Written By: Greg Johnson

YPSILANTI – The 11th GAM Net Chapman was cancelled in May due to tree damage from a storm at Kalamazoo Country Club.

Washtenaw Golf Club has stepped in and will welcome 42 two-golfer teams competing in the 11th GAM Net Chapman Championship presented by Summit Golf Brands on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

The 84 golfers will play 18 holes of net stroke play in the unique Chapman format. In the format each player on the two-person teams plays from the teeing ground and then plays the teammate or partner’s ball for the second shot. After the second shot the partners select the ball with which they wish to score and play that ball alternately to complete the hole.

Washtenaw opened in 1899 and has evolved over the years into a 6,512-yard classic parkland style golf course featuring tree-lined fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and quick, undulating greens.

In January of 2020 KMD Investors took the reins of the historic golf club that is open to the public, and Michigan-based architect Raymond Hearn’s firm is performing master plan renovation and restoration projects.

Hearn’s research of the property found a rare 1930 aerial photograph he has used to bring back some of the classic golf course design features. Through his research Hearn also found at least nine holes of the design should be credited to William Herbert “Bert” Way, a golf professional and course designer from England.

The course has a rich tournament history, including hosting the 1927 Michigan Amateur Championship, and many other tournaments and qualifiers for both the Golf Association of Michigan and the Michigan PGA.

Zach Szawara is the PGA head golf professional and Mark Pappas is the golf course superintendent.

Last year, Jared Aldrich of Ada and Derek Blodgett of Rockford, a pair of 43-year-old salesmen, survived a three-hole aggregate net score playoff and won the 10th GAM Net Chapman Championship presented by Summit Golf Brands at Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort’s Stoatin Brae Course in Augusta, Mich.

Aldrich and Blodgett shot a 5-under 66 in regulation in the unique format, as did Justin Scollin of Royal Oak and Matt White of Whitmore Lake setting up the playoff, which was also played with net scoring. Adrich and Blodgett are returning to defend.