ANN ARBOR – Barton Hills Country Club and its 97-year-old classic Donald Ross golf course will host many of the state’s top amateur golfers in the 5th GAM Four-Ball Championship presented by Chemical Bank Monday.
A field of 69 two-golfer teams with combined GAM/USGA Handicap Indexes under 10.8 will compete in the 18-hole best-ball competition.
The Barton Hills course was restored to the original architectural roots with added length in 2012. The club invested over $1 million in the project without member assessment.
Barton Hills has a rich tradition of hosting tournaments, including many GAM and Michigan PGA tournaments as well as the 22nd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in 2008 and the 98th Women’s U.S. Amateur in 1998.
The private facility has a veteran golf staff led by Pat Markley, the head golf professional, and Colin Seaberg, the superintendent. The course measures 7,146 yards from the championship tees. Find more information at www.bartonhillscc.com.
The GAM Four-Ball will feature 29 teams in a morning shotgun start, and 40 teams in an afternoon shotgun start.
Last year at Country Club of Lansing Dan Ellis of East Lansing and Jimmy Dewling of Bloomfield Hills, golf coaches, former teammates at Michigan State and both long ball hitters, worked their bombs-away strategy to perfection in winning with a 10-under 61 that was five shots better than the runner-up core of 66 posted by three teams. Ellis and Dewling are not entered in this year’s championship.
Two-time former champions Wes Stewart and Peter vanWezel are coming across the bridge from Windsor, Canada, to compete once again. They won in 2015 and ’16. The 2014 champs, Joe Balaskovitz and Scott O’Neil of Montague, are also in the field.
-Greg Johnson, greg.johnson@emailgam.org