A great forecast is in order for the Gaylord Golf Mecca's Golf Customer Appreciaton Week, set for October 11-17. Just book a stay at one of the area's many condos or hotels to get a voucher for a free round of golf at any of the local mecca courses. There is a $15 cart fee if you aren't up to walking.
Participating are The Natural, Wilderness Valley and Black Forest, Black Bear in nearby Vanderbilt, Black Lake in Onaway, Marsh Ridge, Michaywe Pines, the Classic course at Otsego Club, Treetops Resort and The Loon Golf Resort. The places to stay are listed below (most prices are for double occupancy):
Lodging Facilities Facility Rate Contact Number
* America's Best Value Inn $45 per person 989-732-5133
* Alpine Lodge $45 per person 800-684-2233
* Baymont Inn & Suites $54 per person 888-808-6331
* Pine-Cone Accommodations $69 per person 866-731-1887
* Marsh Ridge Resort $60 per person includes breakfast 800-743-7529
* Waters Inn $39 per person 800-557-2425
* Great Northern Rentals $69 per person 877-546-2028
* Heart Lake Waterfront Cottages $35 per person 888-595-5081
* Holiday Inn Express $59 per person includes breakfast and a sleeve of golf balls 989-732-2200
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Chill with LPGA star Natalie Gulbis at The Loon Golf Resort
There's still time to chill with Natalie Gulbis at the Loon Golf Resort this weekend.
The Loon Golf Resort, which hosted the very successful Natalie Gulbis Charity Classic August 13-15, welcomes back the LPGA beauty September 24-26 for the Natalie Gulbis Showcase event.
"We have had a great summer of golf events with Butch Harmon and Natalie Gulbis both putting on great showcase events here at the Loon for our golfing guests," said Matt Preuss, General Manager at The Loon Golf Resort. "We are very excited to have Natalie return in September and look forward to having her participate and help create what will be the most exciting final golf event to play in for the season."
This event will include golf, clinics and great food with Gulbis. The two-day 36-hole event will be played in a four-person team format with amateurs competing in both gross and net divisions. Gulbis will be on hand participating with private clinics for the contestants, including a junior clinic for kids, as well as participating on golf holes, and interacting with each group.
The cost to participate is $2,000 per four-person team. This includes practice rounds on Friday, tournament rounds, clinics with Natalie Gulbis, cocktails, meals, as well as awards and prizes. In addition, the first 20 teams to register will receive lodging at the Loon Golf Resort.
I had a great time at the Butch Harmon event. I'm guessing that Gulbis will be just as fun to hang out with.
The Loon Golf Resort, which hosted the very successful Natalie Gulbis Charity Classic August 13-15, welcomes back the LPGA beauty September 24-26 for the Natalie Gulbis Showcase event.
"We have had a great summer of golf events with Butch Harmon and Natalie Gulbis both putting on great showcase events here at the Loon for our golfing guests," said Matt Preuss, General Manager at The Loon Golf Resort. "We are very excited to have Natalie return in September and look forward to having her participate and help create what will be the most exciting final golf event to play in for the season."
This event will include golf, clinics and great food with Gulbis. The two-day 36-hole event will be played in a four-person team format with amateurs competing in both gross and net divisions. Gulbis will be on hand participating with private clinics for the contestants, including a junior clinic for kids, as well as participating on golf holes, and interacting with each group.
The cost to participate is $2,000 per four-person team. This includes practice rounds on Friday, tournament rounds, clinics with Natalie Gulbis, cocktails, meals, as well as awards and prizes. In addition, the first 20 teams to register will receive lodging at the Loon Golf Resort.
I had a great time at the Butch Harmon event. I'm guessing that Gulbis will be just as fun to hang out with.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Crystal Mountain Resort to shine on The Golf Channel
It's not often Michigan golf resorts get exposure on national TV.
The last time it happened was several years ago, when the Golf Channel series, the Big Break, visited Boyne USA Resorts.
And old-timers might remember the glory days of Michigan golf when ESPN showcased the Treetops Resort in Gaylord with a two-day telecast of the Par-3 Shootout.
This time around, it's Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa's turn during an episode of "Destination Golf" by the Golf Channel. The show's lucky host, Lauren Thompson, travels the country visiting golf hot spots. I'm not a big fan of the show, but Thompson is easy on the eyes, and I'll certainly check it out to see how Crystal Mountain is portrayed.
During the episode, Thompson hangs with Crystal's Director of Golf Brad Dean, who is not only one of Michigan's top teachers but one of the nicest guys in the industry. The episode will also tour the resort's Mountain Ridge course and the cool Alpine slide.
I missed the original airing last night, but the replays are scheduled to be Sunday, September 12th @ 1 p.m.; Wednesday, September 15 @ 1 p.m.
Saturday, September 25 @ 10 p.m.; Sunday, October 3 @ 11:30 a.m.; and Monday, October 18th @ 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Check it out.
CHARITY OUTING: For the second year in a row, the Meade Lexus of Lakeside will be sponsoring the St. John Medical Staff/Guild Golf Outing, set for Sept. 13th at the Lochmoor Club in Grosse Pointe Woods. Proceeds from the event go toward St. John Hospital and Medical Center Rehabilitative Services. Last year, approximately $25,000 was raised for this civic charity.
This year’s event includes a morning and afternoon four-person scramble, food and refreshments, door prizes, a raffle and numerous contest holes. Hole-in-one hopefuls, for instance, will have items such as 12-month lease on a Lexus GX 460 to keep them motivated. To add to the excitement, one of the live auction items will send the highest bidder and a friend to partake in the 2010 Lexus Champions for Charity National Championship at Pebble Beach in California. Golfers who fall short of sinking a hole-in-one or winning the Pebble Beach package can instead get a complimentary Odyssey White Putter to practice their hole-in-ones for next year. Lexus will be giving away the putters upon completion of a test drive.
You can purchase tickets online for the 8 a.m. shotgun here.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Bernie Smilovitz' charity outing moved to September to raise awareness for Hunger Action Month
Just because it's past Labor Day and school has started doesn't mean it's time to put away the clubs just yet.
There's plenty of great golf to be had this fall.
On Monday, September 13, 2010 Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan (Gleaners) will host the Bernie Smilovitz Harvest Classic. For the 7th consecutive year golfers will hit the links at Tam O’Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield to help feed hungry neighbors across southeast Michigan. Registration and breakfast will begin at 8:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 10 a.m.
Golfers will receive a continental breakfast, 18 holes including cart, lunch, snacks and beverages on the course. Tam O’ Shanters’ back porch will host Bernie’s After Golf Party, offering hors d’ oeuvres and an open bar for players, friends and food bank supporters to celebrate a great day of golf and charity. For a $100 donation, non-golfers can be part of Bernie’s celebrity–filled After Golf Party. These funds will be used to help Gleaners feed children and their families.
Bernie Smilovitz, WDIV-Local 4’s sports anchor, has one again called on his friends from the world of sports, entertainment and politics to join him on the links for an event that has provided over 1,650,000 meals to our hungry neighbors in southeastern Michigan. This year the event hopes to raise 300,000 more meals!
“With Bernie’s heartfelt endorsement, we have renamed and rescheduled the ‘Bernie Smilovitz Harvest Classic’ to bring attention to Hunger Action Month and the important opportunity it provides for the public to join a movement that has a real and lasting impact on our effort to feed more hungry neighbors than ever before” said Gleaners President DeWayne Wells.
Registration is available online at www.BerniesGolf.org.
PROS PLAYING WELL: Two Michigan natives are having banner years professionally. Ann Arbor native Jennifer Song, who turned pro earlier this summer after a successful career at USC, was named rookie of the year on the Duramed Futures Tour. She finished second on the money list, earning nearly $64,000, to earn her LPGA card for next season.
“This is a great honor,” said Song, 20. “I feel very blessed that I can play the game I love.”
She finished the season with six top-10 finishes in nine events, including two victories and two runner-up finishes. She won her professional debut at the Tate & Lyle Players Championship in Decatur, Ill.
I chronicled the journey of Tom Gillis of Lake Orion from the European Tour to the PGA Tour back when he first qualified in 2002. He's bounced back and forth between the big show and the Nationwide Tour the past four years, but he appears ready to stick around awhile. He finished in a tie for fifth at the Deutsche Bank Championship to advance to the third round of the FedEX Cup playoffs. He's earned more than $1 million this year. Go Tom!
There's plenty of great golf to be had this fall.
On Monday, September 13, 2010 Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan (Gleaners) will host the Bernie Smilovitz Harvest Classic. For the 7th consecutive year golfers will hit the links at Tam O’Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield to help feed hungry neighbors across southeast Michigan. Registration and breakfast will begin at 8:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 10 a.m.
Golfers will receive a continental breakfast, 18 holes including cart, lunch, snacks and beverages on the course. Tam O’ Shanters’ back porch will host Bernie’s After Golf Party, offering hors d’ oeuvres and an open bar for players, friends and food bank supporters to celebrate a great day of golf and charity. For a $100 donation, non-golfers can be part of Bernie’s celebrity–filled After Golf Party. These funds will be used to help Gleaners feed children and their families.
Bernie Smilovitz, WDIV-Local 4’s sports anchor, has one again called on his friends from the world of sports, entertainment and politics to join him on the links for an event that has provided over 1,650,000 meals to our hungry neighbors in southeastern Michigan. This year the event hopes to raise 300,000 more meals!
“With Bernie’s heartfelt endorsement, we have renamed and rescheduled the ‘Bernie Smilovitz Harvest Classic’ to bring attention to Hunger Action Month and the important opportunity it provides for the public to join a movement that has a real and lasting impact on our effort to feed more hungry neighbors than ever before” said Gleaners President DeWayne Wells.
Registration is available online at www.BerniesGolf.org.
PROS PLAYING WELL: Two Michigan natives are having banner years professionally. Ann Arbor native Jennifer Song, who turned pro earlier this summer after a successful career at USC, was named rookie of the year on the Duramed Futures Tour. She finished second on the money list, earning nearly $64,000, to earn her LPGA card for next season.
“This is a great honor,” said Song, 20. “I feel very blessed that I can play the game I love.”
She finished the season with six top-10 finishes in nine events, including two victories and two runner-up finishes. She won her professional debut at the Tate & Lyle Players Championship in Decatur, Ill.
I chronicled the journey of Tom Gillis of Lake Orion from the European Tour to the PGA Tour back when he first qualified in 2002. He's bounced back and forth between the big show and the Nationwide Tour the past four years, but he appears ready to stick around awhile. He finished in a tie for fifth at the Deutsche Bank Championship to advance to the third round of the FedEX Cup playoffs. He's earned more than $1 million this year. Go Tom!