Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Has Designs on Three New Members

Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Has Designs on Three New Members

(Dexter, MI) – Some tickets still are available for the Sunday, May 19 Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and a round of golf at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West Course.

Fritz Balmer, in his fourth decade of service to golf, Steve Brady, winner of all Michigan’s major professional championships and now Director of Instruction at Oakland Hills Country Club, and Tom Doak, the hottest designer in the game with ‘Bucket List’ courses around the globe will be inducted.

Balmer, graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he was on the golf team, has worked on practically every committee in the Golf Association of Michigan, starting as club representative from Spring Meadows CC. He’s been a Juniors Committee chairman, a rules official since 1975, a governor and president of the GAM. He served as Interim Executive Director during a down period for the GAM and got it back onto solid ground. Balmer has received the GAM Distinguished Service Award and currently is chairman of the Michigan Golf Foundation.

Brady, an All-American at Saginaw Valley State University and member of its Hall of Fame, played in two U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, played the Ben Hogan Tour and was a dominant home state player with three Michigan Opens and two PGA Championships at the top of a long list of tournament titles.

After working for golf course architect Pete Dye, Tom Doak moved to Traverse City, designed his first course, High Pointe, in 1989 and two years later designed one of northern Michigan’s leading courses, aptly named Black Forest at Wilderness Valley and in 1999 Lost Dunes at Bridgman.

Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design headquarters is in Traverse City but he’s a world traveler, currently working in China and seeing his latest American creation, Streamsong in Florida, getting raves and cover shots in all the golf magazines.

His list of courses is like a string of Academy Award golden Oscars – two at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, the Renaissance Club in Scotland, Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, and the list goes on. Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World list includes four Doak designs while Golfweek’s Best Modern Course rankings include four Doak courses in its Top Ten.

The Hall of Fame Induction will follow golf on the Forest Akers West Course. Golf will be at 1 p.m. with a shotgun start. A 5:30 p.m. cocktail reception will be followed by dinner and the induction ceremony.  More information on the golf outing and induction ceremony may be found online at http://www.michigan-golf-foundation.com or by contacting Loretta Larkin at (248) 719-0650.  The registration deadline is Friday, May 10.