Hook & Slice April 2024

Hook & Slice

The Legend and Lore of the Mulligan Tour Vol. 1

Southeast Michigan’s Premier Recreational Golf League

In this Issue:

The Front Nine Tour celebrates 25th birthday

Making the Turn Alzheimer’sAwareness Open

The Back Nine Irish Open debuts in May

The 19th Hole

The First tournament

Anita

Willie

Eryn

The Front Nine

among the hot issues. The DowJoneseclipsedthe10,000 mark for the first time. Team USA won the World Cup in women’s soccer and SpongeBob Squarepants debuted on Nickelodeon. The averagecostforagallonofgas was$1.22.

In professional golf, Tiger Woods was starting to establish his dominance that would eventually enter him into the GOAT debate. He won 8 times in ’99, including the PGA Championship, his 2nd major title. He also won 2 of the 3

newlycreatedWGCevents.

The other major story was Payne Stewart winning the US Open in June – his 3rd major victory - but dying in a tragic airplane accident while

(Continued on page 4)

Original Mulligan Tour logo

(Continued from page 3)

headed to the TOUR ChampionshipinOctober.

And in recreational sport, weekend golfers in metro Detroit were introduced to a new kind of golf league, a touring league for the recreational double-digit handicap golfer - the Mulligan Tour.

“Playing professional golf was a dream. But not even a dream – more of a fantasy, really” says Erik Meland, founder of the Mulligan Tour. “

I was never going to be good enough to play for a living, so I made it my hobby. But after 10-12yearsof justplayingalot of 9-hole rounds once or twice a week, including some local house leagues, I wanted more. I wanted the pro tour ‘feel’ of traveling around to different tournaments each week and competing against a field of other golfers and lining up a putt on the 18th green with the titleontheline.”

In the winter of 1998-99, Meland planned out a series of 18-hole golf tournaments

The Original 6 (+4)

The 1999 schedule

5/29 Pine View Classic

Pine View GC

6/5 The Tin Cup

Hickory Creek GC

6/19 Western Swing

Huron Meadows MP GC

6/26 Crazy Brit

Hilltop GC

7/24 Strokes on a Rope

Lake Erie MP GC

8/7 Quad-Tour Challenge

Fox Creek GC

8/14 Caddyshack Classic

Kensington MP GC

8/21 Harbour Pointe Open

Woodlands of Van Buren GC

9/25 The PLAYERS Championship

Inkster Valley GC

10/9 The Skins Game

Lakes of Taylor GC scheduledforthe ‘99 season. He invited neighbors and friends, enthusiastic golfers all,tojoininthetrial. Andon May 29th, a warm and sunny

Saturday in Michigan, the Mulligan Tour launched its

inaugural season at Pine View GCinYpsilanti.

That first season schedule of 10 tournaments included a number of stroke-play, netscoring tournaments but Meland wanted to introduce some variety into the formats. A British stableford scoring tournament and a string & scissors format were in the original line up as well as a “team with the pros” tournament that challenged the players to draft PGA Tour pros toincludewiththeirscores.

And a golf tour is not complete without “major” championships. The Harbour Pointe Open was meant to be the “US Open” of the Mulligan Tour. And the TOUR Championship was the first event that required the players to qualify by means of a tournament win or a top-10 standingonthemoneylist.

As the years passed and the membership grew, new tournaments and events were

Happy Birthday!!!

added. Regional divisions were created, each with its own championship. And team events were created hoping for some end-of-theseasoncomradery.

Now 25 years later and the Mulligan Tour has grown to more than 40 events each season and a history that is documented and preserved like no other recreational golf league.

So Happy Birthday, Mulligan Tour! And many moretocome!!

Making the Turn

The Fight Goes On

Litzlers to continue Awareness for Alzheimers

2024 Alzheimer’s Awareness Open

June 1

Farmington Hills GC 2:30p mod shotgun start Individual, stroke-play, net-score

foundation committed to researchandfindingacure tothe debilitatingdisease.

Lum had sponsored the event at Farmington Hills GC since the Real McCoy Classic ended its run in 2016. The Litzlers will keep the tournament at Farmington Hills, where a

Tour event has been held continuouslysince2006,and they will continue to support the Alzheimer’s Association withacharitablecontribution.

The cause is dear to the Litzler father and son team, winner’softheGreenTowels in 2005. Litzler’s father, Thomas C. Litzler, also suffered from the affliction.

“

My father suffered from Alzheimer’s and died in 2018”, said Tom W. “It’s a cruel disease… the victim struggles knowing they are losingmemory”. (Continued from page

“Iwantthis(tournament)to be more about the awareness of the disease”, continuedLitzler.

And the awareness will continue on Tour - thanks to theLitzlers.

From left, Kim Cognato, Chuck Withey, Mike Lum and Terry Leib 2022 Retha Jackson Memorial Open

Mike Lum (center) with parents Deb and Charlie Lum 2023 Retha Jackson Memorial Open

Tom W. and Tom R. Litzler at the 2005 Memorial Tournament

The Back Nine

event’s departure after the 2023 season has opened the doorforanewtournament.

The Irish Open will debut at Twin Lakes in May with a presenting sponsor and a bevy of goodies for the participants.

Tour pro Erika Fitzpatrick brings her heritage and a weebitof goodfortunetothe tournament, allowing the Mulligan Tour to continue it’s relationship with Twin Lakes intoa15thyearandbeyond.

Fitzpatrick is currently ranked #1 on Tour with a couple of major victories in

May 19

TwinLakesGolf&SwimClub

10:00a tee times

EstatestoLinksnines

Individual, stroke-play, net-score

the last 2 seasons and is the the last 2 seasons and is looking forward to hosting a tournament.

“This should be a fun tournamentandIlikethisspot on the schedule”, stated Fitzpatrick. “It’s the middle of spring and the Michigan weather should really start to benice. Ihope”!

Well,anIrishOpencertainly shouldhavegoodluck!

The 19th Hole

In the Beginning Plan goes from paper to parcel in 1999

Anita Newpudder, Staff Writer

There’s a first time for everything. And so it was in May, 1999, that 12 of the original 16 members of the newly formed Royal & Ancient Golf Club of Harbour Pointe played in the first Pine View ClassicinYpsilanti,Michigan.

TheMulliganTourwasborn.

Without any history, the members had to submit previous playing scores to the “R&A” from which handicaps were estimated. Handicap strokes in the field ranged from 11to53.

DearbornresidentRonStuart shot a gross 95 that yielded a 4-under par net 68.. The only player in the field to avoid

The original Pine View Classic trophy awarded in 1999

penalty strokes on the tightly wooded Pine View layout, he finished 2-strokes better than his goodfriendJohnGmitter.

Stuart took home a $16 check from the $40 purse and was awarded a trophy to keep until nextyear’stournament.

Playing in 3 foursomes, the participants recorded their gross and net scores on their own scorecards. They also documented the number of fairways hit and greens in regulation as well as putts, penalty strokes and sand shots / saves. The Tour then tabulated running (Continued

Pine View Classic champions

2024 Mulligan Tour Tournament Schedule