Author: Matt Tevsh

How early is too early for a beer? On this day, that question seemed logical since two older gentlemen substituted their morning coffee for a couple of barely pops. It may have been five o’clock somewhere, but it was 10 a.m. here and the location certainly seemed like an odd place to discuss current events over a couple of Spotted Cows in plastic cups. This, after all, was a stylish golf shop – almost department store-like – at one of the hottest golf resorts in the country. It sports some of the best logoed merchandise and brands in the business.…

Is this the end or the beginning? That question popped as the fireworks soared high above yet close by from a second floor porch among the amphitheater setting. Perhaps it was the reflection of the colorful display on the lake and its fountains below that evoked such philosophical thinking. Or maybe it was just the size of the explosions, each one looking like it could be the start of the finale. The folks at Grand Geneva, for their two cents, call it a start. On their web site they say “Start Your Week With A Bang” to promote the fireworks…

There has been a trend over the past couple of decades with some of country’s top public courses that have been built. That is, location is everything and nothing at the same time. Think about some of the more recent masterpieces created on stunning canvases in spots that take some effort to find. From coast to coast, Bandon Dunes along the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, Sand Valley through the restored sand barrens of Central Wisconsin and Streamsong upon land recovered from a former phosphate mine in Florida. Minnesota can relate with many of its top public courses. None may be…

      There has been an identity crisis of sorts at a once-hyped Central Wisconsin golf course. Steve Tacheny wants to do something about it. How does he start? By throwing out the floor mats without any hesitation. “I’m grabbing all these and we’re going to the dumpster with them,” he said in March as his group prepared for the opening of the 2018 golf season. Tacheny is the general manager with a new ownership group in place to revive the Northern Bay Golf Resort and Marina in Arkdale. When he saw the clubhouse mats this winter that read “the Castle…

For as varied as its courses are, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama always welcomes visitors with a sense of home. A familiar clubhouse design exists at many of its destinations, one looking just like the last. A reddish brick lower exterior supports a white-fenced wraparound porch. A steeple of sorts extends from the roof. And the staircase off the main drive –  a semi-circle that creates two walkways – might best be described as grand. Only one golf location has the name to match. At the Auburn/Opelika stop on the Trail, Grand National is home to…

A recent visit by this MGM staff writer to Canada’s new golf hot spot provided blue lobster tales, runaway push carts and under-the-lights putting. It’s 6:10 a.m. at an island outpost in the North Atlantic. Overcast skies shroud the sunrise of this hilly, rural fishing community. But that does little to darken the excitement of a new day. Breakfast is served. For a table of one, six half slices of Bananas Fosters French Toast is the choice. Down the way, a larger group – say two foursomes – checks out the buffet area and partakes in some much-needed local coffee.…

There has been some heartland talk in America’s Dairyland this summer. Golf fans who tuned into U.S. Open coverage may have heard it mentioned when the masses were trying to define the style of Erin Hills in rural Wisconsin. Is it a links? It sure looked like a (British) Open Championship from the overhead views. Is it a prairie course? All that fescue with hardly any trees certainly played the part. And what about all those kettles and eskers left by glaciers? There might not be another course in America that accentuates such natural characteristics. In the end, when the…

This year’s U.S. Open course has a short but fascinating history that is coming to life. Included in that story is the death of its most unique par-3 among the rise of another. The bell is more symbolic now than anything. It really serves no function yet the powers that be left it there because, well, it has a story to tell. Supported by ironwork that inspired a logo and wooden posts about 10 feet high, it hangs just before the start of the seventh fairway. Golfers will walk by it after hitting their tee shots on the par-5 and…

Long before 99 holes of golf were an option, people flocked to a small Wisconsin county to take in the summer breezes and cool waters as a respite from the heat. It sounds simple enough, but the combination of one of the state’s deepest lakes and prevailing southwest winds offered a coveted form of free air conditioning for visitors kicking back on wraparound porches as far back as 150 years ago. The Green Lake Chamber of Commerce claims that Green Lake is “the oldest resort town west of Niagara Falls.” Oakwood Lodge (1867) was said to be the first summer…

Blondes or brunettes? Brats or burgers? Craps or blackjack? Some choices in life are tough. Really, it comes down to a matter of preference. The same goes for pitting Arcadia Bluffs and Whistling Straits against each other. Those who have had the opportunity to play each should consider themselves to have won the golfer’s lottery. Regarded by many as the top two public access courses in the Midwest, the shoreline layouts are separated by just 75 nautical miles across Lake Michigan, yet too far by automobile to make in the same day. Staff members at Midwest Golfing Magazine (MGM) have…