Champions for Change set to air 2 p.m. Saturday on CBS

This weekend is sure to be must-see TV with The Masters.

But be sure to get in front of the tube Saturday before tournament coverage to check out the coverage of the Champions For Change, the cool charity shootout last summer at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor. There's a good chance you'll see me lurking in the background at some point, taking pictures and keeping a close eye on this legendary foursome.

The special -- which airs at 2 p.m. Saturday on CBS -- will highlight the friendly shootout between course designer Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller, as well as the transformation underway in the Benton Harbor and St. Joseph communities in Berrien County, spearheaded by the Harbor Shores development.

Collectively, the foursome boasts 199 PGA TOUR wins and 35 major championship victories, teed off together for competitive play.

Following the golf, all four players took part in An Evening for Champions at The Mendel Center Mainstage at Lake Michigan College. The roundtable discussion gave guests the opportunity to interact with the four legends as they discussed their past battles on the golf course, the state of the game of golf and how Harbor Shores will serve to revitalize the Benton Harbor community.

The day of events was a celebration of the transformation and rebirth of Benton Harbor and a true example of how golf is being used as an enabler for social and economic revitalization. The tournament resulted in a $1 million donation to the Benton Harbor Boys & Girls Club and the First Tee, as a part of a capital campaign initiative launched in the summer of 2010.

Michigan's golf season winds to an end

I've got my last round of golf scheduled, do you?

I'm planning to play this week not for fun but for work. I've had a few review products show up at my door that need to be tested before the weather turns sour.

I just got a facebook message that Manitou Passage is closed for the season. Most courses up north can't be far behind.

Now's the time to reflect on what's been a great season. Both the spring and fall weather was good enough to extend the season a couple weeks on either end, a pleasant surprise for courses that have been starved for revenue a couple years in a row. Boyne USA Resorts reported last week that this has been the longest golf season in its history. Several Boyne courses are scheduled to stay open until the end of the month.

Looking back, the summer weather was stunning. I read somewhere it was the fifth-warmest summer on record in metro Detroit. Most of the weekends were rain free. The weather stayed consistantly wonderful ... 80 to 85 and sunny from June to September.

There were some cool first-time events that I'll never forget, too. The grand opening of the Golf Club at Harbor Shores was as good as any event we've had in Michigan (Just as good as the 2008 PGA Championship and 2004 Ryder Cup if you ask me). Watching Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

Meeting Butch Harmon at the Loon Golf Resort in Gaylord for the opening of his golf school there was another treat. There's a chance he and Natalie Gulbis could return to the resort next summer, so stay tuned.

I even got the chance to play The Bear in its 25th anniversary. The legendary Jack Nicklaus design that spearheaded the growth of northern Michigan as a golf destination is as good as ever.

Speaking of bears, this blog will go into a bit of a hibernation mode as winter settles in.

But if big news breaks -- like if the PGA Tour decides to come back to Michigan in 2011 -- I'll post an update.

Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor breathing life back into Manitou Passage GC

Bob Kuras has always dreamed of having an 18-hole golf course at his beautiful Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor.

Kuras, president of the resort, fulfilled his dream with the purchase of the former King's Challenge course in nearby Cedar last year. Since then, he has poured his money, energy and spirit into reviving the Arnold Palmer signature course that had fallen into disrepair.

Now that the newly named Manitou Passage Golf Club is in a better place, he can joke about the challenges along the journey. He compared the revival of the course to a home remodel. And we all know how painful those can be, both emotionally and financially.

"You know when you paint the bathroom and it makes the bedroom look bad?" he told a small gathering of golf writers at Monday's media day. "And when you paint the bedroom, the kitchen looks awful. ... Every time we thought we were making progress, we found something else to do."

Unfortunately, I never played the former King's Challenge, but from what I've witnessed during a tour of the course last June to today, the facility has had a complete facelift. The new clubhouse, which was all torn up during my last visit, is now a delight. There's a little library area that honors the history of the "Manitou Passage," the narrow body of water visible from the stunning eighth tee. The cozy bar and grill serves quality food that is best enjoyed on the new multi-tiered patio overlooking the 18th green and a colorful bed of flowers and landscaping. The pro shop is stocked with logo gear.

During media day, I teed it up with Stefan Carlsmith, a longtime instructor with the Dave Pelz Golf School at The Homestead. He was an excellent tour guide who went into greater detail on many of the course changes.



Most of the work focused on the tees and bunkers. Several tees, notably on the fourth and 16th holes, were moved to soften dog legs and give players a better angle to the fairway.

A new tee was added on No. 18 to transform a murderous par-4 into a go-for-broke 492-yard par-5 that longer hitters can eagle if they safely navigate the pond guarding the right side. The course now plays a slightly longer 6,668 yards from the tips.

Dozens of bunkers were reshaped while others were moved or filled in.

Even the signature hole, the par-5 eighth, was extensively reworked. The fairway used to be a hog-back shape that repelled shots into the woods. It was leveled to reward good play.

Overgrown trees and weeds were removed throughout. For example, a fairway was added to the par-3 third hole. The changes were all made to make a tight course play a little friendlier. It still plays much harder than its yardage from the blue tees (6,257 yards) imply.

The course conditioning is just beginning to round into form as well. The grounds crew has aerated the greens nine times within last year, bringing them back to life. They roll true.

Once newly planted fescue grows in to define a number of fairways, the course's visual appeal should jump off the charts.

"The changes have all really helped the golf course," Carlsmith said.

Kuras has talked about bringing world-class golf to the Leelanau Peninsula. He's well on his way to making the dream a reality.

For tee times visit manitoupassagegolfclub.com or call 231-228-6000.

Nicklaus, Palmer, Miller and Watson wow the crowds in the Champions for Change at the Golf Club of Harbor Shores

Forget the Buick Open.

Michigan golf fans wouldn't miss the PGA Tour if they could experience more fantastic events like the Champions for Change, the charity shootout that served as a grand opening celebration for the Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor.

The 3,600 fans lucky enough to secure tickets witnessed quite possibly the most star-studded foursome ever assembled for a charity event. Jack Nicklaus, the course designer, hosted Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller in a scramble skins shootout that delivered both great shot-making and fun-loving banter between the four legendary friends.



They've combined to win 35 major titles and 199 PGA Tour titles in one foursome, folks. Incredible.

I heard one African-American golf fan exclaim: "I can't believe Jack Nicklaus is in Benton Harbor. I walked from my house to see Jack Nicklaus."

Watson, 60, was on form, showcasing the shotmaking that almost won him the 2009 British Open. Playing with Arnold Palmer as his partner, he eagled the 14th hole on his own ball. Even with Nicklaus playfully interupting his routine to remind him that the putt on the 18th green was for the match, Watson stepped up and sank it without a moment's doubt.



Miller, the lead golf analyst for NBC, had his moments, but it was Nicklaus, even at age 70, that looked like he could still compete on the Champions Tour. In the most memorable moment of the day, Miller was all set to hit a lob wedge from the lower tier of the green on the par-5 10th hole when Nicklaus stepped in trying to save his course's green from getting a chunk ripped out of it. Nicklaus promptly holed his improbable putt up and over a severe slope, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"For it to go in was pure freakin' luck," Nicklaus said afterward. "That was what I got the biggest kick out of today."

The tournament was my first look at the 6,861-yard, par-71 course. It's a beauty. The three dune holes at No. 7-9 are gorgeous and challenging. Boaters watched the action from the holes that touch the Paw Paw River -- No. 3 and 14-15 and No. 18. Nicklaus' chief designer Chris Rule added some unique touches like two greens on the sixth hole, a shorter one without the long carry over the river and one across the water.



And let's not forget that the whole event and course came to be for one purpose: To revitalize the economy in the sister communities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The 530-acre non-profit Harbor Shores project could eventually build out to include a hotel, marina, a town center and shops, a fitness center and nearly 800 different residences. For more, visit harborshoresresort.com.

"What I would like to see in 10 years, I'd like to see the course have success, to create jobs, to create housing and a tax base," Nicklaus said.

Golf Club at Harbor Shores to host 2 Senior PGAs, charity shootout

I knew the Golf Club at Harbor Shores would be special, but I didn’t know it would be THIS special.

The 6,981-yard, par-71 course, roaming through the forest and dunes of Benton Harbor, rocked the Michigan golf scene with a pair of stunning announcements last week. The course, set to open all 18 holes July 1, will host a charity shootout featuring designer Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller on Aug. 10, bringing much needed excitement to a tournament golf scene in Michigan sorely lacking any luster.

The move by KitchenAid, a division of Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corp., to sponsor the Senior PGA Championship from 2011-2014 no doubt sealed Harbor Shores’ bid to host the prestigious Champions Tour major in 2012 and 2014. That’s three must-watch tournaments added to the Michigan golf calendar in the near future to complement the 2012 U.S. Senior Open at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion.

Michigan might not have enough sponsorship dollars available to attract the PGA Tour, but these events help fill the void. Last summer, the Buick Open folded last year after a 51-year run in the state. And it seems even the great Oakland Hills Country Club might not be active at all as a tournament venue this decade.

The love from the old guys should help soften the snub by the world’s greatest players. The Champions Tour is becoming more popular all over again, thanks to the competitive fires still burning within former major champions Freddy Couples, Nick Price, Mark O’Meara, Tom Kite and others.

And the charity event featuring a skins format featuring rotating two-man teams should be the coolest “exhibition” to hit Michigan since the 2004 Arnold Palmer Turning Point Invitational that featured dozens of former U.S. Amateur winners at the Country Club of Detroit (although the Par-3 Shootout at Treetops was also fun to watch). It will serve as the course's official "grand opening."

The legendary foursome of Watson, Palmer, Nicklaus and Miller offer a combined 199 Tour wins and 35 majors. This could be the last time spirited rivals Nicklaus and Palmer tee it up together. And Miller, the controversial voice of NBC, never plays “competitively” anymore. A limited number of $50 tickets will be sold with access to the course and a clinic. In addition, an Evening for Champions “roundtable” discussion will be held at the Mendel Center Mainstage at Lake Michigan College from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. Tickets are available for $25 at HarborShoresChampions.com.

“I consider Arnold, Tom and Johnny among my closest friends in golf, so I not only look forward to getting together with them again but also having them with me as we celebrate the opening of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores,” Jack Nicklaus said in a statement. “The Harbor Shores Champions for Change event is a great opportunity to highlight how golf is being used as a vehicle for social and economic revitalization, particularly in the Benton Harbor community.”

All of these events will be a boon for Michigan’s beleaguered economy, both financially and emotionally. Money from all over Michigan, not to mention Chicago and Indiana, should pour into Benton Harbor during these tournaments. It’s clear that golf and the real estate and resort development at Harbor Shores is the best thing to happen to Benton Harbor in decades.

For tee times, call 269-927-GOLF or visit harborshoresgolf.com.

King's Challenge now called Manitou Passage Golf Club

First came the chocolate golf ball in the mail, a mysterious gift signaling something was brewing on the Michigan golf scene.

The next day, the mystery was solved when another package arrived ... a Manitou Passage Golf Club hat revealed the new logo and name for the former King's Challenge Golf Club in Cedar.

The changes officially signal a new era for the club, which was purchased last year by a group of investors, led by Bob Kuras, the president of The Homestead, a fabulous resort in Glen Arbor.

I was the first golf writer to visit the site for a tour of the potential changes (read more here) to the course last June, while construction of the new clubhouse was in full swing. The plans were ambitious but necessary to revive the neglected property. The course opened last July but continues to undergo changes, and more TLC, to enhance the Arnold Palmer-designed course.

"While working on the new tee boxes for No. 8, we discovered a view of Lake Michigan's Manitou Passage," Kuras says. "Immediately, we realized that name was the tie to Leelanau County."

The new Web site, manitoupassage.com, is still under construction, but a message on the front page hints at a grand opening this summer and a $5,000 sweepstakes to celebrate the event.

Those who attend the Grand Rapids Golf Show this weekend can stop by The Homestead booth for the club to find out more about tee times and rates this summer.