Detroit’s Marygrove College has added both Men’s and Women’s golf to their roster of NAIA athletics. The announcement follows on the heels of Marygrove’s launching their Urban Golf Project in partnership with Midnight Golf. That program will result in a Tom Doak designed practice facility in downtown Detroit.

From their press release on the teams:

DETROIT, Mich.-Marygrove College, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), today announced the addition of men’s and women’s varsity golf programs to its growing slate of athletic offerings.

The golf programs, along with newly added men’s and women’s track and field teams, will begin competition in Fall 2010. An official search for a coach to direct the golf programs is underway

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From their press release on Urban Golf and Midnight Golf:

Marygrove College is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Midnight Golf and world renowned golf course designer Tom Doak to build a state-of-the-art golf practice course for urban youth on its campus.

The “Urban Golf Project” will support Midnight Golf—a 30-week empowerment and mentoring experience to improve underserved young adults’ personal development, educational preparedness and appreciation of the game of golf —with a place to gather, learn and practice. The golf facility will offer a unique urban land-use plan, designed with the intent to incorporate state-of-the-art sustainability practices, such as minimalist site-impact, water conservation and environmentally conscious fertilization and maintenance. It will feature a large practice putting green, a large sand bunker, two practice tee areas to accommodate up to 26 hitting bays and a 4-hole short course. World renowned golf course architect, Tom Doak has committed to providing the design and construction oversight. Doak has designed over 30 courses worldwide, four of which are rated in the top 100 courses in the world.

I’ve never been to Marygrove, but perhaps they’ll invite the GolfBlogger for a tour when the facility is finished. I’d love to take a look and take some photos.

Spring finally arrived in Michigan this past weekend as temperatures soared into the sixties and the last of the snowmen suffered a well-deserved death under a torrent of rain.  I’ve been chomping at the bits for several days, and had even gone so far as to put my clubs and cart back in the Subaru. Prospects for a round, however, were dim: Saturday and Sunday were booked with my second job as “Dad, the Chauffeur”, Monday was Cub Scout and Boy Scout Night; and Tuesday was our 19th Wedding Anniversary. My best chance likely would be Thursday.

But on Tuesday morning, I got a text message on my BlackBerry from Mrs. GolfBlogger: Taking Boys To Zap Zone and dinner after school. Go Play Golf.

What a woman!

I thought briefly about protesting that we should be going out on the town, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in 19 years, it’s that Mrs. Golfblogger doesn’t say something unless she means it. And she wanted me to play golf.

The sky was a brilliant blue as I teed off at Green Oaks golf course in Ypsilanti. There are a lot of courses open right now, but Green Oaks long has had a reputation as one of the best draining tracks in the area. The rumor is that it was built atop a sand pit. As expected, I found it to be in terrific condition for this time of year.

My first two shots were well short of the plan, but I had a nice chip and putt for a par. The rest of the round didn’t go as well—bogey golf, mostly—but it really didn’t matter. The temperature was perfect for shirt-sleeves and long-pants, the sun was out, and signs of spring all over. There were Mallard couples on the ponds; the grass showed flashes of green. Just walking the fairways was a joy.

What a great Anniversary present from Mrs. GolfBlogger!

I’m doing some research for a project and am wondering if those with an ear to the ground can tell me what courses have closed in Washtenaw and Livingston Counties over the last couple of years, or if any are currently thought to be in trouble. Contact me through the site form here.

Here’s what I think I know:

Hickory Woods (9 holes) - Closed
Hickory Sticks - Closed
Marion Oaks - Closed
Ann Arbor Country Club - In trouble and looking for a savior
Ann Arbor City Courses - perhaps up for sale
Lake In The Woods - ?

Funding for the “Pure Michigan” tourism ads had been cut in half by a penny wise-pound foolish State legislature, but the amount apparently is being reconsidered in the State house today. Governor Granholm is considering an additional tax on rental cars at the airport to fund it.

The program more than pays for itself, which is why I for one can’t figure out why out legislative leaders idiots won’t fund it.

A state-sponsored study concludes the ads lured 2 million visitors from outside of Michigan. Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, said she isn’t con vinced. She questioned the study and led an effort to scale back funding in her Senate Finance Committee. The study was conducted by Longwoods International, a Toronto-based advertising research firm whose clients in clude Procter and Gamble, General Motors, Whirlpool and the Canadian and U.S. postal services.

Longwoods founder William Siegel is to testify today before Sheltrown’s House Committee on Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.

Siegel said for every dollar the state spent airing “Pure Michigan” ads in surrounding states, Michigan received $5 in tax revenue; for more distant states, the return was nearly $3 for every $1 spent.

Siegel said Monday he’s done advertising research for 30 years, and he called the “Pure Michigan” campaign “terrific, it seems to hit emotional levers that a lot of adver tising doesn’t do. And it’s paying off.”

What the state legislature is saying is that they’re willing to forego $100 million in tax revenues to save $30 million. It’s likely even worse than that. As I noted in a previous post, a single transaction generates far more than the initial investment because money is turned over many times—in technical terms, money has velocity:

Lets say that a tourist comes into the state and spends $100 at Zehnder’s restaurant in Frankenmuth. Zingerman’s then spends $50 of that to purchase more chicken (it’s a chicken restaurant) from a local poultry producer. The poultry producer spends $25 to buy chicken feed. And the grain farmer spends $12 to purchase fertilizer and seed. That initial $100 thus generates $187 in transactions, all of which presumably are taxed. Tourism generates jobs and income far beyond the hotels, restaurants and golf courses.

The opponents of this program are the poster children for what happens when you don’t pay attention in your economics classes in high school. And while I’m standing on my soapbox ranting, let me just say that the worst single thing this state has ever done politically is to enact a term limits amendment. All that has done is to purge anyone in state government with a long term vision, and replace them with short term, self-serving, not-terribly-bright amateurs. Since the law ensures that there’s no future in politics in Michigan, the qualified, intelligent, forward thinking people stay in private industry, leaving us with people like Cassis.

We don’t need term limits. We’ve always had them—they’re called elections. We in Michigan have gotten the government we deserve.

The 10th Annual Swing for PAR Golf Tournament is at the University of Michigan Golf Coruse on June 14, 2010. It benefits the Prostate Cancer Research at the University of Michigan. A golfer package is $400, including lunch, 18 holes, dinner and prizes. $240 of that is tax deductable.

Visit http://www.parfund.org or http://www.med.umich.edu/urology/giving/fund.htm for more information.