Category: Golf
-
Some golfers develop “rabbit ears,” so the slightest noise or distraction can ruin their day – or provide them with an excuse for a bad swing. Movie buffs may remember Judge Smails (played by Ted Knight) thinning a shot from the fairway and blowing a gasket in the 1980 film Caddyshack when Rodney Dangerfield, in […]
-
Course Crews Scramble during Dry Spell
Although the U.S. Drought Monitor didn’t declare a drought in Door County, the federal government doesn’t take into account how little water is retained by the soil at many of the county’s golf courses. After a dry second half of May brought about nearly idyllic weather and conditions for golf during the Memorial Day weekend, […]
-
Major Fundraising Outings Maintain Momentum, Fill Up Fast
The strange days of golf during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic have faded away – the single-rider rules for golf carts, the mandatory sanitizing and the weird foot-lift lever that Peninsula State Park Golf Course had at the base of flags for removing the ball from the cup. But did you know that despite those precautions […]
-
A park employee has helped to schedule an old-fashioned golf event as part of Peninsula State Park Golf Course’s centennial observation this year. When course general manager Jason Daubner, park superintendent Eric Hyde and new park manager Matt Ernst met to discuss the July 28-30 celebration, Ernst had an idea: Why not invite players who […]
-
Don’t Scoff at the Short Course Until You Try It
It doesn’t look challenging or complicated in the least when viewed from a car on Highway 42. But, let’s say you’re an experienced golfer who has a lot of trouble with shots between 60 and 80 yards. Let’s say you step up to the first tee and see the sign board with changeable numbers showing […]
-
Schmelzer Adds Challenges at 27 Pines
Tom Schmelzer, the creator and owner of 27 Pines golf course, put in extra hours in May operating excavating equipment and tractors to build a new fairway bunker and pothole pond along two of the nine fairways. He’s continued to add features to the course and worked to improve greens every year, and this year […]
-
Vince Flynn and “The Golf Course Call”
by CECELIA MacDONALD and KATHRYN SCHNEEMAN In the midst of revitalizing the Alpine Resort, a fun story has resurfaced about “The Golf Course Call”: an event that changed the life of the late Vince Flynn, author of 13 political thrillers. This call catapulted him from the ranks of the self-published to the top of the […]
-
Mini-golf Course Hosting Grand Opening
Evergreen Miniature Golf Course is hosting a grand-opening celebration May 27, 10 am – 9 pm, to introduce mini-golfers to the challenging shots the eco-friendly course offers as it winds and weaves through the pines. Visitors can also explore displays and signs along the course that share information about the environment, conservation and sustainability. The […]
-
Caddy Chat: Former caddies reflect on lessons they learned about golf – and life
Don Ray, Doug Van Vorous and Chris Bungener all have a lifelong love of golf, and it came from the same experience: caddying at Peninsula State Park Golf Course, years before courses had golf carts. Each gained insight on how to play, score and swing by watching and listening to the golfers they assisted, or […]
-
Sylvia Ferdon: Return to the course with a plan, and have fun
The amazing warm spell April 10-15 brought Door County golfers and most courses out of hibernation, but cooler late-April weather might make folks feel like they’re starting all over again in May. That’s OK. We have a strategy for hitting the Reset button. When we asked Sylvia Ferdon for a few tips on getting readers’ […]
-
Maxwelton Braes Lodge has new owners, and at least one of them has visions of keeping it as a family business for a long time. On April 13, Frank Kowalkowski and his wife, Julie, along with Barb and Dr. Nami Zarvan, all of Green Bay, completed the purchase of the 93-year-old lodge, the tennis and […]
-
Preseason Checkup: Do You Have the Right Putter?
When golf season finally arrives, many golfers can’t wait to swing away with a new driver or a new set of irons. These days, many players who are serious about their scores go to a pro or a major retailer to get a fitting so they’ll have the proper lengths of clubs and sizes of […]
-
Lessons from the Arnold Palmer Invitational
The United States Golf Association (USGA) – and just about everybody else, for that matter – want to see faster play so that more people can enjoy their golf rounds. This writer and golfer makes great efforts to keep himself and his group moving. Some of my habits include helping to track down playing partners’ wayward […]
-
Horseshoe Bay Pro Takes Third in Winter PGA Event
Horseshoe Bay head professional Jamie Christianson of Egg Harbor and Brookfield-area pro Mick Smith held a two-day lead and finished third recently in the four-round, best-ball Senior-Junior Team Championship at Port St. Lucie, Florida. Christianson, 38, agreed to enter the PGA Winter Championships series tournament this winter while at Smith’s 50th-birthday party last year. “For […]
-
FAIRWAYS: Oh, How the 19th Hole Has Changed
You don’t play the clubhouse – you play the course. That rings true for some golf purists, but facilities that provide a place to mingle, dine, sip a cocktail or enjoy a great view also attract those who’ve never teed it up on Door County golf courses. But clubhouses haven’t always drawn in nongolfers. For […]
-
Is Door County a Golf Destination?
Door County has enough courses for tourists to make golf the highlight of their trip, but has the county become a true golf destination? “I think it is still a work in progress,” said Jason Daubner, general manager of Peninsula State Park Golf Course. He said that in order to consider the peninsula a significant […]
-
Last Chance for Late-season Swing
It’s beginning to look a lot like the end of the golf season, but that differs from course to course. Peninsula State Park Golf Course has one more outing – one more “big cup” scramble in which teams can compete on Sunday, Oct. 30. This event – Golfer Appreciation Day – has prizes for golf and […]
-
Becker Helps Make Peninsula Golf Course ‘Super’ for All
No course in Door County has seen more changes through the years than Peninsula State Park Golf Course. And, because it’s under the umbrella of the not-for-profit Peninsula Golf Associates, profits go back into maintaining the course or making it better. Golfers will continue to see tweaks and adjustments, but they’ll likely be much less […]
-
Redesign Prioritizes Players and Practicality
A new, smoother, less treacherous and better-built green popped up this month near the entrance to Peninsula State Park Golf Course. After consulting with golf architects, the Peninsula Golf Association’s membership and leaders opted to reconstruct the green on the first hole. Following more than three weeks of work near the end of the golf […]
-
New Mini Golf Course Opens in Fish Creek
Families looking for fun – or golfers trying to forget a tough 18 – now have a new place to go near Peninsula State Park. Just in time for two big fall-festival weekends, Evergreen Miniature Golf opened Wednesday on Highway 42, just north of the BP gas station. The new, 18-hole mini-golf course winds around in the […]