The Arnold Palmer designed Northville Hills golf course has been sold to Wilson Golf Group. Wilson Golf owns and manages nine courses in Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconson, and now—Michigan.

Northville Hills, located in the suburban Detroit Northville, is a daily fee course. The 7,003-yard course has a slope of 132.

I had a chance to play a couple of holes there once when I was coaching my high school’s golf team. It’s a nice layout, with lots of water. Particularly terrifying is the par 3 seventeenth, which requires a 160+ yard carry over a pond to an unforgiving green backed by a couple of bunkers.

Sun Mountain Zero-G Carry Bag

I like the fact that this Sun Mountain Zero-G Carry bag has taken its cues from backpack design and added a hip belt to “shoulder” the weight.

I remember when the Izzo system was new and all the rage. I even retrofitted one of my bags to use it. Now, every bag has the X-Style. I’m guessing the hip belt idea will similarly spread.

Here are the manufacturer’s additional specs:

Patent-pending 9.5” top with three integrated handles for picking up the bag
The belt fits 28” - 48” hips, is easily adjusted, and is held securely in place by a new buckle closure
Seven pockets including: waterproof valuables pocket with high-quality YKK waterproof zipper, water bottle pouch, full-length clothing pocket, and multiple accessory pockets
X-Strap Dual Strap System provides superior balance and an easier carry
The heavily cushioned hip pad and belt provide lumbar support and in conjunction with the X-Strap Dual Strap System promote better posture and increased carry comfort
Matching rainhood

A Texas man was stabbed with a golf club shaft during an altercation that apparently was caused by playing through. He is recovering from a punctured femoral artery and massive blood loss.

I’m guessing alcohol was involved.

Split Sixes is a game for three players with six points available on each hole. Scoring is as follows:

Winner of the hole = 4 points
Tie For win = 3 points each with no second place points.
Second Place Alone = 2 points
Tie For Second = 1 point each

Callaway RAZR X HL 3H, 4H, 5-PW Combo Iron Set with Steel Shafts

This new hybrid-iron set from Callaway is designed with a low center of gravity to help golfers get the ball in the air quickly with a soft landing, even with a typical amateur miss low on the face. A redesigned “Solid Impact Sole” is supposed to generate better turf interaction for distance, accuracy and consistency—again, for better flight from lower impact locations where most amateurs hit the ball. There’s also Callaway’s ubiquitous VFT (Variable Face Thickness) technology, which again allows Callaway to reposition the sweet spot to benefit more players. Finally, a Multi-Material Medallion of aluminum & thermoplastic polyurethane, fine-tunes sound & enhances feel of the clubface

Golf balls sitting on the iced over surface of a water hazard at Lake Forest, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The weather was unusually warm for February yesterday, and even more unusually, with no snow polluting the ground, several local courses were open. I played nine at Lake Forest. Not surprisingly, it was a rough beginning. I took a double on the first, and a bogey on the second. Then I then settled down a bit and made it around in 45. I felt pretty good about the whole thing, especially considering the strong wind coming out of the west.

Officially, the temperature yesterday reached 50 degrees. That wasn’t a record though: it reached 56 on that day in 1938.

My goal is to play in every month this year. So far, so good.

Thursday and Friday
3 - 6 pm GOLF
8:30 - 11:30 GOLF - Replay

Saturday
1 - 2:30 pm GOLF
3 - 6 PM CBS
9:30 PM - 12:30 AM ET GOLF - Replay

Sunday
1 - 2:30 GOLF
3 - 6:30 CBS