Despite snowfalls in each of the shoulder seasons, great weather in between helped the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa post a 2 percent increase in rounds over what had already been very good back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017. “It was a phenomenal year as a whole for the resort,” reported Director of Golf Operations Tom McGee. Other area clubs also reported improved results compared to previous years.
While the shoulder seasons were filled with white flakes, a warm, dry summer more than made up for a slow start and an early finish to the 2018 golf season for club and resort properties in the Traverse City, Mich. area, reported the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
When a mid-April dumping of snow pushed back the opening date for hitting the links around northern Michigan, the Record-Eagle reported, the staff at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Mich. was determined that the two-week setback wouldn’t linger longer.
“We got off to a shaky start for April,” said the resort’s Director of Golf Operations, Tom McGee. “But our golf course staff did a phenomenal job getting everything ready to open up.”
Even if that meant a little extra effort so the resort could host 30 high school golf teams for the TC Tee-off Invitational on April 27-28. McGee told the Record-Eagle that the property’s operations staff—himself included—joined the grounds crew and shoveled snow out of bunkers, fairways and rough so that it could melt.
“That’s what it takes sometimes,” McGee said.
Rounds on Grand Traverse’s courses—The Bear, The Wolverine and Spruce Run—then rebounded to post a 9.4 percent increase in May and a 9.9 percent in June against the previous year, McGee told the Record-Eagle. “Our numbers were really good for May and June,” he said.
A nearly even July was then followed by a 6 percent drop over a “phenomenal” record-breaking August of 2017, McGee added, before rounds at Grand Traverse finished with a 3.6 percent increase this September.
“We saw tremendous weather from the middle of June to the middle of August,” McGee told the Record-Eagle. “We lost very few days to weather.”
And when the season totals were added up at the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, Grand Traverse Resort saw an increase for its 2018 rounds, the Record-Eagle reported.
“In the big scheme of things, we were up about 2 percent in rounds,” McGee said. “It’s solid. That’s following last year, which was a very good year, and 2016, which was a very good year. So we continue to be on the upswing. It was a phenomenal year as a whole for the resort.”
Lee Stone, who is part of the family that owns Pinecroft Golf Course and Champion Hill Golf Course in Benzie County, Mich., also reported a strong season despite the snowy beginning and end, the Record-Eagle reported.
“Our business was better this year,” Stone said. “It wasn’t good in April and it wasn’t good in October. Otherwise it was a good season. It was an improvement over the last few years.”
Pinecroft closed for the season on October 7th and has already has been winterized, Stone reported, but Champion Hill was still open as November began.
Weather also helped The Crown Golf Club to have a successful season for its 20th year, the Record-Eagle reported.
“It was pretty great weather,” said Don White, the club’s General Manager and Director of Golf.
Nearly 23,000 rounds were recorded on the 18-hole tract in 2018, White reported, up nearly 1,000 from 2017. “It was really good, one of our better [years] in a long time,” he said. “We were really pleased.”
A preferred rate for local residents helped make The Crown a popular destination, White noted. The discount was available to players in the greater Traverse City area who completed a registration form and then made tee times online.
“A lot of people made it a regular thing,” White said. “That has been a big boost.”
A discount rate for older golfers also proved popular, as it has for many area courses, the Record-Eagle noted. “There are a lot of seniors out there looking for a better deal,” White said.
While the property marked its 20thanniversary as The Crown, it dates farther back as the former 9-hole Green Hills Golf Course, the Record-Eagle reported. It was expanded to 18 holes as new home sites, which now approach 200 in total, were added.
“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” White said. “Having the golf course makes it that much better.”
The Crown’s last day for 2018 was scheduled to be November 1st, the Record-Eagle reported. “It’s always sad to see it end,” White said.