Northern Michigan Resorts Blog

BOYNE's Dream 18

jeccleston@boyne.com — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:03:00 -0400

Every week this summer, the BOYNE Golf Professionals will be voting on their favorite holes to compile a 'Dream 18'. They voted for their favorite first hole at BOYNE, then the second hole, etc. See if your favorites made our list!

BOYNE's Dream 18
Hole #1 - #1 The Heather Par 4 - 383 yards
A great opening hole, your tee shot should not stray to far to the right, which may be a natural reaction. Instead, something to the middle of the fairway will set up a short iron approach to this very undulating green.

Hole #2 - #2 Donald Ross Memorial Par 4, 336 yards
A replica of Hole #4 Plainfield Country Club; Plainfield, New Jersey
A delicate par 4 which gains its drama from the interesting and formidable contours in the tee shot landing area. Pine trees play a key role in forming a thick vertical on the left side of the hole forcing play toward the valley on the right. The small green is well bukered and slopes to the back, making it difficult to hold the green on the second shot.

Hole #3 - #3 The Links - Bay Harbor Golf Club Par 4 - 380 yards
Here is your first real decision of the round. The split level fairway rolls down from the landing area on top right to the bottom of the swale o the left. Longer hitters will often try and either draw a shot off of the hill or make the forced carry on the bottom shelf. Though this will result in a shorter approach, it also makes for a blind shot to an elevated green. Playing out to the right will add a club or two, but the shot is from a similar elevation to the green. A huge bunker in front can be torture.

Hole #4 - #4 The Links - Bay Harbor Golf Club Par 3 - 178 yards
Soak it in. The view from this magnificent par three is truly incredible. Those that are not completely distracted by the views of Little Traverse Bay will need to play their tee shot to the proper side of a two level green for the best shot at birdie. Be aware of the natural slope that runs through the center of the green, falling from top right to bottom left. Too far left here and it won't matter if you are shaken or stirred... you'll simply be on the rocks!

Hole #5 - #5 The Arthur Hills Par 4 - 481 yards Arguably the toughest par 4 at BOYNE. This hole is just long. Smash a drive between the stripes and at all costs avoid the rows of pines that frame the outer edges of the hole. The green is well bunkered and falls off hard to the right, creating a number of different ways to play from. None of which are very easy.

Hole #6 - #6 The Alpine Par 4 - 447 yards
Perhaps one of the best par 4 holes at BOYNE. A corridor of trees opens up to the fairway which is guarded by fairway bunkers down the left. The towering trees to the right provide additional headaches, but give you somewhat better odds of saving a par than the left side does. The green has some tricky breaks so make sure you walk around the entire hole before committing to a line.

Hole #7 - #7 The Links - Bay Harbor Golf Club Par 5 - 500 yards
Regarded by many as one of the finest golf holes anywhere, the seventh is a par 5 that stretches all along a cliff, high above Lake Michigan. A good tee shot seems to fly out into the water, but never fear, there is plenty of room. What will be a challenge are the moguls and bunkering on the left side of the fairway. An aggressive play to go for the green here is all uphill, but there is enough room short of the green that makes a nice safety net if your shot is not struck well. It is much easier to find yourself below the hole on this green that slopes from left to right, back to front.

Hole #8 - #8 Donald Ross Memorial Par 3, 181 Yards
A replica of Hole #11
Charlotte Country Club; Charlotte, North Carolina
Designed by Ross in 1913 and opened in 1926, the Charlotte Country Club was renovated by Robert Trent Jones in 1960. In 1968, the greens were converted from Bermuda grass to bent in preparation for the 1972 U.S. Amateur Championship.
Like most par 3s at Charlotte Country Club, the 11th is relatively short. This is the first hole on The Ross to use water as a design feature. The golfer must carry a small lake to reach the green. Several tees located at different elevations offer many different looks and lengths to this par 3 gem.

Week 9 - Coming Soon!

The Secret to 36...and Beyond.

jjohns — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:16:00 -0400

Welcome to the longest days of the year. There’s no better time to enjoy 36.
Is there anything better? Maybe 54. All this daylight makes it possible AND, if you’re hip to this little secret you just might have enough in the tank to go for it.

Secret, you say?

Yep.

Well, not really, but since so few people do this it seems like a secret.

The secret is shoes.
A pair that fits great is good. Two pair that fit great are better.
The second pair is the key to hitting round two and beyond feeling fresh and revived. After 18 holes, cool clean socks and fresh shoes are as invigorating as a shower.

You don’t have to break the bank. Boyne Country Sports has closeouts on high-end, fully waterproof models running from $49.99. If you aren’t near a store, you can order men's or ladies' from our online partner SkiGolf.com. They’ll ship them to you for free.

So take care of those ponies. Your playing partners will find you annoyingly chipper when you tee up for the afternoon round- provided that they survive the olfactory assault when you change.

If you’re going for 54, just repeat the process, or put on your morning pair after they've had a chance to breathe for a few hours. The difference is pure magic.

-JJ

Give it a "Waggle"

jeccleston@boyne.com — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:22:00 -0400

A golf tip from Jeff Eccleston - Boyne Golf Academy

Ben Hogan said that IF you have a sound grip, stance, and waggle, that you will never have a bad ball striking day..... Wait a minute, A Waggle? What does a waggle have to do with my golf swing? Better yet, what is a waggle?

Well, provided that your grip and stance are fundamentally correct, the waggle portion of the equation goes like this.

From your address postion, allow your wrists to hinge the club so that the shaft is parallel to the ground and the toe of the club is pointed skyward. Your arms should still remain in front of your body. If done correctly, your top hand will have a slight cup in it, and the hands will move slightly ahead of the ball. From here, simply return the club to address postion and repeat a couple of times as you let your eyes move between the ball and the target.

By incorporating a waggle into your shot you are effectively setting the plane for your backswing, rehearsing impact, and removing tension from your swing.

Nike Golf Varsity Camp

jeccleston@boyne.com — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:08:00 -0400

The Nike Junior Golf Camps at BOYNE started Varsity Camp yesterday. 18 young men from Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Connecticut, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, and Kentucky converged on Boyne Highlands for a full week of intensive golf training.

Camp started with a warm up round on the Cuff Links par 3 course before pizza and practice and finally a 18 hole round on the Heather! This morning will start with a gourmet breakfast buffet, video analysis with the BOYNE Golf Academy, and lunch. The afternoon holds a round of golf on the Arthur Hills, Moor, or Donald Ross Memorial.

This evening we will start a match play tournament on the Cuff Links, UNDER THE LIGHTS!!!

Instruction continues all day with Golf Academy staff accompanying each group for further on the course tips, advice, and lessons.

Camp concludes on Thursday with a tournament style round and awards ceremony. This is the second camp of the summer of a total of eight. Some spots are still open for the upcoming camps. Click here for more information.

BOYNE CUP - MATCH PLAY

jeccleston@boyne.com — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:18:00 -0400

The first round has completed! The Winners and Final Counts are in BOLD

We are frequently asked by our guests, "Who is the best player at BOYNE?" Well that answer will be narrowed down with the 1st annual BOYNE Match Play Tournament.

The Matches will start on Friday the 5th of June with the finals taking place on July 26th. Here are the first round matches.

Mike Fay vs. Ryan Brown - CCU

Leighton Smith vs. Ryan Thompson 2 and 1

Bernie Friedrich vs. Tristan Pitts 4 and 3

Austin Pieters vs. Mike Basinski 3 and 1

Mike Chumbler vs. Gaetan Biane 2 and 1

Mark Novak vs. Charlie Henninger 6 and 4

Dan Turcott vs. Drew Pillar 7 and 5

Casey Powers vs. Andy Niettering 2 and 1

Josh Richter vs. Mike Kollet 6 and 5

Steve Niezgoda vs. Brian Dionisio 1 up

Steve Good vs. Gary Day

Steve Hueston vs. Ryan Tubbs 2 and 1

Dave Trudell vs. Ryan Brown - CS 1UP

Ian Hirsch vs. Brian O'Neill 4 and 3

Jeff Eccleston vs. Brad Wanckett 2 and 1

Colin Stackus vs. Dave McWorter 3 and 2

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Improve Your Ball Striking…Practice in the Sand Box!!

jeccleston@boyne.com — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:28:00 -0400

A lesson from Brian O'Neill - BOYNE's Director of Instruction!
Email Brian with questions or to book a lesson! boneill@boyne.com

One of my favorite practice routines is hitting balls out of a fairway type bunker with a 6 or 7 iron! Several years ago while working on the driving range with a friend of mine, who happened to be one of the best ball strikers I knew, he mentioned this tip to me and it seemed to stick like no other has before.

He would work for 30-35 minutes in the bunkers hitting mid-irons, his point was that it really seemed to improve his ball striking with his irons. After watching him practice this drill I began to realize its ramifications on his particular golf swing. It helped slow his lower body down so his "overactive leg drive" was forced to slow down….creating some type of synchronicity between legs and arms and club. It also battled his steep angle of attack into his impact area, which in effect improved his ball striking all together. Every golfer I know hates a fairway bunker….so maybe it is time to get in there with a focus of improving ball contact, while at the same time creating some efficiency out of fairway bunkers. Next time your are on the range I challenge you to begin to spend time hitting balls from a bunker with a mid-iron, and watch, and listen, to the improved ball striking as you head for the links!

Str8 is Gr8!

jeccleston@boyne.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:30:00 -0400

If you are like me, opening day of golf season is the holiday equivalent to Christmas and this year Santa (Nike) showed up with a brand new SQ Str8 Fit Driver! Could this be true? I can set my driver up 8 different ways? Now I have a new setting for each of BOYNE's eight courses!! This is the perfect club if you are up here for the Gr8 Escape, which is still America's best golf vacation!

This is how I decided to set my magic wand up this year to split the fairways!
Alpine - #4 High and Straight
Monument- #3 High Fade
Arthur Hills- #8 High Draw
Donald Ross Memorial- #5 Low Straight
Moor- #1 Fade
Heather- #2 Low Fade
Crooked Tree- #7 Low Draw
Bay Harbor- #6 Draw

Check the 'Str8 fit' out for yourself at our Nike Demo Days May 19th at Boyne Highlands!

-Ecc

Hooray Hooray its the First of May!

jeccleston@boyne.com — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:47:00 -0400

Today is opening day and first opportunity to play our courses that were featured on the Golf Channel's hit series Big Break X: Michigan. Check out this video of the first tee shot of the year featuring Matt from Grand Rapids. I think he may have an idea now of what the contestants felt with the cameras on! I hope the rest of the round went better.

Watch the video on Facebook here.

Don't forget that if you don't play today, you can't play every day this summer! There is still time with daylight until after 9 p.m. and twilight rates are just $29 at almost every course up here until May 14th!

-Ecc

We Tried - Maybe Next Year

cadgate — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:06:00 -0400

Ski and golf on the same day? Sounds fun. How about teaming up with a buddy to compete in both sports against other teams made up of equally unique individuals? Naw, that's crazy talk.

Exactly.

I read over the rules (a very short document indeed), and I see that helmets are required. I assume that just means for the ski racing part – but if they let me on the golf course, a person might be well advised to keep their helmet on all day.

UPDATE: Unfortunately (or fortunately if you're ready for summer activities), the recent warm weather and rains have diminished the snowpack so much that a safe ski race isn't possible. Read about it here. Hopefully, the weather next spring will cooperate.

Thanks to the entire Boyne snowsports community for an awesome ski/ride season. I am off on the mountain bike to scout morels.

Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador

Last But Not Least

cadgate — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:21:00 -0400

Boyne Mountain.

The carpet is laid.

The lift is ready.

One more weekend.

Be there!

A Few More GOOD Days

cadgate — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:16:00 -0400

Ceilings too low in your living room to practice your golf swing? Local courses not open yet? Just not sure what to do with yourself? You could clean the garage - always tons of fun.

I've got the perfect solution for your problem. Check out this photo which I took about an hour ago.

If you need interpretation, you are looking at a handful of skiers and riders enjoying what is virtually their own private ski area. Because of the recent and upcoming cold nights, you can expect great snow conditions, lots of sunshine, and no waiting for anything. And did I mention that there are great lift and lodging deals now through the upcoming Easter weekend? Speaking of Easter, you can find out here about the Egg Hunt and other activities planned for the weekend at Boyne Mountain.

Great skiing and riding - fun activities - Avalanche Bay Waterpark - fantastic dining - best prices of the year. The garage can wait. Gather your gang and come up and put this awesome winter to bed properly . . .

Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador

UPDATE: One more weekend of skiing and riding! Boyne Mountain will be open on April 18 - 19. Help us slide the 09 season into the history books. Toss something on the Barbie at the Halfway House and spruce up your spring break tan - that garage will just have to wait one more week.

Not Just a Season Pass

cadgate — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:28:00 -0400

The BOYNE Season Pass. Those of us who can get to Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain more than a few times a winter know what a great value that pass represents. There's skiing and riding, of course. And then all the other benefits like discounts on other BOYNE products. Then there's the convenience – just hang it around you neck and head for the hills - no daily transaction to deal with. This is especially important if your route to the lift doesn't happen to pass by a ticket window.

Ok, so there's all that. But my experience this week has revealed to me - or more correctly reminded me - what a fantastic bargain that pass is. My family and I are spending this week in Salt Lake City. Being tourists, shopping, we'll see an MLS soccer game, AND by the way, we are enjoying some of the best skiing of our lives. You see, we have been skiing at Brighton Ski Resort which has received the better part of four feet of new snow in the last week. Steep tree skiing in deep powder. Rolling intermediate groomers. Zero lift lines. Just a 30 minute drive up from the city. And all we had to do was present our BOYNE Passes to receive our daily lift tickets at no charge.

No question, if you can take advantage of even a small portion of the benefits available, the BOYNE Season Pass is an incredible bargain. I haven't even mentioned places like Sunday River, Loon Mountain, Sugarloaf, and Big Sky! And between now and April 30th it's even better. I won't explain it in this space - just click here to see what I mean.

Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador

Locals Take It For Granted

cadgate — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:53:00 -0400

The runaway leader for information requests through boyne.com in recent days revolve around whether there will be skiing and riding through the end of March and into the first part of April. In some cases, people ask whether we have skiing now! A quick glance at this photo which I snapped yesterday addresses that.

Not only do we have snow, but some - myself included - think that this is the best time to ski and ride. The list of reasons is long - and I have hit upon them many times here. Sunshine. Elbow room (not that that is ever much of a problem). Suntans. Carve-able snow. Did I mention that we get lots of sun this time of year?

I live in Boyne Falls, and I occasionally forget that many of our customers live and work in places a few mile south. You know, where the climate is just a little different. You are looking at brown golf courses and little piles of dirt where snowbanks used to be. We look at quite a different sight every day (again, reference photo). And virtually every year, we see a white hill until at least the middle of April.

So, for locals, snowsports is just a part of our natural consciousness until the first or second weekend in April. Some years longer. So, come and live the local life for a few days - you'll be happy you did.

Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador

The Winters of Our Content

cadgate — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:05:00 -0400

It's been a 'winter of olde' — with plentiful and frequent doses of new snow adding to paradise for those of us who like to slide on snow. This evening promises another 6 inches of new snow and perfect temperatures for another weekend on the white playground. Even the recent warm spell hasn't completely erased the huge snowbanks which evidence nature's contribution to this old fashioned winter. Now the banks will be growing again and they'll be painted that blinding white by the March sun.

A few years back, I was starting to wonder if all the amazing improvements in ski resort technology - from snowmaking, to lifts, and grooming - and the even more impressive improvements in equipment and clothing - would go for naught because it wouldn't be cold enough to freeze water. But the string of long, old-fashioned winters we are notching for the last few seasons has me excited to renew my commitment to the sport. Seems the nightly news folks aren't the climate experts they pose as after all.

Who knows what the future will bring. But until Nature shows me otherwise, I'll be be making winter plans and investments of our family's recreational dollars based around the premise that there will continue to be a white wonderland to enjoy. It's been a great one this year — and it's not even close to being over with. In BOYNE country, we are content with the state of the weather and the sport. An attitude not to be confused with that of Richard III back in the Sixteenth Century.

Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador

Video Game

cadgate — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:03:00 -0400

I'm always interested in what ski businesses do to promote the sport. I know what they should do. They should produce inspiring stuff which communicates what resort life feels like. For people who have never skied or boarded, what it feels like when you slide away from the lift and down the slope, tethered to nothing but gravity — and for the experienced who have drifted away from the sport, how technology has changed the rules in their favor.

So I occasionally peek around the web at the promotional writing, photography, and video content on the websites of equipment manufacturers and ski resorts. There is some really good stuff out there — stuff that excites even a somewhat jaded ski carver like me. But the stuff I like is more about communicating the feeling you get when you do the sport right (right being a highly flexible term), and not so much yada yada about the facts and figures of the product. I mean, a guy standing in front of the halfpipe, saying "this is our halfpipe" loses my attention right there — even if it is a pretty cool halfpipe. I want to feel the feeling — the magic — the fantasy — that we resort people experience as we are dropping vertical feet by the hundreds and thousands, and sharing it with our friends without needing to say a word.

Which brings me to a shameless plug for our own video offerings. We recently found this seventeen-year-old kid who has a camera and a laptop and who enjoys playing with visual images. He is a storyteller. Most importantly though, he understands what it means to experience a resort — from skiing & riding, to friends and hot tubbing, to good food and just hanging out waiting for the next cool thing to happen. He doesn't have anything to sell, just stories to tell. And you never know what to expect. Check them out here.

Cary Adgate - BOYNE SnowSports Ambassador