What’s New in Pure Michigan Golf: PGA Tour Returns, New Courses Open, NGCOA Course of Year and Hickory Golf
Leading summer golf destination welcomes golf travelers in 2019
Michigan is one of the leading golf destinations in the country and often referred to as America’s Summer Golf Capital. More than 650 public golf courses and world-class resort destinations featuring courses designed by some of the game’s premier designers and bountiful stay-and-play package options attract travelers from across the nation.
Highlighting the 2019 golf season in Michigan is the return of the PGA Tour, new golf course attractions and recognition that continues to build on Michigan’s reputation as a top state for golf.
PGA Tour Returns to the Motor City
For the first time in 10-years, the PGA Tour makes its return to the Motor City with the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The event will take place June 24-30 at the historic Detroit Golf Club and will mark the first time ever that a PGA Tour event will take place within the city limits of Detroit. This is one tournament that marks an exciting summer of professional golf in Michigan. The event is the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at Detroit and experience the city’s renewed energy and vitality first hand.
Later in the summer, many senior golfers who will make a return visit to a familiar place. The PGA Tour Champions stops at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc for The Ally Challenge, September 9-15. Former PGA Tour players such as Tom Watson, Fred Couples, John Daly, Steve Stricker, Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara and more are expected to return to the former PGA Tour site of the Buick Open.
New LPGA and Symetra Tour Events Bring Together Best and Future of Women’s Golf
The LPGA Tour and The Dow Chemical Company have joined forces to bring a new women’s professional event to Michigan. The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a 72-hole team event, will debut at Midland Country Club July 17-20. In addition, the Meijer LPGA Classic will return to Grand Rapids at Blythefield Country Club June 11-16.
The “Road to the LPGA” Symetra Tour featuring the best young talent in women’s golf, will return to Michigan in 2019. Beginning in Michigan’s scenic Upper Peninsula in Harris, with the ninth annual Island Resort Championship June 21-23 held at the award winning Sweetgrass Golf Club. Finally, the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship August 16-18 at Battle Creek Country Club concludes competition.
New Golf Courses Prepare to Open Full Time in 2019
Over the past four years, Michigan has jumped back into new course construction, further solidifying its place as a top golf destination. The Loop at Forest Dunes, Tom Doak’s innovative reversible golf course and Stoatin Brae at Gull Lake View both opened to rave reviews. This year, Sage Run at Island Resort & Casino and The South Course at Arcadia Bluffs will open full-time.
Sage Run at Island Resort & Casino, like its sister course, Sweetgrass, pays homage to Potawatomi tribal tradition. Designed by Michigan-based architect Paul Albanese, Sage Run is a fun layout featuring open vistas and hardwoods with holes that run up and around a drumlin, which is a geographical formation shaped like an elongated oval hill. The design conjures some comparison to Royal County Down, the Northern Ireland golf club that is rated among the finest in the world. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula offers visitors the chance to take in the great outdoors between rounds.
The South Course at Arcadia Bluffs, designed by Dana Fry, pays homage to the classic architecture of Seth Raynor and C.B. MacDonald. Located a few miles down the road from Arcadia Bluffs, the new South Course is routed over 300 acres of flat, open land featuring large geometric green complexes, wide fairways lined with fescue grasses and steeped grass-faced bunkers. With a focus on strategy, and a thought provoking use of angles, the goal for the South Course is to capture the simplistic nature of the courses from the early days of golf in America. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, the only thing better than the golf at Arcadia Bluffs are the views. The nearby town of Frankfort is a perfect Pure Michigan setting along Lake Michigan with the Point Betsie Lighthouse, galleries and charming restaurants.
National Golf Course of the Year Honored in Michigan
The Heather at Boyne Highlands, part of the BOYNE Golf properties, a trio of resort destinations with 10 golf course in northern Michigan, was named the 2019 Golf Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA). The NGCOA selected its winner based on four criteria: quality of golf course, quality of ownership and management, outstanding contributions to the local community, and significant contributions to the game of golf.
The BOYNE Golf story began in the mid-50s when ski industry pioneer, Everett Kircher, developed a nine-hole course to attract summer business and retain staff at Boyne Mountain Resort. With the vision of taking golf to a new level when he developed Boyne Highlands in 1963, Kircher hired the No. 1 course designer of the time, Robert Trent Jones Sr., to design the regions first nationally acclaimed golf course and The Heather opened for play in 1966.
Beyond golf, Boyne is centered amid one of America’s most beautiful vacation spots. The scenic Lake Michigan beach towns of Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, and Petoskey are minutes away with waterfront dining, sandy beaches, watersports, gaming, microbreweries, wineries, hiking, biking, shopping and more capped by the spectacular northern Michigan sunsets.
CLASSIC MAJOR: Belvedere Golf Club Preparing to Host 2019 U.S. Hickory Open
Historic Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix will host the major among hickory golf majors – the National U.S. Hickory Open on the historic grounds that has hosted legends such as Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Tom Watson. The championship attracts an international field of golfers who play with antique pre-1935 hickory-shafted golf clubs or authentic replica hickory clubs.
Belvedere was established in 1925 and designed by renowned golf course architect William Watson. It has been recognized as one of the best golf courses in the Midwest and is best known in Michigan for hosting 40 Michigan Amateur Championships. It will also host the 2025 Michigan Amateur during Belvedere’s centennial year.
VIDEO – Belvedere member Mike Tirico welcomes hickory golfers from around the country. https://vimeo.com/283800506
Pure Michigan 18 Highlights Best Golf Holes
Michigan’s more than 650 public golf courses make the state one of the top golf destinations in the country. To bring attention to this golf mecca, Pure Michigan showcased 18 signature holes that represent significant beauty and challenge in the Pure Michigan 18 video series. Well-known courses from across the state were featured, including Harbor Shores Golf Club, The Jewel, Stoatin Brae, and Eagle Eye Championship Golf Course to name a few. Visit michigan.org/puremichigan18. For more information on Michigan golf visit: www.michigan.org/golf
About the Michigan Economic Development Corporation:
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Media Contacts:
Kathleen Achtenberg – MEDC
(517) 335-4590, achtenbergk@michigan.org
Kevin Frisch – Kevin Frisch PR
(989) 614-0241, kevin@kevinfrischpr.com
