Welcome to our October Newsletter!
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Brad D.
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My official handicap was 26.3
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Lots of September Golf
September was catch-up month after all that summer fun. Guy’s golf league wrapped up, and he and his partner snagged 3rd place (okay, they tied for 2nd, they are still a little salty about being called 3rd!). Continued trying to meet up with my son for a round halfway between us. We were able to meet up twice in September! First up, Caberfae Peaks, which was a delightful surprise. Might need to go back and stay the night and try out the restaurant. The second round was at Antioch in Mesick—played there in July. Kudos to the newer owners for their hard work on the course! Stay tuned, I’ll be spilling the details on both courses in future editions.
I hit Elmbrook Golf Course more this month. You pay for the membership, so it’s practically your duty to show up, right? They’ve got some major changes in the works, and you bet I’ll keep you posted on all the juicy updates.
September Surprise
Hold on to your golf visors—I broke 100 not once, but THREE times, and on three different courses! Look out world, I might actually become a golfer after all. Fingers crossed for more golf in the U.P. and at that bucket-list course downstate before the cold sets in (because we all know my hip and back can’t handle the cold).
The grandson made his Elmbrook debut, and let me tell you, he’s a natural! Full-sized clubs, 225-275 yards in the fairway like it’s no big deal. Picture is showing his 258-yard drive on hole 6, he was on the green with his next shot. This kid’s a sophomore and plans on joining his high school golf team. Just need to get him off the idea that a wedge is always the answer. Notice the classic teenage look he gave his mom! LOL
Now, about those holes-in-one—yes, plural!
My son Jeff nailed one, barefoot no less, with a 5-iron he found at a garage sale years ago for 25 or 50 cents. I’m still convinced the Golf Gods were having a laugh. The ball? A grimy Taylor-Made he found somewhere and scraped the gum off. But hey, it worked! The kicker? His shoulder’s a mess and he is blind in his left eye. Both of these issues compromise his swing so he can’t even swing fully. Imagine a barefoot T-Rex trying to swing a club. 🤣
Yet there he is, looking all triumphant next to the flag on hole 8. Meanwhile, I’m over here breaking 100 and thinking this is my big golf win. Nope, my son’s out there acing holes in the most bizarre fashion possible. Maybe I should start golfing barefoot too?
Let us not forget Guy
Remember he got a hole-in-one earlier this year despite barely being able to hold his club after hand surgery. The man could hardly grip the thing in our backyard the day before, and yet, boom, aces a hole like it’s nothing. Clearly, Augustus the King of the Golf Gods lent a helping hand. According to the Australians he rules over the distribution of hole in ones.
Just doesn’t seem right, me and my other sons have decided that a hole in one is just pure luck. The “Did You Know” in last month’s newsletter happened to be about the odds of scoring a hole-in-one. I don’t think the odds are pretty good at 12,500 to 1. Of course, some skill is needed to get the ball onto the green and close to the pin, but whether it actually rolls into the hole—well, that’s just a matter of luck! There is no other explanation.
Happy National Golf Lovers Day – October 4th!
West Branch Country Club
In our last newsletter I mentioned that we (me, Virginia son and son-in-law) met the downstate kid at West Branch Country Club in of course West Branch. He was coming from his downstate home and us from the west side of the state and looking for an easy drive for both of us. I think he had the easy drive, straight up I-75, we had a more scenic drive. 😊
On the way there it sprinkled but it looked like the rain was going to hold off and for the most part it did. The rain started around the fourth hole and continued through the 8th hole.
The course is in the heart of town. Pro tip: don’t park (won’t call out our driver by name) in “BF Egypt” unless you want to lug your clubs halfway across Michigan. Luckily, a sweet kid came to my rescue, and yes, he got a good tip.
We checked in and everyone was friendly and helpful. That does seem to be typical for courses Up North. They have a nice restaurant called Sandbaggers with large windows and a patio that looks out over the first tee and the green for hole 9.
We headed to the first hole and teed off
They offered blue, white, gold, and red tees. I played from the red tees and didn’t have as much of an advantage as I would have liked, but I soldiered on.
The course is a lot of fun and had some open fairways which doesn’t help or hurt me, but the guys on the other hand. HAHA!! They do love playing in other fairways and in one case were on the other side of the road to retrieve their ball.
Most of the holes were pretty straight shots with a few that were more pronounced doglegs. Only water hazard was a creek in front of the green on hole 5, but there was plenty of sand traps. Hole 5 happens to be the only hole I didn’t get a picture of.
We had a follower
I had mentioned at the beginning that everyone was friendly, and that was mostly true. But, as soon as we were teeing off the first hole, I noticed the Ranger lurking in the trees watching us. I mentioned it to my boys and said he was probably making sure I didn’t slow down pace of play (nobody was ever behind us). He seemed to be following us at a distance, he was given the opportunity to approach us at the green on the third hole. A ball from another hole landed near one of our carts.
The Ranger seeing this took it as his cue to come up and start a conversation. It started with asking if they yelled fore, we assured him they did. This was just a ruse for his main purpose of talking to us. He asked if we had played there before, we told him we hadn’t. I was expecting some tips and such. Instead, a quick history that the front nine were almost 100 years old and the back nine were added 50+ years ago.
Pace of Play
The rest of the conversation was about the importance of pace of play and maintaining proper distance from the greens. The rule was 10 yards from the greens and 20 yards from the approach. This was easy to follow and really never any reason to get closer. His next lesson was on repairing divots. He said he was the Divot Czar (a nickname I gave him after hearing his self-proclaimed title that’s not fit for print). He stressed he was known throughout Northern Michigan by this title.
The folks that hit up on us were regulars and he started joking with them when they came for their ball. At that point he made sure to let us know that he had the power to kick us out should we break the rules and that he had done it before. I assured him we wouldn’t but I don’t think he believed me.
I follow rules, honestly!
He followed us around for a bit, keeping an eye on us. At one of the holes, he came up to me and complimented me on my adherence to the 20-yards from approach rule. At that point, I was a little offended. I very nicely, with a smile on my face said of course we would follow that rule. That we are all experienced golfers that not only respect the game but respect the course we are playing at. We treat all courses as we would want guests to treat our home course. I think this eased his mind knowing we were not rebels out to destroy the course and we only saw him once more.
Ball Return?
At hole 10 there is a white wire frame (pictured) that is obviously to hold balls, but why would that be at a hole? Did golf courses at one time supply golf balls? Is there a different use than golf balls for it? In the trees/bushes behind the 10th hole there was what looked like an oil or gas well. We thought that was interesting and hoped that the course owned the mineral rights.
Pro Shop
We finished out our round and as is customary when golfing with me, I went to the pro shop to buy everyone a shirt. I always get Guy one as well whether he is there or not. It was surprising that they had nothing except some gloves. I asked if the clothing was somewhere else and was told that no they didn’t sell any.
This surprised me because they also own the Dream and The Nightmare and I would have thought that they would have at least had some of the clothing from those courses. I am glad I didn’t go back to the clubhouse for something to wear when it was rainy and cold. Not having any option probably would have made me feel even colder (my mind is strange).
I would like to play the course again. I would love to visit it on a sunny warm day. Plus, now that I can say I have played here before the Ranger won’t feel the need to stalk me. 😊
To see all the pictures from our round click here. Remember, I forgot to get a picture of hole 5, I am guessing because of the rain and I was cold.
Did You Know?
Golf was one of two sports played on the moon?
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. used a modified 6-iron to play golf on the moon along with 2 golf balls. Shepard’s “club” was the head of a Wilson Staff 6-iron that was designed to attach to the “contingency return sample collector”. Shepard paid the pro at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston to rig the head for the foldable “shaft.” Shepard took several one-handed swings (due to the limited flexibility of the EVA suit) and exuberantly exclaimed that the second ball went “miles and miles and miles” in the low lunar gravity. Mitchell then threw a lunar scoop handle as if it were a javelin. The “javelin” and one of the golf balls wound up in a crater together, with Mitchell’s projectile a bit further.
Pace of Play and Color Tees
We have encountered a few courses with signs that suggest what tee you should play based on your typical score. I find it interesting and confusing. If I follow the suggested tee, most courses will have me playing the very forward tees (used to be junior). What happens if I start getting under 100 all the time?
Do I have to move back to where I shoot from now?
Seems I will be bouncing back and forth all season long.
At Elmbrook there is a 60-220 yard difference between the 2 closest tee boxes. For all 18 holes there is a 1,993-yard difference, which is huge. I start hitting from the gold and I may start shooting rounds under par. If that happens, I am at the pro tees and we all know that won’t help the pace of play. 😊
Golf Quote of the Month
This seemed like an appropriate quote based on my son’s typical attire on the golf course. My golf attire may be a polo shirt and shorts as well, but at least I am wearing shoes and socks. 😊
Dave Barry is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written humor and children books and comic novels.
Click here to see all the pictures we have taken of courses over the years.
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