Berklich on the Buick By Jack Berry 10 s e v i h c r A r e f l o G n a g i h c i M : o t o h P Nick Berklich was a long-time Warwick Hills CC Professional. This interview with Nick Berklich The Augusta National began Club, five formed Warwick Realty was first published in the August, hosting the Masters Tournament in in 1955. Those five — Chuck 1998 issue of the Michigan Golfer. 1934, Colonial Country Club in Kelly, Homer Strahle, Bill Gregor, Fort Worth, Texas, began hosting Ed Titus and Vic Ryden — put ichigan’s big-time PGA the Colonial National Invitation down $2,500 each and convinced Tour championship, the (now Mastercard Colonial) in 60 others to invest the same Buick Open, celebrates 1946, and Pebble Beach began amount. They bought 320 acres of the 40th anniversary of its rollout hosting the Bing Crosby Clambake mainly farm land south of Flint, in Mat Warwick Hills Golf & Country (now AT&T National Pro-Am) in Grand Blanc and most of the 65 Club, August 6-9, and only three 1947. bought a lot for another $3,000. courses have been a part of the professional tour longer than Feeling Flint needed another Then they sold memberships for Warwick Hills. private club besides Flint Golf $1,650 and hired James Gilmore 10 S P R I N G 2 0 0 8 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E Harrison, a Pennsylvanian who Michigan Golfer: Size up War- play aggressively back there. It’s worked as a teamster and then as a wick Hills as a tournament test. probably one of the biggest foreman for Donald Ross from swings on the Tour, where a play - 1921-27. Warwick Hills is the only Berklich: It’s great for competi - er can make up a lot of ground in course Harrison designed in tion. Even if a player has a four nine holes. A lot of people Michigan and it opened in June, shot lead going into the back nine, around the country I talk to say 1957. he’s not safe. If he doesn’t play it’s one of the most interesting to aggressively, someone could shoot watch because of that. And the Nick Berklich, Warwick’s golf 30, 31 back there, maybe even 29 television ratings reflect it; it’s professional ever since the 1965 — that’s been done seven times on one of the highest rated outside model Buick and honored by the back. (The non-tournament of the majors. Warwick members with a lifetime record for the back nine is 28 by Denis Watson in the 1988 pro-am) membership in the club, sat down Michigan Golfer: Where does the with Michigan Golfer’s contribut - attack start? On the short par 4 ing editor Jack Berry to talk about A lot of guys have lost the 12th (335 yards)? the Michigan “home” for the tournament because they didn’t world’s best golfers. 11 s o i d u t S e c n i r P g o r F / e n i l r e h S r e t r a C y b o t o h P Tiger Woods in the tournament was pure magic at the ticket office. M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 0 8 11 Berklich: No, it starts as soon as than people give them credit for. they make the turn. The 10th (401 We have pro-ams with the best The board asked Mr. Kelly, who yards) is there for the taking. The pros in the state and if someone was a member at Pine Tree (in green faces the player and he has a shoots 70 or 71, they usually win Florida and had a house on relatively short iron in there. Our it. And I don’t set the course even Warwick’s 16th hole) to serve on 11th (190 yards) is not a real tough close to all the way back, it’s 6600 the committee. He was a very good par 3. I would say just about every to 6700 yards. The Tour players friend of Joe Lee and persuaded hole on the back side is a birdie are typically playing 7100 yards, Joe to come up and look at our hole. That’s why the numbers are back to 7150. They are head and golf course. so low. They can tuck the pins but shoulders above everyone else. if the players hit the shots and Comparing it to some other sports, I was the young pro at the time they’re aggressive, the greens are we are kids among giants, we’re and went along with Mr. Kelly and so good that the players just mar - like high school basketball players Mr. Lee when they looked at the vel at their condition. to the NBA. golf course. Chuck asked him if he Michigan Golfer: Early in the could do anything with it and Joe Michigan Golfer: At the time, Buick history, Warwick Hills was said “Oh, this has fantastic possi - Robert Wrenn’s 26 under par 262 known as a long boring walk. Now bilities. All it takes is money? in 1987 was one shot off the all- players like Fred Couples, the Chuck said “That’s one thing we time PGA Tour record for low 1994 champion, and Peter don’t have.” score, held by Ben Hogan and Jacobsen, the 1980 champion, have 12 Mike Souchak, and Wrenn won by compared Warwick Hills to the But we proceeded to do every - seven shots. Low scores are a tra - courses they grew up playing. thing and it cost $180,000. I dition at the Buick but how do you What happened? recently talked to Joe Lee and explain that? asked what it would cost today to Berklich: Berklich: Those things happen. He It was in the later 1960s do what he did then. He said you was in a zone that particular week and we had a young aggressive probably couldn’t get out of it for and that’s how good these Tour board of directors. They were con - $4 million. players are. He played extremely cerned because they’d heard aggressive from the get-go. He had through the grapevine that our golf He built all the greens to USGA a feel for the course and a feel for course, even though the purse was specifications, changed the loca - the game which has never been right, needed a little tweaking. The tion of some greens, expanded the repeated in his career. condition of our greens wasn’t real tees, and put in big Augusta-type good. They were very, very hard bunkers. Architectually we have and they were all shaped the same one of the real hidden gems in Michigan Golfer : What is the best way — two bunkers in the front Michigan. It’s not only good for single round you know of by one and a narrow entrance and then PGA Tour play, it’s good for mem - of your members? they fattened out like a pear with a ber play. We have tees for ladies, bunker in the back. seniors, juniors, regular member - Berklich: We have some young ship and PGA Tour play and not members who played on college Every one was the same and many courses can say that. teams but none have done better they were straightaway holes with than 68 or 69. And that’s in regular no doglegs. It was a very, very Joe also has been back several play, not championship play. long monotonous golf course and times and told us where to plant the greens wouldn’t receive a ball. trees and that’s so much help. Michigan Golfer : What does that You had a lot of bad things going We’re really happy with everything tell the golf fans? for you. The board decided that Joe has done. changes were needed to not only Berklich: It tells them that profes - impropve the course for the tourna - Michigan Golfer: What is your sional golfers are so much better ment but for the club as well. favorite hole? 12 S P R I N G 2 0 0 8 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E 13 In the old days, before Joe Lee, a player could drive into the ninth fairway to stay away from the out of bounds on the left of the 18th. And there was only one splash bunker between the ninth and 18th. Now there’s a big fairway bunkers and a lot of trees. The hole proba - bly was 30 yards longer originally because the tee was back farther and so was the green and there weren’t any pine trees. It’s a much better hole now. Michigan Golfer: The Buick and big galleries are synonymous. How did that begin? Berklich: When Buick started the 14 tournament, it wanted it to be a community event so tickets cost only $1 and parking was free. We were one of the first tournaments to draw big, big galleries. Whole families came. And we had beer sales in cans, not in cups. I remem - s o i ber players saying they’d never d u t S seen anything like it; they were e c n i r ankle-deep in cans going through P g o the grove (where the 10th, 11th, r F / eighth and 17th holes converge).