Flint Golf Club, Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor and Dearborn Country Club will each host one third of the field over the next two Mondays in the 13th GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship presented by Stifel Investment Services.
A field of 116 teams, or 232 of Michigan’s top golfers, will compete in the opening segment of the popular championship that features a Senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed up with a Mid-Amateur golfer (23-and-over).
The Flint GC and Travis Pointe fields play 36-holes or two rounds on Monday, May 16, and the Dearborn CC field plays on Monday, May 23.
The teams play four-ball, also known as best-ball, in a morning round, and foursomes, also known as alternate shot, in the afternoon rounds.
Three winning and three runner-up teams will be determined out of the teams at each site, and those six teams will be invited to play in the finals of the championship on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville.
Flint GC and its classic Willie Park Jr.-designed course has hosted golf legends and championships for over a century. The club dates to 1910 as a social club, and the course was opened in 1919. Park, a two-time British Open champion turned designer, fashioned a parkland golf course that has stayed true to its roots over the years. Somewhat unique to the Park design are five par-3 and five par 5 holes.
Flint recently hosted the Michigan PGA Professional Championship for four years and has been a regular host to Golf Association of Michigan tournaments over the years, including the 2001 Michigan Amateur Championship. Part of the club’s history is that legend Sam Snead set the course record in June 1963 shooting a 61.
Flint Golf Club’s staff includes Director of Golf Ed Bialek, and Superintendent Jim Smedley. For more information on the club visit flintgolfclub.com.
Travis Pointe, which from 2016 to 2018 hosted the LPGA Volvik Championship, was designed by Michigan golf architect Bill Newcomb, and opened in 1977. It features six sets of tees to fit golfers of all skill levels and can play over 7,300 yards.
Travis Pointe has hosted several Golf Association of Michigan championships in recent years, including the Michigan Amateur Championship, as well as several Michigan PGA tournaments and USGA qualifiers. This is the second consecutive year it has served as a host for the Senior/Mid-Am Team tournament.
Rocky Mullendore the PGA professional, Aaron Fowler is an assistant golf professional who will be working the tournament and Dan Graft is the superintendent. Learn more at travispointe.com.
Dearborn CC dates to 1923 when Henry Ford requested a course be built that anybody could use. The legendary Donald Ross was hired to design it and it opened for play in 1925. In 1966, architect C.E. Robinson redesigned the course and increased the size of the greens.
Dearborn CC has hosted qualifiers and tournaments for the GAM in the past, and the club hosted the PGA Tour Champions’ Senior Players Championship in 1990 and two LPGA tournaments in its rich history. It can be played over 6,800 yards and set up with as many as eight tee position combinations.
Blake Neinhuis is the head PGA professional and Tom Lewandowski is the superintendent. Learn more at dearborncountryclub.net.
Last year, Saline’s Mike Ignasiak and Chelsea’s Andrew Tindall won the championship finals at Meadowbrook, topping the runner-up teams of Brad Bastion of Shelby Township and Leo Daigle of Wixom and Matt Ostby of Kingsley and Wayne Hamal of Empire by one shot. Ignasiak and Tindall are entered and planning to defend their title.
