2015 Tournament Dates Announced

Byron Center, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational Committee today announced the dates for the 2015 tournament will revert back to the traditional Thursday through Saturday schedule. The tournament will be held beginning Wednesday evening, June 3 through Saturday morning, June 6, 2015.

The tournament committee also announced they are planning to hold the tournament in northern Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula. Several venues are being considered including:

1. Manitou Passage Golf Club (http://www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com/)
2. Mistwood Golf Club (http://mistwoodgolf.com/)
3. The Leelanau Club at Bahle Farms (http://www.leelanauclub.com/)

Tournament lodging host will be The Homestead (http://www.thehomesteadresort.com/). Details to follow as they are confirmed.

Final Trip Details

Looking forward to the 27th annual James E. Vos Memorial Invitational. Here are some final trip details for this year's participants.

1. Package price is $337.20. Your deposit should have already been accepted by the resort so your remaining balance would be $227.20.

2. Package includes three nights lodging in the Lakewood Shores 2-bedroom suites, breakfast Monday and Tuesday, unlimited golf Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, full use of the practice area, full complimentary use of the Wee Links par 3 course located right outside our lodging. The two complimentary breakfasts include taxes but do not include beverage or gratuity. Breakfast Sunday morning is not included, but available in the onsite restaurant. Our lodging has kitchens if you choose to sleep in and enjoy breakfast in your room.

3. Tee times, competitive format, and courses are as follows:

Ryder Cup-style competition. Each competitive match is worth one (1) point. Team with the most points at the end declared the tournament winner.

Sunday - The Gailes (all day)
a) 7:30am - modified  shotgun start*
2-man best ball (match play)

b)  12:30-1:30pm afternoon tee times
2-man best ball (stroke play)

Monday - Blackshire (all day)
a) Morning tee times start at 7:40am
2-man best ball (match play)

b) Afternoon tee times start at 1:30pm
2-man scramble (handicapped)

Tuesday - The Gailes
-Morning tee times start at 8:40am**
-Singles (match play)

*Lakewood Shores has another outing Sunday and the only way they could get us in and around is with a modified shotgun start. It's not ideal but it will work. Everyone will start at 7:30am and on a different hole of The Gailes. Also note that are afternoon tee times are tight, but with everyone starting at the same time, theoretically we will all be done at the same time. Making the turn should work, but there will be very little time for lunch in between. Not ideal, but we'll make it work.

**The later start is traditional and is done in order to allow a) tired bodies just a wee bit more sleep the last night, and b) to allow some breathing room for checking out of rooms in the morning of the last day.

5. Teams and Pairings

Teams have already been selected. Pairings will also be pre-selected prior to the tournament through at least Sunday's matches. This is being done to save time and create efficiency. The fact that we have only 23 players does create some match scheduling difficulties, but we  have worked through these before. We'll go over all this prior to the tournament.

4. Lunch and supper is not included in the package. We typically all end up at a local restaurant each evening for supper.

5. The Gathering. Please plan to meet as a large group for a bit on Saturday night in one of the condos. This has become a nice little pre-tournament gathering where we greet each other, welcome the rookies, pick the pairings for matches, and go over other tournament details. We'll start around 9-9:30pm and try to wrap by 10-10:30pm. It's important to not miss this. Please do your best to be on time.

If you have any questions, please call or text Mark Rice. New cell number is 616-826-8232.

See you in a few days.

2014 James E. Vos Memorial Invitational Teams Announced

Oscoda, MI--The tournament committee today announced the teams for the 26th playing of the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational, now just days away.

The executive committee made the decision to select the teams in advance to save time and create event efficiency. The committee did consider randomly picking teams on Saturday evening before the tourney, as we have done before, drawing names out of hat. Picking teams creates a tremendous gathering event on the eve of first round. Excitement builds as everyone watches and wonders on which team they will land. Randomly picking teams that evening is also time consuming and, given the higher than expected participants in this year's event, the tournament committee made its decision to select teams in advance. 

Care was taken to pair family members and to keep rookies on the same team as those who brought them, while also putting people on teams that haven't traditionally been teammates in the Grand Haven vs. The World format. Care was also taken to match as evenly as possible overall team handicaps and the handicaps of A-level and B-level participants. 

The only wrinkle this year is we have twenty-three participants, not 24. That means one team will be comprised of twelve players and the other, eleven. This does complicate things all the way around but the tournament has experienced this before and has developed a suitable work around. It's not ideal and, unfortunately, one team had to end up with eleven.

Nuff said.

Herewith the teams for the 2014 James E. Vos Memorial Inviational.

Team A/Handicap (final name tbd; see below)
Mark Rice, +10

Rodg Rice, +27

Jeff Stuk, +17

Ken Terpstra, +14
Cam Van Koevering, +14
Don Van Zee, Jr. +18 (rookie)
Don Van Zee, +12
Jack Vos, +20
Jon Vos, +13
Sam Vos, +7
Bob Warners, +20
Jim Warners, +18

Team B/Handicap (final name tbd; see below)
Jim Baker, +19
Chris Grek, +15
John Mulder, +24
Mark Ochsankehl, +7
Dan Rosema, +10
Dave Tanis, +17
Dirk Tanis, +18 (rookie)
Jeff Tanis, +13
Owen Tanis, +21
Dan Vander Wal, +11
Kyle Vander Wal, +11

Team names will be selected at the Wednesday evening Gathering event (approx. 9:30pm Saturday evening, details to follow in another post). It is a tournament tradition the reigning MVP retains the right to select his team's name between either the Fairway Finders or the Recovery Shots. We will wait to see what Dan Vander Wal chooses.

To save time and create efficiency, the executive committee will also develop in advance the pairings for Sunday's and possibly Monday morning's matchups. Stay tuned for further details.

And Then There Were Three: Papa Vander Wal Wins Third Career MVP

Oscoda, MI--Dan Vander Wal has been named the 2013 Stroke Saver Trophy winner--his third career MVP award. Vander Wal joins the elite group of Dirk Van Zee and Jon Vos as the tournaments only three-time winners. Dan won his first MVP in 2002, sharing the Stroke Saver Trophy with his brother Nick, and then winning it outright in 2009.

The decision was fairly easy. Dan went 5-0 for the weekend and was the only player all week and on either team to go undefeated. Challenging Dan, but coming up just short was Chris Grek who went 4-1 losing just his first match and going undefeated the rest of the way.

That Vander Wal won the award while sandbagging, I mean, while raising his handicap index by two points (from +9 to +11) is even more impressive. His scores weren't spectacular, going 87-88-85-82, but as has been exhibited regularly in this tournament, it's not how you play but how well you play with your partners that matters. And, that he did.

Paired with younger and better looking brother, Nick, in the first round, the Vander Wal's won a close match, winning 1-up against bulldog Rodg Rice and Mike "John Daly" Posby. Paired with Don Van Zee, Dan faced Rodg Rice again in round two, this time handily beating him and son, Mark Rice, by three-strokes in the afternoon 2-man stroke play event.

Day two was easy for Papa Vander Wal and he won both matches going away, paired with Doc Mulder and beating two titans: Jon Vos and Dan Tanis 5&4 in the morning 2-man match play event. In the afternoon scramble event, Dan was paired with Brian Van Hall and given a 5-stroke deficit (based on handicaps) against another seemingly tough team of Dave Tanis and 2-time MVP Ken Terpstra. The match see-sawed back and forth until the terrible and wacky 10th hole at The Chief Golf Club. There Vander Wal/Van Hall birdied to Tanis/Terpstra's double-bogey, making up three quick strokes and never looking back. They won going away, shooting 69 in the scramble format, erasing the 5-stroke deficit and winning by five more.

Dan's toughest match was his last. Paired against the ever-tough Jack Vos and giving Jack 600 yards and seven strokes, the war was waged. Jack got down early, going triple-bogey, triple-bogey, bogey and suddenly digging himself in a -3 hole. After matching pars on the fourth hole, Jack battled right back, winning the next three holes to level the match through eight holes. Back and forth it went with Jack going up +2 through 10. It would be his largest and last lead of the match. Vander Wal quickly won 11, 12, 13, and 14 to go up +2. Ever the fighter, Jack sunk his teeth in and didn't let go, getting the match to -1 through 17 and a chance to tie if he won the tricky 18th. He pared it...but so did Dan, winning the singles match 1-up and securing the 2014 Stroke Saver Trophy.

Dan is a well-loved and long-time participant in the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational. Well played, Papa Vander Wal. Well-played.

2014 Rooming List Announced

Oscoda, MI--The tournament committee today announced the rooming list for 27th annual James E. Vos Memorial Invitational. Participants in the 2014 tournament will be staying in the resort's two-bedroom condos adjacent to the 18-hole Wee Links par 3 course. Each unit features two bedrooms with twin beds, full kitchens and sitting areas. Use of the Wee Links is complimentary to resort guests.

http://www.lakewoodshores.com/resort.htm

Herewith the rooms and participants assigned. The condo numbers above each set of names do not correspond to actual condo numbers at the resort.

Condo 1

Mark Rice

Rodger Rice

Dan Vander Wal

Kyle Vander Wal

Condo 2

Jack Vos

Sam Vos

Cam Van Koevering

Jon Vos

Condo 3

Dave Tanis

Jeff Tanis

Owen Tanis

Dirk Tanis

Condo 4

John Mulder

Dan Rosema

Chris Grek

Mark Ochsankehl

Condo 5

Jim Warners

Bob Warners

Ken Terpstra

Jeff Stuk

Condo 6

Don Van Zee

Don Van Zee, Jr.

Jim Baker

Sandbag City: 2014 Handicaps Announced

Byron Center, MI--In what could only be suspected as player sandbagging, the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational executive committee announced the handicaps and tee positions for the participants of the 2014 tournament. With very few exceptions every player in the field went up, based on last year's tournament play at Hawks Eye and The Chief.

Topping the list and tied for low handicap are Sam Vos and Mark Ox, both at +7, and both bucking the trend, lowering their handicaps by -1 from last year's starting handcaps.

Mark "Payne" Ox

Sam "Bubba" Vos

Their +7's came in vastly different styles. Sam, considered the more swashbuckling, Bubba Waston-aggressive young gun of the two, shot an amazingly consistent 80-81-80-81 to reach his +7. The more classic swinging Payne Stewart-like Mark Ox was less consistent but went consistently lower as the week wore on, shooting 82-85-79-76.

No other player save these two is in single digits and, with the exception of Mark Rice (+10) and Jim Baker (+19) every other player's handicap index went up.

Leading the sandbagging coming into this year's tourney is Cam Van Koevering and Kyle Vander Wal. Cam's +14 is a full five (5) strokes higher than last year with Kyle sandbagging right behind at +11, four strokes higher than last year. Kyle was the model of inconsistency going 88-83-91-79 while Cam pretty much decided to go all in for the higher handicap and shoot a cool set of 90's pretty much every time out.

Cam "SB" VK

Kyle "SB" VW

Apparently, the family Vander Wal had this little charade planned all along. Not to be left out, Papa Vander Wal averaged 86 for the tournament last year nudging his handicap up two strokes to a cool +11.

Papa Vander Wal

The scariest increase comes in the higher bracket. Rodg Rice, one of the tallest of timbers in the tournement also went up two more strokes sending his handicap to an exceptionally scary +27. The tournament executive committee is considering a manual adjustment down to Rodg's handicap as some of the tournament's participants have claimed they will boycott the tournament if they have to play against Rodg at a +27! No one, repeat, no one, wants to take on the Senior Rice carding a +27.

+27...ya, right.

All this sets up for a terrific 2014 tournament. Indexes are below. Tees indicate tee played in the 2012 tournament to achieve the current handicap index. Rookie handicaps are estimated as are the tees from which they play.

Name,  Tee, Index
Jim Baker, White, +19
Chris Grek, White, +15
John Mulder, White, +24
Mark Ox, Blue, +7
Mark Rice, Blue, +10
Rodg Rice, White, +27
Dan Rosema, Blue, +13
Jeff Stuk, White, +17
Dave Tanis, White, +17
Dirk Tanis, White, +18
Jeff Tanis, White, +13
Owen Tanis, White, +21
Ken Terpstra, White, +14
Cam Van Koevering, Blue, +14
Don Van Zee, White, +12
Don Van Zee, Jr., White, +18
Dan Vander Wal, Blue, +11
Kyle Vander Wal, Blue, +11
Jack Vos, White, +20
Jon Vos, Blue, +13
Sam Vos, Blue, +7
Bob Warners, Blue, +20
Jim Warners, White, +18

And Then There Were...23

Byron Center, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational tournament committee today announced the 2014 tournament will boast yet another father-son combination. Following the footsteps of Jack Vos, Dan Vander Wal, Rodger Rice, Dave Tanis, Jeff Tanis, and so many others in the tournament's grand history, the youth movement continues and a new order begins when Don Van Zee, uh, now Don Sr., brings his son, Donovan Van Zee, Jr.

Dyno-mite Van Zee, Sr.

That's right. The one and only, Dynomite Van Zee is bringing Dynomite, Jr. According to tournament reconnaissance, the young Van Zee is a twenty-eight year old southpaw. The lad began playing golf when he was twelve and plays to about a 20-22 handicap index. Welcome Don Jr.!

With the addition of Don Jr., the tournament is almost to capacity and will close at a cap of twenty-for participants. Anyone interested in filling the last spot should contact the tournament executive committee.

The tournament is only three weeks away. Please pay attention to the website for future news and information on teams and pairings which will be made in advance due to the larger than anticipated number of participants in the 2014 tournament.

22 & Counting; Friends Return; Tanis Brings Four

Byron Center, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational executive committee today announced all but two of the available twenty-four spots has been reserved. This year's tournament will max out at twenty-four participants. Twenty-two participants have reserved their places in the 2014 tournament so far.

Robert Warners

Among the elite who have guaranteed a spot in the field is Robert Warners. Warners, the younger and better looking sibling to James, returns after a one-year absence. Both Bob and Jim have are long-time fixtures in the tournament and have contributed significant tournament improvements. Bob's ideas have led to improved handicapping methods, a creative and workable solution to handicapping two-man scramble teams, and the creation of an executive committee for which yours truly is especially grateful. Brother Jim serves on the executive committee.

The 2014 field will also boast the most-ever direct line descendants in tournament history. Previous tournaments have boasted two and even three family members. The Warners, Van Zee's, Rice's, and Vandenberge's have consistently brought two family members. The Tanis', Vos', Vandenberge's, Anema's, and Spoelhof's have even brought three family members from time to time. This year, the Tanis family will bring its own foursome--a feat matched only one other time by the Vos family in the mid-1990's.

Iron man, Dave Tanis

Led by iron man and tournament tall timber, Dave Tanis, the tournament also welcomes back son Jeffrey, grandson Owen...

Jeff (far left) and Owen (far right) Tanis

and proudly welcomes second grandson, Dirk, who will be a 2014 tournament rookie. Both Jeff and Owen last played in the 25th anniversary 2012 tournament. Jeff and Dave are also long-time tournament participants and dear friends of the tournament founders.

Filling out the tournament's current roster of twenty-two are:

Christopher Grek
Dave Tanis
Rodger Rice
Don VanZee
Jim Baker
John Mulder
Dan Rosema
Robert Warners
Jeffrey Tanis
Owen Tanis
Dirk Tanis
Mark Ochsankehl
Kyle Vander Wal
Dan Vander Wal
Jeff Stuk
Jim Warners
Ken Terpstra
Jon Vos
Jack Vos
Sam Vos
Cam Van Koevering
Mark Rice

The tournament committee is looking to fill its final two spots. It will do so on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in participating in the 2014 tournament and have not sent in your deposit, please do so immediately. The tournament will cap at twenty-four.

The Ace Scorecard Found

The Ace Scorecard

Byron Center, MI--In yet another startling discovery, the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational executive committee today announced it has found and preserved the scorecard from the only recorded hole-in-one in the tournament's 27 year history.

The highly prized card was thought to be forever lost with the passing of Jim Vos, Sr. who recorded the ace. Hopes grew, however, when a box of tournament archives was found last week in a dusty corner of executive committee member, Mark Rice's, basement.

Rice says, "The card was obviously one of the first things we looked for when the archive files were discovered. It took us a few days because we had the year the ace was recorded wrong. We thought it had been recorded in 1994 and that's where we started looking. The ace was actually recorded in 1997 and found among those files."

True to participant's memory the ace was recorded on the 16th hole of the Garland Reflections course, the afternoon of Thursday, June 12, 1997. Joining Sr. Vos for the historical moment were Dan Vander Wal, Rodger Rice, and Sr.'s son, Jack. The participants were engaged in a 2-man stroke-play event with Dan and Rodg taking on Team Vos. The match was tightly contested at first, staying even through six holes until a net birdie by Jack matched against a double-bogey by Vander Wal/Rice put Team Vos up by three strokes.

Team Vander Wal/Rice tried to inch back into the match, gaining a stroke a the par 4 13th, but everything broke loose on 16. Down by just two strokes with three holes to play, Team Vander Wal/Rice were far from out of it, until lightening struck.

To suggest no one would have expected what happened next is not a stretch. As the scorecard reads, Sr. Vos had just gone bogey-triple-quad-triple the last four holes. This new-found fact makes the ace all the more dramatic. Who records an ace after a stretch like that? Ah, but the Sr. Magic has never been held captive by the past. Always upbeat, always confident the next one will go in, he did just that. Calmly, as only he can waggle, a quick practice stroke, and off it soared.

Reflections #16

Son Jack's account takes over from here:

"Came in a little left to right, rolled 8-10 feet, we all watched, net 0 on card."

Amen. And what a net zero it was.

The tournament executive committee has placed the card in a fully preserved, dirt-free, vacuum-sealed container while they discuss its future plans. A first priority will be to have the remaining three participants sign the card for the history books.

JEV Tourney - The Lost Files

Byron Center, MI--In a surprise announcement the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational executive committee today announced a startling new discovery--they had found the tournament's lost files.

For years a sizable gap existed in the tournament's historical records. No one knew where the historical files from the 1993-1998 tournaments were or whether or not they even existed. Any historical facts--including the tournament's sole hole-in-one--were pieced together by the aging memories of its participants.

No longer.

On Saturday, March 1, while rummaging through old boxes in a darkened corner of the basement, executive committee member and tournament co-founder, Mark Rice, stumbled upon an old copier paper box. Thinking it was old files, he quickly opened it to ready it for the recycle pile. He's glad he did. Inside were all the files from the missing years--the Lost Files.

The discovery is significant on several levels. One, it was during this period the Ryder Cup format began and solidified. It was also during this time what became the traditional "Grand Haven vs. The World" grudge matches were birthed.

And, what is perhaps most exciting is the very real possibility the Ace might be found. The tournament's only hole-in-one ever recorded occurred during this time period. It is historically thought to have occurred during the 1994 tournament. Only time will tell if this most special scorecard is in the box.

Stay tuned as the files are "unearthed" the stories will unfold.

Nostalgia Sunday - The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational 2004

Byron Center, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational executive committee is pleased to look back ten years at the 2004 playing of the James E. Vos Memorial Invitational (not called that at the time).

Hole #6: the signature hole on the Jones Masterpiece.

The 2004 tournament was played at Treetops Resort, and staged over four different courses: the Jones Masterpiece course, the Smith Tradition, Smith Signature, and Fazio Premier. It featured one of the smallest fields in the history of the tournament. Only fourteen participants joined the event in 2004, split into two teams of seven. They were:

Team Grand Haven
Thom Anema
Don Van Zee
Jim Warners
Brian Van Hall
Jack Vos
Bob Warners
Dick Anema

Team Grand Rapids
Jon Vos
Mark Rice
Steve Elenbaas
Joel Nieuwenhuis
Rodg Rice
Dave Veldink
Doug Gulker

The event was played Wednesday through Saturday, June 2-5. Cost of the event was $482 and included three nights lodging, unlimited golf, taxes, gratuities, use of practice area, but no meals.

The 2004 tournament and event featured several oddities. Fourteen golfers left a gap in the ideal number for pairings and forced the executive committee to adjust the pairings in odd ways. On two of the days a singles match went out first before any of the twosomes. And, due to another golfer's departure later in the week, the Saturday morning singles match featured Mark Rice paired against Thom Anema in one singles match, and simultaneously against Jim Warners in another--perhaps fittingly, both matches ended up dead even after 18 holes.

The other oddity was the committee's decision to prepare all evening meals on site and eat together. Dave Veldink, longtime Gordon Food Service veteran, willingly agreed to buy all the food in advance. Grills were brought in and meals were cooked and enjoyed outside the Treetops condos. While this made for great camaraderie, it was also a ton of work for Dave and a few others. That experiment ended after two years.

Despite the complications, the tournament was tightly contested as usual and featured one of the great team comebacks in history. While not as significant as the record-setting comeback of 2010, it was memorable nonetheless. After winning only 1 1/2 points the first day, Team Grand Haven found themselves down 6-9 and in a sizable hole going into the singles matches.

The incomparable, tough as nails, Uncle Dick.

Led by their MVP Dick Anema, Team Grand Haven rolled over the Fazio Premier course and their opponents winning four matches outright and tying three others, never actually losing any match, and coming back from a 6-9 deficit to win 11 1/2 to 10 1/2.

In what is hardly a footnote, septuagenarian Dick Anema led Team Grand Haven, going 3 1/2-1 1/2, and nosing out his son, Thom (who went 3-2), to claim the 2004 Stroke Save Trophy. In all the Anema's played a role in half their team's wins that weekend. Dick Anema holds the record for being the oldest Stroke Saver Trophy winner--something James E. Vos, Sr. would be very proud of, and rightly so.

Also memorable, Jon Vos blitzed the Treetops courses that weekend shooting:

77 - Jones
79 - Jones
80 - Rick Smith Signature
82 - Fazio Premier

for an average score of 80, sending his handicap plummeting 5 strokes from 11 to 6. No one else--not even Don Van Zee--was even close. Despite the low scores, Jon's record that weekend was 2-3 showing once again it's important to play well AND be paired well.

The tournament would return to Treetops in 2005 which would mark the last time the tournament was held there.

The Wee Links at Lakewood Shores Golf Resort - Oscoda, MI

Lakewood Shores to Host 27th Annual James E. Vos Memorial Invitational

Byron Center, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational tournament committee made an unprecedented announcement today. For the first time ever it will bring the tournament to Michigan's sunrise side--to the Lake Huron town of Oscoda and Lakewood Shores Resort. Until today's announcement the tournament had almost exclusively been held on the Lake Michigan side of the state and primarily in and around the northern lower's resort towns of Gaylord, Bellaire, Petosky, and Charlevoix.

In making this announcement the tournament committee extends it thanks to all who took part in the survey process. The information gleaned through these surveys was very helpful to the committee in making its final decision.

The tournament committee had been keeping an eye on Lakewood Shores ever since its Gailes course opened and garnered Golf Digest's best new course award in 1992.

Designed by Kevin Aldridge, The Gailes' sod wall bunkers, double greens, and fescue grasses harken back to a wee bit o' Scotland. The course has continued to receive high praise since it opened and is on many golfer's "must play" lists.

Lakewood opened its Blackshire course three years later. Its huge waste areas, dense trees, and undulating greens are said to give it a Pine Valley feel. It too has received high praise since it opened.

Combine these two strong courses with a third, older traditional parkland resort course--the Seradalla--and an inspiring par-3 short course set right next to the lodging facilities, and suddenly Lakewood Shores was on the map.

But its distance from West Michigan (close to four hours by car), had always knocked Lakewood Shores out of contention, especially when there were so many other high caliber options nearby. That is, until recently. In 2008, after fourteen consecutive years of playing northern Michigan's big resorts (including five-in-a-row at Garland) the tournament committee began trying some of Michigan's smaller, less popular but no less enjoyable options. The tournament stayed close to home in 2008 (Hawkshead, The Ravines), then spent 2009 at A-ga-ming and liked it enough to return in 2010.

A new era had begun. In fact, all five host clubs--including one in northern Indiana--under consideration for the 2014 tournament had never hosted the JEV. Welcome Lakewood Shores Resort.

In related news, the tournament committee confirmed the 2014 tournament will be played on the originally announced dates of Saturday, May 31 through Tuesday, June 3.

Specific tournament information including pricing, lodging details, and deposit information will be forthcoming in a later post.

2014 Tournament Prices and Options...Take 2

Byron Center, MI--The James E. Vos Memorial Invitational Executive Committee today announced it had narrowed its options from five to two and is again seeking input from tournament participants.

Based on an earlier straw poll, Lakewood Shores is the clear front runner and one of the final two that are being considered. While the farthest away of all the possible tournament venues, Lakewood Shores has always boasted fine courses and its rates were by far the most competitive.

In a surprising turn of events, Tullymore/St. Ives has become the second option being considered. This, thanks to superb reconnaissance work done by executive committee member, Jim Warners.

Tullymore had turned in a quote of approximately $450 and had received no votes on the tournament website. Last week, Warners had several conversations with his own contact at Tullymore. Turns out, the main reason for the $450 price tag was the tournament's Saturday night stay. Warners discovered that if we were willing to move the tournament's matches ahead just slightly, we could eliminate the Saturday night stay and greatly reduce the price from $450 to $365. That's right, $365.

To guarantee this price, the new tournament schedule would look like this:

-NO Saturday night arrival/stay.
-Tournament begins with 18 holes on Sunday afternoon.
-36 holes on Monday
-36 holes on Tuesday
-Depart Tuesday evening

The executive committee believes the close proximity of Tullymore/St. Ives to West MI makes the elimination of a Saturday night stay and the addition of an afternoon round on Tuesday worth considering.

The executive committee will give this further consideration this week and plans to make its final decision next weekend. However, it is again looking for the input of tournament participants.

A NEW SURVEY has been posted on the tournament's website asking for player's preference between Lakewood Shores and Tullymore/St. Ives. If the tournament is held at Lakewood Shores it would follow the same schedule as the past few years:

-Saturday night arrival
-36 holes on Sunday
-36 holes on Monday
-18 holes on Tuesday morning
-Depart for home Tuesday afternoon.

The survey will be open on the tournament website until Friday noon, January 10. The executive committee thanks you in advance for your interest and your vote.