Allied Golf Associations – Page 3

Youth on Course booms in Michigan as golf continues to be a safe activity for juniors

Youth on Course has proved to be a successful way to introduce kids to golf in Michigan and grow the game.

In more than 25 years of service to the game in many Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) capacities, John Schulte has never seen anything like the success of Youth On Course (YOC) in truly growing the game of golf.

“I don’t think anything has come close to achieving this,” said the current president of the GAM Foundation that leads the Youth on Course effort in Michigan.

“We’ve seen some record numbers in tournament growth in the last 20 years by adding a number of championships to reach a more diverse group of golfers, but Youth on Course has exploded with new golfers. It’s been a great way to get young people on the golf course.”

The final 2020 numbers for the GAM Foundation’s work in the ever-growing national YOC effort include 27,660 rounds being played by 7,094 Michigan youth golfers. The foundation paid out $211,000 in subsidies to the 108 Michigan courses that participated.

By comparison, 9,900 rounds were played in Michigan by YOC golfers in 2019 and this year’s subsidies are significantly more than double what was paid a year ago.

This year was the fourth year of GAM Foundation involvement in Youth on Course, which is a national non-profit grow-the game program implemented nationwide that allows youngsters ages 6-18 to play golf for $5 or less.

YOC recently reported over 104,000 members across the country who played nearly 300,000 rounds this year with over 1,400 partner golf courses and over $2 million being reimbursed to the courses for their YOC rounds.

Schulte called the 2020 Michigan numbers in YOC amazing.

“It has been a wonderful year especially considering the pandemic and all the bad things that went on around the world,” he said. “Everybody was worried at the start of the golf season, and even when golfers were permitted to go on the golf course in mid-May, I don’t think anybody expected numbers to increase so much over our previous years.

Schulte said the young golfers jumped on the golf courses and saved the day.

“Getting 27,000 rounds was more than double than what we anticipated even before the pandemic,” he said. “I think all of us were very much surprised and very pleased. Being part of Youth on Course has been a great experience for me, I think for all of us at the GAM, and I’m delighted with it.”

Schulte said the numbers early in the season seemed to be what was expected and he was pleased with it. Then in July and through October, the numbers continued to build.

“That was amazing, and as we passed Labor Day the boys and girls were still getting out on the course.”

The success in Michigan has added a challenge to the GAM Foundation. A centennial celebration in 2019 that involved Jack Nicklaus served as a GAM Foundation fundraiser that, according to Schulte, put the GAM in a great position to fund the subsidies that anchor the program.

“Going forward we need to come up with some additional streams of revenue, especially considering the growth we are experiencing,” he said. “We’re working on it.”

Among the ideas being put into play is the 100 Hole Hike fundraiser used by the YOC. The GAM, led by Executive Director Chris Whitten, raised over $4,000 in 2019 and over $14,000 in 2020. The 100 Hole Hike involved Whitten and others taking pledges and then playing 100 holes of golf on foot in a single day at Chandler Park Golf Course in Detroit.

“We would like to grow the 100 Hole Hike and have it become a state-wide initiative for us,” Schulte said. “We want to encourage young golfers to get involved, graduates of Youth on Course and others to get involved and help the foundation continue to fund Youth on Course.”

Whitten is all in despite having sore feet at the end of his 100 holes the last two years.

“The GAM Foundation is so proud to bring Youth on Course to Michigan with the amount of participation we have seen,” he said.

“When many activities were considered unsafe for kids this summer, golf filled a big void for a lot of families. We saw growth over 100 percent and the Hike helped bring awareness to our effort to support kids playing golf affordably all across the state.”

Learn more about supporting Youth on Course in Michigan at GAM.org.

Dan Kunert has built his retirement around giving back to the game

Dan Kunert, a self-described average golfer with an above-average interest in amateur golf, became a volunteer for the GAM after retiring.

“The only way of really finding out a man’s true character is to play golf with him.”

-P. G. Wodehouse

Dan Kunert, a self-described average golfer with an above-average interest in amateur golf, clicked on “volunteer” at GAM.org when he retired in 2012 after 28 years as a property appraiser with the City of Warren.

He’s been a busy volunteer ever since, to the point that he doesn’t get to play as much golf as he would like.

The 60-year-old Kunert is a volunteer Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) rules official who contributes at multiple tournaments through the summer, and two years ago he was asked to take on the role of directing the daily action at the GAM Golf Days. This year the GAM presented 24 Golf Days at private club courses around the state with rates as low as $60.

“I had been enjoying Golf Days as a player, and the story I go with is that I was winning too much so they had to ask me to help run them,” the ever-grinning and often-kidding Kunert said.

He misses playing in them but seeing it from two sides has made him fully aware of the value Golf Days bring to the GAM member.

“You get to play that first stage of a competitive environment and see if your game is ready, you get to play courses that you would otherwise never get to play and you meet a lot of great people who love golf.”

Kunert, a Warren, Michigan, resident, grew up in Warren, went to Oakland University and earned a degree in public administration. He didn’t start playing golf until he started playing in the City of Warren Golf League over 30 years ago. Soon he became that guy who handles the handicaps, which led to learning all he could about handicaps, which led to the GAM.

Since, golf has become what he calls a consuming interest. He plays the game, he officiates, he directs Golf Days and he reads about golf, especially enjoying the classic and sometimes comedic 1920s golf stories of P.G. Wodehouse.

Married (Cheryl) and father to a step-son (Bill Vires), he acknowledges he can be described as a golf purist, much more in tune with the amateur game than professional golf.

His dream foursome took some thought, but then he came up with three professionals that of course would be acceptable to purists, the ghost of Wodehouse and golf historians – Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Old Tom Morris.

Recently retired GAM volunteer/staffer and Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Jeanne Myers put Kunert on the golf course his first year as a trainee rules official.

“I thought volunteering would get me closer to the action,” Kunert said. “I’ve never been a good golfer, but I do get to see good golf as a volunteer. I realized right away it was a great opportunity to get out, meet great people and give back.”

His favorite role as a volunteer is working as a rules official. He said he spends a significant amount of time studying the rules through the winter.

“So when the time comes you are ready for that ruling,” he said.

He remembers his aha moment as a rules official. It was seven years ago and he was volunteering at the GAM Junior Stroke Play Championship at Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing.

A young golfer (age-groups start at age seven in the tournament) had hit an approach shot on No. 18 into the greenside bunker right of the green and couldn’t find the ball.

Kunert, walking with the group in the tournament that is presented with the dual purpose of competition and learning how to play in competition, calmed the young man down and helped him find the ball.

“I had the opportunity to sit down on the side of the bunker, talk him through finding the ball, helping him recreate the lie and play,” he said. “It was my aha moment because I had an opportunity to help a player do it the right way and not penalize a player for doing it the wrong way.”

The Golf Days and officiating tournaments recently ended for the season, which Kunert admitted was more a challenge because of the global pandemic. Still, he felt participants made the most of their golf this year and he was glad to be a part of it.

“I made sure that I volunteered for the very first tournament we had, and I had long talks with (GAM Executive Director) Chris Whitten about how precautions can work and even enhance the game,” he said. “I’m proud that nobody that I know of got the virus at a GAM Golf Day and everybody stayed vigilant.”

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Gregg Bonamici wins first Golf Association of Michigan title alongside former teammate

Gregg Bonamici, at age 62, won the recent GAM Senior Championship to make a little history both in his golf and personal life.

CHARLEVOIX, Mich. – Gregg Bonamici of Grosse Ile Township, Michigan, had never won a Golf Association of Michigan tournament, though he had played in many since his junior and college golf days 40 years ago.

He also had not been paired with his former Central Michigan University teammate Mitch Wilson of Portage, even though both had played years of competitive golf in the same state and sometimes same tournaments.

Then both happened.

Bonamici, at age 62, won the recent GAM Senior Championship at historic Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix – with a dramatic birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff – to make a little history both in his golf and personal life.

“I had the opportunity to play with my college golf roommate Mitch Wilson today,” he said minutes after accepting the championship trophy and topping John Barbour of Grand Rapids with a fast-rolling 25-footer.

“It was fantastic. He inspired me because I know he’s very accomplished and he’s won everything. I set out today to try and play my best and impress him because I haven’t spent any time with him in the last 40 years. I think I did it.”

He did. Wilson, who earlier this summer won his second GAM Senior Match Play Championship title in the last five years, was among the leaders heading into the final round and ended up paired with a familiar face.

“That was kind of unique – getting to watch him win when you are paired with him and you are trying to win and then you realize he is going to win,” Wilson said. “I was frustrated out there because I didn’t play well in that position, but it was so cool to see Gregg win and to get acquainted again during a round of golf. It was strange and great at the same time.”

The two golfers had never met when they showed up on the golf team together at CMU, but soon became good friends and roommates. Also on the team was Randy Lewis of Alma who went on to become one of Michigan’s most-decorated amateur golfers, including winning two Michigan Amateur Championships and the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at age 54. The Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member remains the oldest ever to win that title, and it earned him the invitation to the 2012 Masters Tournament.

Lewis didn’t enter the championship this year because of injury. Each of the three former teammates had played in some of the same Michigan Amateur Championships presented at Belvedere, which has hosted the state championship an unprecedented 40 times, just never in the same pairing.

Bonamici said he would tell people he was teammates with Lewis following his accomplishments over the years, and Wilson said he and Lewis have stayed in touch, played golf with each other, and competed many times in various state and USGA tournaments.

“Back then you are just enjoying playing college golf,” said Wilson, who is the head men’s golf coach at Kalamazoo College.

“I even recruited Gregg’s son for a little while,” he said. “We just had not played together since college, and I just see Randy more and have played with him and lost to him in tournaments.”

Bonamici, who said his last win was about five years ago in the Senior Club Championship at Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club, said the stars seemed to align for him at Belvedere, including having Wilson inspire him. He shot a first-round 74 in windy conditions on his 62nd birthday to land among the leaders in a field of 156 golfers, and then won the next day in similar wind.

“It’s my first GAM title, and after 62 years, so it feels awesome,” he said. “I really enjoyed my two days here at Belvedere. It’s a great golf course. We all grew up playing here at Belvedere in the Michigan Amateur all those years, so having an opportunity to spend two days playing this great course was enough. Certainly winning is icing on the cake.”

Bonamici turned back Barbour in the playoff after shooting a closing 1-under 71 in regulation play for 145. Barbour shot a final 73.

Due to fading light conditions the twosome played the par-5 No. 9 hole twice in the playoff. They each made bogey 6 the first time they played it, and then Bonamici made his long putt and Barbour missed a 15-foot birdie attempt.

“I had no idea I was going to make it, and I was pretty shocked it went in,” he said. “It went in a little bit swift, too. I feel fortunate, very fortunate. Like I said, things just lined up for me today.”

Wilson stuck around to watch the playoff and had a great talk with his friend afterward. They promised to stay in touch and play golf again together before another 40 years pass.

“It was just great to see the guy, and fun to play with him in the same group,” Wilson said. “Then to see him get his first win like that. It was special for him and me, too.”

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Michigan native Sarah White picks up momentum with Symetra Tour win in Arizona

Sarah White emerged as the champion of her first Symetra Tour tournament – the Founder’s Tribute at Longbow in Mesa, Arizona, in mid-August.

Sarah White emerged as the champion of her very first Symetra Tour tournament – the Founder’s Tribute at Longbow in Mesa, Arizona, in mid-August.

She did it in her first year as a professional and playing via an exemption earned for a fifth-place finish in a tournament on the Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT), the official feeder tour to the LPGA’s Symetra Tour.

She opened 68-65 then logged closing 68 in the 54-hole championship at Longbow Golf Club, which included a final birdie for a one-shot win over Casey Danielson of Wisconsin and Sophia Popov of Germany. Popov, the very next week, shocked the golf world as a surprise runaway winner of an LPGA major championship – the AIG Women’s British Open.

And White, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, surmises she might be the person least surprised by the dramatic golf happenings.

“I always knew I had it in me,” said the 23-year-old former GAM Junior Girls State Amateur Champion (2015) and Division 1 state high school champion (2014) who played collegiate golf for a year at Western Michigan University before transferring to play at Texas State University.

“Winning was relieving in a way. I had been working so hard on my game and I finally did it the way I knew I could. It was more like a big breath of fresh air, or even a weight lifted off my shoulders. I wasn’t necessarily surprised because I always believed I had it in me and finally I proved to myself that I could do it.”

She made $18,750 for the win and earned immediate Symetra Tour membership through 2021, which meant she hopped in a car and drove to California for the next Symetra Tour event. She made the cut, and then made the long car trip home to Michigan, stopping on the way to play in the Symetra event in South Bend, Indiana. She missed that cut, then hit the road for Florida and North Carolina and more Symetra tournaments.

“My life has changed drastically in that way, much more travel than I expected,” she said. “Brett (her brother, a professional golfer) told me my first year as a professional would be a huge learning experience. That is so right, but I know I belong out here.”

Brett White, 27 and like Sarah, a former GAM tournament regular, was her caddie in the Founder’s Tribute win, and again two weeks later in South Bend after he came home from winning the $115,000 Turtle Creek Casino Michigan Open Championship on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort near Traverse City.

Their parents, Doug and Patty, were not golfers. Brett, a former Eastern Michigan University golfer, became interested in the game at a young age, and by age 5, Sarah was tagging along. She did the same in hockey, and even played goalie for the boys’ varsity team at East Kentwood High School.

Their father said their dreams were in golf, however, and they pushed on.

“I have dreamed about being a pro golfer since I was 5,” Sarah said. “Brett got me into it and we had brother-sister rivalry where he would always try to one-up me, but it is amazing to see both of us having this dream we’ve had for a long time come true. For both of us to win big tournaments within three weeks is truly special for our family.”

Doug said after his son’s Michigan Open win that he was still trying to grasp all that happened in recent days.

“Golf’s a tough game, both kids have had their bad days and tough losses, Brett’s had his health issues, so we’ve seen that side of it, too,” he said. “We like this though and we’re really proud of them. They kept working so hard and believing they could do it.”

Sarah, who is already third in average driving distance on the Symetra Tour (295.63 yards), has worked recently on her putting with Craig Piscopink, an award-winning teaching professional in Ypsilanti who also worked with Brett as he recovered his golf game after a debilitating brain infection three years ago.

“We’ve changed my putting drastically,” Sarah said. “Everything is different, a different putter, different grip. We didn’t change my stroke, but we changed my focus on putting from trying to hit the perfect putt to focusing on the speed of my putts. It’s made a big difference. In the tournament on the WAPT where I earned my exemption I had 20 birdies. In my win at the Founder’s Tribute I made some 20- and 30-footers and putted with a consistent speed. It’s boosted my confidence.”

When the global pandemic hit in March, Sarah had completed her golf at Texas State and had earned her business management degree. She lost a part-time job to the shutdown though and stayed in Texas because the golf course where she practices didn’t close completely.

“I took the extra time and practiced,” she said. “I was turning pro. I worked a lot so when the WAPL started I was ready.”

Sarah has never shied away from working on the game.

“I always tried to take the mindset that I have the potential and if I’m not working, then somebody else is working and could beat me,” she said. “Brett and I – we inspire each other. He’s a competitor. I’m a competitor. I believe I belong here. My thought now is how do I stay here? Work. The win was a huge boost in confidence. I don’t have to think I can win. I know I can do it.”

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Mike Anderson, recent GAM Mid-Am champ, gets a second wind in his golf life

Mike Anderson has gained experience and perspective in his golf and professional life.

Mike Anderson is 50 years old, just days from turning 51, and he figures to one day reflect on his recent win over the field of age 25-plus golfers in the Golf Association of Michigan Mid-Amateur Championship at Boyne Highlands Resort. He’ll consider it a highlight of his golfing career.

“Just because of my age, this one is a lot more satisfying,” the Northville resident and Saginaw native said.

“I won college events and I hardly remember them. My last win was a mini-tour event somewhere when I was a professional. Those were the days when I was kind of arrogant and stupid enough to think I should win all the time. Now I realize just how difficult it is to win anything.”

Anderson has gained experience and perspective in his golf and professional life. He is the son of longtime Saginaw Country Club PGA professional Max Anderson, a former Michigan State University golfer, a former PGA professional and mini-tour professional for eight years, a four-time PGA Tour Qualifying School participant, a reinstated amateur and now a high school golf coach at Detroit Catholic Central and managing director of investments for Stifel Nicolaus Company with an office in Southfield.

The 1986 Michigan Junior State Amateur Champion also hits a lot of fairways and has a great short game.

“I stopped playing competitive golf for several years and it is one of the few regrets in my life,” he said. “I did it to build my business following my professional golf career. I started playing again about five, maybe six years ago in GAM tournaments and a few USGA tournaments and I enjoyed it.

“What I had really missed, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it, was the competition, the part where you get in contention and then what do you do when you get there. It’s been fun finding that again, and to be able to play in GAM tournaments with guys I’ve competed with for years, and in things like the Mid-Am against people younger than I am and to play well is pretty cool.”

He shot a cool 71 on the Moor course in the final round at Boyne Highlands to win the celebrated Glenn H. Johnson Trophy and the 38th GAM Mid-Amateur title by three shots with a 140 two-day total (3-under 69 on the Hills course day one).

“I’ve been playing steady all summer, but (that) week was interesting,” he said. “The conditions were not that great with steady winds and sometimes gusting winds. I was chipping and putting well all week and in those conditions and on those courses it was hard to hit greens and get the ball close to pins. I was missing in the right spots and I was able to get up and down. I can also hit the ball low when I need to and I was able to hit a lot of low trajectory shots and stay out of trouble.”

Anderson considers course management a strength of his game, and he credits running the golf program at Catholic Central for 12 years as helpful in that regard.

“I manage the course better now because of having to practice what I preach,” he said. “I drive it alright and chip and putt alright. I don’t shoot high scores I think because my rhythm and timing are usually good.”

Anderson has been married to Kathy, his high school sweetheart, for 27 years and they have three children: Emily, a senior at Michigan State, Abby, a freshman at the University of Tennessee and Max, a sophomore at Northville High School.

He plans to continue playing amateur golf and said he feels fortunate that Michigan has a state association that provides great tournaments, venues, quality of competition, and organization.

“We, the players, talk about it often,” he said. “We recognize how fortunate we are. It’s incredible what the GAM does year in and year out, the volunteers they get, everything about it. It’s a really cool thing the GAM has created. Personally I’m, very appreciative.”

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After Michigan Women’s Amateur win, Anna Kramer got a different look at her future in golf

Anna Kramer, a senior-to-be at Indianapolis, appeared to be on a mission while marching through the Michigan Amateur at Forest Akers West.

Spring Lake’s Anna Kramer realized that winning the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship would draw more attention to her as a golfer.

She didn’t realize what she calls her biggest win would start so many people wondering if she would play professional golf.

“I never really thought seriously about making a career out of playing, to be honest,” said the business administration and management major as well as standout golfer at the University of Indianapolis.

“I definitely have gotten a lot of questions about trying to play professionally and I just don’t know the answer. I do know winning the Amateur has given me more confidence and helped me know what I’m capable of or what I could be capable of with golf. I still have goals with college. I guess if I play pretty well in the next year and get better, I will think more about it.”

Kramer, 21 and a senior-to-be at Indianapolis this fall, appeared to be on a mission while marching through the recent Michigan Amateur at Forest Akers West on the campus of Michigan State University. She was the stroke-play medalist to earn the No. 1 seed in the match play bracket to start the week and then subdued five others in matches to win the title.

A 1-up quarterfinal battle with 13-year-old phenom Lauren Timpf was the biggest test of the week, and she closed out the championship with a 5-and-4 win over 2018 champion Kerri Parks of Marshall University.

“She stayed right with me,” Kramer said of Timpf. “It was the toughest match, although none of them were easy. I made some putts on Kerri in the final. I’m really happy with the way I played under pressure all week.”

Kramer, who won the 2016 GAM Championship and made quarterfinal runs in match play in previous Michigan Amateurs, said added strength has helped her with golf.

“I’ve always been huge into working out,” she said. “I find it fun. At school in-season we do weights twice a week, and out of season I do it twice and I’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger. It’s great at school with all the strength coaches around to help you.”

She hasn’t noticed a difference in distances with her iron shots, but her tee shots with driver have definitely improved.

“My driver is going quite a bit farther and really with the same swing,” she said. “It’s easier getting it out there and going in with an 8-iron instead of a 6-iron or something.”

Soccer and tennis competed with golf for Kramer’s attention during her school years. She finally opted for golf over soccer early in high school because of possible injury, but she said she did play tennis her last two years of high school when she burned out a bit on golf.

“I love competing in anything, and especially golf,” she said. “Golf has also allowed me to travel and play a lot of different golf courses, and to meet a lot of new people. In high school the goal was getting a college scholarship to play golf and that has all kind of worked out so far.”

When not golfing, she still enjoys tennis, boating, a day at the beach, shopping and hanging out with family.

The daughter of Rich and Pam Kramer has a brother Ben, who played golf at Hope College in nearby Holland. They previously lived in the Ferrysburg area and the family played at Muskegon Country Club. They moved to Spring Lake and in recent years play at Spring Lake Country Club. Summers of the last few years for Anna have been spent working as a bag attendant at Muskegon CC and practicing golf.

“I started playing golf at like five or six – the whole family plays,” she said. “It’s what I’ve done for a long time, and I’m always trying to improve.”

She is a fan of golf, and has attended some LPGA tournaments, but she likes to watch the likes of Tiger Woods and the younger players currently starring on the PGA Tour.

“They do phenomenal things and I enjoy seeing that,” she said.

She has largely learned the game as she grew up but did work previously with Grand Rapids teacher Patti Butcher and works a lot with her college coach Brent Nicoson, whose teams have won two NCAA Division II national titles. She feels her focus is her best skill on the golf course.

“I stay focused and determined the whole time,” she said. “(In the Amateur) I felt the most comfortable and confident I ever have in a tournament.”

Her mother, Pam, serves as her caddie often, but makes it clear the golf is all Anna.

“I push the cart, get water, stay out of the way,” Pam said and laughed. “Anna plays her game her way. I’m here to support.”

Anna calls her great support.

“She is kind of there to push the bag, but also there for to keep me comfortable and to help me save energy,” she said. “She has given me a lot of time. No matter what I do with golf or whatever, my family is there for me. I know that.”

Lauren Timpf, 13, is a prime example of GAM Foundation’s Youth on Course impact

Youth on Course is a national non-profit, grow-the-game program implemented and subsidized in Michigan by the GAM Foundation.

Youth on Course is a national non-profit, grow-the-game program implemented and subsidized in Michigan by the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Foundation, and 13-year-old Macomb golfer Lauren Timpf realizes she is an example of the program’s impact.

The young golfer – who this summer has won her age group in the GAM Junior Invitational and the Michigan Junior Girls State Amateur and as the youngest player in the field reached the quarterfinals of the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship – points out she is not alone.

“I think it encourages a lot more people to just get out and play golf,” she said. “I see more youth coming to play all the time, not just the other kids who play in tournaments like me. For $5 you get to play golf. I practice and play a lot and it helps make that possible.”

The daughter of Ryan and Amy Timpf first heard about Youth on Course through advertisements presented by the GAM and her involvement in the Southeast Michigan TGA golf program presented at her school.

TGA Premier Sports and TGA of Southeast Michigan is a national for-profit after-school program she has been involved with since 2012 and the first grade. Soon to be a freshman at Lutheran North High School in Macomb, Timpf has become an assistant coach with the program, helping to introduce the younger kids to golf.

TGA has endorsed Youth on Course as a way to transition golfers from their programs to the golf courses in an affordable manner.

“After we heard about Youth on Course and learned more about it at TGA, we discussed it at home and it made sense to join,” Timpf said.

“It’s really for everybody. You don’t have to play in tournaments. My dad is a very good golfer and my sister Kate comes with us to play. She is 10 and not into tournaments, but she likes to play with us. It makes golf for our family cheaper. Youth on Course works for everyone. You play golf for $5 and you are having fun. It’s a win-win.”

Lauren is one of 5,500 members this year through the Golf Association of Michigan’s Youth on Course support program, which is up from the 4,261 members a year ago in the state.

Over 15,000 rounds have been played this year at 108 participating golf courses in the state, up from 9,900 last year and the $65,000 in subsidies paid to those participating golf courses through June this year is already more than all of last year.

Those 5,500 members are not as talented or as devoted to the game as Timpf, who next week will play in the GAM Women’s Championship at Muskegon Country Club.

“For me, I learned a ton from TGA and then Youth on Course has made it possible for me to play and practice all that I’ve learned,” she said. “I can play all day if I want, and it’s just $5 each time I play.”

Timpf said she tells friends about it, and the younger kids in TGA who are ready to move their new skills to the golf course.

“It’s a great program all the way around,” she said.

For more information on Youth on Course, visit GAM.org/YOC.