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One of my newest clients is Jim Allen, owner of Golfest Online. His quest is to play the Top 100 Public courses in the US, and his group is well on their way, having played over 50 of the courses.
This year in May, they invaded Michigan, and played the seven courses in Michigan that are in their Top 100. Visit their website www.golfestonline.com. for more details about this focused group of golfers.
With Jim's permission, here is a recap of their trip:
"There are road trips, and then there are ROAD TRIPS! Golfest 2008 - "The Great Lakes Tour" would rate of the "ROAD TRIP-SQUARED" variety, setting a new group record by tallying up 877 miles on our odometers as we toured what seemed to be the entire state of Michigan.
5/16/08 - Shepherds Hollow Golf Club (27-holes)
43rd ranked - Clarkston, MI
We kicked off our tour with 27 great golf holes at Shepherds Hollow Golf Course. Many of the locals looked at us like we were crazy when we showed up in shorts -- but that is what we do.
This place definitely lived up to its top 100 rating as it cut up, down and through the rolling hills and forest in Clarkston.
5/17/08 - Lakewood Shores Resort - Gailes
47th ranked - Oscoda, MI
We quickly find out that the Lakewood Shores- Gailes course is one of those Scottish links style courses that is supposed to resemble the real deal across the pond. On this morning, we truly end up with a true to life experience, because it's cold and windy just like in Scotland. It's 44 degrees and the wind is howling at 15-miles per hour off of Lake Huron. As far as the course goes, the fairways are pretty wide, the gorse is thick, the cavernous sod bunkers are deep, and it's really helpful to know the location of the creeks before you hit your shot. Considering that this Scotland-clone is in the Michigan makes it that much more
5/17/08 - Red Hawk Golf Course
66th ranked - East Tawas, MI
Although Red Hawk was allegedly the lowest rated course on this trip (66th), it deserves an equal ranking with its Michigan counterparts. After driving for miles on what seemed like flat farm land, this is one hilly course. It's an Arthur Hill designed number that wraps itself through numerous elevation changes. The par-3 third hole is awesome as it drops more than 60-feet from the tee to the green. It's being added to our KILLER PAR-3 list.
5/18/08 - Black Lake Golf Club
25th ranked -Onaway, MI
It's obvious that Black Lake takes pride in their top 100 ranking. They have a Golf Digest pegboard and a variety of framed articles on their course in their clubhouse.
We are now off on a 50-mile drive to the population-base of Petoskey and Bay Harbor Resort. If this place looks half as good as the brochure, we are in great shape. As luck would have it, this place rocks as our amenities included three-story-three-bedroom condos right on Lake Michigan. And when I say "right on Lake Michigan," I mean like 20-feet away.
5/19/08 - Bay Harbor Golf Club (27-holes)
35th ranked - Bay Harbor, MI
We are playing the rated Links-Quarry combo this morning and the views are absolutely awesome. The Links nine was right on Lake Michigan and the Quarry nine was inland. The Quarry is awesome with the fairways cut like your favorite baseball stadium. A round or five of cocktails in the bar afterwards accurately determined that Bay Harbor experience rated as one of our best ever
5/20/08 - Arcadia Bluffs Golf Course
10th ranked - Arcadia, MI
This turned out to be the most disappointing stop of the Golfest 2008 tour. In fact, it was the worst day we had ever experienced on any of our five Golfest adventures.
Considering that our group has a lot of experience with top 100 establishments, ranging from Pebble Beach to Pinehurst, this was our most disappointing experience EVER. Based on the overall experience, none of us would rate it in the top 100, much less the top 10. See Arcadia Bluffs for more details.
5/21/08 Tullymore Golf Club
24th ranked - Stanwood, MI
This course has been bumped up to number 14 on the current Golf Digest list. Based on the service and the course, we can see why. This place rocks!
The course personnel rolled out the red carpet and backed it up with a stellar course. This included everyone from the pro shop staff and the marshals to the friendly staff at the turn. This is a very photogenic course that meanders around lakes, creeks, and rolling hills. The club's ads read, "It's like Heaven with golf carts." You know what? ... I would be willing to go there when I keel over, assuming it's a little warmer.
The final hole is a par five dogleg left with a drive over water. As we finished, we gathered on the hill around the green and watched everyone finish their 144th hole of Golfest 2008. Most of us agree that Tullymore is one of the top two courses in Michigan and will land on many of our top ten lists".
The trip ended with the group staying at overnight at the MGM Grand in Detroit.
Read more about this trip at www.golfestonline.com.
Contact Jim via email if you are interested in joining them on their next invasion
If you have an idea to do something like this with your group, just let me know. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jim, and would do the same with you. My email is mike@golfexclusives.com
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