Golf Association of Michigan – Page 2

GAM president Mark McAlpine navigated Michigan golf season through a pandemic, which proved to be a tall order

The 2020 GAM season was unlike any other, thanks to a pandemic. President Mark McAlpine got the association through.

The Golf Association of Michigan’s president for 2020, Mark McAlpine of Highland, Michigan, said for many years the hustle and bustle of a short Michigan golf season has always reminded him of the rolling boulder scene from the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.

“The season starts, the boulder comes rolling down the chute and you better keep moving so you don’t get crushed,” he said. “I used to use that analogy when I was with Club Car. Then this summer happened, and I really was afraid we might get crushed.”

Instead, McAlpine points out, the GAM’s staff and volunteers pulled off a heroic Indiana Jones effort, a Michigan Jones effort if you will.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the staff and volunteers for what they were able to accomplish,” he said. “All of us were staring at a complete unknown. At one point we didn’t know whether there would be an open golf season, if we would have tournaments, if we could do course ratings.”

In the early months of his presidency McAlpine said there were sometimes multiple daily phone calls, especially during March, April and May as the coronavirus pandemic caused pandemonium.

“It was stressful as executive orders went through and we would have to try and seek clarification for our members courses and clubs,” he said. “We had to understand it, then analyze and make changes. Chris Whitten (GAM Executive Director) did the heavy lifting, the heavy worrying and working tirelessly with the other golf organizations in the state. I tried to serve as normal of a role as possible as president and advise. I found out Chris and his staff had their act together.”

Whitten, in his first year as the Executive Director, said McAlpine was an active leader in the process.

“I think the main thing is that Mark wanted to be informed so that he was in the best position to support what we were doing and offer suggestions along the way,” he said. “It felt like we were all on the same team moving forward.”

Three times the GAM budget faced revision as the year turned to May and June.

“Financially the executive committee prepared the GAM for a tough financial year, we took some hits like not doing the USGA qualifiers we do each year, but in the end that big financial loss did not happen,” McAlpine said. “By next April we should be able to finish our (fiscal) year in a positive position.”

The president noted the golf industry was rescued by the game itself in a way.

“The season turned out for the entire industry a lot better than anybody imagined,” he said. “The number of players returning to the game was surprising. Our tournament players came back, and some tournaments increased in numbers. Our GAM Foundation goals with Youth on Course were met and exceeded. Families played golf. People took lessons. Everybody felt like it was the perfect outdoor activity with social distancing built in. The equipment makers were tapped out of supplies. By September there was a very positive story for the golf industry, the course owners, the private clubs, everybody.”

McAlpine, one of the original members at Prestwick Village Golf Club in Highland, said he was pleased with progress being made despite the pandemic in almost all phases of the GAM’s operation, including Youth on Course, course rating and tournaments while Michigan golfers were also kept safe.

“Our tournament staff came up with very detailed safety protocol and more importantly kept executing that protocol,” he said. “I volunteered one of the days of double matches at the Michigan Amateur at Boyne Highlands, our first tournament with a huge field, and I was so impressed with how we handled things with electronic scoring, with making people feel safe and we had a few days of bad weather, too. That’s when I knew we would be alright, that at least we would have a tournament season in that form.”

The president’s biggest concern as the season marched through July, August and September was that the staff was working long hours.

“We had packed so many of our services and tournaments into a smaller time frame that we had tournament staff and volunteers like our rules officials working several days in a row to make it happen,” he said. “That’s when the boulder image from the movie really hit me. The GAM worked so hard and ran away from it. Our tournament staff was amazing.”

McAlpine is not sure what impact the 2020 season amid a pandemic will have in the future.

“I don’t know how much we will be able to build off of it because it has been such a unique year, but we should feel good about the accomplishments,” he said. “We will analyze and there were good things I’m sure we can translate into better practices for any year. Maybe we can build off it for the future. I know the GAM will try.”

Whitten said McAlpine’s background with Club Car and as a member golfer, GAM governor and volunteer proved beneficial.

“Being on the equipment side he had built-in relationships at member facilities, and he could also look at us from the member facility point of view,” Whitten said. “As a golfer at a member facility, he also had that point of view.

“There was so much uncertainty at the start. Nobody had been through a pandemic in our lifetime. There was no blueprint. With Mark’s guidance we stayed conservative, not knowing what the season might bring. We’re happy golf ended up being one of the industries that could welcome people back safely. The GAM is in a strong position going forward to keep promoting the game for everybody.”

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.

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.

Georgia Tech golfer Ben Smith set to defend his Michigan Amateur title

The 20-year-old Georgia Tech golfer from Novi, Michigan, will defend his 2019 Michigan Amateur title June 22-26 at Boyne Highlands Resort.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Asked to describe himself, Ben Smith hesitates for a second before taking a shot.

“I think I’m pretty chill, laid back and I don’t think I take anything too seriously,” Smith said. “Even on the golf course, I joke around some. I’m pretty comfortable out there.”

The 20-year-old Georgia Tech golfer from Novi, Michigan, will defend his 2019 Michigan Amateur title on June 22-26 when the 2020 state championship plays out on the Heather course at Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs.

Last June, he made his biggest amateur win to date look like a comfortable stroll with his clubs across the North Course at Oakland Hills Country Club. He was calm and cool about it, said all the right things after winning and was rightfully impressed with meeting a visiting Jack Nicklaus at the start of the week.

He is not given to facial expressions either positive or negative, save for some red in his cheeks when he appears locked into the task at hand. He is chill. His favorite food is not exactly something you would expect of a college kid. It’s salmon.

Smith is not one to spout adjectives either, but he did report that meeting Nicklaus – who was on hand to help the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) celebrate 100 years and raise funds for its foundation and Youth on Course program – was an amazing experience.

Mostly, when he thinks about winning the Amateur, he is especially proud that he won the stroke-play portion of the tournament to earn the No. 1 seed for match play. He then marched through the 64-player bracket to win, and ultimately topped Patrick Sullivan, a University of Michigan golfer, 2 and 1, in the title match.

He said he wasn’t really nervous for the entire tournament until the close-out hole of the final.

“I needed to two-putt from 30-feet to close it, and standing over those putts I was shaking,” he said. “It was cool to feel the nerves and to be a position to win. I hope to put myself in that position again this year. That’s what you play for.”

Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions for the GAM, said even during last year’s amateur, it was impossible to tell how Smith was playing when he walked toward the scoring table.

“You can’t tell from his face or his demeanor,” he said. “He always looks calm. It could be 65 or 75 and I think his face would look the same. It’s just him, and I don’t think it’s a negative for him. It’s probably a great thing. Some guys have a really bad poker face, but not him. He just plays and most of the time plays really well. You just don’t find out until you see his card.”

Smith will be a redshirt junior at Georgia Tech in the fall with three seasons of eligibility remaining. He played in all but two tournaments in the fall season and tied for 14th in a tournament at Olympia Fields near Chicago. He said his first action in college golf went about as expected, and in the process he has improved. He admitted there has been one somewhat surprising thing.

“It’s how good some of these guys are,” he said. “I see some players and I watch their games and it’s clear they could turn pro tomorrow, and I could see them making an impact and winning stuff. I’m seeing people at the top of the amateur game, seeing how good they are. It’s good. I can compare myself to them, learn from them, see the work ethic, the things they do to get better.”

Smith, who has an apartment off-campus in Atlanta, was able to isolate and stay in Georgia for a big part of the COVID-19 pandemic. The practice facility for the Georgia Tech golf team, and the golf courses they use in competition and for practice, are also off-campus and he was able to return to practicing well before Michigan golfers and his family and friends at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon.

He said he was able to hit balls and played video games, two of his primary activities, but admitted the pandemic has made an impact on him especially after getting home in early June.

“I won’t ever take golf for granted again, or that feeling that you can do what you want when you want,” he said.

He’s excited for the Amateur. It will be his first tournament of the summer, and he previously played the Heather five or six times in AJGA competition.

“It’s a great golf course, and I think it benefits the players who are good ball strikers,” he said. “That bodes well for me. It’s going to be a great test.”

His gameplan is chill, as expected.

“I want to keep it out of the hazards off the tee,” he said. “Not a lot can go wrong from the middle of the fairway.”

With social distancing in place, Mitch Wilson crowned GAM Senior Match Play champ

The Senior Match Play was the launching of what the GAM has deemed a safety-first tournament and event schedule for 2020.

AUGUSTA, Mich. – Mitch Wilson wrapped up an emotional Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Senior Match Play win on June 4. He dedicated the victory to his mother, Jeddy, who had died two weeks prior, and was awarded the memorial trophy that honors his friend Jerry A. Walker.

His voice cracked when he said it was a blessing to be out playing golf again.

“Up to a week ago I wasn’t sure we would be able to play this tournament, but it was great to see everybody and compete,” he said in reference to stay-at-home restrictions on Michigan golf because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Golf is a game where we can social distance quite well, especially out here with the way the ball bounces all over the place,” said Wilson, 62.

Scores: GAM Senior Match Play

Wilson, head men’s golf coach at Kalamazoo College, won the Senior Match Play this year for the second time. He turned back Charles “Chip” Anderson of Grand Rapids, 2 and 1, in the championship match at the sprawling Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort’s Stoatin Brae course.

The Senior Match Play was the launching of what the GAM has deemed a safety-first tournament and event schedule for 2020. Chris Whitten, executive director of the GAM, said the tournament staff researched and determined best practices in dealing with golf during the pandemic.

“We’re fortunate that golf is open throughout the state,” he said. “Now that golf carts are available and most pro shops are operating, our host facilities are ready to welcome our players back. Golf is an outdoor activity that naturally lends itself to social distancing, and we feel we can make tournament play very safe following government guidelines and executive orders.

“We’ve followed other golf associations around the country and reached out for information from a national allied body of golf which includes the USGA to help us do this. We plan to adjust as we learn more and move forward.”

Ken Hartmann, GAM senior director of competitions and USGA services, said tournaments will be conducted with safety as a paramount concern.

“We understand some people are still not comfortable with playing in a tournament right now, so we are working with tournament entry deadlines where we can,” Hartmann said. “People should contact us with concerns. We want them to play and feel safe.”

Social distancing practices like single-tee starts, carts being restricted to one golfer, digital cell/smart phone technology in lieu of exchanged scorecards and scoreboards and pre-packaged food instead of the traditional championship clubhouse gatherings and buffets were in place at Stoatin Brae.

Hartmann said things went smoothly and the tournament players echoed that sentiment.

“They (the GAM) went above and beyond, they did all they could possible do,” said Ian Harris, a Bloomfield Hills tennis professional who won the Super Senior Division (age 65-plus) for the second consecutive year. “I felt perfectly safe out there. I don’t think anybody was in jeopardy. We all kept our space.”

Harris said the golf was very normal in an unusual time.

“In this incredible world we are living in right now, what a great respite to play in a golf tournament,” he said. “Seeing some of the guys, having fun, not stressing about all that is going on. It was a joy to be competing and playing in a tournament. It was great to be out doing what we all love to do.”

A 100-percent refund policy is currently in place for those uncomfortable with playing during the pandemic, and Hartmann said tournament players are asked to update their player information profiles at GAM.org with their cell phone numbers and email addresses. Tournament information, updates, scoring links, rain delay information, etc., is being issued via text and email communication.

“We simply can’t do things the way we have done them in the past right now and have a crowd around the scoreboard or a buffet enjoying the social part of our championships,” Hartmann said. “We can still have great championships though – with everybody communicating and working together.”

Accommodations are being worked out with tournament host sites based on the recommended health practices and the service practices underway at the sites regarding locker room access, water, refreshments, food service and practice area uses.

Whitten said tournament staff and officials and volunteers, which most years includes over 200 people through the season, are being asked to be part of online tournament orientation sessions to prepare for the new practices.

“The priority is safety and we have approached it that way from the start,” he said. “We will have our championships. They are just going to look a little different.”

Anderson, after dropping the title match to Wilson at Stoatin Brae, said the consensus among the players was practicing social distancing, digital scoring and single carts was a small price to pay to get to play.

“It was a long winter, and then we had the stay-at-home and the bad weather in March and April where we couldn’t even get outside at home,” he said. “So just to get out to play, to get some sense of normalcy, get active, get some fresh air and see the guys again was tremendous.”