Saturday, October 15th was the last day of the 2023 golf season, our standard day for ending a golf season each year. We started the golf season on June 1st and ended October 15th as planned.

We had another wonderful golf season, with outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the fun.joyous.adventuresome atmosphere of a resort course in the wilderness — along with further education of how the golf course now plays a role in the Lodge’s dark sky activities. Individuals can play the historic golf course during the day, taking in the nature in the wilderness. And in the evening be able to stargazing. The new design of the scorecard highlights this.

The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC) and golf course maintenance crews did an excellent job providing a unique experience for people playing this historic course throughout the season.

We continue to focus on being a resort-oriented golf course, focused on lodging guests as a priority, while also allowing the general public to play the course. In 2023 we continued to refine our uniqueness, with this year understanding better how to be a historic wilderness golf course which gets people closer to nature while playing golf. This entailed encouraging walking the course, testing a new flag stick (wooden), testing various mowing strategies, and testing new organic fertilizers and fungicide for snow mold and dollar spots.

Outdoor Activity Center (OAC)

As a reminder, we do not have a pro shop, but rather an outdoor activity center since we offer multiple outdoor activities at the resort — not just golf (e.g., biking and hiking). The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC) was staffed every day of the season, utilizing the historic cabin structure next to hole 1 tee box during the golf season — a transition made in 2020.  

The golf course opened on June 1st, with the OAC operating 9am – 5pm for the entire season. Tee times were also from 9am to 5pm. This was the same as the previous season. However, we did add an additional guideline in 2023, where golfers had to be off the golf course by 7pm. This is so guests can walk the golf course during the evening daylight hours, and scout for where they will stargaze when darkness falls — playing golf during the day and stargazing at night. 

The OAC staff catered to our qualities in being a historic wilderness resort that focuses on providing an outdoor experience. We have incorporated being fun, joyous, and adventuresome by introducing alternative forms of golf to the Keweenaw (e.g. FlingGolf and Disc Golf).

New Score Card Design

In 2023, we redesigned the scorecard. In the new design, we used more recent pictures of the golf course and integrate pictures and information about how the golf course is also part of the dark sky park.

In addition, we changed the par of hole 4 from a par 5 to a par 4. The hole is less than 400 yards, and most par 5s are 500+ yards.

Tee Time Intervals and a Limit to Daily Rounds

In 2022 we went from 10-minute tee-time intervals to 15-minute tee-time intervals. This year, as we limited the daily rounds to 44 rounds a day to ensure that golfers felt they were in the wilderness, we decided to move to 20-minute tee-time intervals.

This is different than other golf courses. Golf courses in urban areas work off of 7-8-minute tee-time intervals. So 20-minute tee-time intervals and a limit of 44 rounds a day is something counter to most golf courses. We feel the tee-time intervals and the limit of 44 rounds is necessary to ensure guests understand and feel the wilderness aspect of the historic wilderness golf course at the Lodge. This also means that individuals are not rushed, and have no anxiety when playing the course — ensuring a fun.joyous.adventuresome experience.

Fling Golf

This season we continued to offer guests the opportunity to play FlingGolf – think golf, but using a Lacrosse stick to throw the ball instead of hitting it with a club.  We had an array of FlingSticks available for rent at the OAC. Not only was FlingGolf fun and family friendly, it allowed for a unique alternative to golf, broadening our options to guests. We received regular, positive feedback from guests as well as staff on how much fun FlingGolf is at the Lodge. 

Electric Golf Carts – Quiet

The E-Z-GO RXV ELiTE carts continue to be a strong addition to the quietness at the resort, and providing golfers a new experience for getting around the course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. These carts are powered with Samsung SDI Lithium Technology batteries, providing golfers excellent mobility without sacrificing the wilderness golfing experience. Each EZ-GO ELiTE was also equipped with GPS technology which allowed us to prevent the carts from driving on greens, tee boxes, or through the rough, which helped us maintain the condition of those sensitive areas, as well as the carts themselves. [read more about our fleet, here]

But we encouraged walking first this season.

Tempo Walks

Last season, we brought in a new technology to focus on how the sport was started – walking a round of golf. However, this year we had technical difficulties with the Tempo Walks (Club Car’s robotic caddie), and they did not go out on the golf course (we are working with Club Car on getting this back on the golf course in 2023 so that golfers can enjoy the Lodge golf course while walking the wilderness of the Keweenaw. [ read more about our Tempo Walks, here ] — last year we didn’t have the tempo walks working. And this year we did. We led with walking, and had more walkers than in any of the previous 4 years. Walking activity continues to increase.

Using the CaddyTek EZ-Fold Pushcarts.

Rental Golf Clubs

And our Callaway club rentals continued to be a solid addition to providing golfers the ability to play quality clubs. And a good relationship with Callaway.

In 2024 we are looking to add to our rental clubs along the theme of our historical nature. We are looking having a set or two of hickory sticks available for rent.

Two Tee Markers

We moved away from a four-tee system to a two-tee system: Iron and Copper. This makes the course simpler and more straight forward for golfers and for the maintenance crew.

Flags

We moved away from color-coated flags (blue, white, and red) to a rustic & wilderness oriented flag embroidered with the main KML logo — which is representative of the brand and image of the Lodge. [ These flags are made by Prestige Flags ]

Wooden Flagsticks

We tested out the wooden flag sticks on holes 1 (5-foot) and 9 (7 foot) greens. And then bought all of them. In 2024, we will have all wooden flag sticks, 5-feet high on the greens. 5-foot flagsticks is what the golf course had when it originally opened (history). [ These flagsticks are made by Cheesebrough ]

Golf Course Maintenance

Our golf course maintenance crew did an exceptional job this season keeping the course in great shape, especially since we had staff members leave before and during the season, and we had a limited amount of rain during most of our playing season (approximately 3 inches of rain from June 1st fo September 15th). The core crew worked exceptionally hard to irrigate and mow the turf keep the turf in good shape.

Long-time golf course superintendent, Bill Alband, retired at the end of the 2021 season. However, he was willing to help out in 2022 on a part-time basis this season (marking his 27th year working at the Lodge). This was very important for the golf course maintenance crew as the person that was hired to fill Bill’s shoes left before the golf course opened for the season. This meant that Bill spent the summer teaching John Mueller the ins-and-outs of nuances for maintaining the Lodge course (i.e. co-superintendents). Long-time Lodge team member, Ron Koski, sadly passed away in April. He loved being out on the golf course and working the mowers — fairways and rough mowing. This season, Mason Codre returned for a 2nd year and helped to fill the void of Catman’s passing. He stepped up to handle more of the prep work in May, and focused on tees and rough mowing. Naya Mueller stepped into a new role a the Lodge and mowed the fairways. Mowing fairways became an evening job, as we were able to do that once the golf course were finished playing for the evening by 7pm.

Snow Mold

Snow mold was prevalent in May, with the interesting weather we had over winter — where experienced rain at least once a month, which traps moisture under the snow. With a week of 60 degree weather in mid-April, snow mold took hold. When all the snow had melted after a late snow fall May 1st, we saw 30-40% of each green scarred with snow mold. We let nature do it’s job, and the last day of May saw 90 degree weather to encourage growth. Even with a good healthy growth on the green the last 10 days of May, we still saw a scarring on the greens when we opened June 1st. It took another 3-4 weeks before we saw the greens back to the quality putting surface that we wanted to see for the season.

Bruce Williams visit in May to inspect the course. This was his 2nd year to visit and provide advice on how to improve the playing surface on the Lodge course.

Craig Moore, from Marquette Golf Club, also helped out this season. He provided advice on fungicide applications, and helped apply several applications of a test fungicide in the fall (October and November).

During the summer / fall, we did several sprays with fungicides (for snow mold, dollar spots, and moss). We also did several granular applications of fungicides and insecticides (for cut worms).

We strive to have the greens in excellent shape, good tee boxes, and decent fairways. We were able to accomplish that with the golf course maintenance crew. Especially, with the snow mold experience when the snow melted in April / May.

Aerating and Topdressing the Greens

The team was able to aerate the greens in one day. We closed the course on Sunday, September 17th, and we aerated all 10 greens. We then spent the following week top dressing the greens to fill in the aerated holes with sand. The aerating of the greens in September is to improve the probability the greens will be good next season (in 2024).

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Resources

We improved our resources for golf course maintenance in 2023. We purchased a Foley reel grinder and a Foley bedknife grinder to be able to keep our mowing units in better shape. Having mowing units that are sharp helps keep the grass healthy when cutting blades of grass. As well, we purchased a Bobcat mini-excavator to do special projects around the Lodge, including on the golf course.

Now that the season has come to a close, the grounds crew is preparing for the upcoming winter in order to prevent snow mold and other casualties that could possibly harm the course in the future.

Island in the Pond on Hole 6 Removed

Started to temoved the island on hole 6 in November – no snow in November — Martin, and John. [ Updated 2023-12-24: Chris and John finished removing the island ] 

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Wildlife and Nature on the Golf Course

An aspect of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge’s golf course that is regularly commented on by guests is the likelihood of seeing wildlife on and around the course. Whether it be crows sounding a “wake-up alarm” around the cabins, painted lady butterflies feeding on nectar from the viburnum planted in front of the lodge, deer eating apples from the apple tree along the Hole 4 fairway, or the occasional black bear that strolls through our campus, one-on-one encounters with wildlife really emphasize for people the surrounding wilderness landscape and connect them personally with our environment. These are just a couple of the many examples of wildlife encounters around and on the golf course this past season. 

A pair of Sandhill Cranes nested on the course again this year. Their nest was not successful; however, they remained on the course throughout the season until they migrated south.

We recognize the value of maintaining healthy ecosystems and getting the chance to encounter wildlife in such ways. To help protect our environment while preserving the natural heritage of the game of golf, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf (ASCP-Golf). ASCP-Golf is an education and certification program developed by Audubon International to help enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations. The ASCP-Golf program takes stock of and then develops a plan for improvement around six key environmental components:

• Environmental Planning
• Wildlife and Habitat Management
• Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
• Water Conservation
• Water Quality Management
• Outreach and Education

Much of our effort to gain this certification will occur without much notice by guests. However, when you visit us over the next several years there are some aspects you might see. For instance, an effort to convert some of the areas of rough to help local pollinators and aid in Monarch butterfly migration by planting native wildflowers and grasses and bee population.

If you see work being done on the course and are not sure what it is, please ask. We are very excited to talk about the future of the ASCP-Golf at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

[ Learn more about the application ]

[ Read the 2022 Golf Season Recap ]

Looking Forward: The 2024 Season

Looking forward to the next season, here are several items we will be focusing on in 2023:

• Continue to promote exercise / walking, by carrying one’s bag, using a pull cart, or using a Tempo Walk 
• Continue to improve the historic nature of the golf course
• Continue to improve the wilderness nature of the golf course
• Increase the awareness of the wildlife and nature associated with the golf course
• Moving through the process of becoming a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course
• Wooden flag sicks (5-feet)
• New tee markers, made by our team

Until June 1st, 2024, the golf course is now closed and has been put to sleep for the winter.

[ a historic wilderness golf course ]

— not a golf course in the wilderness —

UPDATE December 24, 2024

With no snow on Christmas Eve Day, Chris and John finished up removing the island in the pond on hole 6.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

Last Friday, September 22nd, the golf course maintenance crew finished up the aerating and top dressing the greens on the golf course.  On Sunday, September 17th, we closed the course and aerated all the greens. Then throughout the following week we top dressed the greens, finishing up no Friday, September 22nd. 

Doing the aerating at this time of year is now our regular schedule, with this being the 5th year in keeping with this schedule.

Yes, at the top of the Keweenaw, we still have good weather to play golf. So some golfers question why we are aerating the greens at this time. We would like to continue to have a quality putting surface to play on.

The reason for performing the aerating is because of the good weather. We should not aerate when there is poor weather (e.g. rain, snow, etc.). We need to take advantage of this weather when we can. Prior to 2019, aerating was pushed back as far into the fall season as possible. As a result, aerating would not take place every year because the weather would turn wet before being able to aerate.

[ USGA: Why do golf courses aerate putting greens ]

If we are to continue to have quality greens on the Lodge golf course we need to improve the probability the golf course maintenance crew we can do a quality job. Aerating in mid-September is part of that strategy. This strategy also means greens will be ready earlier in June (rather than in mid-July if not later). [ see the aerating / top dressing schedule for next season, 2024 ]

If you are still wanting to play this week, the golf course will be open during the aerating and top dressing process. Golfers will need to play around the green which the crew is working on, and then come back and play that hole or play another hole to ensure you get your full 9- or 18-hole round completed.

The green fees are still the regular green fees as they stay the same throughout the season (June 1st to October 15th). You can find them online here.

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Saturday, October 15th was the last day of the 2022 golf season. We had a wonderful golf season, with outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the fun. joyous. adventuresome atmosphere of a resort course in the wilderness. A dry summer with little rain had our team working the irrigation system to keep the course in great shape. The golf course approximately 3 inches of rain from June 1st to September 15. We finally had some late seasonal rains brought the whole course back to lush green in October. The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC) and golf course maintenance crews did an excellent job providing a unique experience for people playing this historic course.

As with 2021. there were multiple reports that “the course is in the best condition they I’ve ever seen” have been common all season.

The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC), was staffed every day of the season, utilizing the historic cabin structure next to hole 1 tee box. Our rounds were down from previous years; however, our revenue was around the same as previous years for golf — while providing 15-minute tee-time intervals so that individuals do not feel rushed. Our goal is not to increase the number of rounds, but to provide a fun, joyous, and adventuresome experience for golfers. Thus, we are happy when we are seeing that one of our biggest compliments from golfers is that they are able to enjoy a quality wilderness experience at the top of the Keweenaw. Wonderful! We are trying to get people closer to nature, including when they are walking and playing the golf course. 

The golf course opened on June 1st, with the OAC operating 9am – 5pm for the entire season. We scaled back the hours (previous year was 8am – 6pm), and this change had a positive result with maintaining the golf course and providing golfers with a quality experience. Golfers were still able to check in for their tee times at the OAC and make tee times via our online tee time system (provided by Lightspeed Golf).

We managed the operations throughout the season so we could provide optimum customer service. With our first tee time each day being 9am, and our last tee time 5pm, we were able to staff the activity center with team members that could answer questions about the golf activities, as well other activities (e.g., biking and hiking).

The OAC staff catered to our qualities in being a historic wilderness resort that focuses on providing an outdoor experience. We have incorporated being fun, joyous, and adventuresome by introducing alternative forms of golf to the Keweenaw (e.g. FlingGolf and Disc Golf), we have freshened up our merchandise offerings, and enhanced the experience for our customers overall.

Starting in the 2020 season, we made the decision to be a resort-oriented golf course. This meant no longer holding tournaments, having memberships available, or golf cart storage. This decision was made so we did not have resources being diverted from our primary reason of operations — being a resort (as opposed to a country club). This allowed us to focus on our primary target market – the guests that stay at the resort.

As with the previous two years (2020 and 2021), this year we continued to see people stay in cabins, and have both their golf clubs and their bikes with them. They would ride in the morning, and play 9-holes in the afternoon. Or they would play golf one day, and ride and/or hike the next day. Having biking and hiking trail access from the property, and a golf course out their cabin door, allows Lodge guests to easily take advantage of what the Keweenaw and the Lodge have to offer without having to use their cars.

The E-Z-GO RXV ELiTE carts continue to be a strong addition to the quietness at the resort, and providing golfers a new experience for getting around the course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. These carts are powered with Samsung SDI Lithium Technology batteries, providing golfers excellent mobility without sacrificing the wilderness golfing experience. Each EZ-GO ELiTE was also equipped with GPS technology which allowed us to prevent the carts from driving on greens, tee boxes, or through the rough, which helped us maintain the condition of those sensitive areas, as well as the carts themselves. [read more about our fleet, here]

Last season, we brought in a new technology to focus on how the sport was started – walking a round of golf. However, this year we had technical difficulties with the Tempo Walks (Club Car’s robotic caddie), and they did not go out on the golf course (we are working with Club Car on getting this back on the golf course in 2023 so that golfers can enjoy the Lodge golf course while walking the wilderness of the Keweenaw. [ read more about our Tempo Walks, here ]

Even though the Tempo Walks did not work for us this season, we did see an increase in people walking the golf course and using the CaddyTek EZ-Fold Pushcarts.

And our Callaway club rentals continued to be a solid addition to providing golfers the ability to play quality clubs.

Our golf course maintenance crew did an exceptional job this season keeping the course in great shape, especially since we had staff members leave before and during the season, and we had a limited amount of rain during most of our playing season (approximately 3 inches of rain from June 1st fo September 15th). The core crew worked exceptionally hard to irrigate and mow the turf keep the turf in good shape.

Long-time golf course superintendent, Bill Alband, retired at the end of the 2021 season. However, he was willing to help out in 2022 on a part-time basis this season (marking his 27th year working at the Lodge). This was very important for the golf course maintenance crew as the person that was hired to fill Bill’s shoes left before the golf course opened for the season. This meant that Bill spent the summer teaching John Mueller the ins-and-outs of nuances for maintaining the Lodge course (i.e. co-superintendents). Long-time Lodge team member, Ron Koski, did a wonderful job keeping the grass mowed, with the help of seasonal help (Aidan and Mason).

We strive to have the greens in excellent shape, good tee boxes, and decent fairways. We were able to accomplish that with the golf course maintenance crew. This is evident in the positive responses we received from golfers.

Now that the season has come to a close, the grounds crew is preparing for the upcoming winter in order to prevent snow mold and other casualties that could possibly harm the course in the future.

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Fling Golf

This season we continued to offer guests the opportunity to play FlingGolf – think golf, but using a Lacrosse stick to throw the ball instead of hitting it with a club.  We had an array of FlingSticks available for rent a t the OAC. Not only was FlingGolf fun and family friendly, it allowed for a unique alternative to golf, broadening our options to guests. We received regular, positive feedback from guests as well as staff on how much fun FlingGolf is at the Lodge. 

Wildlife and Nature on the Golf Course

An aspect of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge’s golf course that is regularly commented on by guests is the likelihood of seeing wildlife on and around the course. Whether it be crows sounding a “wake-up alarm” around the cabins, painted lady butterflies feeding on nectar from the viburnum planted in front of the lodge, deer eating apples from the apple tree along the Hole 4 fairway, or the occasional black bear that strolls through our campus, one-on-one encounters with wildlife really emphasize for people the surrounding wilderness landscape and connect them personally with our environment. These are just a couple of the many examples of wildlife encounters around and on the golf course this past season. 

A pair of Sandhill Cranes nested on the course again this year. Their nest was not successful; however, they remained on the course throughout the season until they migrated south. They became very accustomed to the golfers and golf carts and provided some great opportunities for photos. 

A pair of Merlins (a type of small falcon), nested in a pine tree between Holes 8 and 9 this season. They successfully fledged three young. A windstorm in early September forced them out of their nest because a large branch fell through it. Fortunately, the young were developed enough to fly and all survived.

As usual, there continues to be a healthy population of squirrels and chipmunks on the property. Near the end of the summer, an immature red-tailed hawk discovered this fact and took up temporary residence near the OAC. It was, on multiple occasions, seen gliding low among the trees, then snagging an unsuspecting chipmunk or squirrel for its meal.

We recognize the value of maintaining healthy ecosystems and getting the chance to encounter wildlife in such ways. To help protect our environment while preserving the natural heritage of the game of golf, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge has joined the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf (ASCP-Golf). ASCP-Golf is an education and certification program developed by Audubon International to help enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations. The ASCP-Golf program takes stock of and then develops a plan for improvement around six key environmental components: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management, and Outreach and Education.

While much of our effort to gain this certification will occur without much notice by guests. When you visit us over the next year there are some aspects you might see. For instance, we have already started an effort to convert some of the areas of rough to help local pollinators and aid in Monarch butterfly migration by planting native wildflowers and grasses. If you see work being done on the course and are not sure what it is, please ask. We are very excited to talk about the future of the ASCP-Golf at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

Looking Forward: The 2023 Season

Looking forward to the next season, here are several items we will be focusing on in 2023:

• Continue to promote exercise / walking, by carrying one’s bag, using a pull cart, or using a Tempo Walk 
• Increase the awareness and activity of Speed golf on our golf course
• Evaluate, design, and implement a Foot Golf course
• Increase the awareness of the wildlife and nature associated with the golf course
• Moving through the process of becoming a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course

Until June 1st next year, the golf course is now closed and being put to sleep for the winter.

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

Last Thursday, September 15th, the golf course maintenance crew is working on aerating and top dressing the greens on the golf course.  We started on last Thursday, and will continue this week, to get the greens aerated and top dressed. 

Doing the aerating at this time of year is now our regular schedule, with this being the 4th year in keeping with this schedule.

Yes, at the top of the Keweenaw, we still have good weather to play golf. So some golfers question why we are aerating the greens at this time. We would like to continue to have a quality putting surface to play on.

The reason for performing the aerating is because of the good weather. We should not aerate when there is poor weather (e.g. rain, snow, etc.). We need to take advantage of this weather when we can. Prior to 2019, aerating was pushed back as far into the fall season as possible. As a result, aerating would not take place every year because the weather would turn wet before being able to aerate.

If we are to continue to have quality greens on the Lodge golf course we need to improve the probability the golf course maintenance crew we can do a quality job. Aerating in mid-September is part of that strategy. This strategy also means greens will be ready earlier in June (rather than in mid-July if not later).

If you are still wanting to play this week, the golf course will be open during the aerating and top dressing process. Golfers will need to play around the green which the crew is working on, and then come back and play that hole or play another hole to ensure you get your full 9- or 18-hole round completed.

The green fees are still the regular green fees as they stay the same throughout the season (June 1st to October 15th). You can find them online here.

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With the focus on being a resort-oriented golf course as an amenity for Lodge guests, along with being accessible to the general public, the overall condition of the golf course continued to improve again this year (reports, throughout the season, from many long-time patrons such as “the course is in the best condition they I’ve ever seen” have been common all season). The Outdoor Activity Center (OAC), was staffed every day of the season and there was only one day (21 September) that the course was closed, due to extreme weather. We continued to have over 3,000 rounds per year, while providing 15-minute tee-time intervals so that individuals do not feel rushed — one of our biggest compliments is that golfers are able to enjoy a quality wilderness experience at the top of the Keweenaw.

The golf course opened on June 1st, with the OAC operating 8am – 6pm for the entire season. Golfers were able to either check in for their tee time at the OAC or make tee times via our online tee time system (provided by Lightspeed Golf).

We managed the operations throughout the season so we could provide optimum customer service. With our first tee time each day being 8am, and our last tee time 6pm, we were able to staff the activity center with team members that could answer questions about the golf activities, as well other activities (e.g., biking and hiking).

The OAC staff catered to our qualities in being a historic wilderness resort that focuses on providing an outdoor experience. We have incorporated being fun, joyous, and adventuresome by introducing alternative forms of golf to the Keweenaw (e.g. FlingGolf and Disc Golf, and we continue to look into adding footgolf to the golf repertoire), we have freshened up our merchandise offerings, and enhanced the experience for our customers overall.

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Resort Golf Course

Starting in the 2020 season, we made the decision to be a resort-oriented golf course. This meant no longer holding tournaments, having memberships available, or golf cart storage. This decision was made so we did not have resources being diverted from our primary reason of operations — being a resort (as opposed to a country club). This allowed us to focus on our primary target market – the guests that stay at the resort.

As with 2020, this year we continued to see people stay in cabins, and have both their golf clubs and their bikes with them. They would ride in the morning, and play 9-holes in the afternoon. Or they would play golf one day, and ride and/or hike the next day. Having biking and hiking trail access from the property, and a golf course out their cabin door, allows Lodge guests to easily take advantage of what the Keweenaw and the Lodge have to offer without having to use their cars.

Number of Rounds

This year we had 3,139 rounds. This is a decrease of 265 rounds from 2020, where we experienced 3,404 rounds — an 8% decline, after seeing a 17% increase in 2020 over 2019.  The most rounds played in a single day this year was 66, with our average number of rounds per day being just over 23. Based on the data available for the past three seasons, we are trending upwards toward our goal of hosting 30-50 rounds per day, with 15-minute tee time intervals — giving us the ability to provide a quality wilderness experience for our guests.

EZ-GO ELiTE Golf Cart Fleet

We introduced a new fleet of fifteen E-Z-GO RXV ELiTE carts this year, bringing golfers a new experience for getting around the course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. These carts are powered with Samsung SDI Lithium Technology batteries, providing golfers excellent mobility without sacrificing the wilderness golfing experience. Each EZ-GO ELiTE was also equipped with GPS technology which allowed us to prevent the carts from driving on greens, tee boxes, or through the rough, which helped us maintain the condition of those sensitive areas, as well as the carts themselves. [read more about our fleet, here]

Club Car Tempo Walks

This season, we also brought in a new technology to focus on how the sport was started – walking a round of golf. Our Tempo Walks (Club Car’s robotic caddie) brought an old experience for getting around the course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge back to life. Enjoying the game of golf with a nice stroll through the wilderness of the Keweenaw with the wildlife is an aspect that sets the Lodge golf course apart from other area golf courses. [ read more about our Tempo Walks, here ]

Caddytek Push/Pull Carts

Eight CaddyTek EZ-Fold Pushcarts were added to our rental selection this year. The pushcarts have a number of features which received numerous compliments throughout the season, such as: wide-base wheels that allow the cart to easily roll on different surfaces. adjustable handles for multiple pushing positions, a lightweight and durability design, and foldability for efficient storage when not in use.

Callaway Club Rentals

This past summer, we also offered full sets of 2021 Calloway clubs for our club rental. The men’s sets  included, the Callaway Epic Speed Driver and 3-wood, Maverick irons (4-9) and wedges, and Odyssey White Hot OG #7 putters for both right- and left-handed sets. The women’s sets included the Callaway Big Bertha REVA Driver and 5-wood, Maverick Max W Hybrids (4 & 5), Irons (6-9) and wedges, and Odyssey White Hot OG #5 putter, in both right-and left-handed models. The OAC staff was regularly hearing from golfers who rented the clubs how pleased they were with their performance and availability.

Golf Course Maintenance

Our golf course maintenance crew has done an exceptional job this season keeping the course in great shape. We strive to have the greens in excellent shape, good tee boxes, and finally decent fairways. We have received positive responses from players returning to play from previous year. Throughout the season, we have heard from players that the “course has never been this good in the past”. Now that the season has come to a close, the grounds crew is preparing for the upcoming winter in order to prevent snow mold and other casualties that could possibly harm the course in the future.

Fling Golf

This season we continued to offer guests the opportunity to play FlingGolf – think golf, but using a Lacrosse stick to throw the ball instead of hitting it with a club.  We had an array of FlingSticks available for rent a t the OAC. Not only was FlingGolf fun and family friendly, it allowed for a unique alternative to golf, broadening our options to guests. We received regular, positive feedback from guests as well as staff on how much fun FlingGolf is at the Lodge. 

Disc Golf

In addition to the improved shape of the golf course, our OAC and maintenance staff worked on improving the playability of the Disc Golf course on the opposite side of the property. In recent years, the disc course was rarely maintained on a regular basis, which led to an overgrowth of obstructive vegetation. This caused the course to not be as enjoyable to play. With the Disc Golf course better maintained, and providing Disc Golf rentals at the OAC, many of our lodging guests, as well as those who love to explore the area, have been able to enjoy the Disc Golf course multiple times.

Wildlife and Nature on the Golf Course

An aspect of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge’s golf course that is regularly commented on by guests is the likelihood of seeing wildlife on and around the course. Whether it be crows sounding a “wake-up alarm” around the cabins, painted lady butterflies feeding on nectar from the viburnum planted in front of the lodge, deer eating apples from the apple tree along the Hole 4 fairway, or the occasional black bear that strolls through our campus, one-on-one encounters with wildlife really emphasize for people the surrounding wilderness landscape and connect them personally with our environment. These are just a couple of the many examples of wildlife encounters around and on the golf course this past season. 

A pair of Sandhill Cranes nested on the course again this year. Their nest was not successful; however, they remained on the course throughout the season until they migrated south. They became very accustomed to the golfers and golf carts and provided some great opportunities for photos. 

A pair of Merlins (a type of small falcon), nested in a pine tree between Holes 8 and 9 this season. They successfully fledged three young. A windstorm in early September forced them out of their nest because a large branch fell through it. Fortunately, the young were developed enough to fly and all survived.

As usual, there continues to be a healthy population of squirrels and chipmunks on the property. Near the end of the summer, an immature red-tailed hawk discovered this fact and took up temporary residence near the OAC. It was, on multiple occasions, seen gliding low among the trees, then snagging an unsuspecting chipmunk or squirrel for its meal.

We recognize the value of maintaining healthy ecosystems and getting the chance to encounter wildlife in such ways. To help protect our environment while preserving the natural heritage of the game of golf, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge has joined the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf (ASCP-Golf). ASCP-Golf is an education and certification program developed by Audubon International to help enhance the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations. The ASCP-Golf program takes stock of and then develops a plan for improvement around six key environmental components: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management, and Outreach and Education.

While much of our effort to gain this certification will occur without much notice by guests. When you visit us over the next year there are some aspects you might see. For instance, we have already started an effort to convert some of the areas of rough to help local pollinators and aid in Monarch butterfly migration by planting native wildflowers and grasses. If you see work being done on the course and are not sure what it is, please ask. We are very excited to talk about the future of the ASCP-Golf at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

Looking Forward: The 2022 Season

Looking forward to the next season, here are several items we will be focusing on in 2022:

• Continue to promote exercise / walking, by carrying one’s bag, using a pull cart, or using a Tempo Walk 
• Increase the awareness and activity of Speed golf on our golf course
• Evaluate, design, and implement a Foot Golf course
• Increase the awareness of the wildlife and nature associated with the golf course
• Moving through the process of becoming a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Golf Course

John Mueller

founder, golfer, runner, professor, entrepreneurship

This week, September 13-17, 2021, the golf course maintenance crew is working on aerating and top dressing the greens on the golf course.  They started on Monday, and will continue through Friday, to get the greens aerated and top dressed.

Doing the aerating at this time of year is now our regular schedule, with this being the 3rd year in keeping with this schedule.

Yes, at the top of the Keweenaw, we still have good weather to play golf. So some golfers question why we are aerating the greens at this time. They would like to continue to have a quality putting surface to play on.

The reason for performing the aerating is because of the good weather. We should not aerate when there is poor weather (e.g. rain, snow, etc.). We need to take advantage of this weather when we can. Prior to 2019, aerating was pushed back as far into the fall season as possible. As a result, aerating would not take place every year because the weather would turn wet before being able to aerate.

If we are to continue to have quality greens on the Lodge golf course we need to improve the probability the golf course maintenance crew we can do a quality job. Aerating in mid-September is part of that strategy. This strategy also means greens will be ready earlier in June (rather than in mid-July if not later).

If you are still wanting to play this week, the golf course will be open during the aerating and top dressing process. Golfers will need to play around the green which the crew is working on, and then come back and play that hole or play another hole to ensure you get your full 9- or 18-hole round completed.

The green fees are still the regular green fees as they stay the same throughout the season (June 1st to October 15th). You can find them online here.

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For the 2021 golf season we started off with new Callaway golf club rental sets at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge (KML) golf course. The sets include men’s and women’s clubs, both right-handed and left-handed sets. These options have been beneficial for our guests this summer, as we have had men and women use all of the sets. These rental sets allowed guests to not have to worry about traveling with their own clubs, and really relax and enjoy the golf course and their overall travel activities.

We wanted nothing less for our guests at the resort. 

The choice of Callaway was easy as the company is constantly pushing the boundaries of golf innovation. The men’s sets include the Epic Speed drivers, MAVRIK irons, and Odyssey putters. The women’s sets have a mix of Big Bertha REVA drivers, MAVRIK MAX hybrids, MAVRIK MAX irons, and Odyssey putters. 

Callaway’s Epic Speed drivers are the highlight of these rental bags. These are the fastest drivers on the market and their design has a profound impact on a persons game. Callaway’s Jailbreak Speed Frame was designed using artificial intelligence (AI). By applying AI technology, the structure of the head has improved stability in horizontal, vertical and torsional directions. The Flash Face of the club was also designed using AI technology. The Big Bertha drivers have all of the same tech as the Epics but with slightly more weight and size in the head. This promotes better launch angles and puts a stop to slicing.

The MAVRIK Irons are yet another AI driven design that again calls upon flash face technology to improve loft and speed. The sound of the irons were also taken into account. The tungsten energy core is held in place by urethane microspheres. This allows for a great amount of sound dampening.    

The putters for all bags are a mix of Odyssey White-Hot OG #5’s and #7’s. The 2 layer urethane insert is the same model that Callaway has been using for years. The milling on these putters is extremely high quality and provides a fun and streamlined look. 

Experience the Jewel of the Keweenaw with state of the art clubs! We look forward to seeing at the Lodge, and helping you experience the golf course at its best!

Enjoying the game of golf with a nice stroll through the wilderness of the Keweenaw with the wildlife is an aspect that sets the Lodge golf course apart from other area golf courses. The history of golf is built upon walking, and with the recent pandemic, walking has become more en vogue. A recent article in the New York Times supports this notion that more and more golfers are walking and getting more exercise: “Golf Carts Are Parked, Walking Is In and, Yes, It’s Exercise”. With outdoor activities one of the main focuses of the resort, the Lodge is going back to the roots of the game and promoting walking, using a fun, new technology — marrying history with the future to get to a vibrant and progressive present. 

The Tempo Walk has an aluminum body and runs on a lithium-ion battery, big enough to carry a 36-hole charge. The product weighs 95 pounds, and it moves at 7 mph, easily faster than the average human walking. The golfer wears a transmitter on their waist belt in the back. The transmitter has one simple control, an on/off switch. To start the Tempo Walk simply walk in front of it and stand about four feet from the machine and turn the switch to “on”. Robo Caddie will start to follow you once you begin walking. It maintains an operating distance of 2 to 6 feet behind you. It has three sensors in the front of the machine similar to the back up sensors found in cars. These sensors let the Tempo Walk know if something is in front of it or if you have stopped walking. It will abruptly stop to avoid running into you or hitting an obstacle. Like a traditional golf cart you cannot take the Tempo Walks onto the greens or tee boxes, you easily just switch it to “off” when you approach the greens.

Club Car has been making golf carts since 1958 and by 2010 they had sold over 2,000,0000 carts. Coincidentally, Club Cars original golf carts had three wheels like the Tempo Walk. In 2019 Tempo Walks were introduced at the PGA Merchandise Show. “For fitness minded golfers and those who enjoy walking, Tempo Walk delivers a caddie-like experience different than traditional push carts, electric or otherwise,” states Mark Wagner, president of Club Car.

Another great feature of Robo Caddie is an on-board GPS system which allows you to see how far you are from the hole. This information is displayed on a tablet that is attached to the front of the Tempo Walk. On the tablet screen, yardage is provided to the front, center, and back of the green (labeled “F, C, B”), with the yardage accurate within 2 yards. There is also a USB outlet if you want to charge a phone while playing your round of golf at the Lodge. The Tempo Walk carries your bag, comes with a small cooler, and has holders for your water bottle and other accessories. With the introduction of he Tempo Walk at the Lodge, the Outdoor Services team is providing solutions that combine natural exercise (walking) with the use of technology to bring back the simplicity of the game in a new and exciting way.

Next time you are deciding to play a round of golf at the Lodge, ask one of the Outdoor Services team members about the Tempo Walk instead. You will see their eyes light up as they explain how to use the Tempo Walk and how it fits into our overall philosophies at the resort. And if you select to take the Tempo Walk for a stroll, let the robot do the work and enjoy the exercise. It never judges your shots and is as loyal as a golden retriever. “Robo Caddie” lets you enjoy the wilderness scenery that the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge’s golf course has been known for the last eighty seven years while experiencing the latest in golf technology.

Learn more about our Tempo Walks, and view the rates for renting them.

These Tempo Walk units were provided by Midwest Golf & Turf, which is the Club Car rep in Michigan. 

The new fleet of fifteen E-Z-GO RXV ELiTE carts have arrived, bringing a new experience for getting around the course at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. With the supply chain backlog in the outdoor activities industry, we didn’t know if these new carts would arrive in time for the June 1st course opening. E-Z-GO, and the local distributor, Versatile Vehicles, were able to finish manufacturing our fleet of carts and deliver them two days before golfers began enjoying the course for the 2021 season.

Powered by advanced Samsung SDI Lithium Technology batteries, these carts provide golfers with excellent mobility without sacrificing the wilderness golfing experience, which is unique to the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. The quiet function of the RXV ELiTE’s electronic drivetrain eliminates the loud chug of a gas engine – meaning you can easily have a conversation with your playing partner while driving down the fairway, and hear the birds and the breezes in the pine trees at the same time.

Here are some of the advantages that the lightweight lithium ion battery provides: 

1. The batteries substantially reduce the overall weight of the cart, leaving our turf in better condition following steady use throughout the summer.
2. They are energy efficient for charging and still provides enough power to run the cart for, on average, 72 holes with a single charge. 
3. They are nearly maintenance free, which reduces the cost of cart upkeep (e.g., no oil changes, no gasoline refilling, no battery terminal post cleaning, and no watering).
4. Simple, easy, and safe for winter storage – which is a critical consideration for electric vehicles in the Upper Peninsula.

The platinum color of our carts was chosen to exemplify Sisu, a Finnish concept best described as resilience, and hardiness…a solid strength, while still blending in with the rugged wilderness surroundings. Now, when you play the Lodge’s course, these carts provide an environmentally conscious option to fully enjoy your golfing experience at the top of the Keweenaw.

Please Note: We have other tools at our disposal to help you get around the course: Tempo Walks. Our next golf post will provide more info about these robo-caddies that promote walking.

On Tuesday the golf course maintenance crew ventured out on the golf course to survey the condition of the golf course. Bill, Karl, and Ron are now working through the schedule for the next 4 weeks to get the golf course ready to open on June 1st.

The crew is starting to clean the debris on the golf course, as we have fallen limbs from the snow and wind over the winter. Cleaning up the limbs and residual leaves are one of the main activities over the next several weeks. With the course being soggy after the snow melt and April rains, we are gingerly using equipment on the turf at this time.

Overall, the turf looks good for late April. The limited amount of snow (170 inches compared to the average of 250-280 inches) and the rains in April have allowed the grass to shine through earlier than normal. The grass has begun to green-up already. 

We do have an unusual amount of snow mold on the greens — probably caused by the freeze-thaw cycle we experienced in October-November-December before the snow-base accumulated. This caused moisture to be trapped under the snow.  We will spend the next month working on getting the turf ready. 

Yesterday, we did the first cut of the greens.

We are working towards a June 1st opening, giving the turf at least a month of grow-in for the greens, as well as the tees and fairways. Sun, warmer temperatures, and some rain will be helpful for the turf.

As well, yesterday we received two Tempo Walks from Club Car (via John Bissell, Midwest Turf and Golf). This is part of our initiative to promote outdoor activities and walking the golf course — going back to how the game of golf was started in Scotland, walking.