In This Issue - webgolfer.com · 2 Ryder Cup Memories by Art McCafferty 4 Hanging Out with Pete Dye...

2 Ryder Cup Memoriesby Art McCafferty

4 Hanging Out with Pete Dye at the Ryder Cupby Art McCafferty

7 Michigan Golfer TV - Preview of Coming Attractions

8 Long Live the Kingby L'anse Bannon

12 Michigan Enjoys Championship Summerby Kelly Hill

15 PGA Championship, Whistling Straits, Wis.by Mike Beckman

17 Colorado Golfby Jason Deegan

20 Georgian Bay Golfby Brian Manning

21 Slice of Lifeby Terry Moore

MICHIGAN GOLFER

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In This IssueV O L U M E 22 • F A L L 2 0 0 4 • N U M B E R 5

F A L L 2 0 0 4 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E

Cover photo: Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony, Oakland Hills, by Art McCafferty

1


By Art McCafferty

The buses that pulled awayfrom a gleaming, yetweary, Oakland Hills

Country Club, were packed withpeople that will long remember thetime spent there. There will neverbe a time when the mention of theRyder Cup does not conjureimages of a sun-bathed spectacularweeklong setting, walking on awell-manicured and revered courseand attending an opening ceremo-ny that was more like a rock con-cert than the beginning of a golfevent.

Michigan was able to show offits golf course inventory, its cities,lakes, museums, airports and thewonderful hospitality of our citi-zens. Our writers, reporters, sportsbroadcasters, photographers andother media types were able to bea contributing part of a world class

sporting event. Their words, voicesand images will become part of theevent's legacy.

Politicians and celebrities wereeverywhere, finding yet anothervenue in which to bask in the spot-light. The Brits, French, Swedes,Spaniards, Germans, Italians andpeople from other countries wereable to visit us, knowing that golfwould be the spoken language.

The legacy of Donald Ross,Robert Trent Jones and ArthurHills was brought front and centeras the best golfers in the worldattacked their work. The words ofRobert Trent Jones: "As an archi-tect, it is my job to protect par,"seemed to ring wonderfully true.The legendary golf architect, PeteDye, had seen those greens beingbuilt by Jones in the early 1950sand was rooting for the course onevery shot. The course held up as

the fairways were challenging, thegreens were fast and undulatingand the winds blew enough toinfluence the flight of many a ball.

The memories of my familyhave come full circle with thisevent. My father used to tell mehow he searched for golf balls atthe club and sold them to makesome extra money. That extramoney eventually contributed tothe start of Michigan GolferMagazine, which in turn featuredOakland Hills on many of its cov-ers. The profit from the magazineallowed us to hire my father'sgrandson and my son Michael, toappear in a series of MichiganGolfer Television shows that fea-tured "The Haig,” Walter Hagen.

Oakland Hills CC, The RyderCup and Walter Hagen, alifetime of memories. MG

Ryder CupMemories

Donald Trump kicked off the openingceremonies. Photo by Art McCafferty

2

F A L L 2 0 0 4 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E 3


By Art McCafferty

Ihad the opportunity to hang outwith arguably thegreatest livingarchitect of our time, Pete Dye,

during the Ryder Cup. It actuallyproved to be more thrilling thanwatching the meltdown of the U.S.team on the final day of play. Dyeis getting up there in years and isfighting a battle with cancer andthus sightings and opportunities toconverse with him will become alltoo rare.

This was Dye's fifth Ryder Cup,having watched the past four onU.S. soil and the last match at TheBelfry. We watched most of thepairings from the point in the 10thfairway, where most of the driveswere landing. His knowledge ofthe players and their games wasextraordinary. He also praised thecourse and Oakland Hills greens.They were the first greens to have

a substructure and he watchedRobert Trent Jones build them forthe 1951 Open. He felt they wouldhold up to the test at hand, andthey did.

His other tie to Michigan wasthe design of the University ofMichigan's Radrick Farms. Hewent up against Dick Wilson andRobert Trent Jones for the job, butHarlan Hatcher gave him theresponsibility. He said he stolemost of his ideas from Jones forRadrick Farms and chuckled whenJones later told him he had donesome nice work as an architect andthat he particularly liked the workhe did at Radrick Farms. He saidhe was asked to look at upgradingRadrick Farms, when the BuickOpen was available a couple ofyears ago, but he didn't think itwould work because of oppositionfrom faculty and others. He wasalso in town to lobby Larry Peck,

marketing director for Buick, tosee if they would be interested inbringing the Buick Open toIndiana on an every-other-yearbasis. He also mentioned that therewas not much happening on theproposed Boyne course.

In discussing life with anotherfamous Dye, Alice, he said that herbook, Alice Dye: From Birdies toBunkers, had vastly out-sold hisbook, Bury Me in a Pot Bunker.The books collectively representover 100 years in the golf busi-ness. They also serve to chronicletheir lives since they met in col-lege, just after Pete returned fromactive duty.

They were outstanding amateurgolfers when growing up, she hav-ing won the Indiana Women'sAmateur seven times, he winning

Hanging Out with Pete Dye

at the Ryder Cup

Photo opposite: Pete Dye (left) and Art McCafferty

4

F A L L 2 0 0 4 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E 5


the Indiana Amateur once and fin-ishing second twice. He said thatAlice was asked to play in theIndiana Amateur this year as aguest celebrity and did surprisinglywell. "I left her at the course thatmorning and when I returned topick her up, I was prepared to con-sole her. Instead, when she got inthe car, she said she had beaten thedefending champion by shooting a74." Pete also confessed to settingthe course record, a 74, at theopening of his new TPC course inNew Orleans. He beat a couple oftour players, although he was play-

ing from the white tees.

On his ties with higher educa-tion: Dye designed the newestPurdue course at the BirckBoilermaker Golf Complex andhas helped raise millions for theschool. He also hires students rightout of college to work with him inthe construction of his courses. Hehas the client pay the studentsdirectly and he supplies the direc-tion. He sketches out his designsand is not that enamored with theworld of computers.

He also worked to raise fundsfor the establishment of theIndiana Golf Hall of Fame. Inaddition, he built a par-3 coursethere for instructional purposes.

We did an Internet TV show withMike David, the ExecutiveDirector of the Indiana PGA andIndiana Golf Association, a coupleof years ago, showing off the HOF.You can see this show athttp://michigangolfer.tv/2003shows/show10/index.html.

Dye doesn't really know exactlyhow many courses he hasdesigned, but feels that it is northof 80. His sons, P.B Dye and PerryDye are both architects. I haveworked with both of them oncourses, but they are really justfriendly competitors. He indicated

that P.B has a mind of his own andthat he does not get involved verymuch with his projects. "He doesnot want me around," Dye said. Hethought that Perry had done a nicejob with a course in Japan.

He felt that the pros would score8-10 under on his Whistling Straitscourse in Wisconsin. It is a resortcourse and the greens were designedfor fast play. "The ground was flatwhen we started and Mr. Kohlerwanted an Irish looking course, so webegan to dig. They had over 300,000people go through there during thetournament. The PGA sold moremerchandise at that tournament thenthey ever did. I remembered that onePGA official said that they wouldmost likely start to run out of mer-

chandize on Saturday, and Mr.Kohler, said, ‘Not here they won't.’They ordered heavily and had a firesale right after the event and sold outeverything. Kohler has a new piece ofproperty in Ireland and we are look-ing at building something there. He isa powerful man, who individuallyowns the largest plumbing companyin the world. I am probably the onlyperson that stands up to him. Wehave had some interesting conversa-tions about what he wants on the golfcourse; he still does not know thatmuch about golf course design.”

During the Ryder Cup, Dye

continued to keep in contact withwork that he and Chris Lutzskewere doing at the New Rivercourse in Virginia. "We are notrenovating it, but we are totallymaking a new course out of it. Ithas frontage on the New River andit is at a point on the river wherethere are rapids. It is a very excit-ing piece of property.

As wave after wave of PGA offi-cials passed by our spot, many of themrecognized him and then stopped tosay ‘Hello’ to Dye. As the last two-some passed us on the 10th fairway,we parted ways. As I watched himhead toward the clubhouse I knew thatone of my most memorable momentsat the Ryder Cup was hanging outwith Pete Dye. MG

“We watched most of the pairings from the point in the 10th fairway, where most of the drives were landing. His knowledge of the

players and their games was extraordinary.”

6


—— Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and the Fieldstone Golf Course with Arthur Hills andSteve Forrest

—— Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and the Ivanhoe Golf Course with Arthur Hills & Steve Forrest

—— Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Kinsale Golf Club with Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest

—— Jerry Matthews and The Majestic Golf Course with Jerry Matthews

—— Jerry Matthews and The Natural GolfCourse with Jerry Matthews

—— Jerry Matthews: A Sneak Preview of the Sundown Golf Course with Jerry Matthews

—— Robert Trent Jones and Point O Woods with Greg Johnson

—— Mike Husby and the Loon Golf Course with Mike Husby

—— Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin and the Concession with Tony Jacklin and Vanessa Bell

—— An Evening with Tom Doak with Jack Berry

The Michigan Golfer Television Channelhttp://michigangolfer.tv

Golf Course Designer Series

Preview of Coming Attractions 2004

—— Chuck Kocsis: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame with Jack Berry

—— Everett Kircher: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame with Bill Shelton and Jack Berry

—— Dan Pohl: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame with Jack Berry

—— Dave Hill: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame with Jack Berry

—— Elaine Crosby: Michigan Golf Hall of Fame with Jack Berry

Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Series

Vanessa Bell & Tony Jacklin

Destination Golf—— Barona Creek Golf Course - San Diego

with Jennie McCafferty

—— Ireland and Ryder Cup 2006 with Vanessa Bell

Michigan Memories—— Arnold Palmer and the Turning Point

Invitational with Art McCafferty

—— Memories of the 2004 Ryder Cup with Vanessa Bell

—— The Irish Invation of the Henry Ford with Vanessa Bell

7

By L'anse Bannon

The Arnold Palmer TurningPoint Invitational recentlyheld at the Country Club of

Detroit was just about as good as itgets for a fund raiser. Final tabula-tion, has the total take hoveringnear the six million dollar mark. Itwas the culmination of "A BigIdea".

The idea was unique, the cele-bration of Arnold Palmer's 50 yearanniversary of winning the U.S.Amateur at the club. The otherpart of the uniqueness was toinvite all the past U.S. AmateurChampions to join in the celebra-tion.

The idea was well received byall of the past champions. Thosewho attended included: Gary

Cowan '66 and '71, Robert B.Dickson '67, Bruce Fleisher '68,Steve Melnyk' 69, Lanny Wadkins'70, Marvin (Vinny) M. Giles '72,Fred Ridley '75. John Fought '77,Mark O'Meara '79, NathanielCrosby '81, Jay Sigel 82 and 83,Sam Randolph '85, Billy Mayfair'87, Phil Mickelson '90, MitchVoges '91, Matt Kuchar '97, HankKuehne' 98, David Gossett '99, JeffQuinney '00, Ben Dickerson '01,Ricky Barnes '02, Nick Flanagan"03 and Ryan David Moore '04

Ryan Moore, an amateur whowon everything this past year, hada turning point of his own, and thatwas when Arnold Palmer told himto stay in school. Moore is justabout the hottest new thing in golf,but when asking advice fromArnold, The King told him to stayand finish up school, enjoy themoment and then take up the game

professionally.Arnold has left his legacy in

Michigan, winning the U. S.Amateur, the Senior Championshipat Oakland Hills and by designingthe likes of The Ravines, ThePreserve, The Legend, NorthvilleHills, King's Challenge and TheCrown.It was a glorious even that perfect-ly captured the impact this manhad on golf. As the score bearerswalked behind their repective four-somes, it was noted that Arnie'sgroup wasn't keeping score. Itseemed they were concentrating onthe moment. There was onemoment, when Arnold walked upthe 18th fairway holding the handof his new lady friend, stopped,and then gave a soft and knowingwave to all those who were thereto honor him.

Long Live the King. MG


Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Long Livethe King

8

Ma

Photo by Jon Kamps

Greywalls, No. 7 arquette Golf and Country Club

Opening 2005

12 F A L L 2 0 0 4 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E

By Kelly HillManaging Editor

A PGA Tour event, twoChampions Tour events, oneCanadian Tour event, the“Masters” of amateur golf, fourMichigan majors and two stateamateur championships headlineda busy summer of championshipgolf in Michigan. Here is a quicklook back:

The Buick OpenVijay Singh claimed his fourth

PGA Tour victory of the year atWarwick Hills in Grand Blancwhen he posted a 265 to win thisyear’s Buick Open. Singh edgedJohn Daly by one stroke and TigerWoods by two to claim the cham-pionship.

The Ford Senior PlayersChampionship

Mark James shot a 1-over 73 inthe final round yet managed tohold on for the first ChampionsTour victory of his career at theTPC of Michigan in Dearborn.James posted a 13-under 288 toedge Jose Maria Canizares by onestroke and Bruce Fleisher by two.

The Farmers CharityClassic

Jim Thorpe fired a 6-under 66in the final round of the 54-holeevent at Egypt Valley Country inAda. Thorpe’s 13-under 203 wasgood enough for his firstChampions Tour victory of 2004, aone-stroke victory over FredGibson. Gil Morgan finished twostrokes off the pace.

The Bay Mills OpenChris Wisler shot a 12 under

276 total to win the Bay MillsOpen Players’ Championship atWild Bluff Golf Course inBrimley. Four players finished fiveshots behind to tie for second.

The Western AmateurRyan Moore won the 102nd

Western Amateur at Point O’Woods and everything else in sightthis year, including the respect andadmiration of Arnold Palmer.Moore, who beat Australian JamesNitties on the first extra hole, alsowon the U.S. Publinxer, the U.S.Amateur, and an invitation to playArnold Palmer’s Turning PointInvitational at the Country Club ofDetroit.

The Western Am has produced

many champions who have goneon to greater things, but it wouldbe hard for any golfer to duplicatethe year Moore had in 2004.

The Michigan OpenJ.R. Roth, 46, shot a 4-under 68

in the final round on The Bear atGrand Traverse Resort and Spa inAcme to win the 89th MichiganOpen by three shots over EricJorgensen of Grandville and MikeAustin of Burton. Roth, who fin-ished at 12-under, also won theOpen in 1998.

The Michigan Women’sOpen

Stacy Snider of Grandville wonthe Michigan Women’s Open onthe first hole of a playoff withAmy Malinaric of Rancho,Mirage, CA. Snider, 24, whobirdied the first playoff hole atCrystal Mountain Resort inThompsonville, finished the 54-hole tournament with a 6 under210 and collected $5,000 for thevictory.

Michigan EnjoysChampionship

Summer

Opposite page: photo of VijaySingh by Carter Sherline /

Frog Prince Studios


The Tournamentof Champions

Jorgensen, 26,avenged his runner-upfinish at the Open bywinning the MichiganPGA’s Tournament ofChampions. He shot a2-under 70 in the finalround on theMonument course atBoyne MountainResort. Jorgensen,who lives inGrandville and is aregular player on theNGA Hooters Tour,finished 11-under forthe 54-hole tourna-ment. He finished fourstrokes ahead of five-time Michigan Openchampion Scott Hebertand six strokes aheadof two-time LPGATour champion ElaineCrosby.

The MichiganPGAChampionship

Joe Pollack held asix-stroke lead witheight holes remainingin the final round ofthe Michigan PGAChampionship atShanty Creek in Bellaire. He thenlost five strokes over the next fiveholes. He did, however, manageto hold on to that single-strokelead and claim his first majorMichigan championship. Pollack,36, a part-time instructor at

Boulder Creek Golf Club inGrand Rapids, edged RonBeurmann, 44, of the CountryClub of Jackson by one stroke andAndy Bethune of The SawmillGolf Club in Saginaw to collectthe $9,500 winner’s share of the$80,000 purse. Pollack finishedthe 54-hole tournament, played onThe Legend and Cedar Rivercourses at 6-under.

The MichiganAmateurChampionship

Jeff Cuzzort, 19,won the 93rdMichigan AmateurChampionship on thecourse where he hasworked as a caddie forthe past two years,Grosse Ile Golf andCountry Club. A recentgraduate of Grosse IleHigh School, Cuzzortdefeated MichiganState Universitysophomore MattHarmon, 3 and 2, inthe championshipmatch. Harmon, 19,was the tournament’smedalist, having shot70-71-141 in theevent’s stroke playqualifying rounds.

The Women’sMichiganAmateurChampionship

Former runners-upSarah Martin andJenna Walter went fourextra holes beforeMartin won the 88thWomen’s MichiganAmateur

Championship with a par on the132-yard, par-3 fourth hole atWhite Pine National Golf Coursein Spruce. Martin, 21, a senior atMichigan State University, wasrunner-up in the women’s stateamateur two years ago. Walter, 20,who was the runner-up last year, isa junior at Western MichiganUniversity. MG

Photo of Mark James by CarterSherline / Frog Prince Studios

Mark James

15F A L L 2 0 0 4 • M I C H I G A N G O L F E R M A G A Z I N E

By Mike Beckman

Watching Vijay Singhbeing presented thePGA Wannamaker

Trophy after the thrilling three-hole playoff with Justin Leonard

and Chris DiMarco in the 86thPGA Championship, August 15, Ihad a flashback to seven years agoat exactly the same site. Standingon an 80-foot bluff overlookingLake Michigan, nine miles northof Kohler, Wis., I was trying to lis-ten to Steve Friedlander, Directorof Golf for the Kohler Company,

and conjure up an image of thegrand undertaking of creating achampionship course to replicateand rival the great links courses inScotland and Ireland. How could aformer U.S. Army anti-aircraft fir-ing range 10 miles north of Kohlerbe America's answer toBallybunyan? Teeing off the fol-

PGA Championship,Whistling Straits, Wis.

The awesome 18th Hole at Whistling Straits

Photo above by Art McCafferty


lowing year at the grand openingwith Art McCafferty of theMichigan Golfer, our questionswere answered with an awesome,‘Wow!’ Each hole was a new treatand adventure. No carts. Irish cad-dies. No trees. Irish black sheepwith bells on, and 1,400 bunkers.It was, and still is one of the mostchallenging and beautiful courses Ihave ever played. And that listincludes Treetops, The Bear,Oakland Hills, Pebble Beach, andmany of the resort facilities inArizona.

Pete Dye and Herbert V.Kohler, Jr. President, CEO, andChairman of the Board of the

Kohler Company have teamed upto develop one of the finest golfdestinations in the world. Rightnext to the Straits course is theIrish Course, inland and west ofthe PGA venue and a very nicehunk of land in its own right. Andof course the two Blackwolf RunCourses, the River Course and theMeadow Valleys Course located inKohler. One of the big reasons thePGA was played on such a youngcourse was the great success of theWomen's U.S. Open held at

Blackwolf Run in 1998, won by SeRi Pak in a playoff. The tourna-ment set LPGA records in atten-dance that still stand.

Upon completion ofWhistling Straits, Kohler set out toget a men's major. The courselanded the 1999 U.S. Club ProChampionship and the word wasrapidly spreading as to the magnif-icence and toughness of this gem.Just this year the USGAannounced the U.S. Men's SeniorOpen will be held at WhistlingStraits in 2007. Initial talk isalready under way for anotherPGA, a U.S. Open and possibly aRyder Cup.

With so many years with-out a men's major (1933 PGAChampionship won by GeneSarazen at Bluemound CountryClub in Milwaukee), the many golffans in Wisconsin were ready.Although the PGA hasn't releasedexact figures the seven-day eventaveraged 40,000-45,000 each daywith Saturday and Sunday gettingcloser to 50,000. The flow of thismany people in an area quite ruralwas a phenomenal success.

For the two weeks prior tothe championship players werecomplaining about the length of7,600 yards and the fact that theyhad to play the 1,400 bunkers ashazards got the attention of Dye."This course is played every dayby 200 golfers like you and I. Thecourse is popcorn," he said with asmile. "Some people choke onpopcorn." The PGA did give in tothe players and shortened the runby about 150 yards. The conditionswere perfect, no wind and thescores were low. Saturday andSunday however, the officials wentback on the tees and Sunday thewind finally blew off the lake. The

course finally had its revenge. Afinal-round 76 got Singh into theplayoff. What a great finish to agreat week. This wrapped up the2004 Grand Slam. As Terry Mooreof Michigan Golfer said, "TheMasters and three British Opens,”with an exclamation point. HerbKohler, Pete Dye, the PGA, theplayers, the thousands of staff andvolunteers, and the fans made thisa memorable event that will betalked about in Wisconsin for yearsto come. MG

"This course is played every day by 200golfers like you and I. The course is pop-corn. Some people choke on popcorn."

-- Pete Dye


By Jason Deegan

The stunning, wintry, whiteski slopes surrounding theVail Valley have always

overshadowed the lush green fair-ways that emerge every summer.

The valley, about 110 mileswest of Denver, houses some ofthe country's best ski resorts --Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Vailand Keystone, all owned by VailResorts Inc.

But two of those properties,Beaver Creek and Keystone, arenot just winter destinations. Comesummer, those same beautifulmountain views that captivateskiers will create a golf trip you'llnever forget.

And since the sun shines inthe valley an average of 300 days ayear, smart golfers flock there asoften as snowbirds.

Beaver Creek ResortBeaver Creek Resort, an

alpine village retreat at 7,000 feet

of elevation in Avon, offers a goodcourse of its own, a 6,750-yardRobert Trent Jones Jr. design, butthe addition of two new dramaticlayouts at Red Sky Golf Club, a36-hole private club in nearbyWolcott, has taken its status up anotch. Red Sky, good enough toentice one of the most powerfulmen in golf, PGA Tour commis-sioner Tim Finchem, to buy a sec-ond home there, is only accessibleby staying at Vail Resorts Inc.properties.

The 7,113-yard Tom Faziocourse at Red Sky, which opened

Beaver Creek Resort

Colorado Golf

Photo above by Dann Coffey


in 2002, wins more praise than itsyounger sister, the 7,580-yardGreg Norman course.

The Fazio plays shorter andfriendlier than the difficult Normancourse, which demands courageousshots over gulches and gullies. TheFazio climbs up the property to aflawless back nine that flowsthrough a secluded aspen foresthigh on Bachelor's Gulch, provid-ing some awe-inspiring vistas.

Back at the resort, theBeaver Creek Golf Club starts offwith two of its toughest holes at

No. 1 and No. 3 - both tee shotsmust stay between tight tree linesand steer clear of the creek thatmeanders throughout the entire 18holes. If your ball survives thoseholes, chances are you'll score wellthe rest of the day.

The resort also offers theother outdoor activities that makeColorado so attractive -- mountainbiking, hiking, horseback riding atits equestrian center and tennis.

Staying at the ElkhornLodge provides some convenience,although a lavish new Ritz-Carlton(called Bachelor Gulch) and theBeaver Creek Park Hyatt are also

onsite. The lodge sits next door tothe golf club (and its upstairslunch hotspot) and is within walk-ing distance of the Beaver CreekVillage, the heart of the resort.

Trendy shops and eateriesdot the extravagant village, cen-tered around an outdoor skatingrink that is open year-round. TheVilar Center for the Arts welcomessome of the nation's finest plays,theatre groups and performancesfor nightly entertainment.

Dinner haunts range fromthe Beaver Creek Chophouse tothe Toscanini, a fine Italian eatery.The Allegria Spa (www.allegrias-

Keystone Resort

Photo above by Jack Affleck


pa.com), a 20,000-square-foot spain the Hyatt designed by feng-shuiexperts to promote bliss and bal-ance, invites visitors looking tounwind with dozens of treatments,including a Swedish or Thai mas-sage.

The nearby Vail Village,about 10 minutes from BeaverCreek, has more of the same walka-ble, friendly feel with its collectionof tourist traps and restaurants.

Keystone Resort About 45 minutes east of

Vail, and about an hour fromDenver, the 36-hole KeystoneResort in Silverthorne has longbeen ranked as one of the nation'stop 100 golf resorts.

The main village and con-dominiums in the River RunVillage, the centerpiece of theresort, can only be described asmore functional than flashy whencompared to Beaver Creek andVail. The Keystone Lodge Hotel,in the nearby Lakeside Village,boasts the best choices among theresort's 1,500 rooms. Chances areyou won't be spending much timein your room, though.

Each golf course has a fun,distinct personality. Many considerthe flatter, more traditional 7,090-yard Keystone Ranch course,designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.,as the country club of the resort. Itplays out of a log-cabin-style club-house that features the state's No.1 restaurant, three years running,in the ZAGAT Survey.

Visitors flock to the more

dynamic 6,886-yard par-71 Rivercourse, designed by MichaelHurdzan and Dana Fry. It has themountainous feel players loveabout the Rocky Mountains. Thefront nine follows the Snake Riveruntil the trees tighten their grip onthe back nine.

Believe it or not, your bestmemory of Keystone won't be golfrelated. The venture to the highlyregarded Alpenglow Stube, thehighest fine-dining restaurant inNorth America at 11,444 feetabove sea level, requires a roman-tic 45-minute gondola ride up themountain to a fantastic seven-course meal.

The panoramic views willstay with you long after your triphome. MG

Keystone Resort

www.golfkeystone.com

800-876-1429

Beaver Creek Resort

www.Beavercreek.com

800-404-3535

Red Sky Golf Club

www.redskygolfclub.com

866-8-RED-SKY

Photo right by Jack Affleck Beaver Creek Resort

By Brian Manning

Blue Mountain, located inCollingwood, Ontarioabout two hours north of

Toronto, is a four-season resortthat once was only recognized forits skiing. A lot has changed thepast few years. Monterra golf,located at Blue Mountain, hasbecome one of Ontario's premiergolf destinations. People are trav-eling from all over Ontario, otherparts of Canada and from theUnited States to get a taste of thegreat Ontario golf found at BlueMountain.

Monterra golf is Blue Mountain'sultimate golf experience. Monterra,literally meaning “at the bottom ofthe mountain,” is exactly whereyou'll find the 18 holes of great golf.Canada's most famous golf coursearchitect, Tom McBroom, createdthis great course on the base of theBlue Mountains using the naturaltopography to create many chal-lenges for golfers and giving everyhole its own picturesque view of theBlue Mountains. Ron Heeson, theDirector of Golf at Monterra,describes Monterra as, "not exactlyhaving a single signature hole, but18 different holes that have its own

challenges and character.”

Blue Mountain is in the midstof transforming from a resort thatwas once only famous for it's ski-ing to becoming one of Ontario'spremier golf destinations. Thattransformation will include 18more holes of fabulous Ontariogolf. Blue Mountain plans to openits new, 18-hole golf course in2006, at Lora Bay. The coursewill be part of Intrawest's premierbrand, The Raven. The Raven atLora Bay is designed by BritishOpen Champion Tom Lehman,and McBroom. The Raven will belocated on the Georgian Bay, pro-viding vistas overlooking the bay.

Blue Mountain offers severalvarieties ofaccommodations inwhich golfers can stay duringthere visit. There are hotels orcondos, or stay right at the BlueMountain village, and have just a100-yard walk to Monterra golf.With Monterra, and The Raven atLora Bay, Blue Mountain willoffer 36 holes of fabulous golf,challenging enough for the mostexperienced golfers, yet fun andchallenging for even the averagegolfer. So come check it out, asBlue Mountain is no longerknown as Ontario's “Ski Capital,”but a great place to relax andenjoy the golf season, whichbegins each year on May 1 andends November 1. MG


Georgian Bay Golf


Much as the diehardgolfers may wish todeny it, the golf season

is slipping away. But Septemberand early October possessed justterrific weather and helped tomake up for the horrible wetspring. In fact, West Michigan hadthe best September weather onrecord, with over 81% sunshineand more than 14 days hitting 80degrees. Anyway, I usually devotethis column to a recap of the pastseason, listing some of the high-lights and lowlights of the year.So here we go:

The Ryder Cup at OaklandHills: Sure the U.S. got clob-bered and nearly every gambitthat Captain Hal Sutton triedseemed to back-fire, but the 35thRyder Cup Matches was a mostmemorable and successful event.Very little if anything went wrongin terms of organization, logis-tics, gallery demeanor and safety,and economic impact. Things thatgo well hardly ever get thedeserved acclaimed they should.In all, it was a tremendous boostfor Detroit and the state of

Michigan. And Oakland Hillsstood tall and proud throughout,proving that it is indeed a great(and I don’t use this word casual-ly) golf course. My only com-plaints are relatively minor likethe PGA of America’s cave-in tothe honchos at NBC for havingsomeone like Donald Trump (ofNBC’s highly rated “TheApprentice” series) providing a“welcome” at the OpeningCeremonies. Show business poli-tics shouldn’t trump golf traditionat the Ryder Cup. And it was toobad fans arriving in the afternoonfor Tuesday and Wednesday prac-tice rounds saw so little if any ofthe U.S. team on the SouthCourse. Thank goodness, theEuropeans were winning thegallery over with both their pres-ence and charm.

The Buick Open at WarwickHills: This is really where winnerVijay Singh began his outstandingplay that culminated in his no. 1World Ranking. Vijay switchedback to not only a new standardlength putter but he also wentback to a conventional puttinggrip. And when Vijay’s puttergets hot, everyone else seems tobe playing for second place. Thisyear’s Buick also was excitingfor not only Tiger being in thehunt but also for crowd favoriteJohn Daly. He may never make itas a Captain’s Pick in the RyderCup, but Daly still remains one ofgolf’s most popular players.

Farmers Charity Classic at

Egypt Valley: In a few weeks,we’ll all know if Jim Thorpe wasindeed the last winner of thisChampions Tour event held inGrand Rapids for the past 18years. In this tough economy, it’llbe a major challenge for eventorganizers and the GR Jaycees tosign a title sponsor. Although itstruggled at times fielding someof the biggest names on theSenior and Champions Tour, theevent delivered some exciting golffor West Michigan. I’m one stillhoping to hear the fast-talking andjovial Thorpe at next year’sMedia Day.

Michigan Amateur at Grosse IleG & CC: I relished watching thestate’s best amateurs contend atmatch play at such a fine old andsmartly renovated course asGrosse Ile. With its confoundingand authentic Donald Ross-designed greens, it proved a toughnut for players to crack through-out the week. The green speedmay have been a tad excessive attimes, given the slopes of thegreen, but still the venue wasexcellent. I especially enjoyedwatching such up and coming BigTen players such as Ryan Brehmand Matt Harmon, both atMichigan State.

Pete Dye and Whistling Straits:The best boat ride I took all sum-mer was the new high speed ferryfrom Muskegon to Milwaukee toattend the PGA Championship atWhistling Straits. Without theease and convenience of the new

S L I C E O F L I F E

By Terry Moore


ferry I may not have witnessedDye’s stunning creation for HerbKohler. While it is really a links-like or links-inspired layout, Iwould argue that WhistlingStraits is the result of most imagi-native and daunting constructionproject ever successfully execut-ed in golf. Pete Dye is golf’sboldest visionary in terms ofdesign. As Michelangelo neededthe ample coffers of the Papacy tofund his masterpieces, Dye wasfortunate to have Herb Kohler’sdeep checkbook to build

Whistling Straits. Kudos too forthe PGA of America for how it“set up” the course for the cham-pionship. Unlike the USGA atShinnecock, the PGA ably man-aged length, pin location andgreen speed as course conditionsdictated.

Best stretch of amateur golfafter a bad start: I was in thethreesome in August when two-time Egypt Valley club championJim Hegarty began his defense ofhis title with a double bogey and

then carded this string of holes—birdie, par, eagle, birdie and ACE!Six under par in five holes oversome of the toughest holesaround. Hegarty finished the nineat 32 and fired a 68. Incidentally,it was Hegarty’s first ace aftermore than 30 years of competitivegolf.

It’s that type of golf memorythat’s needed to ward off thenumbing effects of the comingMichigan winter. May it passquickly. MG

In This Issue - webgolfer.com · 2 Ryder Cup Memories by Art McCafferty 4 Hanging Out with Pete Dye...

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