ACME – Grand Traverse Resort & Spa will welcome teams from across the state for the 11th GAM Scramble State Championship Sunday and Monday.
The teams will compete in a special scramble format over two days with 18-hole rounds on two of the resort’s courses, Spruce Run and The Bear. Championship teams will be determined in gross and net scoring.
The teams will play their first round Sunday on Spruce Run and the final round will be played on The Bear on Monday.
Grand Traverse Resort & Spa has three golf courses, including Spruce Run, The Bear and The Wolverine.
Spruce Run is the resort’s original course and was first a nine-hole Acme Public Golf Course that was expanded to 18 holes in the 1970s. The course was redesigned as championship layout for the resort in 1979 by William Newcomb and renamed The Resort Course.
In 1992 the name was changed to Spruce Run as a reflection of the numerous spruce and fir trees that line its fairways. Spruce Run was also modified to a par-70 course during the development of The Wolverine course.
Spruce Run is more forgiving that The Bear but retains challenging elements. It was the original three-year host course for the Michigan Open, which has been played at the resort 33 times. The course winds among rolling hills that surround the resort hotel and overlook Grand Traverse Bay, and water comes into play on 13 of the holes.
The Bear opened in 1985 and was celebrated as one of the toughest set of 18 holes in Michigan and one of the 20 toughest courses in the nation at that time by Golf Digest. It has retained much of its bite and remains one of the most popular courses in the state as well as the favored Michigan PGA host of the Michigan Open.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed signature course features Scottish terraced fairways, tiered greens, deep grassy roughs, moguls and mounds, and deep pot bunkers. The rolling land, trees, lakes, streams, fruit orchards, and a variety of wildlife offer golfers a mixture of different elements rarely found on a single course.
Tom McGee is the director of golf operations and Paul Galligan is the director of golf and grounds maintenance. Learn more at grandtraverseresort.com.
Grand Traverse Resort & Spa and nearby Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel are owned and operated by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Resort & Casinos offers world-class gaming, golf, dining, and spa amenities in the northwest corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula. The premier properties include Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, and Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge.
The format for the championship is a 4-person team “step aside” scramble, which means on each hole members of the team hit a tee shot from their designated tee (four sets of tees). The team then selects one of the tee shots and marks the spot from which to play. The player whose shot is selected WILL NOT play the next shot (step aside). This procedure is repeated until the ball is holed.
Teams are made up of any four GAM members – men, women, senior men, and/or senior women, each with a valid Handicap Index. A team’s total index must equal 36.0 or higher. Teams cannot have more than two players with a Handicap Index lower than 10.0 in the last 12 months (year to date).
