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.

Take advantage of Michigan's great fall golf rates

Fall means cheap golf.

The falling temperatures, shorter days and deteriorating course conditions (usually due to frost and aeration) force operators to discount their rates in the fall, a bonus for those of us who believe the season runs until the snow flies.

The best way to find out about all the fall specials going on around you is to go to a course’s or resort’s website and sign up for its e-mail club. You’ll get every promotion conveniently e-mailed to you, including the new fall rates. Sometimes, the course owner or operator will even e-mail out a special price for those loyal enough to sign up for the list. Here are some e-mail deals that have caught my eye in the past two weeks:

· Play Fox Run Country Club in Grayling this fall and get a free green fee voucher for next spring.

· Yarrow Golf Club in Augusta runs just $25 on weekdays and $35 on weekends beginning Oct. 1.

· Grand Haven Golf Club boasts $35 Tuesdays.

· Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville has fall escape and spa packages for $139 a night per person.

· College Fields in Okemos is $29 weekdays anytime and after 1 p.m. weekends and $35 on weekend mornings.

· Mystic Creek in Milford has cheap-skate Mondays for $21 and tee times ranging from $29-$35 on weekdays depending on the day and time.

· Stonebridge, an Art Hills course in Ann Arbor, runs $33 before 3 p.m. and $25 afterward on weekdays. Weekends are $42 descending to rates as low as $25 as the day goes on.

· Marsh Ridge Resort in Gaylord has a $189 fall retreat package that includes golf, an overnight stay and a gourmet meal and breakfast for two.

· Northville Hills, a fun Arnold Palmer layout, has all-you-can-play for $35 during this week.
· The Loon in Gaylord has all-you-can-play specials for $25 during the week and $36 during weekends through September.