Michigan and Zen Golf

There is just something about visiting the Midwest in the summertime. For me it's a return to my childhood in Wisconsin.  From San Diego, it's a return to green, to trees, to water and to uncomplicated county living.

Earlier this summer I visited family in Wisconsin and got to see old classmates at my 45th high school reunion. That trip was exciting not only for the nostalgia but also for the weather.  I enjoyed thunderstorms, wind and a tornado warning. But most of all I loved the chance to experience life in small town America once again. The local bars, family picnics on big yards and just hanging out on the porch at my sisters farm.

This week, I went back to the Midwest, northern Michigan, to enjoy three days of golf with my son Devin.  For this father son trip, we were based for three days on the lake front city of Traverse City, MI. Golf trips with Devin are precious times for me. We both enjoy the game, but he is far better at it than me. It gives us time to talk, share stories, have fun and for me to burst inside with pride at what an amazing person he has become. We have become friends which is all a father can hope for from raising a child.

So in this post, I will share a few stories and thoughts from a father-son golf trip to Michigan.

Arcadia Bluffs

Arcadia Bluffs is one of the top 20 public courses in the nation. Set on bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan this course offers stunning views of the lake with challenging holes in a Scottish links style layout as you can see in this photo.

We played our first 18 holes of what was to be a total of 117 holes that we ended up playing over three days at four different golf courses.  Arcadia Bluffs lives up to its rating, every hole was tough, interesting, and a challenge. I got through it with 100 stokes, which I was happy with given it's difficulty. Devin,of course, beat me with a 90. But the best part was hanging with my son and talking golf all day.

Traverse City, MI

Traverse City seems to be booming, it's sidewalks were packed with people enjoying the many shops and restaurants along the tree lined main street. Located on two huge bays of Lake Michigan called East Bay and West Bay, Traverse faces calm beautiful waters that are lined with every hotel chain you can imagine. In the summer, this is where Chicago and others from the south come to vacation and recreate on the waters edge.

Just like San Diego, craft breweries are thriving here. We visited North Peak Brewry for dinner and beers on the patio and then caught 7 Monks Brew Pub for a great lunch. 

Our golf excursions took us an hour to the east one day and an hour north another day, so we enjoyed the rolling green countryside and the small towns of the area.  Traverse calls itself the Cherry Capital and the acres of cherry trees and farm stands on the road are there to prove it.  Apple and peach orchards are also all over making this a real fruit producing area for America.

Grand Traverse Resort and Bay Harbor

We stayed three nights at the Grand Traverse Resort, operated by the local Indian tribe. The resort had 3 full 18 hole golf courses, the Bear, the Wolverine and Spruce Run.  Each one with a different character and degree of difficulty. The Bear is rated as one of the 10 most difficult courses in the country. It's tricky design and well placed hazards really got into my head and stressed me out, leading to my worst round. Golf is a mental game which I will elaborate on later in this post.

We played the Wolverine late in the day after coming back from Arcadia Bluffs. It was empty and the weather was calm making for a great fun round. The Preserve was more woodsy and open, better for my skill level.  But together, all three were great courses.

As for the hotel, it was fine if you like golf.  A high rise that was out of place for the low rise Michigan landscape. But over all a good base for our adventures, three out of four stars.

Bay Harbor and Dunmaglas

Our third day was amazing. From leaving the hotel at 7:30 am till our return at 9:30 pm, we squeezed all of fun and joy from the day that we could. We played 45 holes of golf, 3 nines at Bay Harbor and then another 18 at Dunmaglas, a course just a few miles from Bay Harbor that we discovered on Google. Then a great dinner in Charlevoix, a lake town with a drawbridge.

Bay Harbor must be the retreat for the 1% from Chicago.  The courses are perfect and lined with huge and perfect homes overlooking the lake, homes like chateau in France. Each one with a perfect garden, patios, views. I wonder how anyone could live that large and have the money to maintain it.  But there were literally hundreds of homes in this area that were jaw-dropping big and beautiful.

Bay Harbor lives up to its reputation. Each nine was unique, the Links, the Quarry and the Preserve. The links was Scotland overlooking the lake. The Quarry was built into a huge old quarry with an amazing design. And the Preserve took us into the Michigan woods again.

After my golf nerves and anxiety of the previous day, Devin devised a bet system for each round that gave me a stroke on the 12 hardest holes based on the difference between our handicaps. This worked to get me back in the game and made for a fun day of compitition between us.  It calmed my nerves and helped me to golf a much better game.  And I won by a hole and stuck Devin for $15!

Between Arcadia Bluffs and Bay Harbor, for me Bay Harbor was best, a better course, better views and just more fun.

But after 27 holes it was only 2 pm.  And our total holes for the trip was at 99. We just could not stop at the point so we used google to discover Dunmaglas. That sounds right out of Scotland but the course was not, it was in the deep forest carved in the hills with big elevation changes on most holes.

We loved this course, even the trees were friendly, bouncing back errant slice shots on several holes, right back to the fairway!  The course was empty, and we were greeted at the farmhouse, that served as the club house, by one employee, a high school girl. We payed for 18 and got our own cart and headed into the woods.

This was the calmest, most quiet round of golf I have ever played.  Devin and I laughed and joked through every hole. We both played so well, it was a wonderful end to our 117 holes of golf on this trip.

Below if a view of one of the holes from Bay Harbor and a view of the tree lined fairway at Dunmaglas.

Zen Golf

I guess you really can learn some things over 117 holes of golf in three days. What I learned, I felt that I intellectually already knew, but just could not incorporate it into my game.

I learned that golf is best when you are quiet, peaceful and calm, Zen Golf.  On the first day I met this dragonfly who was peacefully sitting on a putting green. I went over to him and he allowed me to take his picture.  I think he also had a message for me, for my golf game and maybe for my life.

Mr. Dragonfly told me to calm and quiet my self and my golf swings. He counseled me to to be like him, who from this calm position, can fly for ever. 

Great advice but so so hard to put into golf practice.  After one good shot I will have two bad ones, shots that throw my mind into anxiety and nerves.  My swing starts back nice, slow and smooth and then I get to the top and convulsively, I yank it down with force and speed, a recipe for a disastrous swing.

His message was simple: calm and peace need to be in all parts of your swing and in your life. It won't help to have calm just on the upswing, it needs to be on the downswing too.

So after meeting Mr. Dragonfly on the green, I did work hard to calm my swing, up and down. Slowing my swing made the ball go farther and straighter every time I was able to make it happen. But still consistency eludes me and the fast jerk kept creeping back.  Maintaining calm and peace in golf (and in life) is the most difficult part of the game, but at least now I think I understand it's importance, thanks to Mr. Dragonfly.

The Food

We discovered that this Lake Michigan region has it's own unique cuisine.  After our last day of 45 holes, we stopped in Charlevoix at the Weathervane, located right by the drawbridge in the center of town. 

We made the right decision to try the local fish, caught daily from Lake Michigan. Above is my Whitefish on oak plank. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, this fish was mild, moist and tasty. The asperagaus was also cooked to perfection, hot but crisp. Completing this plate was mashed potatoes with crusted cheese on top, yummy! Devin had this same plate but with fried lake perch added, which he said was even better.

The food tip for northern Michigan and anywhere you travel, eat the local dishes.

Travel, expensive. Time with your son, priceless.

Travel is expensive, air fares are up, then add in hotels, rental cars and food. And it's just tough to break away from work and day to day demands. But travel can fill the soul and the mind as a payback. And getting to spend time with family is the biggest reward.

This trip gave me three priceless days with my son.  This trip reminded me how important time with our children can be, even when they are adults with their own lives in the making. It reminded me of my daughter and how I need more time with her too. It reminded me of my wife and mother of these kids and how important she is in our family universe.

So here's to looking forward, to more family time and priceless moments with peace and calm in my golf swing!