Belvedere Golf Club - Tom Watson`s teenage playground holds its own in northern Michigan
Released on = August 2, 2007, 12:15 pm
Press Release Author = GolfPublisher Syndications
Industry = Media
Press Release Summary = Belvedere Golf Club a traditional test in northern Michigan\'s resort country. Course reviews at MichiganGolf.com
Press Release Body = By Brandon Tucker, Staff Writer, Golf Publisher Syndications
Luxury golf courses such as Bay Harbor, Treetops and Grand Traverse have transformed northern Michigan golf in recent years, but 80-year-old Belvedere Golf Club remains a favorite among old Wolverine State golf hands such as PGA Tour legend Tom Watson.
CHARLEVOIX, Mich. - Upscale, modern golf resorts like Treetops and Grand Traverse get the attention as the engine of northern Michigan\'s golf boom. But when PGA Tour legend Tom Watson is around, he steps back a bit further in time
Watson\'s family vacationed in Charlevoix when he was a teenager, and on those summer trips he\'d find his way daily to Belvedere Golf Club. He remains a member today, calling in advance when he plays to head off any clubhouse fuss over his arrival and carrying his own bag as he walks the course.
\"He calls it one of the best in the world,\" Head Professional Steve Braun said. \"I\'m sure that\'s because of nostalgia and childhood memories, but he still comes back.\"
The 80-year-old club is a stalwart of Wolverine State golf, hosting the Michigan Amateur 39 times. Some of the state\'s top players pass up the newer, longer northern Michigan tracks to play Belvedere, and over the years it\'s garnered a reputation among national golf cognoscenti as well.
\"We have a national membership,\" Braun said. \"There are members here who are also members at Augusta National, Cypress Point and Seminole.\"
Belvedere may not be quite as stiff a test as those clubs, which have continually evolved to take on successive generations of the world\'s best players. But it still offers a fair challenge for low-handicappers, along with an understated, traditional brand of prestige.
Running 6,715 yards from the championship tees, the course offers bigger hitters a mix of holes they can really go after and those that call for caution.
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August 2, 2007 Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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