partners in Golf Up North golfed Grandview Golf Course with a friend back in 2023. We published the pictures on our website under course pictures, but I didn’t write about the course since I had not golfed there.

As I was organizing the pictures from 2023 and from 2025 they didn’t make sense the holes were totally different in the pictures. I thought I was losing my mind (don’t say it!). Turns out between when Josh played and when I played they switched the front nine with the back nine. So, hole 1 2023 is now hole 10 2025 and hole 12 2023 is now hole 11 2025 and so on.

Golf Quote of the Month

After my less-than-stellar round at Grandview, I didn’t feel terrible, just a little bruised. But a couple of days later, I was back on the course and having fun again. Even when I play bad golf, I’m glad I played.

This gem is from Bad Golf Made Easier, a VHS classic featuring Leslie Nielsen. Beard co-wrote that and also helped found National Lampoon (raise your hand if you remember those ridiculous covers). He’s penned a ton of humor books, political satire, and more. My kind of guy.

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⛳️ Plenty of Summer Golf Left!

Whether you’re slinging lasagna, dodging storms, or trying to chip uphill on a slope that defies physics, I hope you’re enjoying the summer as much as we are. More golf stories (and possibly carbs) coming your way next month!

🌀 Check Out Our Latest Blog

Did you know Scotland banned golf three times in the1400s? Turns out, soldiers were getting distracted from their archery practice. Can’t imagine why… 🏹

📍 Scotland vs. Golf: The 1400s Turf War
Find out how golf survived despite royal opposition.
Read the story here

See you on the course!

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

Grandview Golf Course Hole by Hole

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