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2022 Legislative Day: Golf on the Capitol Lawn - June 7, 2022

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LANSING – State Rep. Paulene Wendzel said she had no idea of the impact of the golf industry in Michigan before she started her career in politics.

In fact, she didn’t play the game until it was suggested to her that it was a great way to get to know people in politics.

“Honestly, it’s where you can spend four or five hours with a person and really get to know them, so golf has helped me politically, and I found out I loved it,” Wendzel, R-Watervliet, said. “Then I learned about the Senior PGA (Championship) which we just had in our district at Harbor Shores Golf Club and I found out what just that one tournament alone does for the community.”

Wendzel expanded her golf education Tuesday as the Michigan golf industry presented the Michigan Golf Day at the Capitol event.

The Michigan Golf Course Association (MGCA), the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association (MiGCSA), the Michigan Section PGA, the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) and the Greater Michigan Club Management Association, which form the Michigan Golf Alliance, convened with legislators and staff members on the lawn of the state Capitol, and also visited the offices of each legislator.

For almost 15 years course owners, operators and superintendents have gathered each spring to voice a cooperative message. To mark the day, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed that “June is Michigan Golf Month,” and Wendzel presented the proclamation Tuesday.

“The Senior PGA had great impact,” Wendzel said. “The restaurants when I talked to them last week, sold out of food, the bars were out of alcohol and you couldn’t get a hotel room for miles. Big crowds came and it was great.”

The executive directors, presidents and members of the allied organizations in the Michigan Golf Alliance presented other areas of impact to Wendzel and other legislators including the impact on tourism, employment in the state, and the industry’s positive effect on the environment.

“The Michigan Golf Alliance created this event to facilitate golf industry representatives introducing themselves and informing the legislators and their staff on who we are and what our industry brings to the state,” Jada Paisley, executive director of the MGCA said. “I can't overstate the importance of this day in delivering the message to our government leaders.”

The message from the Michigan Golf Alliance includes industry facts like $4.2 billion in annual economic impact in Michigan, over 60,000 people employed by golf courses in the state. $1.4 billion in wages paid and over 150,000 acres of managed green space and wetlands that provide wildlife habitats.

Wendzel said she has involved her family members in playing the game, too.

“My brothers-in-law, my dad, we are getting the whole family playing the game,” she said. “It’s great and it does some great things for the community, too. Whenever I tell people in Lansing where I’m from (southwest Michigan) they’re like, ‘oh, you’re the area with all the good golf courses,’ and I say I definitely am.”

MORE INFORMATION: Contact Jada Paisley of the MGCA at 800-860-8575 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.‍

2021 Legislative Day Highlights:

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2021 GOLF DAY AT THE CAPITOL: Legislators Learn Golf’s Community Impact

LANSING – Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist came out to the large tent on the front lawn of the Capitol to proclaim June is Michigan Golf Month, and Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, came because the state legislators were all invited to Michigan Golf Day at the Capitol Thursday.

Members of the Michigan Golf Alliance, a cooperative body of five state golf associations, shared its message of economic, environmental and human impact of the game with face-to-face talks over lunch and a program that included presentations by Renee Fluker, the founder and president of the Midnight Golf Program in Detroit, Gilda Johnson, the owner of Lake Forest Golf Club and the Michigan Golf Course Association president, and a video featuring Dr. Brian Horgan of the Michigan State University College of Agriculture & Natural Resources.

Gilchrist and Young learned more about golf’s impact with the over 200 legislators and staffers who attended, and both sought out their friend Fluker, who has demonstrated to them in a very personal way that golf impacts communities.

Gilchrist’s mother has been a long-time friend of Fluker, and Young’s son, Darius, is a former Midnight Golf participant. Midnight Golf’s mission remains equipping determined young adults through life skills training, proactive coaching, long-term mentoring, and the discipline of golf so they can succeed in college, in their careers and beyond. It was founded in 2001 by Fluker, a social worker and single mother. Over 3,200 students have been directly helped, including college scholarships, in the last 19 years.

“Renee is proof of golf’s diversity but also of what happens when you believe in young people,” Young said. “Midnight Golf takes young people who have never held a golf club and never thought there was a way for them to learn this type of sport and then exposes them to it.”

Young called Fluker a trailblazer and said Midnight Golf impacted her son in multiple ways beyond playing golf.

“I believe Midnight Golf was one of the reasons Darius was able to go to college, finish in four years and now is working in his field – animation,” she said. “The program teaches those kids how to manage their time when they get to college, how to manage their money while they are in college and how to find a job after college.”

Gilchrist called Midnight Golf a generational uplifting program for the Detroit region.

“It is a manifestation of what she and her team have poured into the young people in the region and it has produced healthier, better connected, more productive and more successful people – and they learned how to play a bit of golf, too,” he said. “Miss Renee is I think the best of what we want people to be when they contribute to the success of our communities.”

The Michigan Golf Alliance is made up of the Michigan Golf Course Association (MGCA), the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association (MiGCSA), the Michigan Section PGA, the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) and the Greater Michigan Club Management Association and for several years the leaders of those groups have gathered to voice a cooperative message.

In 2020 the day was cancelled due to pandemic concerns, but Thursday the golf leaders tried to engage legislators on a personal level as small business owners, as well as pass on the industry facts like $4.2 billion in annual economic impact, over 60,000 people employed by golf courses in the state. $1.4 billion in wages paid and over 150,000 acres of managed green space and wetlands that provide wildlife habitats.

Brian Calley, former Lt. Gov. and now president of the Small Business Association of Michigan, called the event a chance to engage with legislators and debunk the myth that golf is just a rich man’s sport.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “Tell your small business stories, talk about your civic engagement and don’t be shy about the type of things you do to help make your communities stronger.”

MICHIGAN GOLF DAY AT THE CAPITOL

Allied golf associations join forces to bring message to legislators

“Let’s do lunch at the turn Michigan Legislators!” The Michigan golf industry will share its message with each state legislator by presenting the popular Michigan Golf Day at the Capital event. As a member of any allied golf association, you are invited and encouraged to attend.

The Michigan Golf Course Association, the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association, the Michigan Section PGA, the Golf Association of Michigan, the Greater Michigan Club Managers Associations and the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation, which form the Michigan Golf Alliance, will convene on the lawn of the state Capitol and visit with each legislator.

For over a decade golf course owners, operators and superintendents have gathered each spring to voice a cooperative message. This year the leaders of Michigan golf have created a dynamic day of activity to promote the game and the golf business.

The Michigan Golf Alliance has put together a great program to facilitate golf industry representatives in introducing themselves and informing the Legislators and their staff on who we are and what our industry brings to the State of Michigan. We can't overstate the importance of this day in delivering the message to our government leaders.

The schedule will include Senate and House office visits and “lunch on the turn” provided for all participants. Legislators will be invited to lunch with their constituents.

Participation is free and we hope you will consider coming to help carry the golf message to the legislature. Please use the registration link below, mail in the printable pdf or call our office to register or with any questions 800-860-8575.

Jada Paisley

Executive Director, MGCA