BRUTUS – Hidden
River Golf & Casting Club, an award-winning resort destination celebrating
20 years this season, will host the 21st GAM Women’s Senior Championship
presented by the West Michigan Golf Show Monday and Tuesday.
A field of 74 senior women age 50-plus will
battle in a championship flight and four other flights over 36 holes of stroke
play with gross and net prizes awarded.
The W. Bruce
Matthews III-design 14 miles north of Petoskey has garnered multiple awards
since opening, and 10-year PGA golf professional Jerry Roman said it will be a
great place for the Women’s Senior Championship.
“We’ve been
recognized in the past as a top 100 women friendly golf course, and I think
that’s because of our tee options and the course is straight forward with
everything in front of you,” he said. “There are no tricked up green complexes.
This course rewards good shots and bad shots get penalized. The fairways are
pretty generous, but if you do hit it too far off line you do have some heather
or long grass to deal with. I think it will be a great tournament course for
the women.”
Golfweek has ranked
the course among the “Best Courses You Can Play” for the last five years. It is
in a tranquil setting with towering pines, and the Maple River, a blue ribbon
trout stream that hosts private fly fishing, gracefully flows through the property.
It can play as long as 7,101 yards.
The Rainbow Room restaurant
is also award-winning.
As for award
winning, the field of golfers will include five past champions, all with
multiple victories in the 21-year-old championship.
Defending champion
Joan Garety of Ada heads the list. Her 2016 win at Tullymore Golf Resort was
her fourth dating back to 2006.
Susan Campbell of
Kalamazoo, who won three times between 2004 and 2008, is in the field, as well
as two-time champions Barb Schmid of Grand Rapids (2005, 2011), Maureen
Whitehead of Charlevoix (2002, 2003) and Terry Delcamp of Grand Blanc (2014,
2015).
Learn more about
Hidden River at hiddenriver.com.
-Greg Johnson
