Golf is a walking game. And save for those who are physically handicapped, there’s really no reason to ride a cart.

But in recent years, many courses have made walking impossible—either through their inaccessible designs, or by simply banning the walker. Things are turning around though, as more and more are returning to the games’ roots.

Michigan’s Booth News service has an article on some of Michigan’s resort courses that allow walking

Kudos to Boyne Highlands, High Pointe, Belevedere and Lakewood Shores—among others—who make walking a part of the game.

Aside from the obvious health benefits, you’ll play better when you walk. And you’ll play just as quickly—if not more so—than riding. And lets be clear about this. The insistence by courses on carts has never been about pace of play. It’s always been about generating another revenue stream. Carts are more profitable that the caddy.

From the Golf Association of Michigan:

Upcoming Tournament Deadlines

The Golf Association of Michigan summer schedule is quickly approaching as are the mandatory registration deadlines for many of the events.

The first tournament deadline is this week for the 97th Michigan Amateur presented by Osprey Recreational Properties to be held June 17-21 at The Moors Golf Club in Portage. Applications need to be in to the GAM office or submitted on line by Wednesday, April 16th. Players don’t need to be GAM members but must have a handicap index of 5.4 or better.

May 21st is the deadline for the GAM Women’s Mid-Am sponsored by the Buick Open, which is to be held at Midland Country Club on June 9th and 10th. This tournament is open to players who have a handicap index of 20.0 or below at the time of entry as well as reached their 25th birthday before June 9th, 2008.

The Senior Four-Ball presented by the Buick Open is set for June 2nd and 3rd at Lochmoor Club in Grosse Pointe Woods. The deadline for this event is May 14th, is open to those who have reached their 55th birthday, and whose team handicap index doesn’t exceed 20.8. Please note prizes are only awarded for gross scores only. The field is limited to 48 teams so be sure to register soon to secure your spot.

The GAM Senior Championship sponsored by Robert W. Baird & Company may not be until September 15th and 16th but players have taken note of the Point O’ Woods venue in Benton Harbor and have signed up early. As of press time only 10 spots remain for this Championship. Players need to register soon to assure themselves of entry into this tournament. Players are required to have a handicap index of 8.4 or better.

For more information on these and all of the GAM Championships please visit http://www.gam.org . 

Hosting a major requires major sacrifice on the part of a club’s membership:

Members of the Oakland Hills Country Club are used to sacrifices whenever a major golf tournament visits their beloved south course in Bloomfield Township.

They give up several weeks of golf during prime season. Many volunteer their time, working behind the scenes before and during a tournament to ensure its success. Now they’re dealing with a new sacrifice heading into the 2008 PGA Championship: their egos.

A $1.8 million redesign of the south course, completed last year by Rees Jones Inc., has made the course they call the “Monster” play tougher than it has in decades, maybe ever.

All the sacrifices — higher scores, less golf, more work — are part of the fabric of the club. Oakland Hills’ mission statement demands the club stay relevant to the world of championship golf. That might explain why the club of nearly 1,000 members always has a waiting list. Their commitment to the game is strong, no matter the cost.

Read the rest in Crane’s Detroit Business.

Crane’s Detroit Business has an analysis of the kind of economic impact that the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills might generate for Michigan’s Economy:

The 2008 PGA Championship will have a major economic impact when it visits the south course at Oakland Hills Country Club Aug. 4-10, but just how much is up for debate. Hotels and restaurants surrounding the Bloomfield Township course figure to benefit most, but entertainment venues throughout metro Detroit, from golf courses to casinos, should also see a boost.

PGA Championship Tournament Director Ryan Cannon estimated the impact at between $40 million and $60 million. The last official study done indicated the 2004 championship generated $76 million for Wisconsin, shattering the tournament’s previous record by more than $25 million, according to a press release from Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.

While many trumpet Tiger Woods’ appearance as a breakthrough for minorities on golf (forgetting players such as Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, and Calvin Peete), Michigan State may have started something bigger: hiring Sam Puryear—the first African American golf coach a major NCAA Division I School.

I say that this may be more significant because Americans have for a very long time accepted the idea of minorities as athletes. Tiger may have received some flak from a few crazies, but the very fact that we consider those people crazy show just how far the mainstream has come.

Not as accepted has been the idea that minorities can serve in top management positions. And top management is just what a head coach is—responsible not only for developing player skills, but also for managing budgets and programs.  Just how many minority coaches are there, in relation to the number of minority players? Not as many as pure chance would suggest.

That’s not to say, however, that I think an organization should hire minorities to fulfill some guilty demand for social justice. But it is only right that when a person is qualified, they should be given a chance.

Puryear surely is eminently qualified. Before taking the Michigan State job, Puryear served as Stanford’s first full-time assistant golf coach. While there, the Cardinal jumped from 43nd to first in the polls. They captured the national title in 2007. There’s no doubt as to his contribution to that rise.

Before that,

Puryear was executive director of East Lake Junior Golf Academy in Atlanta, where he managed the development of golf instruction and curriculum for an academy, serving more than 1,000 youth. While at the academy, he cultivated relationships with the PGA Tour, LPGA, and The Tour Championship, creating unique one-on-one play for Pro-Am events with academy youth and select Top 30 money winners, including Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, and Phil Mickelson. Puryear created unprecedented opportunities for junior golfers to serve as interns with Turner Sports to work at the 2005 British Open at St. Andrews, Scotland. He also cultivated a relationship with Fortune magazine and created an internship for a female junior golfer. Under his guidance, the academy grew from 150 students in 1998 to 700 in 2005.

What this rather dry quote from a Michigan State press release doesn’t say is just what kind of an impact Sam Puryear had on the poor East Lake community. For that, you need to take a look at the recent issue of Golf Week.

The impulse is to congratulate Michigan State for hiring a minority golf coach. But that, I think, would do Sam Puryear a disservice. Instead, I’ll congratulate Michigan State for hiring what looks to be an excellent golf coach. Period.