The Buick Open
Date Visited: June 23, 2019
Stop: #9
It was absolutely a beautiful
June day, and we had decided that a full day spent visiting historical markers
and wineries was in order. The biggest
decision – where to go? The
nominees: 1. Go east and hit wineries on the way to and
from New Baltimore, 2. Go north and hit
wineries in the Bay City area, and 3. Go
northwest and hit wineries in the Fenton area.
The Winner: Fenton. Why?
Seemed like the best ratio of wineries to signs. So, with that major decision now out of the
way, we packed some snacks, and headed out to our first stop on the journey –
Warwick Hills Country Club.
I had been to Warwick Hills
many times in the past when The Buick Open, a PGA tournament, was an annual
event. I remember following the likes of
Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyck, and
Tiger Woods. I even spent a day walking
the tournament grounds while enduring a kidney stone – not exactly my idea of a
fun day, but when you have a chance to see the world’s greatest golfers up
close and personal, well, you suck it up and drink lots of beer until you pee
the damn thing out!!! If only it had
happened that way, but I will spare you all the graphic details.
I had not been to Warwick
Hills since 2009 – 10 years ago – when Tiger Woods won the last Buick Open
played there. That was also before they
had a historical marker commissioned on the site, so when we arrived on this
day, we had no idea where the marker was located. The website I use to assist with the
locations of signs had the incorrect coordinates, so it became a guessing
game. There were many places in front of
the clubhouse that seemed like logical places for a sign, but all our searches
yielded nothing. We drove into the
parking lot to the right of the clubhouse where the pool and the tennis courts
were located, and as we drove around, my wife spotted the marker – on the golf
course itself. Now, Warwick Hills is a
private country club, and we are obviously not members, so the challenge was,
how do we get to the marker without being accused of trespassing, assuming that
that is even an issue. I’m figuring
since the sign should be available to the public, they shouldn’t have an issue
with anyone entering the grounds and taking a look. My wife didn’t want to go along, so I took
off, walking as if I belonged there, trying not to raise any suspicions (just
in case I was trespassing). I walked
past the bocce ball courts, through the outdoor dining area, and up the pathway
to the sign located to the right of the first tee and left of the practice
green. I hung around long enough to take
pictures of the sign, the clubhouse, a shot looking down the first fairway, and
a couple of additional random pics, then retraced my steps back to the
car. No one said a thing, so I’m not
sure if I was in the wrong or not. I
guess for anyone else who may visit this sign, I would just be aware that there
could be an element of risk if entering the grounds if, in fact, it is
considered trespassing.
Back to the sign. This historical marker is a two-sided
sign. The front side is dedicated to
describing how the Buick Open came to be.
Warwick Hills opened in 1957, and one year later, the Buick Open was
born and became known as the first professional golf tournament to be sponsored
by a corporation. The sign goes into a
bit more detail, so you can read that for yourself below.
#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine
No comments:
Post a Comment