Tag: GAM

GAM executive director Chris Whitten on his tenure and challenges he’s faced through the pandemic

Cedar Rapids native Chris Whitten discusses his time with the GAM and how he and the association have adapted throughout the pandemic.

Three years ago Chris Whitten envisioned taking on the executive director role at the Golf Association of Michigan as a new adventure in leadership, a benefit to his family and an opportunity to have more of an impact in the game of golf.

 He joined in 2019 amid the centennial celebration of the association’s service to Michigan golf. But like everyone else, Whitten didn’t see a global pandemic coming, or the golf boom of sorts that followed it.

“All those things happened and they all produced unique challenges, including many I never expected, but they also provided opportunities to learn,” he said.  “Even though it’s only been three years I feel like I’ve gained 10 years in experiences because of all I learned in that time. And that’s all a good thing.”

Whitten, 42, is a former University of Notre Dame golfer who became a collegiate golf coach, first as an assistant at Notre Dame, then worked as a golf professional for Miles of Golf in Ann Arbor and the Inverness Club in Toledo before returning to coaching. He had been the head men’s golf coach at the University of Michigan for eight years after a half decade stint as an assistant when he came to the GAM.

He said the challenge of going from leading a team of eight college golfers to leading 70,000 GAM members, staff, volunteers and more appealed to him.

“What it all boiled down to was the opportunity to make an impact at a bigger level, all across the state where I grew up and in [a] game that has been really good to my family all the way back through my parents and my grandparents,” Whitten said.

He is the son of Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Buddy Whitten (and Julie), a long-time PGA professional and former PGA Tour Champions player. Chris was born and raised in the Grand Rapids area where his father worked for Blythefield Country Club. He and his wife Amy have two sons, Graham, 11, and Lucas, 9.

“The move to the GAM made sense for me on a personal level, too,” he said. “It was an opportunity to be more of a presence at home, and to keep our boys involved in golf. I saw a bigger team to be a part of and a team that had a lot of support.”

Whitten said many of the things he envisioned have worked out even better than he expected. He found great support and great passion on his staff and in the large volunteer population at the GAM. He said those things are what helped him handle the unforeseen challenges.

He said his lasting memory of joining amid the centennial year was nervously appearing at a GAM Foundation fundraising gala event that celebrated the centennial but also included Jack Nicklaus and the goodbye to David Graham, who had been the longest-serving GAM executive director for 18 years and who earlier this year was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame for his contributions to Michigan golf.

“I still remember the opportunity to take the microphone at the centennial event and getting to introduce David and providing him the opportunity to stand so he could be recognized for all he had done for the GAM,” he said. “That turned out special. It was nothing planned in my notes. It happened in the moment. And then I had the opportunity to introduce Jack Nicklaus to a room full of golf-loving people. I remember the nerves of just wanting to get it right, and that was also my real introduction to what I call the GAM family, those there who support the association and love the game.”

Year two meant dealing with the pandemic year of 2020. It tested the GAM and its supporters as it did people and organizations globally. Whitten has a vivid memory of a first Zoom meeting with all the tournament volunteers after his staff had planned to move forward with the 2020 golf season.

“We had been out of the office for a long time at that point, but we had continued to do the work and we made the decision to go forward with the tournament program, protocols in place,” he said. “That was a proud moment. We had not run a tournament yet, but the staff was organized, had made decisions and developed a firm plan that we now look back and realize went smoothly. That meeting showed me a lot about the relationships our staff had with the volunteers and how they all worked on the same team to make in happen for our players. I learned tournaments are more than just a fun afternoon for our volunteers, and I learned how much our staff cares about getting it right.”

Tournaments happened the right way in 2020, outside with creative adjustments and protocols, and some of those practices became part of the 2021 tournament season.

“As I look back on what has happened I understand the desire to be outside more, how people took on working remotely and adjusted schedules and knowing that helps the golf boom makes sense,” he said. “We weren’t sure at the time what to expect, but I’m most proud that when the boom happened our team was ready. We had good systems in place. What we were offering our members obviously mattered to them. We did a good job of telling our story and welcoming new people who had not been a part of us and golf before. We met the demand.”

Whitten said in some ways the three years look anything but routine, but that the nature of golf and its season in Michigan lends a cadence to the work of the association.

“For instance my work right now is concentrated on our governors and the changes in the officer team that will happen in 2022,” he said. “Our foundation was just starting when I arrived and the things people like David Graham and John Schulte (GAM president emeritus) put in place have expanded to where we now have Laura Bavaird taking on a role in leading the foundation when before it was just one of the things I did. Then when the golf season arrives and our tournaments start, I will really enjoy being part of that again, too.”

Mark McAlpine, GAM president emeritus who served in 2020 and was part of the officer team and hiring process for Whitten, said the GAM searched for a leader with communication, organization and management skills.

“We needed someone to keep us on the tracks and grow in the future, and Chris has been everything we hoped he would be for us,” he said.  “The Covid year, or two years really, have been a good reflection of that. He worked with the Michigan Golf Alliance to create one golf voice in the state and at the same time developed protocols and strategies for the GAM to operate and even grow. From my standpoint, we are absolutely thrilled with what he has done.”

Michigan’s golf association continues to adapt to continue growth of the game

GAM has expanded on its quality services and staff in recent years to better lead a refocused effort in continuing to grow its membership…

Serving over 72,000 individual members and encompassing over 450 golf courses and clubs across the state, the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM), has expanded on its quality services and staff in recent years to better lead a refocused effort in continuing to grow its membership.

“We are fortunate to have the third most golf courses in the country and the large majority participate in the GAM,” GAM executive director Chris Whitten said. “But there are a lot of people out there we feel have yet to hear our great, positive story, especially in the daily fee course sector.”

Kyle Wolfe is the man in charge of telling the story that Whitten so badly wants people to hear about. Having worked for the GAM in multiple departments including course rating, handicap services, acting as the director of junior tournament golf and more, Wolfe now finds himself as the director of member services.

“With the enhancements we have made in the last few years, including the World Handicap System, Golf Genius (enhanced computer software) and upgrades to our GHIN Mobile App we have new and better ways to serve our members,” Wolfe said. “We’ve also expanded our staff to continue the great level of service and even expand it.”

As for clubs and courses, Wolfe said course rating is the core product the GAM offers. It will continue to be a focus with trained volunteers rating as many as 70 courses a year, but Wolfe also wants the courses and clubs to be aware of how Golf Genius can help in terms of tournament registration, scoring, and other uses for leagues, events, and outings.

“They are great products that continue to make life easier for the people who administer golf at our member clubs,” Wolfe said. “And they provide a better experience for the golfers who play there.

“For instance, the ability to offer a Handicap Index authorized by the USGA (United States Golf Association), clubs can offer that to golfers so they are able to compete on an equal level whether playing in a tournament, a league or any event, or just as a group showing up on the first tee to play a fun game.”

Wolfe said GHIN Mobile App upgrades now offer statistics tracking, GPS and other features to improve the individual golfer experience.

“If you play a lot of different courses in a season that can be really helpful,” said Wolfe. “You can track your game on your phone statistically and see where your weaknesses and strengths are, too.”

The GAM has also developed new pricing structures that many courses and clubs have not learned about yet.

“It is economical for the clubs and in the last four years the value proposition is a lot different,” he said. “There is a lot more the GAM can offer in that area than we used to be able to provide.”

Wolfe said overall the idea is to grow the number of people and to maximize fun.

“We can make it more enjoyable for the golfers and those who administer the game,” he said. “Whether it is Handicap Index or technology, we can make life at the course easier.”

As for Whitten, he’s grateful to have staff that are passionate about making the game more enjoyable for all.

“In my time many staff members have shown great aptitude in various areas and Kyle is an absolute expert on programs and services we are able to offer our courses, clubs and players,” he said. “I get a lot of feedback from our current members about the quality service from Kyle, and I believe he is in a position now to excel even more. He will tell our story to courses and people who need to hear it and improve things for golf in Michigan.”

To learn more about the GAM, visit their website: gam.org

Scott Hovis reflects on Missouri Golf Association’s 15 years of progress

With just 8 events to the MGA’s name when Hovis joined in 2006, the association now lays claim to over 50 events over the year thanks to him

When Scott Hovis came to the Missouri Golf Association in 2006, the association had just eight annual events. Fifteen years later, the MGA’s executive director can reflect on the growth of more than 50 events a year, bringing the game he loves to more Missourians of all ages and backgrounds.

“We have brought a lot of new opportunities to the association from when I came in 15 years ago,” Hovis said. “We’ve started a 16 [event] one-day senior series tour and a junior tour that has 12 one-day events throughout the state of Missouri. We have also merged with the Missouri Women’s Golf Association.

“We give opportunities to everyone – no matter your background or ability level,” Hovis continued. “I feel like we do a great job of making sure everyone feels at home and feels comfortable playing in our championships so that they have the opportunity to enjoy the game of golf, meet new people and have a great time playing this lifetime sport.”

Hovis came into the association as the junior golf director and within a year was promoted to executive director, a role he has held the last 14 years.

The goals Hovis is bringing to the association are clear: “Our mission is to promote the best interests and true spirit of the game of golf throughout the state of Missouri.”

As a Missouri native and golf enthusiast, Hovis embraces his role to give back to the game in his home state.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without golf, so I’ve always wanted to give back to the game since it’s given me so much,” Hovis said. “I want to give people in my home state the same opportunities to enjoy the game as much as I have.”

One event he takes tremendous pride in is the parent-child championship, which the MGA started 14 years ago. It’s an event that clearly holds a special place in Hovis’ heart.

“Seeing the relationships between the mothers and fathers playing with their children is special,” he said.

To learn more about the MGA, visit their website: mogolf.org.

Golf Association of Michigan’s Youth Program Finding Success Through Play

In 2021, there were 6,495 YOC members through the GAM tallied 12,364 rounds of golf and 1,447 buckets of balls this season…

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Mix together a Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) president bullish on greater access to the game for young people, the GAM Foundation’s Youth on Course support program,  fundraisers like the 100 Hole Hike and YOC Celebration Day and the result is 6,495 golfers under age 18 having a fist-pumping fun and affordable golf season.

Heading into October there were 6,495 YOC members through the GAM playing 12,364 rounds of golf and hitting 1,447 buckets of balls this season, all for $5 or less. In addition, $72,250 had been paid to the state’s participating courses by the GAM Foundation.

GAM president Mark Bultema of Grand Rapids, pushed an agenda of inclusion and pulled off fundraising as well. He said he started playing the game at age eight at city-owned Indian Trails Golf Course in Grand Rapids. In August, the course played host to the first YOC Celebration Day that raised over $50,000 while giving dozens of young golfers and their families a day of golf fun.

“I had a chance recently to look back on my life’s journey and the one thing that has been a constant is the enjoyment I have had playing golf,” Bultema said. “The most memorable times I have are playing with my two children, their spouses and my seven grandchildren. What a blessing, and it all started when I was eight years old and my first round of golf at Indian Trails. I would have been one of the Youth On Course members if the program had been available.”

GAM Executive Director Chris Whitten lauded Bultema’s efforts and leadership.

“Mark’s a planner and he had a great vision for it, both parts, the fundraising to support the kids and then welcoming the kids and letting them play golf,” he said. “It was a special afternoon, and because of all the good planning of Mark and the GAM staff, I thought it just went beautifully.”

Cut to recent weeks and for the third consecutive year the GAM participating in the 100 Hole Hike fundraiser for Youth on Course. It raised over $30,000 thanks to generous donors and GAM staff members and others walking more than 100 holes at two sites (Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs, Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms), each toting their own golf bags after collecting pledges.

“The Michigan 100 Hole Hike exceeded all expectations this year,” Whitten said. “More Hikers took on the challenge and we spread out to two new locations,” Whitten said. “We had a lot of fun and raised some great awareness for Youth on Course Michigan. I can’t thank these golfers enough.”

Whitten said the participating golf courses across the state, over 70 of them, do get subsidized but are playing a key role as well.

“To be fair, what we subsidize is a negotiated rate,” he said. “They have skin in the game, too. They are working with us on a workable rate that makes it all possible. It means in the end it’s going to be good for the game of golf in Michigan because we’ll keep growing it for everybody and making it more and more accessible. The funds raised help pay for a lot of golf rounds.”

Whitten, Ken Hartmann (GAM Senior Director of Competitions), Charlotte Sypula (USGA Boatwright Intern), golf professionals Corey May, Scott Pussehl and Patrick Wilkes-Krier, Ann Arbor philanthropist Michael Nisson and GAM Governor Janina Jacobs were among the hikers, and some were involved in a competition to raise money. Hartmann even made a hole-in-one at Country Club of Detroit while at the event.

“It has been a great year for the GAM, Youth on Course and Michigan golf,” Whitten said. 

Those interested in learning more about the Youth on Course program or the 100 Hole Hike can do so at GAM.org.

How a 121 in an Open qualifier has led to one Michigan man playing a key role in an upcoming film

It never crossed the mind of Terry Moore, that one day he would be contacted by a screenplay for permission to include his name in a story

It never crossed the mind of Terry Moore, a Golf Association of Michigan governor and golf writer, that one day he would be contacted by a screenplay writer for permission to include his name in a story and then called by an actor doing research on playing Terry Moore in a resulting movie.

“Never saw that coming,” said the former editor of Michigan Golfer magazine, Grand Rapids resident, and Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member.

“So many things had to happen for this to happen. I think of two words – surreal and serendipity.”

It’s here, a movie called Phantom of the Open, based on a book by the same name, debuted at the London Film Festival recently. It is not slated to hit theatres until the spring of 2022, as in golf season.

The Phantom of the Open is the surreal story of Maurice Gerald Flitcroft, who became famous or notorious, your pick, after entering a 1976 British Open qualifier and shooting a 121, the highest score recorded in any round associated with the Open and earning him the media tags of the world’s worst golfer and the Walter Mitty of golf.

He entered by checking the box professional golfer despite never having played an entire round of golf and practicing for only a few months on a beach. He slipped through the cracks of the entry process of the time because professionals did not have to provide a handicap index.

His famous round led to the Open changing the entry and qualifier process, but the eccentric and undeterred Flitcroft, a 46-year-old shipyard crane operator in Barrow-in-Furness by trade, kept working on his golf game and dreaming of winning the Open. He essentially became a hoaxer and regularly attempted to enter the Open and other golf tournaments. He went as far as wearing disguises and using pseudonyms.

Two years after the initial 121, Tim Moore, Terry’s brother, enters the picture. Tim, who has also volunteered for the GAM as a governor, at that time was the chairman of an annual member-guest tournament at Blythefield Country Club near Grand Rapids. He came across Flitcroft’s 121 score while thumbing through a Guinness Book of World Records and immediately decided it would be fun to name the tournament in Flitcroft’s honor.

Nine years later, in 1987, Terry plays in the Flitcroft as a guest of another member with GAM connections, Brent Rector, and makes a hole-in-one as their team wins the event.

Terry, gifted with a sense of humor and a penchant for ideas like his brother, had turned telling people about the ace into a running gag. 

“I made a hole-in-one at an event with an open bar,” he said. “How good is that?”

He planned to return to the tournament in 1988 and remembers wondering what happened to Maurice Flitcroft, and if it might be possible for added fun to get Flitcroft invited to this tournament in Grand Rapids named in his honor.

As a golf writer with national connections and annual trips to major championships, including the Masters Tournament, Moore through members of the British media not only tracked down Flitcroft and sent him a letter of invitation, but he persuaded British Airways and local companies involved in helping to cover costs as a public relations effort. Flitcroft played in the tournament with Moore, Rector and myself.

Flitcroft – at the time very unassuming and fascinated that people in Grand Rapids might even know what he did and on top of it provide him and his wife, Jean, with an all-expenses-paid trip to a tournament named for him – charms his playing group and the crowd at the post-tournament festivities.

“It really turned out great and fun in so many ways,” Moore recalled. “To us he was this harmless eccentric who hit some good golf shots and [did] some very funny things. We laughed about it often. He was a dock worker who got seasick when we arranged for him to go out on Lake Michigan in a boat with his wife. Just so much about it was this fun, hard-to-believe story.”

While the British Open hierarchy found nothing funny in the 121, Flitcroft continued to tell media types that the Open championship should truly be open to all golfers. The tale inspired many stories in many publications. It even drew attention for comedian and writer Simon Farnaby and Scott Murray to turn it into a biography. The former turned the story into a screenplay last year. 

Flitcroft died in 2007 at the age of 77, but the story has lived on and the 121 still resides as the worst score ever recorded in the Open.

In December of 2020 Moore received a Facetime call from New York-based actor Michael Capozzola, who told him he was playing Terry Moore in the upcoming film.

“From what Michael tells me the movie pivots when Maurice is down on his luck as a crane operator receives this letter from me inviting him to a  tournament in his honor in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with all-expenses paid. He and his wife come and I welcome him. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know exactly what happens. I’ve seen the trailer. I think it will be funny and entertaining. It has to be.”

Moore said his talks with Capozzola make it clear the English love these off-beat underdog stories like Eddie The Eagle, the British ski jumper who competed in the Olympic Games.

“I was so surprised when I was contacted,” Moore said. “I guess I didn’t realize at the time what that trip meant to him and his wife, though we have told the story and laughed about his funny lines at the dinner. The one about not being sure what made him more nervous, teeing off in a tournament named after him or driving on the right side of 28th Street was a classic. And then when he quoted his sister-in-law who upon hearing he and Jean were going on the trip said, ‘It’s the first time I remember Maurice and Jean being out of the house together since their gas oven exploded!’ It brought the house down.” 

Moore said he hopes the movie captures the humor and the light side of the story behind the reason Flitcroft, the Moore brothers, Blythefield and Grand Rapids, Michigan, ever were connected.

“Think about all that had to happen,” Moore said. “Maurice taking up golf then making his tournament debut in an Open qualifier, shooting 121, Tim reading it and Blythefield naming the tournament after Maurice…“It’s surreal. No other word fits.”

James Piot makes Michigan golf history with U.S. Amateur win

Piot is the fourth GAM member golfer to win a USGA national championship in the last 20 years.

Michigan natives have won major championships in golf, played on Ryder Cup Teams and competed on the grand stages of golf like St. Andrews, Augusta National and Pebble Beach.

Until James Piot of Canton, a Michigan State golfer, rallied from a 3-down deficit on the last nine holes to win the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakmont Country Club there had never been a Michigan native bring home the Havemeyer Trophy.

Nick Carlson, a University of Michigan golfer from Hamilton, made an especially exciting run to the semifinals in the 2016 U.S. Amateur, which was played in Michigan, at our grand stage of golf, Oakland Hills Country Club.

And back in 1956 Michigan golf legend Chuck Kocsis reached the final match of the U.S. Amateur before falling to Harvie Ward. Only Kocsis really wasn’t a Michigan native. He was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and the family that included 14 children moved to Redford shortly after he was born, victims of the historic Johnstown Flood.

Piot, when he rolled in that 20-footer on the 35th hole to save par and close out his 2 and 1 win over Austin Greaser of Vandalia, Ohio, made Michigan golf history with a few exclamation points! 

The week before he has won the GAM Championship for the second time, this time at Franklin Hills Country Club. He said then it would be good momentum going into the U.S. Amateur and that he was excited to see what he could do at Oakmont.

“You dream of it, but you don’t really think it’s going to happen,” Piot said. “But you know, I had some momentum rolling when I won the GAM Championship, and it was like, you know I’m playing well right now. I told myself to stay in the moment, take one shot at time and keep it rolling.”

He rolled, and Michigan’s golf community rolled with him.

Fellow Spartans, teammates and coaches he has had at every level, friends, opponents and just happy golf fans from Michigan made their way to Oakmont if they could or stay glued to a television to cheer him on.

The reactions were filled with joy and respect for his accomplishment.

From Dan Ellis, the MSU associate head golf coach who served as his caddie for the week:  “It is special and you know James Piot is a big deal now. On the board inside they show who has won championships at Oakmont. Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, so it’s kind of cool James will have his name up there now.”

From his head coach at MSU, Casey Lubahn:   “The only limits are the ones we put on ourselves, but when you work as hard as he does, and push up that sand hill, you can get to the top. That’s James. He was calm, he was confident and this is what happens.”

From his long-time teacher at Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center, Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member Brian Cairns: “The prize at the end for him is the PGA Tour. Sorry, I’m emotional. I still can’t believe he just won. It’s a stepping stone on the journey to where he wants to be, but what a huge stone. There is just something different about that kid. I’ve been saying that for a long time.”

From his high school coach at Detroit Catholic Central, an accomplished player himself, Mike Anderson: “I’ve been fortunate to have several good players at Catholic Central but James’ work ethic is second-to-none. I always thought he would make it on tour. This though, the opportunities it affords him are incredible. The very best players in the world have won this event. I’m so happy for him, so proud for him and his family. He deserves it. He works and works and works.”

Even Michigan State’s famous basketball coach, Tom Izzo, and its most famous basketball player and athlete ever, Magic Johnson, got in on the celebration.

Izzo texted to Lubahn: “It’s a golf school now.”

Johnson went on Twitter and congratulated him with a “Go Green, Go White” message.

Piot, himself, used Twitter to offer a thank you: “Still can’t believe this is real, thank you so much to everyone who has reached out and all those who have been there to support me from the start. Couldn’t have done it without y’all.”

He added a heart emoji and the hashtag “#GoGreen.”

After the trophy ceremony he was moved that so many people had ventured to Oakmont, a little less than a five-hour drive from metro Detroit.

“Aside from golf, it lets me know I’m blessed to have people that support me in my life. It just means everything to have that. All my close friends and family out here makes it so much better and I’m so happy they were here.”

Piot is the fourth GAM member golfer to win a USGA national championship in the last 20 years. Greg Reynolds of Grand Blanc won the 2002 U.S. Senior Amateur, Randy Lewis of Alma won the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur and Tom Werkmeister of Hudsonville was medalist as Team Michigan won the USGA State Team Championship in 2016.

They made some history and Piot historically topped them all. He will be exempt into the U.S. Open, the British Open and probably invited to the Masters Tournament, and he will forever be the first from Michigan to win the U.S. Amateur.