Schlichter Is GAM Senior Women’s Player of The Year

GAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Lori Schlicher of Lewiston Tops 2024 Senior Women’s Points List

    FARMINGTON HILLS – Lori Schlicher of Lewiston found something in her golf swing and along the way found that it shifted her thought process, too.

   “I went from showing up to the (Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur) thinking I could win to showing up knowing that if I play well, I should win,” she said.

  Schlicher, 63, won the Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur for a second consecutive year, and to cap the season won the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions. In her two other GAM conducted tournaments she finished second in the GAM Women’s Senior Championship and tied for second in the senior division of the GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur.

  The season of first and second-place finishes powered her to the top of the GAM Senior Women’s Points list, and she has been named the GAM Senior Women’s Player of the Year, Ted Newton, GAM director of tournament administration, announced today.

  Player of the Year point totals can be found on a pull down from the PLAY tab at GAM.org Carl’s Golfland is the presenting sponsor of the points lists.

  In the last two weeks, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake was named the GAM Men’s Player of the Year, Elayna Bowser of Dearborn was named the Women’s Player of the Year, Randy Lewis of Alma was named the Super Senior Player of the Year and Leo Daigle of Wixom was named the Senior Men’s Player of the Year. Over the next few weeks, the GAM will announce more Players of the Year in gender and age categories.

  Schlicher, a Garland Lodge & Golf Resort member, finished the season with 455 points.

  Shelly Weiss of Southfield and Plum Hollow Country Club, who was runner-up to Schlicher in the Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur and played in the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur, finished second with 385 points.

  Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll of Haslett and the Country Club of Lansing, the GAM Women’s Senior Champion, was third with 340 points.

  Julie Massa of Pentwater and Lincoln Hills Golf Club (255 points) and Donna Benford of Linden and Spring Meadows Country Club (235 points) rounded out the top five.

  Schlicher, a mother of four daughters and grandmother to seven grandchildren, played collegiate golf at the University of Missouri in her youth, but did not take time for competitive golf again until four years ago.

  She said she has never worked with a teacher on her golf game, instead opting to play and self-adjust her swing.

   “I keep slashing away until I figure it out and sometimes it takes me a while,” she said. “I play a lot, and once I figure something out, I stick with it. I think this year I figured out a couple of things that will help me out for a while.”

  Schlicher said she started thinking about her swing at impact with the golf ball after a couple of other golfers mentioned her low shots.

  “I realized I was hitting low hooking shots, not really like what I used to do,” she said. “Basically, I then quit hitting down on the ball as much, and suddenly the shots were going higher and I was controlling them better. I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize it.”

  She said she still struggles with especially fast greens but has learned to cope with them better.

  “It takes me a minute, and sometimes a couple of minutes,” she said and laughed. “I’ve found I have to work at the game and keep my body moving. It used to be a lot easier. Just go out and hit it and go. Now, it’s more like a job. The great part is I enjoy playing with the (women) in the GAM tournaments. It’s nice to have great competition, and it’s more fun for me to play with competitive players.”

  Schlicher said the improvement in her ball striking and mental game has her contemplating entering some USGA national tournaments in 2025.

  “It’s given me confidence to try it,” she said. “I was just playing GAM tournaments, and now that I’ve won some, I’m ready to see if the USGA stuff is fun, too.”

  Newton said Schlicher established herself a few years ago as one of the top senior women golfers in the state.

  “She was competitive right away and she has steadily improved,” he said. “This year she didn’t win every tournament, but she didn’t have a bad tournament. She was at the top of the leaderboard and then in the Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur she won the stroke play and the match play to solidify the top spot for the season.”