Sponsored by: May 27, 2011 Vol. 11, N o. 21 Buck’s Run Golf Club • http://bucksrun.com/golf/proto/bucksrun/ • Tour the Course Video with Jerry Matthews http://youtube.com/watch?v=qxuMfR0vN3o n o i t a d n u o F f l Arcadia Bluffs o G • Website: http://arcadiabluffs.com n a g i • Golf & Lodging Rates: http://tiny.cc/9vx3f h c i M • Tour the Course: http://tiny.cc/13yy1 f o y s e t r u o c o t o h P Arthur Hills, Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, Class of 2011 LochenHeath Golf Course • Website: http://lochenheath.com • Video: http://tiny.cc/k4txr In This Issue: __/ Run for the Roses II: By Bill Shelton __/ Finding a Game for the Rest of Us __/ Michigan Golfer Television: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame __/ Alternative Ways to Play Golf: By Chris Miles of Miles of Golf __/ Play Golf America to be Held at Fox Hills __/ Michigan Golfer Magazine Online - Spring Issue Sandy Ridge Golf Course • Website: http://golfsandyridge.com __/ Tee It Forward: PGA and USGA Thoughts • Video: http://tiny.cc/y18s8 __/ Up North Resorts Upbeat on Michigan Economy: By Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press __/ More Game Changing Ideas: By Scott Seifferlein __/ Michigan Has First Regional NCAA Title - Lion Kim Had a Career Best Round __/ Minzey's Musings __/ Michigan Golfer Television Channel - 2011 Shows __/ Michigan Golf Calendar __/ Michigan Golfer Archives Treetops Resort - Celebrating R.T. Jones http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/archives.html Masterpiece 25th Anniversary __/ Michigan Golf History http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/history.html • Website: http://treetops.com __/ Michigan Golf Association Links • Video: http://glsp.com/treetops/ http://michigangolfer.com/mgn/associations.html __/ Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Half Off Golf http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/ghf/ • Jeff Lesson’s Website: http://lessonongolf.com Michigan Golfer Magazine 2010 -11 Winter Issue http://michigangolfer.com/win10-11/ Past Issues http://michigangolfer.com/#pastissues Michigan Golfer Television Michigan Golfer Channel http://michigangolfer.tv Michigan Golfer You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?pi=0&ps=100&sf=added&sa=0&sq=golfer&dm=2 Michigan Golfer News Subscribe http://lyris.dundee.net/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=michigangolfnews Editor: Art McCafferty Associate Editor - Jennie McCafferty =================================== RUN FOR THE ROSES II: By Bill Shelton =================================== For the second time in May, Louisville Kentucky is in the national spotlight as professional golfers compete in the 72nd Senior PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club. Earlier this month Louisville’s Churchill Downs was the site of the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby. Interestingly, there are numerous similarities between the two events in addition to sharing the same geographical location. Just as the Kentucky Derby is one of the oldest and clearly the most prestigious horse racing event in America, the Senior PGA Championship is the most historic and prestigious senior golf event in the nation. Both events occur in the best of venues. The twin steeples of Churchill Downs towering over the emotional renditions of “My Old Kentucky Home” bring an aura unmatched in the world of racing. Annually the Senior PGA Championship selects nationally respected sites to host the tournament. Valhalla Golf Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus and constructed in the early 1980’s, has hosted several national championships and the 2008 Ryder Cup. Louisville businessman, Dwight Gahm, in financing the course had a single goal--”build a world class course capable of hosting national championships.” Clearly he has already attained that goal. Valhalla is rated as the #1 course in Kentucky and usually rated in the top 100 courses by national golf magazines. A third similarity is that both events typically draw the top echelon of their sport. Capturing the prize, whether roses or a trophy, signifies the victor is the best of the best. The 19-horse field in the 2011 Run for the Roses was considered by some racing pundits as a weak, somewhat non-distinguished, field. With the “fading” of Arnie, Jack, Tom, Hale and other elders, the 2011 Senior PGA will not have the panache of the past. Tom Lehman will no doubt enter as the favorite based on his performance this season but Freddie Couples will probably be the major attraction to fans and the media. As in the Derby, there will be sentimental golf favorites including Kentucky native son, Kenny Perry, and the courageous effort by Ken Green following his tragic accident. Just as Animal Kingdom finished in first from the middle of the pack, so likely will the winner of the senior event with one caveat--if Valhalla is set up long and difficult, only a select few of the players will have a chance. The Senior Championship can hope to be similar to the Derby in other ways also. This year’s Derby P. 2 M I C H I G A N G O L F E R N E W S - M A Y 2 7, 2 0 1 1 drew a record crowd of almost 165,000 fans. Hopefully the golfing event will attract record crowds and television audience. For the first time in several years the weather was excellent for the race and the track was fast. Golf is at its best when the weather is dry and the greens are fast. The Kentucky Derby is the biggest social event in America of the prettiest people in their fanciest duds and wide brim hats. The running of the race is almost a second thought. Golf needs a reason to celebrate. There has not been much reason to party. The goal of the 2011 Senior PGA Championship should simply be-- “and a good time was had by all.” Louisville, can you do it again? If needed, feel free to utilize that third great Kentucky contribution to America--bourbon--liberally to the equation! http://algarvegolfllp.com/wp/2011/05/golfs-adapting-to-modern-times/ ==================================== FINDING A GAME FOR THE REST OF US ==================================== Art: There is a story in today's WSJ titled "Finding a Game for the Rest of Us" with a sub, "The Movement to Find Ways to Ease the Hardships of the Game - for Amateurs - Continues to Grow." "Last fall, as an experiment, Barney Adams (the founder of clubmaker Adams Golf) invited a long- hitting Nationwide Tour pro of his acquaintance to play a super-long version of a course in the California desert. The tees Adams designated extended the course to 8,100 yards. In some cases they were actually in the fairway of the previous hole. The idea was to see how the pro would fare hitting approach shots into greens using the same clubs that average male amateurs often have to hit when they play 6,700-yard courses, as they frequently do. The pro, smashing 300-yard drives, typically leaves himself seven- or eight-iron approaches on the long par-four holes he plays on Tour. But on Adams’s course, he found himself hitting fairway woods and hybrids into the greens...... "A recently completed study commissioned by the PGA of America determined there are 90 million former golfers in the U.S. Of those, the study estimates, about 60 million have at least a moderate interest in taking up the game again - if it can be made more palatable." MORE: http://algarvegolfllp.com/wp/2011/05/golfs-adapting-to-modern-times/ Thanks and a Tip of the Tam to "Cyber Geezer" Thad Gutowskii for this nugget of information. =============================================================== MICHIGAN GOLFER TELEVISION -- MICHIGAN GOLF HALL OF FAME =============================================================== We are delighted to offer you the latest videos of our Michigan Golf Hall of Fame members. Frankly, we did one show outside with our previous MG editor, Terry Moore, and had not planned on more than that. We did not feel the light or audio was conducive for video inside the banquet area of Indianwood, but after shooting a couple of minutes of video on Jim Briegel, we thought it was of sufficient quality to continue. While Briegel was short-changed in the process-- and our apologies-- we did get most of what followed. Enjoy. Class of 2011 Art Hills Terry Moore P. 4 M I C H I G A N G O L F E R N E W S - M A Y 2 7, 2 0 1 1 Don Perne' Jim Briegel http://michigangolfer.tv/2005shows/ghf/ ========================================================== ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO PLAY GOLF: By Chris Miles of Miles of Golf ========================================================== There is much being written these days about alternative ways to play golf or something akin to golf. These alternatives come up because of issues like the difficulty of the game, time constraints, and fussy rules. Some of the ideas that have come out of these issues are bigger 6" cups, 12 hole golf courses, golf balls that do not slice, and more forgiving rules like hit it once in the bunker and if it refuses to leave, throw it out. Most of these things are just being discussed except for the Polara golf ball that does not slice. (We are trying to get it in the golf shop.) For relaxed rules you can go to Flogton ("not golf" spelled backward) http://www.flogton.com/ My suggestion to enjoying the game more is to be sure to pick the right course length. The idea is that golf is the most fun when you have the chance to hit on the greens of par 3s in one, par 4s in two, and par 5s in three. If you may remember, our suggestion on this is to take the length of your average drive and multiply this by 28.