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Willi Hesse notched 8 birdies and an eagle to post a record tying 9 under par 61 and pull away to a 5 shot victory over Bob Delorey who also had a fine 4 under par 66. Chris Cooley was 2 under par for 3rd and Bill Gordon tied with Jeff Cubel for 4th at 1 under par. For Gordon it was his 30th Top 4 finish on Tour and Cubel got his 1st Top 4. Hesse got win number 4 in 142 Tour starts and is now tied for the Money lead in the Central Division. The event earned $600 for Dudlee's favorite charity, Leader Dogs for the Blind.

The Tour presents a check to Leader Dogs for the Blind

David Martin carried a Memorial Day flag on his bag and played inspired golf all day on the way to a one shot win at the Strokes on a Rope. His 2 over par topped three pursuers including defending champ John Raymond, Eric Birkle and Helen Puffenburger. Helen finished runner-up for the 2nd day in a row and took the lead in the West Division money race.  Martin added to his all-time winnings lead in the SOAR event where he has finished 2nd 5 times. This win is his third and he becomes the second person to win the event 3 times, matching Todd Stuart who won the first 3 Strokes on a Rope events in 1999 to 2001. The win is his 21st Tour win (5th all-time) in 205 starts and is also the 90th top 4 finish of his career.

May 23, 2020 Ypsilanti Twp

Kevin Gregoire continued his dominating run from the end of last year with his second win of the weekend at the Kowality Golf Tin Cup. He beat the field and a down pour on a cool day with the only sub par score of 2 under par. Chuck Withey was a bridesmaid for the 2nd day in a row with an even par 72 for 2nd place. TW Litzler and Chris Cooley tied for 3rd at 2 over par. Gregoire and Withey lead the field throughout the day and as is usual at Hickory Creek, the penultimate 17th par 3 was pivotal in the outcome with Withey taking a bogey on the hole while Gregoire was able to get thru in par before sealing the deal with a 18th hole birdie. For Gregoire this was his 8th Tour win in 103 starts and the weekend vaults him well into the Tour money lead, ahead of Withey who is a solid 2nd. For Withey this was his 50th top 4 Tour finish while Tom W Litzler garnered his 60th top 4 finish. Litzler is 7th on Tour all-time in Top 4 Finishes while Withey tied Barb Hoelzle for 9th in this category.

Kevin Gregoire sank a 35 foot putt with 6 feet of break down hill on the 6 extra playoff hole to secure the win for team Gregoire / McCue over 2 time champs Chuck Withey and Chris Cooley. McCue and Gregoire were able to come from behind with birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to tie Withey and Cooley. In the playoff, Cooley aced the first hole to take the early lead, but their team gave it back with a bogey on the 2nd playoff hole. Everyone shot par over the next 8 holes until Gregoire dropped the hammer for the win. Corey secured his first Major win while Gregoire may well have taken over the title of Big Game Hunter from Mike Nicholas with Kevin's 4th major win in less than a year. Three teams finished 1 shot out of the playoff in a tie for third. Those were Willi Hesse and Greg Paddison, bidding to prove it wasn't David Hansen that carried them to their previous Memorial wins, Rick and Tyler Floyd, and Dan Gubachy and Bill Gordon.  Gregoire moves to 2nd in the World Rankings while McCue jumps from 16th to 4th. The wins are Gregoire's 7th and McCue's 5th on Tour in 102 and 68 starts repectively. The event marked Jeff Klipa's Tour leading 350th start. His career began in 2003.

May 9, 2020 Shelby Twp

John Nievierowski navigated a cold and windy Cherry Creek course with 7 birdies and an eagle on Saturday afternoon. But it took a final hole birdie to lock up his 3rd win in only 23 starts on Tour with a 1 under par 71. Kevin Gregoire also birdied the last to secure 2nd at 1 over par. Jeff Pasz and Chuck Withey tied for 3rd for their 10th and 11th third place finishes on Tour.  The win jumps Nievierowski 12 spots up the World Rankings to 19th and makes him the early season Tour money leader. Gregoire moved up one spot to #3 in the World and takes the East Division money lead.

As we move through Covid-19 and the current Michigan Executive Order is set to expire on Thursday, April 30.  Both Calderone GC and Fieldstone GC are planning to be open and ready for Golf on the first weekend of May.  We all realize that the first 2 tournaments are predicated on the current Executive Order expiring or not being extended under the current rules.  With that being said we are planning on playing our first 2 tournaments of the year under some very specific rules that all members need to adhere to for the safety of our competitors and fans.

Anyone who wants to play in the Sparty Classic or the Chelsea Classic the deadline to register for the tournaments is going to be Sunday, April 27.  That is several days later then normal.   Email your registration as normal to:  entry@themulligantour.com

Before registering, please review the guidelines below before registering to make sure you are capable and ready to adhere to them.   The entry/Greens Fees for both events are being adjusted for a change to a walking tournament.  The Green Fee for the Sparty will be $46 and at Chelsea Classic will be $37 (still includes a drink ticket)

Guidelines: 

Guideline ONE is the most important:

1. If you are feeling sick, running a temperature, fever or have any signs of being sick you cannot play.  If you have already registered and realize you are feeling sick then you must email Chuck Withey and withdraw.  You can withdraw up to 30 minutes before the start of the event at No Charge.  You just need to email Chuck and/or text him at (734-564-5826) to notify him that you’re withdrawing. 
2. While playing golf each person is responsible for maintaining their own safe practices.  This includes to what level of safe practices a member chooses to utilize including and not limited to using hand sanitizer, wearing a face mask, and wearing latex gloves.  Each person is responsible for choosing their own level of safe practices while always maintaining social distancing.  
3. These Tournaments are walking only.  No electric/gas carts to be rented. 
4. Players are NOT allowed to walk onto the course until 20 MINUTES before their scheduled Tee Time.  You can arrive to the course parking lot before your 20 minute restriction but do not walk onto the course – this means driving range, practice green or clubhouse until 20 minutes before you tee time.  THIS IS VERY CRITICAL. 
5. Do not congregate at the clubhouse, practice green, driving range or general course area in groups greater then 5 people.  Maintain social distancing of 6 feet.
6. Expectations for play at the Course –
1. No Ball Washers
2. No Rakes in the bunkers
3. No Closest to the Pin Markers will be used
4. Pins to remain in the cup (do not remove)
5. Cups upside down or a pool noodle in the cup.
7. If your ball goes into a Bunker and it lands in a foot print or a spot poorly leveled by a previous player you can smooth out the spot and reset the ball.  Point out the issue to other players in your group and advise that you are fixing the bunker and resetting the ball. 
1. If the ball is stuck in a foot print on a slope in the bunker and when you repair the bunker the ball rolls down then a player can choose to push the ball into the sand to keep it in the slope or leave the ball at the bottom of the bunker where the ball came to rest.  Again point this out to other players in your group for confirmation and to maintain competitive integrity. 
8. We will Putt out all putts (except for the normal 3 putt rule).  Please note if a putt hits the pool noodle or part of the cup (upside down) and then rolls up and out of the cup or bounces off the noodle/cup it will be considered a made putt.  It may happen 1 or 2 times during a round depending on how you hit the putt.
9. Members will print their own Scorecard (email will be sent with the excel spreadsheet and you just enter your player # and the excel scorecard will print your correct scorecard). 
10. Common Card – at the bottom of your scorecard is a “common card” the person in your group keeping the common card will use the bottom of their scorecard. 
11. End of the Round – BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR CLUBS TO THE CAR.  You must complete all scoring duties in RTS (Real Time Scoring) and Common Card.  The final score for all Players in your group must be confirmed in RTS and on the Common Card  
1. The Member keeping Common Card is responsible for telling the Commissioner that all scores are done and accurate.
2. Scorecards will NOT be turned in to the Commissioner.  The group member keeping the common card will be responsible for letting the Commissioner know that scores are accurate.
3. Dispose of your scorecard properly at the course or at home.
12. After your Round DO NOT congregate at the clubhouse or at/with the Commissioner.  Please limit your after round groups/conversations to no more than 5 people and maintain social distancing of 6 feet. 
13. In the event of a players tied at the end of the event  We will continue to adhere to our Putt Off Rule.  Those members tied for 1^st need to be at the course and will then head to the practice green to conduct the Putt Off.  Those members that are still there to watch the Putt Off need to maintain social distancing of 6 feet.
14. Closest to the Pin  contest – We will not have any Closest to the Pin or Long drive contests in the month of May.  We will instead award 2 gift cards based on random player selection.  The Commissioner will give the each of the 2 winners their $15 Dick’s Sporting Goods Gift card after the round.

Please stay safe and I hope to see all sometime in May.

Any Postponed tournaments will be added back into the schedule as best as can be managed.  We will keep the schedule update to date as changes are made.

Thanks

Chuck

On Monday, March 23 Gov Whitmer issued an executive order for Michigan to Shelter In.  I know several golf courses are allowing people to play golf.  As a Tour we see great benefit in being outside and playing golf but we also believe it is important to be good Citizens.  First and foremost we want all of our members to stay safe and healthy.  Please practice social distancing and follow good healthy hygiene/practices if you are out and about.   

With that as the being said.  The Q School events for Saturday April 4^th and Sunday April 5^th are being postponed.  City of Livonia has closed their golf courses until April 13^th.  I will attempt to reschedule the Q School events in the first 2 weeks of the Tour schedule as a 2^nd event on a Saturday or Sunday with an afternoon tee time. 

Regarding the opening weekend of Tour Events – Saturday, April 18^th and Sunday, April 19^th we will work towards playing those events.  Remember to register for those 2 events (Pineview and Sweet 16)  by Thursday, April 9^th.  As always I will send out a group email listing the members that have registered on Friday, April 10^th. 

Email entries to:

Entry@themulligantour.com

Please stay Safe and Healthy and I will see you all in April.

Chuck Withey, CEO

With the start of the 2020 year I wanted to let you know of some changes for the 2020 Season.  During the last 7 years Jeff Klipa has been the West Commissioner and with the completion of the 2019 Commissioner Cup Jeff announced that he was going to retire as West Commissioner.   Like a Super Bowl winning quarterback Jeff is retiring as Commissioner with a W. Jeff has been a integral part of the league and we will miss his service as Commissioner.  Jeff will continue to play as a member when you see him in the spring thank him for his hard work.  Jeff will retain his ownership and as a Board Member. 

To replace Jeff the Board considered several people to replace him as Commissioner.  After several meeting and interviews we are pleased to announce that Corey McCue is the new West Commissioner.  Corey has been a member for 4 years and will be a great addition to the Commissioners. He will be running the west tournaments and will be the defending commissioner at the Commissioners Cup this year.

The next big change in 2020 is the World Handicap System (WHS) that has been adopted and accepted by all golf governing bodies worldwide.  To summarize the new WHS there are 3 major components to how handicaps are calculated worldwide

1. Handicaps are based on the best 8 scores out of your last 20 rounds of golf
2. Handicaps have a governing (limiting) factor that controls handicap calculations – for handicap purposes the WHS will not allow you to post a score (within the handicap system) a score higher then net double bogey.  We allow for a gross quad bogey. We will retain this in our league.
3. All tee boxes will have their handicaps adjusted for difference between tee box rating and par.  Let me simplify that for all.  The rating for the tee box is usually less than par – that means the course plays easier than par. So if a rating is 69 and par is 72 all the players playing at that tee box will have their handicap reduced by 3 strokes.

What does this mean for the Mulligan Tour.  The MT has been calculating handicaps based on the lowest 3 rounds in the last 6 tournaments.  The handicap is adjusted based on slope and rating. The average of those 3 rounds is multiplied by 80%.  Starting in 2020 the MT will now move to a handicap system of using 5 of your last 10 tournaments.  We opted for 5 of 10 as a better representative a player’s skill and because most players do not play more than 15 tournaments a year.  The 5 of 10 will allow the handicap to cycle through at least once per year.  Additionally we will no longer reduce your handicap by multiplying by 80%.  We will now apply 95% to your handicap.  This will allow most players to see a small bump to your handicap but there will be some that will see a decrease in their handicap because they have a couple of great rounds of golf inside the last 10 tournaments that cycled out based on 3 of 6. 

The other change you will all see during the season will be at tournaments.  Like the WHS we will be adjusting everyone’s handicap by the difference between the rating and par for the tee box they are playing from. During the last 2 years we adjusted handicaps for the Sr Tees and Women Tees for the difference between their tee box rating and the rating for the men’s tee box.  What this means for all players is all players will have their Tournament handicap adjust for the difference between the tee box rating to par.  This will be partially offset by the increase in our handicap calculation (95% instead of 80%).

To manage the handicap calculations we are moving to a new online software – GolfSoftware to calculate and host our handicap system.  I will be sending to each of you the login information to GolfSoftware.  With GolfSoftware

• You will be able to see all the tournaments played and your scores.  This includes the slope and rating for your tee box.
• It will show you which 5 tournaments are being used for your handicap calculation
• Be able to see the handicaps for all members.

To manage all of these changes the Board decided it was necessary to create a handicap czar who will be the main point of control.  This person will make sure the tournaments results are inputted into GolfSoftware and also will calculate the handicaps for each tournament. After several meetings we appointed Brian Lardin as the Point of Control for our new handicap system.  Brian is very familiar with the GolfSoftware programs and system.  We believe this will give us accuracy and consistency we need week to week.

Finally we have decided to scuttle 2 Stick as a tournament.  The attendance by members has been low for the last couple of years.  The Board has decided we will move the Red, White and Blue to a Central Division Tournament (keeping the same tournament format).  The Board is considering other options for the open date in the schedule.  We are looking at a new team event or leave the day open.  If you have any suggestions please offer them to me or any of the other board members – Greg Kline, David Martin, Jeff Klipa, Tom Hoelzle, Bill Gordon, Tom Litzler, Mike Prieskorn and Rich Dunmore.

Spring is not that far away. The Golf Show is March 8-10 and the Mulligan Tour will again have a booth. I will remind all in February and look for volunteers to work the booth for free access and a $20 credit to their account.      

I’m looking forward to a great season for 2020.

Thanks,
Chuck Withey