It never ceases to amaze me.
Whenever I go to play golf, I meet someone from Michigan who works in the industry. It just proves how entrenched the game is in the fabric of life here.
Two weeks ago, I hopped off the airplane in Albuquerque, N.M., and headed immediately for the first tee at Isleta Eagle Golf Club, a solid resort course just 15 minutes from the airport. There I met head professional Mike Ciolek.
I found out Ciolek went to college in Michigan and had recently come home to play some golf, teeing it up at Shepherd's Hollow in Clarkston.
It was deja vu for two other trips I've taken in the past year. Last fall at The Broadmoor, the 5-star retreat in Colorado Springs, Colo., head professional Mark Kelbel proudly proclaimed he was Michigan born and raised and loved to get back home whenever he could.
At the luxurious Kiawah Island Golf Resort in S.C. last February, I enjoyed a round of golf with Mike Vegis, the resort's public relations director who went to Michigan State University and still loves his beloved Spartans.
Michigan might not produce PGA Tour-quality players like many other golf-crazy states -- the season is just too short -- but it produces some of the industry's best managers, golf professionals, superintendents and other key behind-the-scene positions. Give thanks to the turfgrass program at MSU and the golf management program at Ferris State University for pumping out these talented folks who are passionate about the game. Many of these people stay in Michigan to work out the 1,000 or so golf facilities here. Still, many more move to warmer climates.
Next time you're traveling to a course far away, don't just zoom in and out without talking to the golf staff. Chances are you'll meet a new friend who grew up or went to school in Michigan. You might have more fun talking about the Wolverines or Spartans or Pistons or Lions than playing the course.
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