In all, $18,875 of prizes will be given to 78 winners. Weekly prizes range from a round at Mountain Flowers and a round at Manitou Passage with lunch each time to a couples getaway valued at $515.

The easiest way to enter is to “like” the Manitou Passage Golf Club on Facebook, which automatically enters you for the few weekly drawings. Those who enter on-line at www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com must fill out a form each week to be eligible.

Playing the course and submitting written entry forms offer more advantages. Playing as a twosome can double your chances of winning if both players in the twosome enter on the same written form, as their names will each be entered twice. Entrants who are playing as a foursome can quadruple their chances of winning if all four players in the foursome enter on the same written form, as their names will each be entered four times.

Every entry is submitted for a chance to win the $1,500 grand prize: Four 18-hole rounds with carts and lunch for four at Manitou Passage Golf Club and four 9-hole par-3 rounds with cart and lunch for four at The Homestead’s Mountain Flowers Course. Lodging for one night will include one or two condominiums, breakfast buffet for four and a three-course gourmet meal for four at The Homestead. You must be 18-years-old to enter

• Installing a new on-line tee time system called FORE.
• Setting up a golf league for next season.
• Staying aggressive in marketing the course to local players.
• Adjusting green fees particularly in shoulders seasons to be certain we’re competitive in the local market.
• Creating new membership programs, including month-long passes during the summer season.
• Personalizing the customer experience with little touches, such as producing signs with golfers’ names on their carts.

During September and October, new members at Manitou Passage Golf Club can play the course for free with a mandatory cart fee.  That just might whet your appetite to join now for the 2013 season.

Memberships at Manitou Passage Golf Club currently come in two forms: Platinum (seven days a week) and Gold (four days a week).  At many clubs, golf dues are paid in full when the application is submitted, but Manitou Passage allows its members to spread their payments over a six-month period.  Members receive unrestricted golf, discounts in the pro-shop and restaurant, a Golf Association of Michigan membership for course handicap purposes, club storage and charging privileges.

For those golfers who aren’t around all summer, a one-month membership for a single player (Red) or a couple (Black) are available.  These members will enjoy the same golf privileges as a full member.  To learn more, call 231.228.6000 or send an email to General Manager, Bob Summers at bobs.manitougolf@gmail.com.

But technology can be a good thing for the game.  The Manitou Passage Golf Club has just installed a new on-line tee time system called FORE!.

Convenience is now king for making tee times.  Let’s say one night after work you notice the forecast is virtually begging for golf the following day.  But it’s dark outside and nobody is home at the pro shop.  Well, here’s where FORE! kicks into action.  Head on-line to check out tomorrow’s availability.  It’s that simple.

FORE! will also improve service and communication to golfers.  It will send you a tee time confirmation and those who are interested can fill out customer satisfaction surveys.

Manitou Passage Golf Club has also updated the look of its website.  It looks similar to the website of the course’s affiliate, The Homestead.  The website will be informative, up-to-date and easier to use.  The large main photo will draw users in, while the navigation bar is better organized.  The photography, graphics and videos will showcase why people love our Arnold-Palmer design.

The easiest way to enter is to “like” the Manitou Passage Golf Club on Facebook, which automatically enters you weekly for each drawing.  Those who enter on-line at www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com must fill out a form each week to be eligible.

Playing the course and submitting written entry forms offer more advantages.  Playing as a twosome can double your chances of winning if both players in the twosome enter on the same written form, as their names will each be entered twice.  Entrants who are playing as a foursome can quadruple their chances of winning if all four players in the foursome enter on the same written form, as their names will each be entered four times.

Every entry is submitted for a chance to win the $1,500 grand prize: Four 18-hole rounds with carts and lunch for four at Manitou Passage Golf Club and four 9-hole par-3 rounds with cart and lunch for four at The Homestead’s Mountain Flowers Course.  Lodging for one night will include a one or two bedroom condominium, breakfast buffet for four and a three-course gourmet meal for four at The Homestead.  You must be at least 18 years old to enter.

Visit http://www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com/sweepstakes2012/ to enter.

The shop has some traditional styles for golfers, but it specializes in unique high-end brands like Sport Haley for women and Straight Down.  Sport Haley dazzles with splashes of color and elegant patterns.  Straight Down is worn by PGA Tour player Charlie Hoffman, as well as Champion Tour players Larry Mize, Scott Simpson and Loren Roberts. 

A new addition to the shop is classy apparel from Marbas Golf, a division of an Italian textile company that specializes in high-quality natural fibers and the production of mercerised fabrics.  Whether you’re shopping for yourself or that special someone, you can probably find the perfect gift, so stop on by.

Instructor Stefan Carlsmith says the Tutor works best on short to medium putts for determining, A: How well the putt was struck and B: if the student’s read of the green was right or wrong.  If the ball rolls where the Tutor was pointing and misses the hole, then the Tutor wasn’t pointed where it needed to be in order to make the putt (Hence, the read was wrong).  For more about this great device or the scoring clinics and schools at The Homestead, visit www.pelzgolf.com.

“Manitou Passage joy!!”

That pretty much sums up celebrity chef Mario Batali’s feelings for Manitou Passage Golf Club, the rejuvenated Arnold Palmer design now owned and operated by The Homestead.  Batali sent the tweet, along with a picture, on July 4, 2012.

Batali has become an unabashed supporter of the club.  He watched one of his two sons, Leo, then 12, sink a hole-in-one on the 126-yard seventh hole two summers ago.  “I was ecstatic.  I’ve never seen a hole-in-one before and now I know what they look like,” he told a local newspaper at the time.

He bought a home in nearby Northport and has fallen hard for this little corner of northern Michigan.  Batali and Pure Michigan recently hosted a “Made in Michigan” epicurean experience for media in Traverse City and Leelanau County.  Batali prepared three all-new recipes created specifically for the occasion.  The recipes showcased a few of his favorite locally sourced ingredients including fresh Michigan cherries, Lake Superior Walleye fillets from Taylor Fish Company, bologna from Pleva’s Meats in Cedar, and Leelanau Raclette from Suttons Bay.  The select journalists were also able to experience the natural beauty of the Sleeping Bear Dunes and spent the night at The Homestead, two of the region’s jewels. 

“I first fell in love with Michigan almost eleven years ago and have been coming back ever since,” said Batali in a press release about the event.  “My wife and I eventually bought a summer home here, and I really enjoy the respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  The weather is amazing, the people are fantastic, and of course, the food scene has exploded.”

There are few places in northern Michigan better for both driving and dining than Manitou Passage Golf Club.  Golfers love listening to the sounds of silence out on the course, a peaceful place devoid of car traffic and people chatter.  Hanging out on the patio of the charming new clubhouse is just as pleasing and relaxing.  If it’s too steamy outside, Arnie’s Grill Room inside delivers a great ambience.  The lunch menu serves traditional golf fare – hamburgers, salads, hot dogs, brats and sandwiches – but with a level of sophistication to match the wine and spirits lists. 

Lunch is served daily featuring various specials worth exploring.  Those who spend the day will not leave disappointed.  For a diverse culinary experience, stay at The Homestead, America’s Freshwater Resort, on a “Golf & Gourmet” package.

The easiest way to get a hole-in-one (if there is such a thing as “easy”) would be to tee it up at Mountain Flowers.  The scenic par-3 course overlooking Lake Michigan gives players nine chances at it.  By comparison, Manitou Passage Golf Club offers up just five swings at glory, but every now and then the golf gods feel generous.

Sue Yotter of Indiana got engaged during a round at the Arnold Palmer course in July of 2010.  Just two holes later, she sank her tee shot on the par-3 seventh hole, one of the more difficult par-3s on the course.  Celebrity chef, Mario Batali, watched one of his sons ace the same hole a month later.  Perhaps the best odds of a miracle shot come courtesy of the scenic downhill 17th hole, which plays 143 yards from the blue tees.

Celebrating with drinks in the clubhouse is an expense well worth the bragging rights when an ace comes calling.

Nobody likes to go to school.  Even golf schools must overcome the stigma that they are too demanding, all work and no play.  That’s not the case with the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School at The Homestead.  This unique school focuses on your short game.  You won’t spend all day on the range pounding balls, getting blisters and worrying about swing plane.

The Pelz schools are uniquely tailored to work on the various shots on and around the greens that ultimately make the difference on your scorecard.  If you’re still unsure of what to expect from the school, sign up for a one-day program.  It’s akin to reading cliff notes of a novel.

You’ll learn many of the key Pelz concepts from instructor Stefan Carlsmith in a fun and enriching six-hour session.  Pelz One-Day Clinics run Tuesday or Wednesday until August 28 at the exclusively designed practice area near the Great Hall at Camp Firefly.  The 6-to-1 student-to-instruction ratio ensures individual attention.

The schedule will include hitting pitch shots on the range to dial in shots up to 30 yards.  From there, students graduate to bunker practice out of the sand.  The signature drill is learning “bump-and-run” chip shots with an 8-iron.  Years of studying statistics has convinced Pelz that rolling the ball like a putt is the wisest play for most amateurs. 

Speaking of putting, Pelz instructors use a practice aid that shows people why they have a hard time understanding where to aim a putt to make it.  The lessons are informative and will have you quickly applying the skills you learn to greatly improve your game.

That alone is worth the cost of the six-hour session.  For more, visit www.pelzgolf.com.

Manitou Passage Holes 10 and 11

A naturalist’s knowledge of songbirds and native grasses won’t help you improve your golf game, but such things can impact the way we think about our favorite golf courses.

American golf courses provide as many as 2.2 million acres of green space that might otherwise be lost to urban development.  Find out how one northern Michigan golfing destination has become a sanctuary for native species, why this matters to local players, and how this environmental ethic positively impacts the business’s bottom line.

Back when Bill Murray was up on the big screen matching wits with the tunnel-digging gopher in Caddyshack, you would have never heard the words “preservation” and “sustainability” in the marketing message for any golf course in America.

Wildlife used to be something that, on a golf course, was better seen at a distance or not at all.  Courses routinely used toxic pesticides to keep the bugs at bay, chemical fertilizers and excess groundwater to keep fairways and turf lush and green.

“Now for most golfers, seeing an eagle soaring overhead is just as memorable and worth talking about as scoring eagle on a particularly difficult hole,” say Jamie Jewell, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Manitou Passage Golf Club.  “Being close to nature has always been a big part of the northern Michigan experience, long before ‘going green’ became fashionable we were doing our part to be good stewards of the environment.”

Great Golf Naturally

Hard to pinpoint exactly when this new environmental ethic among golfers, club owners, and greenskeepers took hold, but these days there are many companies and organizations promoting golf as a naturally, sustainable activity.  There’s Golfpreserves, a self-sustaining funding mechanism for the environmental stewardship of golf course facilities.  Blogs like www.turfhuggercom regularly spotlight news in the “organic golf” movement as well as discoveries in green turf management science and techniques.

In northern Michigan, Manitou Passage Golf Club has always taken a homegrown approach to the challenge of making golf environmentally friendly.

“When we opened in 2009,” says Jewell, “a great deal of time and effort was spent on the restoration of the native grasses and plants that had been taken over by the weeds and other invasive species.  Our purpose was not only to improve the aesthitics of the course, but the natural habitat for the plants and animals.”

Going to the Birds

The average 18-hole golf course occupies 150 acres of land – only around 70 acres of which is maintained for actual play.  If managed properly, says Jewell, this leaves a lot of protected acreage that can serve as a sanctuary for wildlife and native plan species.

From the modern redesign of the main pump house (to ensure a minimal amount of energy and water is used to maintain healthy turf) to the “Nature Safe” fertilizers greenskeepers use to maintain the grass, the Manitou Passage Golf Club has always tried to tread as lightly as possible whenever nature is concerned.

And what’s with all the birdhouses?  Sitting in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a place known among bird watchers as one of the greatest songbird migration routes in America – the Manitou Passage Golf Club preparing to enroll in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.  Birhouses are everywhere in the woods and along the fairways not only to marking distances to the green but also giving songbirds safe refuge.

“People come to our course because we offer the whole package,” says Jewell.  “We really embrace the wilderness spirit that is so much a part of life Up North.  Our beautiful country-coastal setting and the challenging level of play really complete the package.”

The first three-day session is June 8-10.  They run most summer weekends either Thursday through Saturday or Friday through Sunday until August 23-25.  Day clinics begin June 12 and run Tuesday or Wednesday until August 28.  Two two-day schools (July 6-7 and August 26-27) are available.  For more information, visit Dave Pelz Scoring Game School.

“We figured with all the hard work we’ve put into Manitou Passage, it was time to showcase the course and all the new facilities with a tournament,” said Jamie Jewell, Vice President of Sales & Marketing.  Nobody delivers a better combination of vacation living and great golf than The Homestead and Manitou Passage. 

After registration Thursday, May 31st, teams will warm up their game on Mountain Flowers, a scenic par-3 course at the resort.  An opening reception, putting tournament and dinner will follow.  Friday and Saturday will feature tournament rounds with shuttles provided to Manitou Passage, where breakfast will be served in the clubhouse.  Following tee times, there will be some down time before a reception on Bay Mountain overlooking Lake Michigan and dinner each night at the Mountain Flowers Lodge.

Check-out day on Sunday doesn’t have to be just a boring travel day.  A complimentary pass to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will allow guests to experience the “Most Beautiful Place in America,” as chosen by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America.  For more information, visit Manitou Passage Golf Club. 

Extensive modifications by the Wadworth Construction Co. have improved playability while enhancing the course’s charming setting.  The elevated tees with soaring views of the Leelanau Peninsula and the beautiful tree-lined fairways void of houses still elicit goose bumps for those experiencing them for the first time.  It was during these changes – the repositioning of tees and tree clearing – that opened up the view of Lake Michigan from the eighth tee box that gave the course its name.  The Manitou Passage is an underwater preserve filled with ship wrecks.

The completely remodeled clubhouse allows players the ultimate comforts before or after a round.  Early birds can revel in fresh baked muffins and steaming hot coffee free of charge.  The decor – the fireplaces, art and table games – of the Great Room create an inviting atmosphere.  The Grill serves excellent fare inside or out on the patio overlooking the 18th green.  Welcome to Northen Michigan golf at its finest.

Manitou Passage Golf Club opens for the 2012 season Friday, April 27.  For tee times, call 231.228.6000.

Fall Foliage at Manitou Passage Golf Club

The Manitou Passage Golf Club season is coming to a close, but before we say “good-by,” we have a few updates to share with you.

• The warm and sunny autumn is not only bringing out spectacular color, but golfers don’t want the season to end. So,we are extending the season one more week through October 23rd. Don’t miss the fall foliage because it is changing fast.
• Everything in our golf shop is on sale now. Get a jump on the Christmas season to take advantage of the best deals of the year on golf shirts, shorts, hats, gloves and more. The golf shop is open from 8:o0am to 6:30pm daily.
• The Frost Fighters Two-Person Scramble for October 16th has been cancelled.
• On October 17, the front nine holes will be closed for aerification. The back nine holes will be open for play.
• On October 18, the back nine holes will be closed for aerification. The front nine holes will be open for play.
• October 23 is closing day for the 2011 season
• Enjoy the following photographs taken at Manitou Passage Golf Club this fall.

Manitou Passage Golf Club will be closed for routine golf course maintenance beginning at 2:00 pm on Monday, September 5, 2011 through the remainder of the business day on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. The golf shop and clubhouse facilities will also be closed Tuesday, September 6th.

We are closing the course during these days and times so that we can perform fairway and green aerification. This is a process that involves using heavy equipment to puncture small holes into the playing surfaces to help facilitate healthy growth and prevent disease. 

Holes are poked in to the soil to allow air to penetrate the roots. Grass roots require air as well as grass leaves.  Within a few months of aerification, the holes are usually filled with grass roots. This proliferation of roots deep into the soil results in a much better turf. An aerified soil has a much better water holding capacity. Each hole in the lawn acts as a little reservoir to hold water after a rain. Less water will run off, and the need for additional irrigation will be reduced.

This is a common maintenance practice that all golf courses do at this time of the year. We anticipate the playing surfaces healing within 7 -10 days. Manitou Passage Golf Club will reopen on Wednesday, September 7, 2011.

The votes are in and America has spoken in the Good Morning America’s contest, “America’s Most Beautiful Places.” Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore received the most votes out of ten outstanding contenders including Hawaii, California, and North Carolina.

Watch the Good Morning America announcement that aired this morning, August 17, 2011.

Watch the Good Morning America segment, “Most Beautiful Places: Point Reyes, Sleeping Bear Dunes,” that aired on August 9, 2011.

One of our regular summer golfers, Mario Batali, played a roll in bringing attention to the area. Mario was interviewed live this morning on Skype at his Leelanau summer home. ABC News created a separate segment of the story just for Mario called, “Mario Batali on the Wonders of Sleeping Bear.” He also helped encourage others to vote by tweeting about the contest on Twitter before the contest ended at midnight on Friday. Read the blog, “Mario Batali’s Passion for Leelanau.”

Traverse Magazine and The Homestead had the inside scoop on what was going on. Read about it in their most recent blog posts:

• Good Morning America: Sleeping Bear Dunes Wins, by MyNorth’s Elizabeth Edwards.
• Good Morning America Comes to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, by MyNorth’s Elizabeth Edwards.
• How Sleeping Bear Dunes Bewitched Good Morning America and Me, by MyNorth’s Rachel North.
• Good Morning America Gets Taste of Sleeping Bear Dunes & The Homestead, by The Homestead’s Jamie Jewell.

Thank you to everyone that voted and spread the word!   

The Father Fred Foundation announced this weekend that in addition to the $100 that Fox Motors is donating for each participant in the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championship golf tournament at Manitou Passage Golf Club, Dan and Pam DeVos will also donate $300 for each tournament participant.

They also announced that the winning two-person team will receive an all-expense-paid trip to play in the Mercedes-Benz Western Regional Final in Santa Barbara, California in the fall. All players will receive a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz. Those who test drive a Mercedes-Benz will be awarded a pair of golf shoes.

“The more players we can sign up the bigger the gift will become for Father Fred,” said David Abeel, Development Director at the foundation.  “We can’t thank the people enough at Mercedes-Benz of Traverse City, The Homestead and The DeVos Foundation for their generous support.   We will apply these funds to our food pantry and financial assistance programs to help families from the five-county area who are struggling.”   

The golf tournament takes place on August 8, 2011 at Manitou Passage Golf Club in Cedar, Michigan. Participants are asked to check in at The Homestead in Glen Arbor by 11:00am. The Homestead will provide complimentary transportation will be provided to Manitou Passage Golf Club and back to The Homestead after the tournament. The cocktail hour, dinner and awards ceremony will be held at The Homestead’s Mountain Flowers Lodge at at 6pm. Lodging packages are available at The Homestead for out-to-town tournament players that include breakfast, valet parking, and much more. For lodging packages, contact The Homestead at 231.334.5100. For more tournament information, contact Mercedes-Benz in Traverse City at 231.938.3800.

The Father Fred Foundation has been providing assistance to thousands of families for over 20 years, offering food, clothing, furniture, household goods and financial assistance for residents in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau Counties.Its founder, Father Edwin Frederick, was a Catholic priest who served 31 years as a Chaplin for the Traverse City State Hospital. It was there that he got his nickname, “Father Fred.”

Father Fred on His Motorcycle

The state hospital closed in 1989 leaving many people with no place to live. Many did not have jobs or food to eat. Father Fred could not sleep at night knowing that so many people were suffering. It was at that time that he and a small group of people formed a group to help meet the critical needs of the local community. That was when the Father Fred Foundation was born. Its mission was to provide basic needs for those who are unable to get assistance anywhere else.

Running a foundation required money and resources. Father Fred was an avid fundraiser and he had a gift for encouraging others to get involved with him in his quest to help the needy. Father Fred not only leaves a legacy of providing for people’s basic needs, but he also leaves behind his passion for raising needed funds. The Father Fred Foundation sponsors many fundraising events throughout the year that fill the coffers with food, money, clothing and household goods that are so critically needed.

Manitou Passage Golf Club

On August 8, 2011, Fox Motors will host the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championships golf tournament at Manitou Passage Golf Club. Fox Motors will donation $100 to The Father Fred Foundation for each participant in the tournament. The tournament is open to the public. The event will begin with lunch at 11:30am at the Manitou Passage Golf Club pavilion with a shotgun start at 1:00pm. An awards banquet will be held at The Homestead immediately following the tournament for all participants.

Fox Motors is giving away a Mercedes-Benz automobile for anyone who hits a hole-in-one on Hole #13 and a vehicle lease for anyone who hits a hole-in-one on Hole #15. There are other prizes as well including a gift certificate from The Homestead and four rounds of golf from Manitou Passage Golf Club.  For event details, visit the Manitou Passage Golf Club Events page.

To register for the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championships, call Fox Motors at 231.922.2000. For a lodging package that includes the golf tournament ticket and awards dinner, call The Homestead at 231.334.5100.

Visit Fox Motors on their website, Facebook page, on Twitter or on YouTube. Visit The Homestead’s Facebook page, on Twitter or YouTube. Visit The Homestead’s Special Resort Offers page for lodging specials all year long.

By Guest Blogger Terry Moore, A Network of Great Golf and Travel Writing by Actual Journalists. Reprinted with permission, July 18, 2011

After visiting Manitou Passage Golf Club in Cedar last week I’m happy report it continues to improve as an attractive golf option for visitors to northwest Michigan. As you may recall, Manitou Passage is the old King’s Challenge designed by Arnold Palmer which opened in 1997. It was a playable layout, a lasting trademark of Palmer design, but never given the proper marketing support by its then owners. Mirroring the troubles of nearby Sugarloaf Resort, the course went into a downward spiral for a number of years and its conditioning was sadly neglected.

Manitou Passage is a User-Friendly Layout

Thankfully, a group of investors headed by The Homestead’s Bob Kuras bought the property two years ago and last summer it reopened as Manitou Passage. A host of improvements were made to the course in terms of tees and bunkers and course maintenance. The clubhouse was also handsomely redecorated and accented with many excellent Palmer photos. Attending the Media Day last summer, I was glad to see the course in capable hands. The tie-in to The Homestead, a first-class resort and residential community, always made sense to me.

Unfortunately on June 5 at Manitou Passage there was a fire in the pump house for the irrigation system. Starting as a mechanical fire, the pump house burned to the ground and left the course without water for five days until a temporary pump was installed. Without any significant rainfall, the course took it on the chin with some burn-out areas. But stuff happens and overall the conditioning is still fine. The new pump was being installed the day we played so everything is now back to normal.

With friends in Glen Arbor, I’m very pleased with the progress seen with Manitou Passage. It’s a solid, eye-pleasing golf course with accommodating open-approaches to the greens and no watery cross hazards. The par-five eighth hole with its elevated tee and a majestic view out to Manitou Island remains a delight. Suggestion: mount some naval or vintage coin-operated binoculars at this tee and let golfers enjoy the sights.

As shared by my playing partners it would be nice to see some of the dense fescue cut back and thinned out in the rough. Currently on many holes, particularly on holes no. 5-6, the rough is so thick, penal and gnarly it’s an automatic lost ball. Not only too penal it also slows play. ‘Player friendly’ should be the watchwords going forward. But maybe this is another work-in-progress item that will be addressed in the future. Again, there’s much to like and to enjoy at Manitou Passage. It doesn’t take binoculars to see it’s on the right course. Visit www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com

Visit Terry Moore’s original post on Teemore.com.

Congratulations to our Winners!

Those who attended the West Michigan Golf Show in Grand Rapids and the Michigan Golf Show in Novi had the opportunity to enter our “Golf Show” Sweepstakes. Drawings were held every week in the spring. There were nine winners who received three different prizes plus one grand prize winner.

First Drawing

Scott Harbough of Shelby Township won the first drawing and received one, 18-hold round of golf at Manitou Passage Golf Club at a value of $89.

Second Drawing

Dennis Hill of Lowell, Michigan, Bud Anderson of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Calvin Randolph of Flint, Michigan each received one, 18-hold round of golf including a cart at Manitou Passage Golf Club and lunch at Arnie’s Grill. Each prize is valued at $99.

Third Drawing

Dennis Oszust of Plymouth, Michigan, Ken Schaefer of Williamston, Michigan, Jeff Weymiller of Grand Haven, Michigan and Toni Burkick of Wyoming, Michigan each received one nights’ lodging in Fiddler’s Pond hotel at The Homestead and one, 18-hole round of golf including a cart at Manitou Passage Golf Club for two people. Four prizes were awarded at a value of $407 each.

Mountain Flowers Par 3 at The Homestead

Grand Prize Drawing

Chris Mountford of Ypsilanti, Michigan won the grand prize which included two nights’ lodging in a one-bedroom Stony Brook Lodge suite at The Homestead with breakfast each morning at CQ’s Cabin, dinner one evening at Nonna’s, one round of golf at Mountain Flowers Par 3 nine-hole course at The Homestead, and one 18-hold round of golf at Manitou Passage Golf Club for two people. One Grand Prize was awarded at a value of $1,230.

Chris was so excited when we notified him of his winnings. Here was the email we received from him: “WOW!!!  and  WOW!!!  What a pleasant surprise.  Thank you so much.  I’ve been going to the golf show for years and this is the first time I’ve actually won something.  I guess the old saying is right, “persistence pays”.  I’m excited to play the new Manitou Passage and see what the Homestead Resort is like.  I’m sure it’s in great shape and better than ever.  Thanks for making my day. Many thanks and best regards, Chris Mountford.”