Here in the heart of the Michigan golf season, we have a story that will warm any person’s heart… the oldest golf caddie in the nation is a 90-yearold gentleman from LaPorte, Indiana, who loops multiple days a week in SW Michigan at The Dunes Club. We share his story here in July and hope it brings a smile to your face.
Another in our ongoing series of courses that are celebrating 100 years is the SW Michigan course Indian Lake Hills, now a full 27 holes of fun and beauty.
And that’s just for starters…This month we also share:
Golf Digest announced what it feels are Michigan’s top 40 golf courses – public and private combined. You might agree or disagree. The good thing is they are all beautiful.
We introduce you to Mr. Golf, high schooler Michael Houtteman.
Shanty Creek just hosted the Michigan Open and is ready to welcome all comers. Over Labor Day weekend, you can play 90 holes of golf for $90. Check it out.
USA Today is handing out more golf honors in Michigan; this time it’s the U.P.
…and we have so much more !
Thank you as always for joining us on our golfing adventures.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, connecting Wisconsin on one end and Canada on the other, has been recognized among USATODAY’s ‘10BESTGolfDestinations’. These top golf destinations were carefully curated by a panel of subject matter experts and USA TODAY 10 Best editors before being voted on by the public.
Over the last two decades, destination golf in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has expanded to the western part of this region. This golfing road trip takes you over the scenic Mackinac Bridge and across beautiful US-2, one of the most visual drives along Lake Michigan. It then takes you west of Escanaba to Island Resort & Casino in Harris, MI.
“Twenty years ago, the Upper Peninsula was not known for golf, or a place to take a golf trip,” said Tony Mancilla, General Manager for Island Resort and Casino. “We had Timberstone, and then Greywalls in Marquette developed, but once we were able to build Sweetgrass, and Sage Run, combined with our
resort lodging and casino, we began to attract golf groups from all over the Midwest. To be recognized by USA Today and its readers is very exciting and a testament to the quality and quantity of great golf we have built and the experience our guests have when they visit this region.”
As one of the Midwest’s largest golf, casino, and entertainment resort destinations with 36 holes (Sweetgrass and Sage Run), Island Resort is the anchor to this emerging golf destination. With Greywalls in Marquette and Timberstone in nearby Iron Mountain, the “Perfect4-Some” has become one of the country's best value golf buddy trips.
USA Today also said about the Upper Peninsula: “With rugged forests, rolling terrain, and views of both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, the Upper Peninsula is a unique golfing location. Popular courses include Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club, renowned for its dramatic elevation changes and striking scenery, and Sweetgrass Golf Club, a course known for hosting the LPGA Epson Tour. There is also an annual day of Ice Golf when golfers play with fluorescent golf balls on snow-covered lakes.”
Golfer Makes Two Hole- Golfer Makes Two Holein-Ones in One Day in-Ones in One Day
In a feat that is as rare as it is remarkable, Erik Olson made not one, but two holein-ones during the First Tee – West Michigan Golf Marathon at Cascade Hills Country Club in Grand Rapids in midJune. Olson was participating in the allday fundraiser to support First Tee’s youth programs to cover the cost of those who cannot afford to.
“Golf has impacted my life in so many positive ways,” Olson said. “I wouldn’t have many of the friendships, professional successes, and life experiences without this beautiful game.”
Olson embraced the First Tee Golf Marathon challenge and played an incredible 153 holes in a single day, setting a new Cascade Hills Country Club record for most holes played during the event, while simultaneously raising more than $15,000 for First Tee.
For most of the marathon, Olson played solo. Later in the afternoon, Olson’s family joined him and that’s when the magic happened. He aced hole number 131 of the day, then struck again just 13 holes later on hole 144.
“My wife, Kelli, and two sons, Lucas and Benjamin, had just joined me to watch and support me as I attempted to break the Cascade Hills number of holes played record of 150,” Olson said. “Little did I know they would also witness not one, but two hole-in-ones!”
Having his family by his side made the moment even more special.
“The money raised and the memories my kids will have for a lifetime will make that one of the most fulfilling days of my life,” Olson said. “I need to keep reminding my oldest son that it had been 28 years since my last one as he now thinks they are a dime a dozen!”
The Golf Marathon is one of First Tee – West Michigan’s key fundraising events. Players commit to a full day of golf while rallying donations to provide scholarships for students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate in the program. The Cascade Hills Golf Marathon is just one of 23 golf marathons happening at different golf courses across West Michigan this summer.
Mr. Golf Michigan: Mr. Golf Michigan:
Michael Houtteman Michael Houtteman
The biggest golf award in Michigan high school golf goes to a new graduate of the smallest competitive division in the state – Michael Houtteman.
Houtteman won the Div. 4 state title for Maple City Glen Lake High School, located at the lower end of the Leelanau Peninsula, just east of Sleeping Bear Dunes. In the two-day final played at Ferris State, Houtteman shot a sizzling 6under par (70-68-138).
Houtteman closed out the season with the best scoring average across all four divisions at 71.7. He was medalist at four tournaments and was runner up five times. He made 54 birdies in 17 contests of both 9 and 18-hole events.
“Coming into this year I set my goal that I wanted to be the best and play at the highest level and get the Mr. Golf Award, and I was fortunate enough to win it,” Houtteman told me. “And it’s such a prestigious honor to win especially because the competition is the entire state as a whole, all age groups and not just your division. It’s mostly golf, but also not just all about golf. They judge your extracurriculars and what you do off the course, and in the community.
“Playing a lot of competition in the north doesn’t give as much clout as the schools down south (in Michigan) and probably rightfully so, but I was able to travel down and play in a lot of big invitationals… and I was able to separate myself from some other top players.”
Unlike a lot of top players who specialize in one sport, Houtteman stayed competitively busy all school year. In the fall he won the state tennis title in No. 3 singles, and then was a starting guard on the basketball team.
His next stop is the U.S. Air Force Academy, and he said part of what pointed him in that direction was his grandfather.
“My grandfather was a big role model for me. He was a Naval aviator and that intrigued me to fly,” he said. When Houtteman went on his recruiting visit he loved the Colorado area and could sense a really strong brotherhood with the other men he met there.
“It’s something I always wanted to be a part of. It’s always great to fight together through the adversities in life. The job opportunities are amazing (in the military) and I get to play some
MR. GOLF
high-level golf, that I’m excited for,” he said, while noting that he is looking forward to returning to Michigan for the annual Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes hosted by Michigan State. Houtteman finished runner up (even par) in a high school event at American Dunes early in the spring season against most of the top teams in Michigan.
“It’s a very special tournament to me, especially now that I’m going into a service academy, he said of the Corporal B. Invitational played in April. “It allowed us to not just play golf, but to play for something bigger. Being able to play against most of the top teams in the state and post a solid round definitely helped my chances of winning Mr. Golf.
“First, the course is simply stunning. It’s a different style course,” he said about playing American Dunes. “You listen to Taps (at 1:00 pm), you see the absolutely monstrous American flag. Then entering the golf course, you take your hat off and get to show your respect to the ones who unfortunately passed away serving and protecting our country. It’s a very amazing experience, especially for the fact high school kids get to participate in that, and see the reality of the sacrifices that Veterans give to our country, and for our freedom.”
Just like the Veteran he will also be one day.
All-StateSuperTeam: All-StateSuperTeam:
Conner Fox, Lake Orion
Conner Fox, Lake Orion
Michael Houtteman, Glen Lake
Michael Houtteman, Glen Lake
Ian Masih, Okemos
Ian Masih, Okemos
Will Pollack, Forest Northern
Will Pollack, Forest Hills Northern
Cooper Reitsma, Grand Rapids Christian
Cooper Reitsma, Grand Rapids Christian
Julian Sinishtaj, Warren DeLasalle
Julian Sinishtaj, Warren DeLasalle
Parker Stalcup, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Parker Stalcup, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Brian Tillman, Chelsea Brian Tillman, Chelsea
SHANTY CREEK RESORT
Shanty Creek Always in Great Condition: Shanty Creek Always in Great Condition: Classic
Up North Golf and Fun Classic Up North Golf and Fun
ByTomLang ByTomLang
Shanty Creek resort is not considered flashy.
It doesn’t usually get the first mentions of Up North golf – but it is certainly qualified to.
The golf is pure.
The golf is great.
The golf courses are designed by some of the best names in the business.
The five courses are all different and offer something for everyone.
The conditions are some of the best any golfer can find.
“I’m calling Shanty Creek the ‘Phenomenal Five,’ because …there you’ve got five golf courses, with something for everyone,” said 3time Michigan Broadcaster of the Year, Jack Ebling, out of Lansing.
Ebling’s personalized label encompasses Shanty Creek’s Cedar River Golf Course design by Tom Weiskopf (which turned 25 years last year), The Legend (1986) by Arnold Palmer, the original Summit course, Schuss Mountain GC and the acquisition of nearby Hawk’s Eye, which has been in Shanty Creek’s portfolio since 2021.
Blessed with nearby Lake Bellaire and Torch Lake, Shanty's 90 holes offer something for everyone.
“What I noticed about Shanty Creek, and maybe there are other resorts in Michigan that would have the same characteristics, but I was very impressed,” Ebling said at another time. “We played one course there but got to look at the others, and each one has a distinct personality. It’s almost like if you went up for a week, it’s like being at three, or four, or five different resorts because each course is different.”
Another media member, Bill Hobson of Michigan Golf Live, told me: “I believe Cedar River is one of the best and underappreciated courses, not just in Michigan, but in the entire Great Lakes region. From the Michigan Open to everyday resort play, Cedar River not only stands up, it stands above most of its betterknown northern Michigan neighbors.
“What Tom Weiskopf did with that stunning piece of property is the height of creativity, challenge, and fun.”
The Michigan Open was played at Shanty Creek in mid-June, bringing in the pros and top amateurs in the state for four rounds of a true test in golf.
Steve Scheuermann, director of golf at Shanty Creek, worked with the Michigan PGA to bring the golf major back to Shanty Creek after it had been in Southeast Michigan for the past two years. It was a full team effort to bring attention back to Shanty Creek, while testing the best players and giving them something to talk about.
“For me, Cedar River is one of the best golf courses in Michigan,” Scheuermann said. “Tom Weiskopf was a brilliant architect, and the way that he used the contours and the rolling terrain and the strategic landing zones for your tee shots. It has very fair greens, they are not as
hilly as the Arnold Plamer Legend Course; but there’s some challenging pin placements, that’s no doubt.
“Then the Arnold Palmer design (The Legend) that’s a lot different, with very difficult greens. Schuss Mountain, you start out on the front
Continuesonnextpage>>
TheLegend
nine that has very flat terrain at the base of the mountain that’s heavily wooded. Then you go to the back nine and you have some definite steep inclines and elevated tee shots. Hawk’s Eye is kind of a mixture of all those types of terrain and is very unique to itself. And the Summit Golf Course, the original here, it’s more of a links style course with very challenging greens. So, yes, you do feel like you’re at a different location on each of the golf courses.”
Shanty Creek celebrated 60 years in 2023. The Summit Course was the first green grass entertainment added to the resort originally known best for wintertime skiing. The Summit, first called the ‘Deskin’ after founder Roy Deskin, came on the scene in 1968. non-perishables.
“It really works well for our golf portfolio (of five courses and 90 holes) because we’re able to let the courses have the rest that they really need and fit in that maintenance that you HawkseyeHoles2&3
“The Legend was a huge deal back in its day and was part of helping bring northern Michigan golf to the forefront and made the area a destination,” said Lindsey Southwell, director of marketing and an avid golfer who played high school golf at Greenville. “With Jack Nicklaus (The Bear at Grand Traverse) and Arnold Palmer and their courses up north here, it really made a name for northern Michigan golf. And that made for a natural rivalry even for the golf courses.”
NBC GolfPass raters made The Summit their No. 11 in the country for ‘Most Improved’ earlier this year. Various reviewers wrote: ‘BestBang4Buck.Bestcourseyoucanplayin NorthernMichiganfor50Dollars.Hasallyou wantinacourse(except)asteepteefee.Iwould recommendtoanylevelplayer.’
I am unaware of any other Michigan resort that emulates what Shanty Creek does to ensure ‘rest’ for their courses. Every golf course is closed for a minimum of one day per week, most for two days.
wouldn’t normally get in during the summer,” Southwell said. “It really ‘ ups the game’ on the golf maintenance side of things.”
I first played at Shanty Creek over 20 years ago when the Michigan Interscholastic Coaches Association asked me to make a media presentation. I went back again in 2023 and was truly mad at myself for the long break.
Weiskopf’s gem sits on a piece of Shanty Creek land not as hilly as Arnold Palmer’s The Legend, but still has enough dramatic rolling features it will maintain any golfers interest all 18 holes. Speaking of which, the 18 is very striking and one of my favorites. It’s a long par 5 that stays level for the most part (with a danger zone left and long off the tee) but then the entire fairway drops off dramatically the last 150 yards to a large green guarded on the right side with water, one of only three ponds on the entire layout. th
th
The 13 hole starts my favorite stretch on the course. It’s a shorter par 4 with a split fairway
proceed between ‘goalpost’ trees on both sides to safely reach the dance floor.
No. 15 is a long but fair par 5 that accentuates Cedar River’s overall setting of wide fairways in which many are shaped with mounding along the way that potentially kick off-line shots back toward the short grass.
Scheuermann agrees the Palmer Legend course is the one most golfers want to play…. “But it is the most difficult course we have. It does make you score a little bit higher than you hope to, but it’s such a wonderfully designed golf course, that I thoroughly enjoy.”
Whether you are thinking about Shanty Creek Resort as a buddies’ trip destination or the next family journey – the Bellaire ‘Fresh Air’ region can provide so many other activities like hiking, swimming, footgolf, biking, canoeing and beaches – to supply a truly amazing Up North getaway experience that could generate many return visits in the future. Find more information at: https://www.shantycreek.com/golf/ going around a huge tree, with the Cedar River babbling in the background to quiet the ears and brain.
The 14 hole could be one of the toughest par 3s in northern Michigan. It’s all drop off from tee to green; so golfers must land the tee shot on the green as there is no fairway fronting the hole, but rather, deep bunkers going down the hill and deep woods right at the back edge of the bean-shaped green. The tee shot also must th
Overheard
Overheard
at the
at the
Michigan Open at Michigan Open at Shanty Creek Shanty Creek
The prestigious 108 Michigan Open was played at Shanty Creek’s Cedar River course in midJune. Here we share comments overheard from some of the best players in the state: th
EricLilliboe,2024champion,Okemos:
“This is a good golf course. There’s lots of unique tee shots, a lot of downhill shots. It’s a very playable golf course. I had a lot of fun playing it.
“I saw a good amount of the resort (this week). Actually, talked with a couple moms and dads at dinner one night with my girlfriend. Their kids were playing down at the pool and I asked if they come here often. They said they come here every year and really enjoy themselves. There’s a lot of things to do out here. It’s my first time on property and I’m impressed.”
LorenzoPinili,T4andlowamateur.MSU player:
“It is my first time out here and I didn’t know what to expect. There’s a little bit of pulls on the greens because of the mountain. The greens are
pretty fast and the course is in good condition. You get a little bit of everything.
“It’s challenging enough to where people would have a hard time if they play the wrong tees, but if you play the right tees, it’s not too easy and not too hard.”
BeauBreault,runnerup,Howell:
“I enjoyed being here. I always love coming up north. Look forward to coming every year.
“Out here it gives you the option to hit driver. Some fairways pinch in at a certain spot, but you still get options and I’m in favor of that. The greens rolled great but a little difficult to read. A very fair golf course, in good condition, and I look forward to coming back.”
WinnerOttoBlack,Brighton:
“I just like the design. I think the designer is one of the best and the greens are so good. Very fast and very smooth. My first time here. I was very impressed with the golf course, and look forward to coming back.”
A stunning, seeing-eye 60-foot birdie putt on No. 16 tied the match, and a two-putt par from 20 feet wrapped it up on No. 18 for Caleb Bond, a Michigan State University golfer from Williamston.
With the win, Bond defeated PJ Maybank, a University of Oklahoma golfer from Cheboygan, 1-up, in tense and birdie-filled championship match at the 114th Michigan Amateur Championship at 100-year-old Belvedere Golf Club.
“As much as you can wish to win every week, it’s really hard,” said Bond who with the victory will
have his name inscribed on the historic Staghorn Trophy. He also earned a USGA exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship in August.
“To win an event like this, especially with match play takes a lot of luck and a lot of help. I think that’s always the goal and I think having to give that speech with the trophy is something you play through your head ever since you were a kid. Winning is always the goal, and you just kind of keep your head down and hit one shot at a time out there.”
Bond earned his spot in the finals with a 4 and 2 semifinal win over Zach Koerner of Laingsburg, his former roommate at Ferris State University before Bond transferred a year ago to MSU.
Maybank, meanwhile, topped Adam Burghardt, a former Wayne State University golfer from Clinton Township, 1-up in another match that stretched for all 18 holes.
“It was an incredible week,” Bond said. “The kind you dream about, and it feels amazing to be going to the U.S. Amateur.”
Earlier in the week, Bond’s teammate at MSU, Lorenzo Pinili, set two scoring records at the event; the tournament’s stroke play scoring record at 67-63-130 and the Belvedere course record of 63 in the second round of stroke play.
The previous Michigan Amateur two-day scoring record was set at 131 by Andrew Walker of Battle Creek and also a former MSU golfer. Pinili’s 63 tops the course record 64 that Michigan golf legend Chuck Kocsis shot in 1962 during an October round at the club, and which was equaled by Ruthkoski in 2003 during the stroke play rounds of the Michigan Amateur.
Trenton’s Laura Bavaird Wins Trenton’s Laura Bavaird Wins
GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur
ByGregJohnson ByGregJohnson
Laura Bavaird has been there and done that as a competitive golfer, but she found another first in golf.
The two-time Michigan Women’s Amateur champion, former collegiate standout at Western Michigan University and winner of the 2010 Canadian PGA Women’s Championship as a tour professional, won the 27th GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Twin Lakes Golf & Swim Club.
It was her first Mid-Amateur title and her first GAM title since being reinstated as an amateur in 2021. She did it with a 65-70-135, 10 shots clear of the field.
“I mean, once a competitor, always a competitor, whether that’s amateur or pro, so it’s important for me to retain that identity,” said the 39-year GAM Foundation director. “I work hard to maintain my game for that reason.”
Defending champion Elayna Bowser of Dearborn and 2022 champion Chelsea Collura of Riverview, tied at 145.
A Senior Division champion and a 19-24 age group champion were also determined.
The Senior champion was GAM’s most decorated golfer, 11-time Mid-Amateur champion Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll of Haslett, who won for the second consecutive year in the Senior Division. The age 19-to-24 winner was Elise Fennell of Caledonia, an Illinois State University golfer who was recently named Missouri Valley Conference
Freshman of the Year.
Slobodnik-Stoll, the head women’s golf coach at Michigan State, shot a 1-under 141 total for the two rounds. Lori Schlicher of Lewiston, last year’s GAM Senior Women’s Player of the Year, shot 147 for second.
Slobodnik-Stoll was pleased she was able to win despite not having spent much practice time as she was busy coaching the Spartans through the NCAA Championships, and last week she caddied for one of her players, Brooke Biermann, in the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
“Being on the bag (for Brooke) was inspiring and so I tried to take what I saw there and absorb it in place of having time to practice,” she said.
Fennell won the younger group competition by six shots – which included her first ever holein-one (6-iron, 161 yards, hole 16), for a two-day total of 146.
“ “ “ “
Joe’s Joe’sffountain ountain ofyouth: ofyouth: “Keepon “Keepon moving,”he moving,”he s said.“Keep aid.“Keep walkingand walkingand haveacouple haveacouple ofbeers ofbeers a a day.” day.”
ByTomLang ByTomLang
Humans seem to always be seeking a Fountain of Youth.
Joe Meindl found it with golf – caddying for golf to be more specific.
Joe is commonly believed to currently be the oldest working caddie in the United States. He turned 90 in mid-June.
There have been other caddies working in their 80s, but often times were cart riders later in life.
in Michigan
Oldest Caddie in the Oldest Caddie in the Nation Loops in Michigan Nation Loops
Joe still walks the course almost every day with a full golf bag slung over his shoulders at The Dunes Club in New Buffalo.
“Caddying is my passion,” Joe told me as I did a 9-hole trek with him and fellow caddies looping for a foursome in early June. “I truly enjoy it and it’s interesting. I meet a lot of good people.”
When asked if his goal is to reach the century mark in life, which at this positive pace he should, Joe said no.
“My goal is to try to be a good person and do the best I can every day… and for the golfer I caddie for, I make sure to show them the best time that day. Do the best I can, have a nice conversation with them, and make them happy. They’re going to remember that day, I guarantee it. There’s a lot of people who acknowledge that and they say ‘Joe, thank you for a good day.’”
Joe is a golfer too, playing the game for the last 65 years since he moved from native Germany to the United States in 1957 to work in the meat packing industry. He started in Madison, Wisc., moved soon to Chicago and, a few short years later, was transferred to LaPorte, Ind. He never moved again.
Joe began playing, and still does, at Beechwood Golf Course, a historic public track in LaPorte. Joe claims to be an average recreational golfer and has shot his age more times than he can remember.
“I have witnessed 28 holes in one, and I never had one,” Joe said. “I have seen some ugly ones, and I’ve seen some nice ones. The ugliest one didn’t get more than two feet off the ground, took a few bounces, bounced up there and goes in. And I have seen some perfect shots, too. Lots of them.”
Dunes Club member David Nettleton of the Chicago area with a summer home in Michigan told me: “Joe is the best caddy I’ve ever had. He knows this course inside and out. His love for the game and his love for this golf course is unbelievable. He helps my game. He calms you down. He knows your swing and knows how to work with you.”
Joe is also the lead mentor at Dunes Club. A fellow caddy that very enjoyable June afternoon was David Forker, a Three Oaks, River Valley High School grad who is now a senior and Evans Scholar at U-M and in his 8 year at Dunes Club. th
Continuesonnextpage>> “The drives are getting shorter, but the short game is still there,” he said. “Age is creeping up on me, but I’m not giving in,” he added with an ironic chuckle. His one nagging point: zero holes in one.
OLDEST CADDIE IN AMERICA
“It’s his positivity. He’s so positive all the time,” Forker told me. “He never complains. He’s just an optimistic guy. He’s a mentor to me. When I was out here my first year, Joe was always the guy to look to –the guy that everyone said, ‘you’d have a good time with him if he’s in your group.’”
Todd Molitor has been the Dunes Club GM the past 12 years, after taking over for Dave Hettinga – the person who first recruited Joe to caddie in a pinch at the golf property developed by legend Mike Keiser, who created Bandon Dunes among other amazing golf resorts.
that everyone wants to be around, that’s for sure. What’s most special about Joe is that he makes peoples’ day. Everybody loves him.
“Joe is an entertainer; good person to be around,” Molitor said. “He’s got endless stories. He knows the game. He might not play great golf anymore, but he knows the golf swing and he knows the game. He loves the game. He’s sure seen a lot.
“He gets mail here,” Molitor said with a laugh. “He gets requested at least 3-4 days a week. He doesn’t turn any down. He’ll go at least five days a week. He’s a fixture here, believe me.”
Joe is also a fixture at Beechwood Golf Course, where he plays golf less than before, but still stops in once a week to visit.
“He’s infectious. When he comes in, everyone wants to talk with him,” said Beechwood head PGA pro Kyle Cashmer. “His attitude is always positive, always upbeat. He’s always someone
“He tells me he literally wants to (caddie) every day. He’s got to be the oldest caddie in the nation. I don’t think it could even be close. I would be stunned to see others in their 80s, maybe some in their 70s. It’s just out of this world. He’s in great shape. With some of the heat and humidity we have in July and August, I don’t know if I could caddie seven days a week, and I’m 42 years old. He’s an amazing man.”
I asked Joe the question everyone wants to know: what is the secret to a long and healthy life?
“Keep on moving,” he said. “Keep walking and have a couple of beers a day.” he added with a grin.
Joe also keeps in shape by swimming up to a mile each day – at the YMCA during the winter, and at home in the summer. Home is very important to Joe. He taught all four of his children to golf – Mike
(age 64), Chris (63), Angela (60) and Tony (56). He and Kathy have been married for 68 years.
The Meindl’s are a three-generation golfing family. He taught his granddaughter, Savanna, to play and to caddie, and she earned an Evans Scholarship to attend the University of Colorado.
Joe did some rough calculations and between 65 years of playing golf and 25 as a caddie, he believes he has walked 300,000 miles in his lifetime.
Bestroundofhislife:
The best walk he recalls was a day spent with his golfing hero, Masters champion and fellow German Bernhard Langer. It happened eight years ago, via a common friend, at the Sr. PGA Championship in Benton Harbor.
The first opportunity was a senior event at Continuesonnextpage>>
French Lick Resort, but Joe’s son was getting married the same day in California. His friend said there could be other opportunities, and it was reported that Langer said, “well, too bad he can’t make it this year, if he’s still alive maybe next time,” which brought a deep laugh.
In Michigan, Langer’s normal caddie couldn’t be there
for a practice round. Joe said that he and Bernhard were born about 35 kilometers apart in Germany… “So, we had a lot in common to talk about. He was always my idol, and he still is. We’re still in touch. He still calls every now and then. He’s just a wonderful person. Great family guy, a good guy.
“When we walked down our first fairway, and got to the first green, Bernhard said, ‘Joe, do you still play.’ I said yes, and he asked can I read greens? I said overall I think I can see most of it. I miss sometimes. Bernhard said okay, and we get on the green for a 15footer. He’s down there looking at the putt. He says, ‘Joe,it’sgoing togorighttoleft.’Ilookedathim andsaid,‘notifyouwantto makeit.
It’s going to go left to right.’ He said, ‘I’m just testing you.’
“It was one of our highlights. We enjoyed talking, some in German, some English.
“And when the round was over, he put his arms around me and he says, ‘Joe, I had a great day with you. You and me are going to go in the players lounge, and we’re going to have lunch and beers.’ And I was the only caddie in the place, the players’ lounge. We were just telling stories and had a great day. I enjoyed that so much.”
Sounds like the same reaction that hundreds of golfers have had in the last 25 years at the Dunes Club.
tth h
4 4 Annual
Annual USGA
USGA ADAPTIVE OPEN
Daniel Wiseman, of Haslett, Mich., 36, Lower Limb Impairment, Qualifier
Moore is exempt because she won the very first Adaptive Open, at Pinehurst, in the Women’s overall division. Moore lives in Battle Creek and coaches the women’s golf team at Western Michigan.
The championship is open to both male and female professional and amateur golfers with a World Handicap System™ Handicap Index of 36.4 or less and an eligible impairment confirmed by a WR4GD Pass. The impairment categories are as follows:
Intellectual Impairment
USGA Adaptive Open
Adaptive Open
has 8 golfers from Michigan has 8 golfers from Michigan
th
The 4 Annual USGA Adaptive Open will be held July 7-9 at Woodmont Country Club, in Rockville, Maryland.
Michigan golfers who perform at a very high level despite their physical challenges have represented our state very well over the years, and 8 more are going to this month.
The championship will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play, with a cut after 36 holes. Multiple sets of tees will be utilized. Carts are permitted for all players and caddies.
The USGA received 260 entries for the 2025 U.S. Adaptive Open, and for the second year, 18-hole qualifiers were conducted by Allied Golf Associations (AGAs) at eight sites across the country. The 96player field includes competitors from 34 states and 10 countries. The championship’s youngest competitor is 16-year-old Ryder Barr of Celina, Texas, and Dennis Walters, of Jupiter, Fla., is the championship's oldest player at 75 years old. Of the 96 players in the field, 74 previously played in one or more of the past iterations of the USGA’s newest championship. 22 will be making their championship debut.
KimMoore
100 Years: Indian Lake Hills
100 Years: Indian Lake Hills
ByTomLang ByTomLang
There is so much great golf to praise and enjoy in Michigan that it feels like a double celebration when we can also recognize wonderful courses that have reached a century of service.
One such 100-year-old course is nestled deep into Southwest Michigan in the lakes region that serves so many summer vacationers from Chicago – that region known to Chicagoans as their ‘Up North.’
Indian Lake Hills in Eau Claire has three ninehole layouts, the original being the East Course which opened in 1925. No one at the property has been able to clarify who the East designer was.
The East Course is a very playable, fun and unsurprisingly a classic style from the 1920s era – to which some designers laid out ‘loops’ for golfers that modern-day designers have been resurrecting. As is, golfers could play East holes 1, 8, 9 for a quick half-hour experience on a
tight schedule before jumping into Indian Lake to go swimming with the kids. Or just as easily a loop of holes 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9. Or the full nine holes.
“You can play this old East course in loops,” said general manager Suzy Vanderburg. “I have a sneaky feeling in the late teens or 1920s when they were thinking about this, maybe constructed it three holes at a time. This course is the way God designed it. The hills have been there since the beginning. They weren’t out there moving dirt.”
Vanderburg is the adult daughter of property owners Steve and Lyn Miller, now in their 63 year of marriage, who secured Indian Lake Hills in 1982 and have been stewards of the land ever since. They have built a fourgeneration golf business which makes the family history story as intriguing as the rd
historic golf course itself.
Vanderburg’s grandfather, Massie Miller, was a golf pro who spent much of his career in Ohio and Indiana at private clubs, before coming to Jackson (and later working in Howell) as his son, Steve,
was soon to enter high school. Steve was quickly lured to play at Jackson St. Mary’s High, where he joined future PGA Tour pros, Dave and Mike Hill, to win multiple state titles. The program won 8 straight Class C-D titles from 1954-61. Steve Miller then went to MSU on a full-ride Evans Scholarship, and soon after caddied some for Dave Hill out on the Tour before deciding that lifestyle wouldn’t work for him long-term.
Steve is the middle of three consecutive generations of PGA members.
“I grew up obviously in a golf family, from the age I could crawl up and make caddy change on the bar stool,” the now 87-year-old Indian Lake Hills owner Steve Miller told me after he drove up in a ‘gator cart’ at the 9 tee. “My dad (a member of the Jackson golf Hall of Fame) always had to th
answer to a board of directors or the like, and with dad being the player that he was, always thought it would be nice to be your own boss. Well, that never happened for dad and mom, but as times changed a little bit, we were able to do that.
“That’s the passion. Being in the game but with a little control of what you’re doing –and the pride of ownership. And really, you’re never the (final) owner, you’re just a caretaker of the land to make it as nice for the golfers as possible.”
Making it as nice as possible is a job for sonin-law (Sue’s husband) John Vanderburg with over 30 years’ involvement as the superintendent. “My dad said one of the smartest things I ever did was marry a superintendent, not a golf pro,” Sue quipped.
Their son, Andy Vanderburg, is a 28-year-old PGA Michigan Section member and runs most of the golf programs at the courses and is a huge influence on improved agronomy. Including Massie’s support in the 1980s, Andy makes the fourth-generation worker in the golf business.
“The course is hilly, but not too much,” Steve Miller said. “It’s got a beautiful contour. It’s the hills and vales and the fact that, wow, we’re here. Lyn and I worked at it, but now the kids have taken over and done five times as much as we did or were able to.”
PlayingEast,WestandNorth:
All the courses have their fair share of walkers, but when playing the East Course, the seven holes that aren’t flat are not only beautiful to look at and can be challenging to play, those holes will give your calves a solid workout.
My favorite is the par 3 No. 2, with its elevated tee box to a green below that is guarded with a large bunker left and appointed with a large azalea bush behind the green – it’s springtime blossoms, like the fruit trees scattered around the property left over from a former fruit farm, sharing their brilliant colors.
I also liked the 9 hole, which gives golfers the choice to drive to a flat plateau a little less than halfway to the green, or try to clear the plateau and gain extra distance on the backside going into the deep valley beyond. The approach shot is to an elevated green. From the tips, the East course is 2856 yards. th
The clubhouse is a sturdy Century-plus year old stone farmhouse that is to the right of the 9 green and highly perched above the shoreline of Indian Lake, providing a wonderful view while grabbing a bite to eat in the simple dining area, or their outside patio, before or after a round.
Westcourse:
Built by the owner prior to the Millers, it’s relatively flat and open, but with some peaks and valleys in the landscape that are a lot more muted than the East Course. It plays a little bit longer with greens that are a little bigger. From the tips: 3187 yards.
North: It’s the newest course, built in the 1990s by the Millers. The first 4 holes are fairly flat with very wide fairways. Halfway to the 5 green, the fairway goes downhill to a green situated in front of a large pond, the same small body of water that additionally influences play on holes 6, 8 and 9. th
There are more trees and fairway twists and turns in this NE section of the property, giving a solid but fair challenge to anyone’s game. The North is longer than the other two courses but also has the largest greens, the most forgiving fairways with bunkers that are mostly out of the way and are more for aesthetics and less about punishing shots. From the tips: 3345 yards.
The three courses all have their own personality and give any golfer a variety of options, all on the same piece of property. At this century old course with two additional, complimentary nines, boredom should never set in.
NorthHole6
Michigan Women’s Michigan Women’s Amateur in Mid-Michigan Amateur in Mid-Michigan
ByGregJohnson ByGregJohnson
Eagle Eye Golf & Banquet Center has hosted multiple state championship tournaments for amateur and professional male golfers, and this summer, it will welcome the top amateur female golfers in Michigan.
The 109th Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship will be showcased in July at the destination venue in Bath Township near East Lansing.
“They came to us through Terry Kildea, who works for them in marketing and promotions and is one of our rules officials, and it was an easy yes,” says Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services for the Golf Association of Michigan. “Eagle Eye is a quality site like all the properties they have in that group.”
The Michigan Women’s Amateur will be the second major championship the GAM has administered on the Eagle Eye course and the third conducted with the group.
The 2016 Michigan Amateur Championship, featuring the state’s top male golfers, was played on Eagle Eye, and Sam Weatherhead of Grand Rapids, then a Michigan State golfer, emerged as champion.
The Michigan Section PGA is housed on the Eagle Eye side of
the street, near the first tee, and held its 2024 Michigan PGA Match Play Championship on the course. Eagle Eye also hosted the Michigan PGA Professional Championship from 2006 through 2011.
“It’s a championship course in all ways,” Hartmann says. “You can set it up to fit the field that is playing it. It is challenging for everybody. It’s always in great condition. They are welcoming, and the facilities around the course are second to none.”
The award-winning course, designed by Pete Dye protégé Chris Lutzke (with consultation from Dye), has also hosted several GAM and USGA championship qualifying rounds since its grand opening in August 2003.
Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills, the defending champion from the 2024 Women’s Amateur at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, is a Michigan State golfer and is expected to defend.
Greg Davies Wins GAM Senior Greg Davies Wins GAM Senior Match Play Championship Match Play Championship
ByGregJohnson
Greg Davies of West Bloomfield added the GAM Senior Match Play Championship to his Michigan Golf Hall of Fame resume, but it wasn’t easy.
The 57-year-old had to go 21 holes to turn back Tom Gieselman of Commerce Township at Macatawa Golf Club to claim the championship. Davies won it with an 8-iron shot to just outside two feet on the 148-yard par 3 No. 3 hole in sudden-death.
“I knew, even after I got a quick lead in the beginning of the match that Tom would come back,” Davies said. “I knew he would make a few, or several, and you know it ended up being battle just like I expected.”
Davies is a former Michigan Amateur champion, GAM MidAmateur champion and GAM Senior champion. He had to battle 20 holes to get the win in
his semifinal match with Rick Williams of Northville. Gieselman also went 20 holes in his semifinal win over Ken Hudson of Lake Orion.
Mitch Wilson of Portage won the Super Senior title for the first time by turning back Randy Lewis of Alma, a Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion who was defending his Super Senior title of a year ago, 4 and 3.
Gary Yee Wins GAM Net Gary Yee Wins GAM Net Match Play Championship Match Play Championship
ByGregJohnson
Gary Yee of Farmington Hills claimed his first GAM title, winning the 14th GAM Net Match Play Championship at Polo Fields Golf & Country Club.
Yee started the week by shooting 71 in the stroke play portion of the tournament to seed match play. He had seven net birdies in an upand-down round and won a scorecard playoff for the No. 1 seed against two other players who also shot net 71 – Andrew Lang of Grosse Ile and Rick Rachner of Walled Lake.
Yee would meet Lang, a two-time GAM Net Match Play Champion, yet again, in the championship match, and he won again in 19 holes.
Yee defeated Chad Wilson of
Midland earlier Wednesday, 2 and 1 in the semifinals, to secure his spot in the final match. Lang won his semifinal 3 and 2 over Scott
Degregorio of Dexter.
“I've never played that much stressful golf before,” said Yee who had to win five matches to earn the trophy. “It was probably the most stressful thing golf related ever. There was no plan,” he said. “It was just survive and try to focus on one shot after another.”
JP Levan Holds On, Wins JP Levan
Holds On, Wins
Michigan JR. Amateur Michigan JR. Amateur
ByGregJohnson
JP Levan of Grand Rapids held off past champion
Max VanderMolen of Richland 1-up to win the 47th Michigan Junior Amateur Championship at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West Golf Course. The 16-year-old East Grand Rapids High School golfer led most of the day before VanderMolen tied the match at hole No. 14. Levan responded by winning 15, however, and held on.
“It was a tough path, but I feel pretty good that I accomplished what I did this week,” Levan said. “I mean, this is easily the biggest win I’ve had. It definitely means a lot to beat a lot of good players.”
With the victory, Levan earned a USGA exemption in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship later this summer.
“I’m very excited to play there,” he said. “It’s the biggest tournament in junior golf so obviously, it means a lot to me.”
VanderMolen the 2022 champion at a recordsetting age 14, said he didn’t have his best golf all week but was proud that he was able to grind all the way to the finals.
MICH GIRLS’ JR. AMATEUR: MICH GIRLS’ JR. AMATEUR: Alena Li Goes Back-to-Back Alena Li Goes Back-to-Back
Alena Li of Okemos became just the second golfer to win back-to-back Michigan Girls’ Junior Amateur Championships, and she had to beat a younger challenger from her hometown to do it.
Li, 17 and headed to the University of Michigan in the fall for academics rather than golf, turned back 14-year-old Saisha Patil, 4 and 2, in the championship match in the 47th edition of the state championship at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Course.
“I think it was really cool that two people from Okemos were able to play in the final,” Li said. “It's just amazing that we ' re both from the same place and now I’m getting to know her a little bit more.”
She matched the feat of Kerrigan Parks of Flushing, who was the first to win consecutive Michigan Girls’ Junior Amateurs in 2016 and ’17.
“It is such an honor to win this championship two times in a row,” Li said.
“It’s one that I have played in for a lot of years, and I think it’s always cool to come and play with all of these great players from Michigan.”
Top 40 Courses in Michigan: Top 40 Courses in Michigan: Golf Digest 2025-26 Golf Digest 2025-26
Crystal Downs has fairways that zigzag and rumble over the glacial landscape and greens that have doglegs in them. One drawback is that the putting surfaces are so old-fashioned that they’re too steep for today’s green speeds. But that’s part of Crystal Downs appeal. It’s short but has considerable bite.
No. 2: Oakland Hills South
In 2019, the South course closed as Gil Hanse and his team significantly renovated the course with the intention of removing the Robert Trent Jones-era influences and restoring its Donald Ross (original designer) feel. They did that by expanding greens to recapture what are some of Ross's best contours, removed trees to show off the rolling landscape and shifted bunkers back to where Ross… placed them.
No. 3: Arcadia Bluffs
No. 4: Kingsley Club
Expertly routed across glacial domes and over kettle holes, Kingsley Club opens with a split fairway, a high-right avenue separated from a low-left one by a cluster of sod-face bunkers. It’s an attention grabber than is repeated in various fashions throughout the round… Every hole has its own character. With roughs of tall fescue and occasional white pines and hardwoods, Kingsley is all natural and all absorbing, a thoughtful design by Mike DeVries, who grew up in the area playing Crystal Downs.
No. 5: Lost Dunes Golf Club
No. 6: Forest Dunes
No. 7: Arcadia Bluffs (South Course)
No. 8: Greywalls at Marquette Golf Club
A decade before architect Mike DeVries created the world-class Cape Wickham Golf Club in Australia, he produced an equally compelling design in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a second 18 for Marquette. It’s called Greywalls because of all the granite rock outcroppings that edge
40 GOLF DIGEST TOP 40 IN MICHIGAN
some holes and squeeze others, like the short par-4 fifth, and because the rock provides the rugged topography over which this course scampers up and plunges down.
No. 9: Point O’ Woods
No. 10: True North Golf Club
No. 11: The Loop Black
No. 12: Bloomfield Hills Country Club
No. 13: Meadowbrook Country Club
No. 14: LochenHeath Golf Club
No. 15: The Loop Red
What’s most impressive in playing the Red –and the Black, for that matter – is that there is never the sensation of playing a hole backward. The topography, bunkering and green entrances are all so compelling that it’s barely noticeable that each serves two purposes.
No. 16: Tullymore Golf Resort
No. 17: Orchard Lake Country Club
No. 18: Oakland Hills North
No. 19: Bay Harbor Links/Quarry
One of three grand " new Pebble Beaches" that debuted in the late 1990s, Bay Harbor was ranked third in Golf Digest's survey of Best New Upscale Public Courses of 1999, behind the twin juggernauts Bandon Dunes and Whistling Straits. Bay Harbor consists of 27 holes, but we rank its Links 9, which plays mostly on a plateau overlooking Lake Michigan, and its Quarry 9, which dips in and out of a lakefront stone quarry.
No. 20: Harbor Shores
Harbor Shores is a scenic Jack Nicklaus layout that often gets high marks for conditioning from our panelists. It was constructed over parts of a former manufacturing facility that required a
significant amount of remediation, but the result is a sanctuary of nature where toxic compounds used to be. The holes are spread far and wide around the vast site, broken into distinct sections while crossing the Paw Paw River several times.
No. 21: Wuskowhan Players Club
No. 22: Belvedere Golf Club
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No. 23: Franklin Hills
No. 24: Barton Hills
No. 25: Boyne Highlands, Heather
The Heather course is a former member of our 100 Greatest and 100 Greatest Public lists. The Robert Trent Jones Sr. design sits at the base of the resort’s ski slopes and offers a stern ball-striking test, with tree-lined
BoyneHighlandsHeatherHole7
doglegs and water hazards demanding accuracy.
No. 26: American Dunes
Jack Nicklaus took a wooded, decades-old design and nearly cleansed it of trees, opening up views across a lunar surface of heaving sandscapes that separate the holes. Extreme topographical variety has replaced a succession of narrow, repetitive golf holes with circular greens, and players now face enticing tee shots that must skirt sand barrens and putting surfaces shaped in all manner of size and pitch.
No. 27: University of Michigan
Alister MacKenzie’s University of Michigan Golf Course was one of just a handful of college courses when it opened in the early 1930s, and it has remained one of the country’s best at any university.
No. 28: Hawk Hollow
No. 29: Muskegon Country Club
No. 30: Country Club of Detroit
No. 31: Indianwood CC (Old)
No. 32: Birmingham Country Club
No. 33: Grand Traverse The Bear
No. 34: Boyne Highlands Hills Course
No. 35: Battle Creek Country Club
No. 36: Detroit Golf Club North
No. 37: Shepherd’s Hollow
Shepherd’s Hollow is a 27-hole public facility that has a northern Michigan feel despite being less than an hour outside Detroit. The course feels grand in scale, with elevation changes, wide fairways and large greens framed by towering trees. The second and third nines were ranked on our 100 Greatest Public list for eight years from 2003-2010.
