I listened to the Trap Draw episode last week on mid-Michigan and thought I’d check in here to see the discussion on some pending mea culpas from @Tron and @Randy and was shocked to see no discussion anywhere. Not even sure where to begin…
Let me first set the record straight on Sleeping Bear Dunes, which is definitely NOT a state park as Scott the Landscaper would have you believe. Think you’re going to get onto the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive with just MI DNR passport sticker on your license plate? Think again, pal! Sleeping Bear Dunes is in the big leagues, designated as a National Lakeshore within the National Park Service.
I don’t think the ivory towered MBAs have step foot in a Menards either. The place is way more wild than he described. You want a tub full of off brand red vine licorice and full supplies to build a pole barn? Menards is your spot. Good luck finding discount groceries at Lowes or Home Depot.
Meijer was misrepresented as a nicer Kroger. It is indeed a nicer Kroger from a grocery perspective, but also a hardware, garden center, electronics store, etc. A true one-stop shopping experience.
Randy asking the right questions on what is Northern Michigan/“Up North”. Reasonable minds can differ here but I believe US-10 is the divider. Clare/Midland is the starting point for what is considered Up North. I’d actually argue for a northern border of Up North as well, with a line of demarcation at the Mackinac Bridge. The UP is it’s own distinct entity.
Discussion of how to define mid-Michigan was a much tougher scene. Lansing is, by definition, the epicenter of mid-Michigan. No room for debate here. Ludington, on the coast of Lake Michigan, is definitely not mid-Michigan. West Michigan along the big lake is it’s own area.
Aside from these oversights and mischaracterizations, it was a great episode. Did not think I’d ever here places like Clare and Mt Pleasant mentioned around here. I realize why mid-Michigan won’t make the cut into Tourist Sauce, but lots of good golf and good salt of the earth people there.
There was some discussion in the west MI WhatsApp over the weekend but I’m always stoked to hear the crew give MI props and am really looking forward to courses getting the TS treatment. (@Randy hopefully UMGC is on the list? Let me know, I love that place)
Menards was totally undersold for sure, I’d explain it as the place you could buy literally everything to build and furnish a house: tools, raw materials, furnishings, clothes, food, etc. Then you would still have to submit your receipts for a mail in 11% rebate.
Also, no one should go to sleeping bear dunes. It’s already the perfect combination of the greatest place on earth but over crowded. The end of the Empire Bluff trail is probably my favorite spot I’ve been to.
I, being born in Flint and raised in a small town outside of it agree with the ideas that the western Michigan coastal towns and U.P. are their own areas. Though I differ on where “Northern Michigan” begins. To me the latitudinal line from Manistee in the west, to Tawas in the east is the line for “up north” or “northern michigan”. Again, with the UP being its own entity all together.
I was happy the Flintstones got a shoutout(!), but was disappointed that Flint native Jim Abbott got no mention from a baseball lover such as @Randy. Jim Abbott the one-handed pitcher that threw a no-hitter for the NY Yankees against the Indians. Thought that would be right up your alley.
No mention of Oscar winning documentary film maker Michael Moore either? Possibly for the best.
NLU has no hockey fans, so I knew there was no way that the first person ever to win an olympic gold medal for hockey and the Stanley Cup in the same year would be mentioned. But his name is Ken Morrow and he is from Davison Michigan (next to Flint). He won the gold medal with the 1980 USA Olympic (Miracle on Ice) team and then immediately won 4 Stanley Cups in a row with the New York Islanders. Admittedly, he was a stay at home defenseman and not well known outside of Long Island.
More recently, Tim Thomas (also of Davison) also won a Stanley Cup as the Playoff MVP and Best Goaltender of the year for the Boston Bruins in 2011 (at the age of 37!). He chose not to go to the whitehouse with the rest of his team to meet Obama and released a weird libertarian statement against government before retiring and moving to rural Idaho. Bit of an odd guy, but hockey goalies always are.
Barry Stokes was also from Davison and played in the NFL, but I’m not a football guy so I don’t know anything about him.
I’m rambling now, so I’ll wrap up. Thanks for talking Michigan. Hope @Tron enjoys his stay in the Mitten. If you’re up for exploring, you should go to Pictured Rocks on the Lake Superior shore line. Take your family on the hike to Chapel Rock/Chapel Beach. It’s an easy and beautiful walk to a beach enclosed by the pictured rocks cliffs. Experience the U.P.!
In college, we used to explain Meijer to out of state students as a place where at 1:50 in the morning you could buy a case of beer, a change of clothes, small animals, and firearms.
We used to have a family house in Leelanau and would make the drive to Traverse for the Meijer. The place was like heaven compared to the Jewels and Dominick’s back home.
Then Meijer came to Chicagoland around 2002, I cried.
Our special guest had some questionable takes about Mid-Michigan but his thoughts about trees and their ability to “feel” and react to outside stress and stimulus was fascinating. It’s truly a joy to listen to Tron and Randy stumble their way into truly interesting stuff consistently on this “golf” podcast.
Randy, I know you’re doing Michigan tourist sauce but Mid-Michigan Strapped would be appointment viewing.
I’m probably insanely biased because my wife is from Cadillac but you could do:
Eldorado in Cadillac- that course is super unique and their director of golf/head pro fuqs
Cadillac Country Club- it is public now and the back 9 is not only cool as hell but it also has a section that is “historically sensitive”. Which I think is a polite way of saying it’s an Indian burial ground. Just wild.
Champions Hill/ Manistee G&CC- Both are slightly further away but the value of the waterfront views far exceed the overall cost.
Also, not a lot of people know this but Walter Hagen wrote his memoir in Cadillac. He rented a house on Lake Mitchell about 300 feet from where my wedding rehearsal dinner was to write his book. I always thought that was kind of cool.
The take about the Rockies aesthetic from @Tron was truly shocking to me. The Rockies color scheme scheme and logos are great imo. They’re a hell of a lot better than the generic red team #10 business the dbacks switched to. I guess I’m just a sucker for when teams have a unique look.
There are so many places they could do strapped in Michigan idk how they would ever choose. Honestly it would probably be close to a major city but I would love to see some smaller town love. I grew up just north of Bay City and my Aunt’s family owns Maple Leaf Golf Course in Linwood. Been family owned since it was built and I still love trying to get out every time I’m home visiting my parents.
Haven’t gotten to listen to the pod yet but going to be interesting to hear them talk about a place so close to where I grew up.
I really enjoyed the guest saying he had no idea who was interested in hearing this stuff. Clearly he doesn’t understand the Sickos that actually listen to the Trap Draw.
Enjoyed the pod as always. Im from a small town just south of Mt. Pleasant but I attended college in Midland, so I felt I should probably post something. Loved that Currie the local muni course and Maple Leaf got a shoutout and the area is great for golf especially close to Mount Pleasant.
I graduated from Northwood University which is a small Business School in Midland and compete in D-2 athletics and have rivalry with local Saginaw Valley. They might not have a true proper quad lol, but I know @Randy would love all the different trees and peaceful walk on the small campus. Not quite D-1 but the community gets involved for sure. Northwood has a big automotive program and host the largest outdoor auto show in North America each year. The two High Schools in the city are Midland Chemics and the Dow Chargers who are similar in size and have a nice rivalry in athletics also.
I was able to attend the GLBI last Wednesday and had a great time. Was able to follow Madelene and Bronte for most of their round in the afternoon. Definitely check it out the tournament if you get a chance. The team format is pretty cool to watch. @Randy You’re right, Hemlock GC is an awesome hidden gem! Raymond Hearn who designed Hemlock, also helped Jerry Matthews design Eagle Glen in Farwell just west of Clare. I always recommend Eagle Glen for any links golf lovers or anyone traveling north for a trip. Nice seeing Champion Hill and some Manistee courses get some props too!
Looking forward to the new season of Tourist Sauce!
Just finished, it was cool to hear the quick shout out to a course I grew up on. Grew up very lower middle class and would definitely not be a golfer if it wasn’t for my aunt letting me golf for basically free when I was a junior and being so close to the course. He made a quick call out to Currie as well. The OG golf course Currie East is fine, but I really liked the new West 18. Played a lot there in high school tournaments and always enjoyed it. Also when they brought up Frankenmuth couldn’t help but think of The Fortress there. Probably one of my favorite courses I got to play when competing in the area.
On another note. As someone who grew up in and just north of Bay City, Scott definitely kind of came off as someone who lived in Midland and worked at Dow haha. And I say that as someone who worked at Dow Corning before the merger and me moving away. He seems perfectly nice and fine but definitely had that feeling with some of his comments. The comment about the skills trade non-college folk not following college sports was way off. The tri-city area is full of tons of what MSU fans like to call “Walmart Wolverines”. My dad likes to say it’s because of how terrible the Lions have always been, so Michigan football is what everyone watched. Plenty of non-college MSU basketball and more recently football fans as well.
@Tron and @Randy I was born and raised in Lake Jackson, TX and loved hearing it get talked about briefly. Having a downtown area with streets named That Way, Which Way, Any Way, This Way, Circle Way, and Winding Way was interesting, but also sucked. No one had any clue which street was which. If we were ever asked directions we just had to point. Ron Paul also lived in Lake Jackson and was our State Rep. Buc-ee’s started out as corner stores down there. Pretty interesting small town.
Major mea culpa needed. @Tron and @Randy overlooked several time NBA All-Star Jason Richardson from my hometown Saginaw. Watched him ball in high school and took the local scene by storm. JRich loves to play golf, too! Would be good guest for the pod.
I get that Flint is a bit too far south from Midland for the Trap Draw episode, but it’s got the golf strongest pedigree in the region in my opinion. That is both from a course perspective (with Flint GC and Warwick Hills having pretty good golf histories) and from a recent golf content perspective given the recent professional tour stories from from Willie Mack on the men’s side and Shasta Averyhardt on the women’s. We are probably 3 years away from a Trap Draw-Grand Blanc, so I have that going for me…which is nice