Michigan Golfer, March / April 2013

In This Issue

4 Pure Michigan, Pure ChapmanBy Art McCafferty

6 The Berry PatchBy Jack Berry

10 Maggie, MS, and MoeBy Bill Shelton

13 Oakland County– Where Golf is Plentiful By Mike Duff

16 Collegiate Spotlight: University of Michigan Wolverines: Confidence. Consistency. Progress. By Chris Lewis

20 Collegiate Spotlight: University of Michigan Wolverines: Hail! to the Victors By Chris Lewis

26 Yes, Michelle, There is a DifferenceBy Bill Shelton

30 Golfing for California University–PennsylvaniaBy Mike Duff

32 A Flower in the Rough– YarrowBy Mike Duff

34 Redcoats, White House, and Green Fairways By Bill and Brad Shelton

36 Slice of Life: Twenty-five Years of Golf Shows . . . and Counting, By Terry Moore

MICHIGAN GOLFER

Publisher/EditorArt McCafferty

[email protected]

Editor EmeritusTerry Moore

AssociatePublisher/ProducerJennie McCafferty

WritersJeff Bairley

Susan BairleyL’anse BannonMike Beckman

Jack BerryTom DoakMike Duff

Topher GogginThad Gutowski

Kelly HillJanina Parrott Jacobs

Greg JohnsonVartan Kupelian

Tom LangChris Lewis

Jim NeffBill Shelton

Brad SheltonNorm Sinclair

Michael Patrick ShielsHerschel Nathanial

Bernice PhillipsRon Whitten

Photo/VideoKevin Frisch

Brian OarDave RichardsCarter SherlineBrian Walters

Director ofAccountingCheryl Clark

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V O L U M E 3 1 • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 3 • N U M B E R 1

Cover: Roger Chapman celebrates the first of two major titles atHarbor Shores Golf Club. Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince

2 M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 3 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E


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Roger Chapman wins U.S. Senior Open at Indianwood Golf and Country Club

Pure Michigan, Pure Chapman

By Art McCafferty

When Roger Chapman,along with Rory McIlroyand Stacey Lewis, accepts

one of the Player of the Year by theGolf Writers Association of Americaat their annual Awards Dinner, itwill be a Pure Michigan moment.

Chapman was able to lock downthe senior category of the award bywinning the U.S. Senior Open at

Indianwood G & CC and the 73rdSenior PGA Championship, held atthe Golf Club at Harbor Shores. inBenton Harbor.

Chapman, born in Kenya in1959, seemingly has been aroundforever. He got into serious golfcompetition by winning the EnglishAmateur in 1979 and nailing a birthon the Walker Cup team in 1981,

where he defeated Hal Sutton,twice.

Chapman turned professionallater that year and wonhis European Tour card on his firstvisit to the Qualifying School. Hefinished in the top 100 on theEuropean Order of Merit 19 yearsout of 21 from 1982 to 2002. Hefinally won a tournament in2000 with his first place finish at

the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 YearsOpen on his 472nd tour start.

With his twin wins, Chapmancan be mentioned in the same breathas Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and

Hale Irwin as one of only four men tohave claimed both these veteran majorchampionships in the same season.

Corey Pavin, who finished tied for

second, expressed the significance ofthe breakthrough. “I guess, when youread about him, you always hear ‘jour-neyman’ or something like that,” saidPavin. “But he has always been a verysolid player. Sometimes, people bloom

a little later.”

Chapman had the chance to tieJack Nicklaus’s record of three seniorwins in one year, with a victory at

the Senior Open Championship. atTurnberry, but had to withdraw dueto some neck problems. He shot anopening round of 72 and pulled outthat evening.

Chapman, was able to sum uphis memories of the Wolverine stateby saying , “Just love the air - it’spure Michigan.”

- MG -

Roger Chapman was the surprise winner of the 73rd Senior PGA Championship at the Golf Club of Harbor Shores.

“Just love the air - it’s pure Michigan.”

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5M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 3


Are youready foranother

perfect weatheryear for golf?Last season wasone of the bestever. My old guyTuesdays leaguedidn’t have a sin-

gle washout and we started April24 and ended October 30.

Weekends were great prac-tically the whole season. But allthe blue skies were not sharedacross America and 2013 might betime to hold our breath. Rememberthat hot spell in March? Eightydegrees? Followed by a hard freeze

that killed the cherry and blueberrycrops all along the west coast ofthe state from Traverse City downto the Indiana border.

Then we hit 100 degrees inJuly and while no days were lost torain, rain was needed. The corncrop suffered. Puny cobs of corn atbest. The drought was devastatingfrom Texas through the corn belt.Meager corn yield meant costlierfeed for cattle so ranchers reducedherd size and beef price is up.

Times definitely are a-changing. Flooding, hurricane andblizzard in the east, more snow inthe Detroit area than last yearalthough not knee deep and a cou-

ple dozen mallards are still swim-ming in river by me.

Nothing is surprising and theterm now is Climate Change, notglobal warming. The fact is, we’regetting hot and that affects golf.Grass needs water. Michigan is sur-rounded by the greatest tubs of freshwater in the world. But LakesMichigan and Huron are way down.Beachfront property goes way out.The price of water is up.

Snowfall is down not onlyin Michigan but across the top tierof the country. Minnesota can-celled moose hunting seasonbecause the moose population isdown 52% since 2010. Moose

The Berry PatchBy Jack Berry

Jack Berry

don’t like heat and Minnesota hashad uncommonly hot summers.

Out west, where wolverinesroam – not in Ann Arbor or any-where in the Wolverine State forthat matter – the population of thefierce 40-pound animals is downso far that the government wants toput them on the endangered listand ban trapping. Wolverines sup-posedly love snow and there hasn’tbeen enough of it from Minnesotato Washington.

In Alaska they’re concernedabout not having enough snow alongthe 1,000 mile run of the Iditaroddog sled race and one musherexpressed concern whether all therivers they must cross will be frozen.

It’s been so warm in theCanadian Arctic that nine villagesin northernmost Quebec, 150 milessouth of the Arctic Circle, havegone to cooling systems in com-munity ice rinks. According to theNew York Times, the Canadianenvironmental ministry saidCanada is warming more thantwice as fast as the rest of theworld and even faster in the winter.

Put it all together and itappears the big sellers in golfwon’t be Pro V1s this year. Insteadit will be Gatorade, sun block, icebuckets, wide brim hats and quickdry shirts. Cart girls will run out ofbeer. Golf course superintendentsare very concerned about water useand fairways should be firmer soyou’ll get more run and I doubtanyone will complain about that.

Meanwhile, if you use abroomstick putter, don’tget hot and bothered.

Stay cool. There has been a lot ofkickback on the 2016 ban onanchoring the club to the body,either the broomstick or the bellyputter. Orville Moody introducedthe 48-inch long shafted putter in1984 when he joined what is nowcalled the Champions Tour.

The Sarge was the upsetwinner of the U.S. Open in 1969 buthe started getting more publicitywhen, after unsuccessfully fightingthe yips, he went to the long putter,anchored on his chest. He won threeof his first five starts on the old boyscircuit and in 1989 he won the U.S.Senior Open at Laurel Valley, Pa.

That really got the attentionof the U.S. Golf Association and theRoyal & Ancient. They huddled anddecided it was legal. Older golfers,not just old pros, decided the longputter was easier on their backs andso it got a following but no wringingof hands at Golf House or over at theR&A in St. Andrews.

However, when three majorchampionships were won in shortorder – Stewart Cink at the 2009British Open, Keegan Bradley at the2011 PGA Championship and WebbSimpson at the 2012 U.S. Open —the rulesmakersdecided the long put-ter had gone, well,gone too far.

Old champi-ons Arnold Palmer,Jack Nicklaus, LeeTrevino and TomWatson voiced oppo-sition and today’srulesmakers felt thatanchoring isn’t in“the spirit of the

game” even though they said it wasOK in 1989. So they’re decreeing itwill be illegal in 2016.

If it goes through, it will befollowed in all USGA competitionsbut I have a feeling that the vastmajority of people who play golfwill ignore it, just like they play“winter rules” year-round. The27,000 member PGA of America,which has been campaigning to“grow the game” and to get folks toplay from forward tees to enjoy thegame more and play faster, is againstit, fearing it could drive people away.

One Michigander it wouldaffect is Hall of Fame member BillZylstra whose senior career tookoff when he switched to the longputter. Zylstra has been ranked atthe top of senior amateurs in thecountry. And it would affect AdamScott of Australia although hemissed a short putt to win theBritish Open last year.

He didn’t blame the putter.Long stick or short, it still takesnerves.

- MG -


(Maggie and the writer are membersof the Ironwood Country Club in

Greenville, North Carolina. Althougha recent neck surgery has restricted herability to play golf, she is always at atthe club working with women mem-

bers trying to improve their games. Shewas recently named Captain of the

North Carolina team competing in theSouth East Women’s Team

Championship, a five-state competi-tion. She has been featured in nation-al publications about using golf to bat-tle her multiple sclerosis, a “chronic,progressive, degenerative disease of the

central nervous system.”)

Part I - From Monroe to the Marines

“Maggie” may be themost recognizedname in women’s

amateur golf in the mid AtlanticStates. She has qualified and com-peted in the US Mid-Amateur, US

Senior Amateur, the US Women’sAmateur Public LinksChampionship, South AtlanticAmateur, Harder Hall Invitational,Doherty/Jones Challenge Cup (shefaced 16-year old Morgan Pressel inthe semifinal round), Women’sInternational Four-Ball, and in 2006the Alfred Dunhill LinksChampionship—all after learningthe game after her 40th birthdayand battling Multiple Sclerosis! Herlife’s journey has drawn the atten-tion of dozens of publications, both

golf-related and daily publications.Perhaps her most treasured publica-tion is the Summer 2006 edition ofNatural Golf magazine with thecover showing Moe Norman swing-ing and an insert photo of Maggiedemonstrating the swing Moetaught her.

Maggie Weder was born inMonroe, Michigan, one of nine chil-dren in an unstable home environ-ment. A star high school athlete sheearned 10 varsity letters in softball


Maggie, MS, and MoeBy Bill Shelton

Maggie displays souvenirs of her Marine days.

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Photo left: Maggie Weder shows her tro-phies. Photo courtesy of Maggie Weder.

and basketball. Upon graduation in1975, her grandmother encouragedher to find a “way out” and thequickest route was the military. Shehad earlier read an article about theMarines and went to the localrecruiter’s office. “He promptlythrew me out,” remembers Maggie.She can only guess as to why but shewas persistent. Finally she wasaccepted and headed to Paris Island,SC for boot camp. Almost immedi-ately she was named Platoon Leader.It seemed her life’s journey would bea career in the military. She thenmoved on to Camp Pendleton toLegal Services School where shebecame a Specialist, then to theMarines Law Center in San Diego.

In 1979 she returned to ParisIsland as a drill instructor with therank of Sargeant where she devel-oped a Physical Condition Platoon,a second chance for recruits whostruggled in basic training. Hernext stop was at Quantico whereshe became Chief Warrant Officer,responsible to the internal investi-gations division for the Corps. “Ifyou messed up, you didn’t want tosee me,” she chuckles. For almost15 years, she served proudly as aMarine and was awarded two NavyCommendation Medals. She repre-sented the Corps with distinctionin all sports EXCEPT golf.Suddenly, in 1991 her worldseemed to fall apart.

Anticipating deployment to theMid-East in 1989, Maggie returned toher office after a rigorous trainingregime. Sitting behind her desk, shesuddenly realized she couldn’t moveher legs. The medical staff could notdetermine the cause and decided toplace her on a Temporary DisabledRetirement list, where she remaineduntil being awarded full retirementstatus almost ten years later. “My onlyincome during those years was about athird of my regular pay and it was dif-ficult to get by. Thankfully, I wasreceiving medical care at no cost.”Without a clear diagnosis, a doctor atthe Bethesda Naval Hospital suspectedthe illness was MS.


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Maggie rides around the club in her dark blue golf cart flying the Marine Corps flag,

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From 1991 until 1997 she washomebound as her condition wors-ened. She lost most motor skills,could not speak nor walk. Hervision was significantly distorted (achallenge that continues to plagueher). “Some days are better thanothers but the bad days are verytroubling.” A care provider had toassist her in virtually every basicfunction. After her neurologist atBethesda transferred to CampLeJune, Maggie decided to relocateto the area to continue treatmentswith him. Thus begins a remarkablegolf story!

Her condition slowly improvedand she regained approximately 85percent of her motor skills. Hermental condition was not as positiveas she wrestled with a life that wentfrom a nationally-ranked triathleteand softball player to someone whoseldom left her house. During a visitto her doctor, it was suggested thatshe start playing golf. Her responsewas “I can barely walk and talk, howthe hell can I play golf?” (Actually,she had had a brief encounter withgolf and owned a set of WalterHagen irons. “While I was stationedin Camp LeJune, they would have‘free beer and day off ’ golf events.Needless to say, my participationwas not motivated by golf.”) Butthanks to a doctor’s advice and MoeNorman, golf changed her life!

Part II-Moe Saved My Life

Finally accepting the doctor’sexplanation that golf would help therehabilitation of her motor skills, shenoticed a copy of Golf Digest in thewaiting room. It featured an article onMoe Norman and his one-plane swingwith Norman on the cover and the

caption “Moe Knows What NobodyElse Knows” followed by the question“Is he the best ball striker ever?” (GolfDigest, December 1995). It included aseries of photos depicting each part ofhis swing. Maggie recalls, “It suddenlyhit me. Moe and I were very muchalike in terms of golf physique andneed for simplicity. So I ‘borrowed’the magazine and for the next 30 daysI went to the driving range, laid themagazine down on the grass and hitpractice balls. Much of the time Iwould be sitting on a 5 gallon bucket

due to vertigo but I still could practicehis swing and follow-through. Healways had a very wide stance whichwas most comfortable for me. Mostappealing was his belief that simplyyou aim and you hit it HARD—and Idid!” Using that magazine articles andMoe’s swing photos, Maggie became aself-taught golfer who later competedon the largest stages of women’s ama-teur golf, always challenged by bothher competitors and a personal battlewith MS. She carried a plus 2 handi-cap and played from the blue tees.

Moe Norman and Maggie Weder are featured on the same cover of Natural Golfer.

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She played an aggressiveamateur tournament schedule until2004 when the disease bought onanother major setback and, in hermind, golf was over. A call came toher home from the Director of theGimbel Center, a MSComprehensive Care Center, askingher to participate in their charitygolf event. She initially refused but afriend sensed she was giving up andinsisted she attend. The event rekin-dled her joy of the game and gaveher a new reason to live. The 5’5”

powerhouse amazed the participantswith her prodigious length off thetee and raised $1,000 for the charity.

Although her skills were clearlybeing impacted by MS, her spiritwas renewed. Using her golfingprowess, she returned home and cre-ated “Golfin 4 MS,” a charity thatraises funds available for individualswho need financial assistance forMS treatments. She raises themoney by getting sponsors who payan amount for every birdie she

makes in a tournament “provided Ifinish the round and sign the scorecard.” Until her recent neck surgery,she had raised almost $90,000 anddeclares, “I am going to play againto reach the goal of $100,000.”Every dollar raised goes to theGimbel Center for MS at the HolyName Hospital in Teaneck NJ. (adetailed personal account of herdecision to create the charity can befound athttp://www.freewebs.com/golf4ms/index.htm).

Battling often torturous pain, shecontinued to participate in competi-tive events until a recent neck surgery.“Although I was carrying a 1 handicapthere would be days that I struggled tobreak 90. My competitors saw thepain and would encourage me to leavethe course. I couldn’t because I had tofinish the round and sign the score-card to receive the designated amountsfrom my sponsors for any birdies Ihad or would make in the round.”Though she can’t play currently, she isstill involved in the game workingwith club members (at no charge),officiating at USGA and CCA tourna-ments, caddying at women’s amateurtournaments where carts are allowed,and amassing a garage full of golfclubs and other equipment. (A localgolf shop recently went out of busi-ness, and guess who bought the golfclub racks!)

She was recently named Captainof the North Carolina team for theSoutheastern Women’s TeamChampionship with representativesfrom 5 states. In January Maggieheaded to Florida to assist as a rulesofficial in several amateur tourna-ments.

Maggie Weder met her hero, Moe Norman, in 2004.

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Part III-Meeting her Hero

With all of the success Maggiehad achieved in golf, she had twounfulfilled wishes. First, she want-ed to meet and thank her hero,Moe Norman. “That man kept mealive!” Her wish would be fulfilledonly a few months before his deathin 2004. “I heard he was doing aclinic at the Sally Tournament(South Atlantic LadiesTournament) at the OceansideClub in Ormand Beach, Florida.This was my best chance to meethim and I had to go.”

As she was walking along theeighteenth hole following a friend,she thought she saw Moe sitting ona bench. “He was recovering fromcataract surgery and had a patchover his right eye. After peekingthrough the bushes for several min-utes, I finally got up the nerve towalk up to him. I had heard storiesof his gruff behavior to people butthis was my idol and I wanted tothank him.” Rather than reactingnegatively to Maggie, an immedi-ate rapport developed and the twospent hours discussing golf andlife. Over the next two days hewanted her to be his constant com-panion. He introduced her as “Mynew best friend” to everyone hemet at the tournament. Because ofthe eye surgery, Moe didn’t want toactually hit balls at the clinic andinsisted that Maggie demonstrate.“Although he said I understood hisswing better than anyone at thetournament, I did not have to ful-fill that assignment thankfully.”

The next day Moe walked intothe pro shop and asked for Maggie.When she came in, he decided to

give her a tour of the facility—armin arm! “I had heard how Moereacted to others touching him so Iwas amazed when he put my armin his and off we went on the tour.I am not sure why but he wantedto show me everything in the club-house—even the inside of themen’s restroom!” They later spentsome time on the range hittingballs and, as Maggie remembers,sharing Moeisms such as “why hitdown to make the ball go up”(Moe may never have taken a divotnor does Maggie) or why have yourhands so close to your body insteadof straight arms (basically a oneplane swing with no wrist flex) ormaximum power is best achievedwith a ten-finger grip and widestance. He even showed her per-haps his most prized possession—his car. “I have never seen so muchstuff in one car! His trunk was fullof golf balls, I couldn’t even guesshow many,” laughs Maggie (whohas her own reputation as a golfpack rat!).

Although she never saw Moeagain, she has two reminders ofthose two days with him inOrmand Beach. “He gave me acopy of his 30 Ways to be a BetterGolfer’ which he usually refused toshare. He also took a picture withme that has been in my wallet eversince.” In spite of all the reports ofMoe’s erratic behavior, quirks, odd-ities, gruffness, Maggie knows onlyanother person. “It’s not often youmeet your hero and he lives up toyour expectations. Moe did.”

Maggie has had an amazinglycareer from star high school athleteto a proud Marine to nationallyranked triathlete to homebound for

six years to a limited but improba-ble presence in women’s amateurgolf. Though she has to battle theeffects of MS every day, her spiritis upbeat and her will indomitable.“In one way or another, I will con-tinue to contribute to the gamethat saved my life.” Her mantra hasremained the same throughout—“Golf is Easy, Life is Hard.” Withher ever-present cup of coffee, rid-ing around the club in her darkblue golf cart flying the MarineCorps flag, Maggie is more than anicon in amateur women’s golf butto most who know her, she is a reallife miracle! It is estimated that400,000 Americans have MS withwomen developing the disease attwice the rate of men. In her ownway, Maggie is trying to make adifference in at least a few of thoseAmericans. As to her own battlewith MS, Maggie personifies theMoeism, “Stop worrying aboutwhen you are going to die, buthow you will live.”

Maggie’s second wish has yet tobe fulfilled. Following her grand-mother’s advice to find a way outof a difficult home environment,Maggie has returned to Michiganonly a very few times since 1975.“I have never played a round ofgolf in my home state of Michiganand I have never been recognizedfor whatever I have achieved ingolf. But, I haven’t given up onthat wish and hopefully there willstill be an opportunity.” Maybe oneday that will happen—maybe evenrecognition in the MichiganGolfers Hall of Fame?

- MG -


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Havingbeenplay-

ing golf for thebetter part offifty years, Ifinally realizedthat I amspoiled because

of the number of golf courses inOakland County. It is somewhere inthe neighborhood of 50+ publiccourses. Where can you go and findsuch an assortment of quality cours-es at such reasonable rates? I don’tthink there is another county thatcan compare to Oakland when itcomes to public golf course offerings

At last count, I have played 40different courses in Oakland Countyat one time or another. A few ofthem I have played multiple timesover the past fifty years. I certainlyhave my favorites - usually the onesthat are within a half-hour drive ofmy home. The diverse number of

Oakland County–

Where Golf is PlentifulBy Mike Duff

Mike Duff

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courses in Oakland offers a varietyof services, golf course design,course fees and amenities. Thechoices are unlimited.

Generally golfers are a fussygroup when it comes to selecting acourse to play. Golf rates are notalways the main criteria for selectinga course. Quite often the design, theplayability, the degree of difficultyand the location is as important asthe greens fees. Factoring in all ofthese tends to whittle down thechoices. One good thing about hav-ing so many courses within thecounty is that greens fees becomequite competitive and, therefore,good for the consumer. Matter offact, Michigan has been criticizedfor over building golf courses whichhas forced many courses to gounder. Oakland County has notbeen caught up in this “overbuilt”frenzy. We haven’t seen a lot of newcourses spring up in thelast few years and I amnot aware of any newcourses in the works.So, Oakland remains acounty of abundantresources for golf.

My choice of coursesin the county rangefrom Pontiac Municipalto Shepherds Hollow inClarkston. I live in theWaterford area so I usu-ally golf within a 50mile radius of myhome. Some of myfavorites, and ones thatI would recommend,are Lyon Oaks, PineKnob, Pine Trace,Tanglewood andBoulder Pointe to namea few. I would also


Fieldstone, Hole Number 7.

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Copper Hills, Hole Number 4.

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include Captains Club, Fieldstoneand Copper Hills.

Oakland County appears to bethe right location for great golf.Public courses are affordable and

plentiful. So, enjoy what we haveand let’s be grateful that we live insuch beautiful area with plenty ofgolf opportunities.

- MG -


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As four-year headcoach

Cheryl Stacy pre-pares for theSpring 2013 sea-son, her objectivefor the women’sgolf team is clear.

“Our goal every time wetee it up is to win.”

This determination has cul-minated in a long list of successstories since she first accepted theuniversity’s head coaching positionin July 2009.

Three consecutive NCAApostseason appearances. An all-time single season scoring record.And a record-breaking singleround score of 285.

Coach Stacy’s successfulrun continued last fall as theWolverines recorded three top-tenfinishes in four tournaments.

During their first tourna-ment appearance, the MaryFossum Invitational, contested inEast Lansing, the Wolverines shota three-round team score of 933.Led by sophomore Linda Luo,whose two-over par 218 secured an

University of MichiganWolverines: Confidence.Consistency. Progress

By Chris Lewis

Collegiate Spotlight

Coach Cheryl Stacy and Yugene Lee line up a putt at the 2012 NCAA Regional Championship.

Chris Lewis

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2013 University of Women’s Golf Team


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individual third place showing, theUniversity of Michigan finishedthe tournament in tenth place.

Although the team did notcompete for the title, it did acquiresome positive momentum as it pre-pared for its next tournament – theWolverine Invitational. Hosted atthe University of Michigan GolfCourse, an Alister Mackenziedesign, the Wolverine Invitationaloffered Coach Stacy’s squad anopportunity to improve upon theirrecent top-ten finish.

With a three-round total of930, the Wolverines proved theyare capable of competing with –and defeating – some of thenation’s best women’s golf pro-grams, as they finished the tourna-ment in a tie for first place.

Junior Alicia Weber, ofNorthville, claimed individual hon-

ors, as she defeated nearly 80 othergolfers with a 227.

“It was a lot of fun to seethe team win our home tournamentand have lots of family and friendscome and watch the team play,”said Stacy. “It was also special tohave one of our players win theindividual medalist.”

She added, “We are nor-mally on the road playing, so itgave us a chance to showcase ournew indoor golf facility, as well asour top-ranked Alister Mackenziecourse.”

Created by the world-renowned designer of AugustaNational, the par-71 course fea-tures contoured greens and narrowfairways, leading to a rating of 72and a slope of 135. Opened in1931, the course has become oneof the university’s longest-standingtraditions.

But, the addition of the uni-versity’s golf facility, the WeisfeldFamily Golf Center, which offersusers a V1 coaching and camerasystem, a TrackMan golf radar sys-tem, and an aboutGolf simulator, isespecially noteworthy.

“Our student athletes havebenefitted tremendously, as theyhave had more time to focus onacademics since travel time tofacilities has decreased consider-ably,” said Stacy.

The facility has alsoimproved the team’s consistency,providing team members an oppor-tunity to hone their skills, evenduring the off-season.

Such additional practicetime likely had an impact on the

team’s fall finishes, especially asthe team recorded a tie-fourthplace showing at the Edwin WattsPalmetto Intercollegiate, whichwas contested at Kiawah Island,South Carolina’s Oak Pointe GolfClub, a course the team had neverplayed before.

“We had very good chem-istry and the entire team con-tributed throughout the tourna-ment,” Stacy said. “It reallyincreased our confidence. What away to end our fall season!”

Coach Stacy Prepares for theSpring 2013 Season

There is no doubt about it:Linda Luo

Lauren Grogan

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Coach Stacy’s team is young. Infact, she has no seniors. But, theteam’s two freshman, three sopho-more, and four junior membershave all shown their potential inrecent months.

Last fall, Linda Luo led allscorers with a 75.50 average, fol-lowed by sophomore LaurenGrogan, who averaged 77.08, andAlicia Weber, who averaged 78.

“It will be a competitiveenvironment as our spring schedulebegins,” said Stacy.

This spring, the Wolverineswill travel to locales like PuertoRico, Arizona, Florida, andCalifornia.

“We are super excitedabout our schedule, especially ourtrip to San Diego, since we don’tnormally travel to California,” saidStacy. “We are participating in SanDiego State’s tournament and willhave an opportunity to competeagainst some of the west coast’s

top teams, including USC.”

She continued, “We willface a lot of top-ranked teams atmost of the events, so the girls willbe able to compete against some ofthe country’s best golfers. It willbe a great experience!”

Needless to say, CoachStacy is enthusiastic about herteam’s future.

“I am very optimistic, espe-cially knowing that all of my play-ers will be returning next year,”Stacy said. “And we will have anew freshman next fall who is atop-ranked junior player.”

That player, Grace Choi,was signed to a National Letter ofIntent back in November. She iscurrently ranked number 37 in theAmerican Junior GolfAssociation’s Polo Golf Ranking’s2013 class.

“Our new indoor facilityhas given us a wonderful recruitingadvantage so far and will continue

to help the women’s programbecome a national contender in thefuture,” said Stacy.

As Coach Stacy preparesfor the Spring 2013 season, herobjective remains unchanged – towin every tournament.

“Again, every time we teeit up, our goal is to win,” saidStacy. “We want to win the BigTen Championship and qualify for– and compete in – the NCAAChampionship.”

Her goals may appear to belofty at first glance. But, with theteam’s depth, chemistry, and risingconfidence, Coach Stacy’sWolverines are beginning to realizethe sky truly is the limit.

For further informationabout the University of Michigan’swide variety of athletic programs,please visit www.mgoblue.com.

- MG -


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University of MichiganWolverines Spring 2013

Schedule

Clover Cup Invitational, March8th – 10th, 2013 (Mesa, Arizona)

SDSU Farms Invitational,March 31st – April 2nd, 2013(San Diego, California)

Marsh Landing Invitational,April 8th – 9th, 2013(Jacksonville, Florida)

Big Ten Championship, April26th – 28th, 2013 (French Lick,Indiana)

Weisfield Family Golf Center

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Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conqu’ring heroes Hail! Hail! to Michigan The leaders and best!

Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conqu’ring heroes Hail! Hail! to Michigan, The champions of the West!

~ “The Victors”

Let your imagination run wildfor a second. It is the middleof October. The air is crisp,

but not too cold. A steady rain hasbeen falling most of the day, butyou’ve hardly noticed it. The BigHouse has been filled to the brimwith thousands of loyal fans. Andthe University of Michigan march-ing band is performing the mostwell-known song in college sports,“The Victors.”

Another MichiganWolverines football game hasbegun, perhaps the most storiedtradition in the university’s 196-year history. The sights and soundsare unexplainable, from the deaf-ening cheers to the bright hues ofmaize and blue. As you observethe action, you begin to realizewhy Wolverines fans are so pas-sionate about their teams.

University of MichiganWolverines: Hail! to the Victors

By Chris Lewis

Collegiate Spotlight

1935 NCAA Champions - Men’s Golf

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After all, a majority of theuniversity’s teams have been com-peting in the NCAA for more than50 years and have won multiplenational championships. When youask a University of Michigan stu-dent or alumnus which teams standout, they will likely mention thefootball team that captured the1998 Rose Bowl, or the men’s bas-ketball squad that won the 1989national championship. Some mayeven talk about the “Fab Five,”comprised of NBA stars like ChrisWebber and Jalen Rose.

But, oftentimes, one of theuniversity’s longest standing athlet-ic programs is overlooked, in spiteof its consistency and nationalchampionship victories.

Since being recognized asan official varsity sport in 1921,the University of Michigan’s men’sgolf program has won two nationalchampionships, while also devel-oping the talents of some of thestate’s most successful amateurgolfers.

Undoubtedly, the most rec-ognized alumnus of the program isChuck Kocsis, who led the univer-sity to back-to-back national cham-pionships in 1934 and 1935. As aresult of his achievements, whichinclude a runner-up finish in the1956 U.S. Amateur, six MichiganAmateur titles, and three MichiganOpen championships, the GolfAssociation of Michigan selected

Kocsis as the Michigan amateurgolfer of the 20th century.

In recent years, the univer-sity has recruited the likes of LionKim ’11, the 2010 U.S. AmateurPublic Links champion, and up-and-coming stars such as freshmenChris O’Neill and Brett McIntosh.In 2011, Kim tied for third at theNCAA Finals, just weeks aftercompeting in the MastersTournament.

“In all, Michigan has hadthree individual NCAA champions,John Fischer (1932), Chuck Kocsis(1936), and Dave Barclay (1947),”said head coach Chris Whitten. “Andeight players have been selected asmembers of the All-America team,including Lion Kim.”

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Coach Chris Whitten checks Matt Thompson’s swing at the NCAA Men’s Golf Central Regional.



Hired in 2011 as the ninthhead coach in program history,Chris Whitten believes such pastsuccesses will continue to be dupli-cated.

“Our performance goals arethe same each year,” Whitten said.“First, we want to win the Big TenChampionship and, second, wewant to qualify for the NCAAregionals.”

He continued, “After that,we will hopefully qualify for theNCAA Finals and compete towin.”

Momentum

Last fall, the Wolverines

recorded two ninth place finishes,at the Inverness Intercollegiate,held in Toledo, Ohio, and theWindon Memorial Classic, contest-ed in Skokie, Illinois.

Although the team did notfinish any higher than 11th placeafterwards, four individual per-formances especially stand out.

With a three-round total of216, Brett McIntosh, a native ofLondon, Ontario, finished with atie-third place showing at theInverness Intercollegiate, his veryfirst appearance in a collegiatetournament.

One week later, anotherfreshman shined, as Chris O’Neillshot a three-round total of 218 atthe Windon Memorial Classic, fin-ishing in a tie for fifth, an impres-sive feat, considering the field con-sisted of 84 golfers – the largestfield of the season.

From October 7th to 9th,the Wolverines competed in theFightin’ Irish Gridiron Classic,which hosted 71 golfers. Althoughthe team shot a three-round total of892 for an 11th place finish, theWolverines were once again led bya less experienced golfer, sopho-more Noori Hyun, a native ofSouth Korea. With a second-round68, Hyun finished the tournamentin eighth place, another respectableshowing from one of the team’sfuture leaders.

After leading theWolverines at the WindonMemorial Classic, Chris O’Neill’spositive momentum continued atthe Alister MacKenzie Invitational.Following a two-under-par 69 inthe first round, O’Neill shot a 70and 71 during the second and thirdrounds for a three-under-par, tie-

14th finish.

The final event of the Fall2012 season, The Stanford Classic,occurred at one of the mostbeloved courses in the world,Cypress Point.

“It felt like a once-in-a-life-time experience for all of us,” saidWhitten. “We played some of thebest teams in the country head-to-head and I think we realized wherewe stack up against that competi-tion.”

The Stanford Classic is amatch play event, featuring fourball, foursomes, and singles match-es. The Wolverines lost each oftheir matches, as they were defeat-ed by the University of Texas (fourball), the University of Georgia(foursomes), and the University ofWashington (singles).

“For the most part, everyoneon the team is so young that theyneed experiences like this to grow,”Lion Kim

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said Whitten. “We took Washingtonto the very last holes in the finalindividual matches, which will giveus momentum for the spring.”

Improve. Build Confidence.Compete.

Looking back, Whitten isproud of his young team’s per-formances and is eagerly awaitingthe upcoming spring season.

With strong individual per-formances from freshmen andsophomores, the team’s futureappears to be bright.

Freshman Chris O’Neill ledall scorers last fall, with a seasonalaverage of 73.75. He was followed byseniors Miguel Echavarria and MattAlessi, who averaged 75.33 and 76.08,respectively, and Brett McIntosh andNoori Hyun, who averaged 76.33 and77.82, respectively.

Furthermore, Whitten hasannounced that three newcomershave signed National Letters of

Intent for the 2013 – 2014 season.Bryce Evon, the number one play-er in the 2011 Golf Association ofOntario Juvenile Order of Merit,Reed Hrynewich, Michigan’s num-ber one ranked junior, and TomSwanson, Montana’s number oneranked junior, will all be eligible toplay next fall.

“I think we have a great baseand incredible facilities to attract anddevelop talent,” Whitten said. “Ouron-campus Alister Mackenzie courseis an outstanding resource. And wejust opened a 10,000-square-foot all-seasons practice facility for wintertraining.”

He added, “Our recruitinghas taken off and I think the futurecould be very sustainable.”

As Coach Whitten preparesfor the Spring 2013 season, his goalis clear – the team should improveupon its Fall 2012 results in order tocompete with the nation’s most tal-ented teams.

“My personal goal for theteam is that we work daily toimprove our skills, build confidence,and compete as hard as we can,” saidWhitten. “We can’t control what ourcompetition does. We can only con-trol the quality of our preparation.That’s where our focus is.”

Such preparation will allowthe team to continue to build upon

its recent momentum.

“We’ve had great momen-tum in the past four years, withtwo top-10 NCAA finishes, andwe’re capitalizing on that withnew facilities on campus,” saidWhitten. “We have an opportuni-ty to write a very special chapterfor our program in the comingyears and we’ll do it with team-oriented players who loveMichigan.

For further informationabout the University ofMichigan’s wide variety of ath-letic programs, please visitwww.mgoblue.com.

- MG -Noori Hyun

University of MichiganWolverines Spring 2013

Schedule

Collecton River Collegiate,March 6th – 7th, 2013 (HiltonHead, South Carolina)

C&F Bank Intercollegiate,March 24th – 26th, 2013(Williamsburg, Virginia)

Hoosier Invitational, April 6th –7th, 2013 (Bloomington,Indiana)

Big Ten Championship, April26th – 28th, 2013 (French Lick,Indiana)

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Now on iPad

issuu.com/michigan_golfer/docs

iPad House ad_Full page 12/20/11 9:18 PM Page 1


The 2012 marketing campaignof the LPGA was builtaround the slogan, “See Why

it’s Different Out Here.” Four 30-second television ads feature PaulaCreamer, Morgan , Michelle Wie,

Yes, Michelle, There is aDifference!

By Bill Shelton

and Suzanne Petterson answeringfan questions about shoes, tweeting,personal quirks and nicknames.LPGA Chief Marketing Officer, JonPodany, explained ìthe campaignallows us to showcase the uniqueand compelling aspects of theLPGA, and most importantly, ourplayers. The up-close-and-personalsnippets earned a nomination forthe 2011 “Best TelevisionCommercial Series” at the 19thannual ING Industry Awards. Is itmarketing hype or a legitimatedeparture from both LPGA’s pastand men’s professional tours? Whilethe impact of the campaign may bedifficult to quantify, the LPGA

added 5 new tour stops in 2012 andan additional $6 million in tourpurses.

Having covered both LPGA andPGA tournaments for the MichiganGolfer, in my opinion there are cleardifferences both between the olderversion of the LPGA and the currentPGA. Michael Whan, LPGACommissioner since 2010, has donea masterful job in repositioning thewomen’s tour as both a businessenterprise and entertainment organi-zation. Though a wide gap stillexists between the two major profes-sional golf tours, the LPGA hasmoved steadily toward offering a

Jackie Barenborg plays in th DaytonaBeach Invitational at LPGA International,Duramed Futures Tour, April 2010.

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Michigan’s Allison Fouch plays in the 2008 LPGA State Farm Classic

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more viable option for golf enthusi-asts in terms of following, identityand support. Realizing that myobservations are generalizations andthere are always exceptions, I wouldnote the following differences:

• A World Tour. The LPGA hasemerged as the first and purest ver-sion of a world professional golftour. Of the official 27 stops on the2012 LPGA schedule, more than athird were played outside the UnitedStates. Australia, Kuala Lumper,Brazil, Canada, Korea, Singapore,France, Britain, Japan, and Thailandhosted LPGA events and, in manyways, may have represented the sal-vation of the womenís tour. Withthe accompanying explosion of non-American players competing on theLPGA, international media coverageand fan support are increasing expo-nentially. This year an existing tourstop in France, the Evian Masters,will become a designated major onthe LPGA Tour.

• Player/Fan interaction. Itis probably fair to say that theLPGA has always encouraged inter-action with the fans, even if just fortour survival. However, apart from afew professionals such as NancyLopez, earlier players may have beenwilling in spirit but lacking in per-sonality or interactive skills. The pri-mary focus was proving their legiti-macy as professional golfers by con-centrating on and honing their golf-ing skills. Clearly the emphasis isnow on celebrity status as well asgolfing prowess. Paula, Michelle,Annika, Natalie, and Suzanne andothers are sought by companies toendorse their products from cars towatches to personal products. TheTour not only emphasizes thehuman dimension but also provides

educational and improvement pro-grams for the membership. At the2012 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, Iwas impressed with both theamount of fan interaction and theseemingly genuineness of the playerswhen talking with fans and signingautographs. There is not the invisi-ble barrier that seems to exist on thePGA tour where players walk downthe fairway in a robotic trance neveracknowledging fans except with amechanical tip of the cap. TheLPGA actually talk to the fans!

• Personal Appearanceand Fashion. The two majortours seem to be going in oppositedirections as to players’ personalappearance on and off the golfcourse. Increasingly scraggily facial

hair, unkempt hair, either extremelybland or extremely bizarre clothingare seen regularly on the PGA Tour.The trend is reminiscent of themetamorphosis that occurred inmen’s tennis a decade ago. For theLPGA, the exact opposite hasoccurred. Attention to personalappearance and fashion on theLPGA has never been greater. Tourevents are fashion extravaganzas.Pride in appearance is clearly evidentin the players. Whether this is theresult of an organizational directiveor individual desire, it has surelyimproved the tour’s image.

• Atmosphere. While the play-ers on both the LPGA and the PGAare highly competitive, the atmos-phere on the course is much more



28

relaxed and congenial on the LPGA.The players interact often with eachother on the tee box and walkingdown the fairway. On the practicetee at the Jamie Farr, six or sevenplayers were standing together, talk-ing, laughing, and obviously enjoy-ing the camaraderie. Many PGAplayers seem to have tunnel visionand function in a vacuum during atour event. Although some level ofcamaraderie exist on both tours andcompetitiveness is keen on each, itappears that LPGA players experi-ence more enjoyment with theprocess and not purely driven by thefinancial outcome. As LPGA pursescontinue to grow, it will be interest-ing to see if more competitivenessand less camaraderie will become thenew order of the tour.

• A More IdentifiableGame for Amateurs. While

watching the PGA players propeldrives in excess of 350 yards andoften only hit irons for the secondshot on seemingly unreachable par5’s, most of us experience “shockand awe” disbelief. As impressive astheir play may be, most amateurshave great difficulty (if their egosallow them to admit it) translatingtheir game to that level. Many PGAplayers typically hit drives that arelonger than most par 4s we play atour home courses. They play a gameof which we can only dream. On theother hand, we believe (often unreal-istically) that our tee shots andapproach irons are similar in lengthto LPGA pros. At a recent LPGAevent, I overheard a member of thehost club remark to his buddy that atee shot from the LPGA pro landedabout where his shots usually did. Inall probability, if that was true, hewas hitting from a forward tee! On

average, many LPGA players hittheir shots significantly longer thanmost amateurs—but, at least, we arein the same hemisphere! Amateurswould be indeed be blessed if theycould emulate the LPGA slogan, “Iswing like a girl!”

The differences cited representpositive directions for the LPGAbut, in fairness, there are still majorchallenges that threaten the tour.Being a global tour has increased thenumber of tournaments, but with ithas come a significant increase intravel and the associated costs. Howlong will the tour stars continue toendure endless airplane rides andcountless time zone changes to com-pete on the international circuit?Even with the additional of severalnew tour stops in 2012, there arestill numerous multi-week openingsin the 2013 schedule. Though therehas been an improvement in sponsorcommitment, the LPGACommissioner has to continuallymonitor the “care and feeding” ofevent sponsors. Television coveragehas stabilized to a degree with theinvolvement of The Golf Channelbut related revenues from mediacoverage continues to lag. Finally,though some improvement, the“women’s minor tours” are not asmature or integrated as the compa-rable men’s tours.

The biggest need for both theLPGA and the PGA is creativity—new ways to capture and retain theiraudiences, event hosts, and sponsors.Michelle, I have an idea. How aboutmen and women playing in thesame tournament, maybe using dif-ferent tees? Would you be willing togive it a try?

- MG -

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Did you know there is aCalifornia University inPennsylvania? I didn’t until

this past August when the “golfingWilbury’s” Bob, Bob, Bob and Isigned up to attend and take part ina golfing fundraiser in Uniontown,PA. The event was held to help raisefunds for the CalU athletic program.Uniontown seemed like a long wayto go just to play golf, but ourgroup of four traveling buddies allagreed that this would not only befun but allow us to play golf in adifferent part of the country. Theevent was held on Friday August 24at the Uniontown Country Club, aprivate club that promotes a tradi-tional country club experience in anintimate small town setting.

We first heard of this event fromRon Hughes, an alumnus of CalUand formally vice president of scout-ing for the Detroit Lions, now in thesame capacity with the PittsburghSteelers. Ron was good enough totake us on a tour of the PittsbrughSteelers practice and corporate officefacilities. What a treat. Ron lives inMichigan and convinced us that thisgolf outing was something very spe-cial. So we took him up on theopportunity. We decided to allow anextra day or two to visit Pittsburghand the surrounding area while wewere there. Uniontown is about anhour south of Pittsburgh so wedecided to find a hotel located in thePittsburgh area. One member of ourgroup, Bob Walker, was born in

Pennsylvania not far fromPittsburgh, so he was familiar withthe area and knew what to expect.The other three of us had never beento Pittsburgh. Needless to say, wewere extremely impressed. The city’shistory is well known. Pittsburgh hasalways been noted for steel and it isthe home of Iron City beer, one ofthe favorite choices for visitors andlocals as well. Even though we didnot play golf in Pittsburgh I wentonline to see what the golf landscapelooked like. On golfmax.com Ifound over 98 courses list in the areawith a variety of locations to choosefrom. If looking for tee times thenGolfnow.com is a site which canhelp you make tee times.

Golfing for California University-Pennsylvania

By Mike Duff

Uniontown Country Club

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The city seemed clean and esthet-ically appealing. The riverfront wasspectacular and the view fromMount Washington overlooking thecity and the converging three riverswas breathtaking. What is notalways so noticeable in large citiesare the ethnic communities.Geographically, Pittsburgh is dividedinto many different ethnic groups.Not the least of which are large pop-ulations of German and Irish ances-try. There are hundreds of excep-tional restaurants scattered throughthe city and surrounding area. Wehad lunch in a restaurant at the topof Mount Washington overlookingthe city and I think I counted thir-teen bridges leading to and from the

city. Driving in this city of bridgesand freeways caused a lot of frustra-tion for us. I pride myself on beingable to figure out the driving pat-terns in nearly every location I haveever visited, but Pittsburgh drove menuts. And I wasn’t the only one. Theothers in the group felt the sameway as we all struggled to find ourway around even with the help of aGPS.

We did manage to play 27 holesduring this four day trip. Nine holesat the Summit Inn and 18 atUniontown CC. The Summit InnResort in Uniontown is listed on the“National Register of HistoricPlaces” and is magnificent with its

old world charm and unique atmos-phere. The nine hole golf course isnothing special but is in good shape. This article sounds like a travel adfor the greater Pittsburgh area - andin some ways it is. You won’t be dis-appointed in what you find inPittsburgh because it one of thenicest city’s anywhere in the US.There is a lot to see and do in thePittsburgh area and golf is just oneof them. Others might include theZoo, Andy Warhol Museum,Carnegie Museum of Art, PhippsConservatory and Botanical Gardensand of course Mount Washington.

- MG -

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On one of the most beautifulfall days I can rememberwith the brilliant fall colors

bursting like exploding fireworks,the “golfing Wilburys” as I like tocall ourselves made our destinationgolf stop at Yarrow Golf &Conference Center. Yarrow is locat-ed on 300 acres of natural beauty inAugusta, Michigan approximately10 miles from Battle Creek. Thefour of us found this to be anextraordinary golf experience. Mostgolfers know or have heard aboutthe nearby Gull Lake courses, which

are very popular for groups lookingfor a golfing experience that com-bines four or five courses in onepackage. For many years I was partof a golf group that played the GullLake courses and enjoyed what theyhad to offer but Yarrow was neverincluded in our package. Granted,Stonehedge, Gull Lake and BedfordValley offered their own individualand unique qualities however, I con-sider Yarrow to be extraordinary anda hidden gem. In our opinion,Yarrow is one of the best courses inMichigan. All four of us gave Yarrow

an 8-9 on a scale of 10 based onplayability, beauty and condition.

Yarrow was designed by the inter-national golf architect RaymondHearn, who has designed courses allover the world. In Michigan, courseslike The Majestic at Lake Walden inHartland, Moose Ridge in SouthLyon and Quail Ridge in Ada arejust a few examples of his work. Hehas also designed courses in Egypt,France, Mexico and Russia.Yarrow is named after a perennialflower abundantly found in this

A Flower in the Rough– YarrowBy Mike Duff

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region. The “poultice” (oil) of theflower was used in the Civil War tohelp heal gunshot wounds, infec-tions and control hemorrhaging.

The course is an 18-hole, cham-pionship par 72. It has five sets oftees, with such names as Black Oak,Evergreen, Knotty Pine, Red Mapleand Yellow Birch ranging from 7005to 5005 yards. It has something forall golfing abilities. One thing thatstands out is its beauty. Every hole isdifferent. Every hole is uniquelyframed by flawless tree-lined fair-ways and manicured bent grassgreens. The fairways are wide andthe rolling greens offered a distinc-tively groomed feel. The greens arelined with high fescue and strategi-cally place bunkers. The depth ofthe greens ranged from 23’ to 49’.Hearn was careful to respect the nat-ural beauty of the area and he cer-tainly accomplished that. The links-style course is surrounded by pinetrees, hardwoods, wetlands andnotably spectacular views.

Picking a signature hole on thiscourse was difficult. The fifth holeand the number #1 handicappedhole is believed to be their signaturehole. It does not give you a lot oflanding area for your drive. A pondon your left and trees to your rightforce you to hit a near perfect shotto the fairway. A long iron off thetee is probably the right choice ofclub. You could be in a lot of trou-ble with an errant drive. A 352 yardpar 4 from the middle tees (KnottyPine) follows the pond on your leftall the way to the green. The fairwayis narrow and bends around thepond forcing you to relay on theaccuracy of each shot. Bunkers linethe right side of the fairway andleave very little room for error. I can

see why this might be considered thesignature hole, but I would vote fornumber 14. All I can say is “wow”.From the tee box you are looking ata 321 yard par 4(middle tees) thatoffers an expansive fairway sur-rounding a couple of good sizebunkers and agreen which islined by a row ofmaples and hard-woods with anopening in themiddle framing abeautiful calm,crystal clear lakein the back-ground. A greenside bunker pro-tects this narrowgreen on the leftrequiring a per-fect shot. It was amagnificent view.If you can stay tothe right andclear the bunkerson your drive,this number 12handicapped holeis set up toreward you witha good score.

Every hole isframed different-ly, as I saidabove, which allof us kept sayingis what makesthis course socharming. We allagreed that wewould playYarrow again andagain.

Golf packagesand lodging is

available. The resort features 45recently renovated guest rooms. Forinformation contact Steve Helmeror Tony Hilton at 800-563-4397 oremail www.yarrowgolf.com.

- MG -


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Redcoats, White House, and Green FairwaysBy Bill and Brad Shelton

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Redcoats, White House, and Green Fairways


36 For the historian who enjoysgolf or the golfer who enjoyshistory, there may be no better

place to satisfy both than a fifty-milesection of the Virginia Peninsulafrom Richmond to Jamestown.Adding to the pleasures of the collo-quially termed “Southern Neck,” theregion’s coastal climate producessome of the best wines on the east-ern coast. With a subtropical cli-mate, the best time for a trip to thearea is fall and late spring, althoughthe winters are typically mild andoffers some reduced price packagesfor lodging and golf. The summermonths serve as an excellent familyvacation destination with area themeparks and water sports.

The journey begins in Richmond,the Capitol of the Commonwealth ofVirginia. Founded in 1737, the sitealongside the fall line of the JamesRiver had served as an English settle-ment in 1609. Richmond played animportant role in both theRevolutionary War and the Civil War.In 1775 Patrick Henry delivered hisfamous “Give me liberty or give medeath” speech advocating that Virginiaparticipate in the Continental

Congress. Sixyears later the citywas burned byinvading Britishtroops, only torebuild and thenbe torched againless than a hun-dred years later byretreatingConfederatetroops. Duringthe Civil War,Richmond servedas both the stateCapitol and theCapitol of theConfederacy. The

Confederate White House is stillstanding and is open to the public.Today the city is an economic power-house, home to six Fortune 500 com-panies, and a metropolitan populationof almost 1.3 million.

After spending some time inexploring the historical sites inRichmond, some leisure activities—perhaps golf and sharing some finewine—are most appropriate.Although there are ample venues forboth in the Richmond area, a twen-ty minute drive east from Richmondon I-64 brings you to a relativelynew Rees Jones course, The Club atViniterra. Located adjacent to theNew Kent Winery, the 18-holechampionship course is quicklyemerging as one of the “must play”treks in the Piedmont region.Located in an upscale residentialcommunity of 300 home sites, awinery, vineyards, and equestriancenter, the course opened in 2009and, though planned to become aprivate club, is currently open todaily fee guests.

Known as the “Open Doctor”

because of his redesign works onnumerous US Open venues, Joneswas given complete freedom by theproperty owners to route the courseand utilize the best terrain. Theresult was a course that can play at5210 yards or be stretched to over7700 yards. According to Jones, thelayout offers wide open fairways onthe par 4’s so “you can swing awayon the tee” but “dramatic” par 3’swhich will require accuracy off thetee. The course routing meandersthrough rolling terrain and no holeborders another. Consistent with thename, players will notice vineyardsadjacent to holes on the back nine.

A generous practice area offers acomplete facility for pre-gamewarm-up or post game corrections.A temporary building currentlyserves as the clubhouse but plans callfor a spacious, multipurpose facilitywith décor consistent with the prop-erty theme. And, a real bonus isthat daily use fees are very reason-able! A trip to the Club at Viniterrashould be planned soon as it isquickly gaining the attention of thegolfing community.

Just outside the entrance to thegolf course is New Kent Winery, the“best 19th hole in golf ” accordingto Rees Jones. Opened in 2008, the17,000 square foot facility is anarchitectural rarity using bricks fromthe civil war era. In 2011 the winerywas awarded the Virginia Governor’sCup for its Reserve Chardonnay.

Thirty minutes east on Highway64 brings the golfer-history buff intoWilliamsburg. Founded in 1632, it

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Photos, preceding page and right:Golden Horseshoe Golf Club, courtesy ofGolden Horseshoe Golf Club.

served as the capital of the VirginiaColony for almost a hundred yearsand was a political center during theAmerican Revolution. ColonialWilliamsburg is a part of theHistoric Triangle along withJamestown and Yorktown. The sec-ond-oldest university in America,The College of William and Mary,was established in 1693 and retainsmany of its original buildings. Dailyre-enactments of events leading tothe American Revolution are per-formed by volunteer residents of theWilliamsburg community. Only ashort drive from Williamsburg ishistoric Jamestown. In addition toviewing some reconstructed facili-

ties, the public is invited to partici-pate in “digging for relics” from theoriginal settlement.

When a break from touring isneeded, the Golden Horseshoe GolfClub offers 45 holes of golf on theperimeter of Colonial Williamsburg.The two 18-hole courses, the Goldand Green, have been cited amongthe “Top 100 Resort Courses inAmerica.” Opened in 1963, theGold course was designed by RobertTrent Jones, Sr. who calls it his“finest design.” The Green course,opened in 1991, was designed byRees Jones. Though longer than hisfather’s design, the course is consid-

ered more forgiving and playable forthe average golfer. The Spotswoodcourse designed by the elder Joneshas been called “the best short nine-hole course in the country” byGOLF Magazine.

Though there are many qualitycourses in the area, a combination ofthe Club at Viniterra and the GoldenHorseshoe trio can easily fill a week’strip to one of America’s most historicareas. For your favorite foursome—ormaybe a family vacation—thisVirginia peninsula is definitely for“lovers” of golf and history.

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Golden Horseshoe Golf Club.

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Abig portionof my lifehas been

oddly devoted togolf shows. It’s acareer path I neverexpected to pursueafter graduatingfrom theUniversity of

Michigan with a history major and apsychology minor. But after co-founding Michigan Golfer magazinein 1982 and helping to make themagazine grow and prosper, I decid-ed to branch out and start the WestMichigan Golf Show in my home-town of Grand Rapids in 1989.

After recently celebrating theSilver Anniversary of the WestMichigan Golf Show with myfriends and colleagues at ShowSpanInc., the company that purchasedthe show from me in 2001 and forwhom I’ve worked and consultedever since, I decided to write downsome lessons and observationslearned over these past 25 years.Besides, I needed a column.

Trust your instincts—Neverhaving any training in planning andputting on a golf show, I just trustedmy instinct, my gut, on whatexhibitors and patrons would wantin a golf show. I figured if itappealed to me it should appeal tothe average golf fan. In watchingCarolyn Alt, the whip-smart andcurrent Show Manager, I notice she

does the same. All in all, it’s workedout pretty well.

Content is important evenin a golf show—Early on I want-ed the golf show experience to bemore than just an opportunity for apatron to pick up a resort brochure orbuy the latest driver. I wanted some“content” to balance the “advertising”and “sales” side of the show. That’swhy I went after well-known teachersto provide clinics and seminars at theShow. Luckily, I was able to takeadvantage of existing relationshipswith Aldila Shafts to land HankHaney and Garland Resort to land‘Big Cat’ Williams for the inauguralGolf Show. But before I went afterthem, I carefully prepared my pitch.And when speaking to Texan Haney, Ididn’t bring up the Michigan weather.

Don’t engage in hype—When there were several golf showsin the state vying for attention andexhibitors, a few of them startedinflating their attendance figures formarketing purposes. One nefariousDetroit show reported attendance ofover 50,000 which was just plainpuffery. Right then and there, Idecided to take the AugustaNational posture when it comes toattendance: “Sorry, we don’t discussor release those figures.” I’ve beentold by sources that Masters officialsenacted this policy in the ‘60s dueto similar inflated attendance claimsby other professional tournaments.

By the way, the reported attendancefigures at both the PGA Tour’sPhoenix event as well as the NorthAmerican (Detroit) Auto Show arewildly inflated.

Stay consistent and beeven-handed—It’s alwaystempting to make exceptions andbend the rules but it invariably leadsto headaches and hard feelings. So Itried mightily to be fair and consis-tent with adhering to all of ourshow’s deadlines, pricing and guide-lines. If it meant losing a fewexhibitors then so be it. But mostexhibitors were equally fair-mindedand respected our policies. However,one maverick exhibitor didn’t like itwhen we enforced our booth guide-lines at the show, pulling out in themiddle of it. The next year as a non-exhibitor, he hired someone to paperthe parked cars at the show with asales flyer.

Try not to worry about theweather—In Michigan it can bea full-time job trying to figure outwhat the weekend weather will do.When asked, I described the perfectgolf show weather as being “cold,snow on the ground but with clearroads.” The worst situation is a win-ter traveler’s advisory which weencountered several years. In theinaugural show, I quipped after anice storm that “I held a golf showbut a hockey game broke out in theparking lot.” On another Friday

Slice of Life

By Terry Moore

Terry Moore

Twenty-five Years of Golf Shows . . . and Counting

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evening during a vicious winterstorm that had authorities askingdrivers to stay off the roads, I cameup to a patron and asked him whyhe had come out to the Show onsuch a nasty night. “Well, I figuredmy chances on winning a door prizewould be better.” That commentleads me to....

Never underestimate thevalue of a door prize—Everyone wants to win something soI started a Grand Prize for the show.I worked with different propertiesand put together a nice air, golf, andhotel package. Destinations includedIreland, Scotland, Florida andArizona. I devoted one TV commer-cial every year about the Grand Prizewith the previous year’s winnerintroducing the new destination.

There were few if any problemsalthough one year I had to scramblefast when the sponsoring ScottishTravel company went bankruptbefore the winners took their trip.Fortunately, I managed to find analternate company to fulfill theprize.

Focus on improvementevery year—We used exhibitorand patron surveys to gauge how wewere doing and also ask for sugges-tions. On Sunday night after theShow we gathered at a local restau-rant and read the evaluations andtook them to heart or with a grainof salt. We would chuckle aboutsome of the comments: “The Showslowed down in the last hour.” Yep,most people prefer not to pay andrush through a show at the end of

day! Another one: “When are yougoing to get Tiger Woods here?”Reply: When he owns the show!

Be ‘hands on’ when itcomes to publicity and pro-motion—Not blessed with a bigmarketing budget, I learned toproactively reach out to the mediaand propose news and sports cover-age of the Show. I did my ownreleases and followed up in personwith various media and, as a result, Ipicked up a skill in media relations.It’s not only personal relationshipsthat are key but also organizationand timeliness and knowing theneeds of the media. Incidentally,that first year with Big Cat Williamsmy press release about him said hewas “going to drive a golf ballthrough a phone booth” instead of

an intended phone“book.” A TV stationpromptly sent a cam-era out for that!

It’s always a teameffort—the good folksat ShowSpan plan andexecute a quality showthrough a concertedteam effort of individu-als. Golf Show princi-pals Mike Wilbrahamand Carolyn Alt andtheir entire team areknowledgeable andhard-working and knowconsumer shows as wellas anyone in the coun-try. I appreciate thatthey let me impart someof my skills and experi-ence in continuing thelegacy of the WestMichigan Golf Show.

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