Mexican Weather Girl Yanet Garcia Goes From Hot To Cold, Raiders Owner Mark Davis Hits The Slots After MNF & Urban To USC?
I'm back from more Michigan golf and talk about relaxed...it would be difficult to be more relaxed than I am right now
There's just something about Pure Michigan this time of year that has true healing powers. On this trip with the guys, our objective was to hit the Tullymore Golf Resort, which includes the St. Ives golf course. The resort threw in 36 holes, a steak dinner, and one night in the hotel for $200 per person to play Sunday-Monday.
That included taxes.
Simply put, that an absolute steal in this economy, and this post IS #NOTSPONSORED in any fashion. I PAID more hard-earned $200 like the rest of the group.
I'd heard the stories: Tullymore is a Golf Digest Top 100 Public Course in the U.S.
I hear that stuff and just figure the courses pay Golf Digest's marketing team for a spot in the top 100.
Blah, blah, blah.
Then we got out of the car Monday and I started seeing bronze golf statues everywhere and it quickly became clear this place was different. Then we headed into the clubhouse and holy crap, this place was really different. $200? And I'd already sucked down a steak dinner the night before and stayed in a very nice Hampton Inn knockoff at the course?
Okay, so let's see if this place really is a top 100. I went to the men's locker room to see the accommodations (I had to take a leak) -- the best of the best has to have a luxurious locker room, right?
Disclaimer: It was like 7:45 a.m. The place was empty on a frost-delayed Monday morning.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The tile work was amazing. There were individual toilet stalls with maximum privacy with beautiful tile work. The lighting. The plush chairs in the lounge. The granite. The tissue boxes. The artwork on the walls was amazing.
Then we went out and played a course that was incredible. #notsponsored.
There were no throwaway holes where the designer (no idea who designed the course, I'm a D-player who doesn't research such things) didn't take a piss break during the design process and told some intern to throw a straight par-4 into the mix.
There are very short 90-degree doglegs that require precise shots. There are tee shots into par 3s where you can barely see the top of the flag. There are shots blocked by 50-foot trees that require precise navigation. The greens were like putting on laminate floors with all sorts of movement. There are bunkers everywhere. There are all sorts of mounds that punished my ankles.
There was a clear consensus on the way home: We'll be back. For $200 (WITH TAXES!!!!) this was the steal of our golf year.
Quick news and notes:
• Canoe Kirk was spot-on with his two dive bar selections. Flat River Saloon in Six Lakes, MI was a big hit for Sunday breakfast. The four of us walked in and it was like a scene out of Animal House as this full bar of locals just stared at us. The other gem was the Blanchard Bar in Blanchard, MI. The unincorporated village has a population of approximately 1,200, but it felt like about 500 this time of year. We walk in and the place -- again, five people turn around and look at us in amazement that we were there on a Sunday night -- was professionally decorated for Halloween. I'm not talking just a few spiders on the ceiling. I'm talking full-on Hollywood Halloween decorations done by a bartender who recently relocated to the area to take care of his parents who had all the supplies from a previous job near Detroit. Now tiny Blanchard, MI has one of the best-decorated Halloween bars in Michigan.
• We did four meals and a bunch of drinks -- now I know what Galliano tastes like -- at the Flat River Saloon and our bill came to $58. Beers were $2.50. Biscuits and gravy was $4. Bloody Marys were $2. I keep seeing these Instagram memes about how fall golf is amazing in Colorado, New England, Pennsylvania and all these other places, but I just can't pull myself away from the value provided by Michigan. The state just keeps making it impossible to go elsewhere.
• Tullymore to Toledo was 2 hours, and 55 minutes on a Monday, according to Apple Maps.
• BTW, St. Ives was amazing, too. I believe the starter told us all 18 greens on that course are elevated. It's all a blur at this point. I need to go back.
• Monday afternoon we stopped at a dive bar near Lansing and found out that VooDoo Ranger has these 3 1/2 foot bobbleheads. It was chained down to the bar. The bartender said a guy kinda threatened to steal it the first day the owners displayed it. It's been chained ever since.
For the people who constantly say, 'Wow, I feel old'
This one is for you.
Watching football at the golf course
• Exotic Wood Mike in Pasadena writes:
Hope you had a good time swinging the sticks. A few weeks back someone reached out to you about keeping track of football games while on the course. I've had this set-up for at least the last 3 years.
I keep a bungee cord in my golf bag. The Ipad case is slung over the bungee and is resting on the cupholder. It doesn't move, the sound is playing through my Wingman. We put the Red-Zone channel on or the Bears.
Also, I have to believe we were the first (or among the first) to introduce music and speakers on the golf course. My buddies and I started that in Rochester Mn. in 1999, with Mp3 players and portable speakers.
Kinsey:
The courses at Tullymore have the golf carts with the Bluetooth GPS screens, so I just connected my YouTubeTV to the cart and we had full audio of the Lions game and then the Bengals game later in the afternoon. It was priceless. Again, all of that for $200!
Anonymous Lions Fan is starting to believe
• Anonymous in Tennessee writes:
Lifelong Lions fan here once again - Alright, gotta admit, I'm at about half-chub (is that acceptable here?). But on a scale of the Lions will eventually let you down, I'm at about 8/10. Last week I was 9/10. Give me a convincing win vs the Ravens soon and I'll be down to 5/10. Right now my guard is still up.
Didn't watch live - played golf and told the guys that there will be ZERO talk regarding NFL scores as we teed off around 10:30am and I knew I wouldn't get home until 3:00pm at the earliest. I recorded Redzone and watched it when I got back. Avoided social media or any interactions for a few hours.
And Joe B looked way better than we were led to believe. Season get a jump start? Or are you thinking this was a fluke and he really is hurt and can't sustain this?
Kinsey:
Based on the latest probabilities, the Lions are now at 84% probability of making the playoffs and have a 13% probability of playing in the Super Bowl. I'm just sayin'. If you bet futures, you might want to get those Super Bowl future tickets now. The number keeps going down.
This one is for all the T-ball coaches out there
• Thanks to Mike T. in Eagle, Idaho for forwarding this:
Mike T. and Cindy T. have also been getting out and about as the fall colors start to explode
• Mike T. adds:
Beautiful weather here in southern Idaho so we decided to take the 8-hour loop from Boise up and over the Rockies to see the fall colors, spectacular!
Doing good this fall with chili
• John L. writes:
Saturday evening was the annual Chili Dinner for the Bovina Center, New York EMS squad. It was perfect chile weather: Damp, dreary, and 50 degrees. We served over 200 guests all they could eat with a choice of the following homemade varieties:
White (no tomatoes or peppers)
Sweet (baked beans instead of kidney beans)
Vegetarian
Mild
Mild with peppers and onions
Medium
Texas hot
Dove hunting
• Chris B. in Houston writes:
Went dove hunting last weekend. Enjoying the fruits of that labor with an Astros win. I forgot to take a pic of them cooked but they were fantastic.
The Roanoke trip
• Andrew F. in Pittsburgh writes:
I grew up just south of Roanoke in Franklin County (the moonshine capital of the world). Roanoke used to be a major hub for Norfolk and Western (before it was Norfolk Southern) but most everything has moved to Atlanta. If your driver took you thru the hood, I’m gonna guess he took you down Melrose Avenue. It’s the shortest route but definitely not ideal.
Hopefully, you got a chance to see the Roanoke Star at the top of Mill Mountain. It is the world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star. And if nobody told you to get a bowl of chili and a Cheesy Western from Texas Tavern, my old hometown folks failed you miserably.
Kinsey:
During my Roanoke trip last week I had zero time to do anything besides grab dinner at the hotel restaurant, work, sleep, get up, work, grab breakfast at the hotel restaurant, get into an Uber and go to a press conference before going back to the airport. Maybe the next time.
Odd places to watch sports and sunsets
• Rob in Little Elm, TX writes:
So, oddest place to watch sports....well, huge Seahawks fan here, born and raised in Seattle, and my Dad was a Season ticket holder from inception until well into the 80's. I have so many great memories of watching the occasionally competitive Seahawks in the Kingdome as a kid. Fast forward to 2011, and I'm a contactor in the United Arab Emirates, training Tactical Teams and Paramilitary members outside of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Had to watch football, especially my Seahawks, but it was a challenge as the UAE is 12 hours ahead of the US. Many times, I'd set an alarm to get me up at 2 or 3AM to watch a game, often this meant leaving our apartment at 7 to get to work, still watching the game on my phone! Luckily, I pulled that pin and came home for good in 2013, in time to watch the 'Hawks win Super Bowl 48.
Sunrise or Sunset? Definitely sunset. Here are a couple of pics from our place in Fairhope AL, magnificent sunsets almost daily, and just a great place to visit or live.
Hopefully next Sunday will be a great game...here's a little throwback for you as a Bengals fan....SEA and CIN played on Monday Night Football, October 1st of 1990. I was there with my Dad, and they passed out Seahawk hankies, which I still have framed in my office. SEA won 31-16 beating the undefeated (at that point) Bengals. Maybe some repeat history next Sunday?
I can't imagine a morning without my coffee and Screencaps, keep doing what you do!
That's it this morning. It's not lost on me that this world is in a precarious spot right now. It's the job of this column to keep bringing the energy that has made it a must-read for this community. If you can tell a buddy is down in the dumps about the world, send him the column for a week to cheer him up.
We're going to keep moving forward.
Never forget how fortunate we are to call this place home even with all the warts and the dummies who also get to call it home.
Take care. Have a great day.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com