SAGINAW – The GAM
Super Senior Championship has been a popular addition to the tournament schedule,
and Saginaw Country Club has been a recently popular spot for GAM competitors.
The 4th GAM Super
Senior presented by Sullivan Golf Travel heads to the Tri-City Area at Saginaw
Country Club for the 36-hole championship Monday and Tuesday. Saginaw CC just
last summer hosted the Michigan Women’s Amateur and the Michigan Senior Net
Amateur.
The course, which
can be played at 6,143 yards, is sure to identify another great champion. Its
classic design dates to the first nine holes being developed in 1898 by Charles
H. Davis, a devotee of the game who purchased a farm and went to work. By 1902
the club had 100 members. The second nine, which was called the “new course,”
formally opened in 1912 and was designed by Tom Bendelow.
Bendelow is famous
for his design of the Medinah Country Club courses in suburban Chicago, as well
as Birmingham Country Club and The Jewel on Mackinac Island. Saginaw CC’s
course was remodeled in the 1960s, and Michigan golf course architect Jerry
Matthews remodeled parts of the course again in 1983. The current clubhouse
dates back to 1969.
The club has a long
relationship with Golf Association of Michigan tournaments having hosted the
Michigan Amateur Championship eight times dating to 1907. Chad Boyce is the
head golf professional and Rob Steger the superintendent.
The field of 65
golfers will play two days of stroke play to determine an overall champion in
the Super Senior Division (age 65-plus) as well as a Legends Division (age
70-plus) winner. An additional trophy will be awarded to the low score in the
competition by a golfer over age 75.
Defending champion
Rick Hagenbach of South Lyon, last summer’s GAM Super Senior Player of the
Year, is returning to defend his title. The 2015 champion Terry Moore is also
in the field, and 2016 winner John French of Santa Monica, Calif., is playing
this year in the Legends Division.
-Greg Johnson, [email protected]
