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Val Brennan, LPGA Hall of Famer Amy Alcott, and Sue Ertl after the Solheim Cup opening ceremonies

Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer after the 2009 Solheim Cup opening ceremonies

We had the chance to attend the opening ceremonies and the first day and a half of the 2009 Solheim Cup matches between the US LPGA players vs. the European Professionals at Rich Harvest Farms CC in Sugar Grove, IL. We sure saw tremendous golf on such a pristine venue – Jerry Rich’s private estate hosting 24 pros and team captains + 100,000 spectators! I hope you all enjoyed the singles matches on TV as we did also as the US won the Cup 16-12 matches.

It is a true reunion of old friends, and I did see Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon, Kelly Robbins, Karrie Webb, Pat Bradley, Joanne Carner, Kathy Whitworth, Val Skinner, and even chatted with Juli Inkster as she crossed the fairway in front of us in the middle of competing in her alternate shot event with Paula Creamer!

It  is a celebration of excellence in women’s golf in 2009 and it is true, Michelle Wie was a star! In singles on day 3, she was 4-under par after 3 holes, and hung on to win over a relentless Helen Alfredsson. Cristie Kerr holed out for eagle on #12 the first day, and Juli Inkster finished her last day of Solheim Cup competition with 3 straight birdies to get back in the match! And who could forget Paula Creamer’s and Brittany Lincicome’s LONG BOMB putts going in – these ladies sure ‘roll the rock’!

Thanks to the Rich family for hosting this prestigious event on your exclusive property, and also to the entire Solheim family for your support of golf and especially this week, women’s golf. It was a great show; grand appreciation to both teams for your total effort and great inspirational entertainment!

Sue and Carol Ertl with Bart Lower at Shadow Ridge CC, Ionia MI

Mom, Val and I went to Ionia to play the course I grew up on – The Ionia CC – now called Shadow Ridge CC. The Donald Ross designed 9-hole course is a treat to play, narrow in spots on the rolling terrain, and in great shape – I hope all in the area will get the chance to play this little jewel. I scored par of 35, and my birdies on #3 and # 5 were negated by the double on 8. It was a surprise to meet Bart Lower, the pro and general manager who many of you may know as one of the stars of The Golf Channel’s BIG BREAK II and IV. Like myself, Bart grew up in Ionia on this course, and after assisting the MSU Men’s Golf Team for a year, returns to Shadow Ridge with his wife Niki to put Shadow Ridge and its banquet facilities back on the map. Thanks Bart and Niki and good luck in the years to come. I truly went back in time with memories of my brother Jay and me playing hundreds of rounds on this course. It was great “Coming Home to Ionia”.

Connie Tuley, Sue, Val, and Dick Tuley at Walnut Hills Country Club, East Lansing, MI

Wednesday we commuted from Grand Rapids to East Lansing as guests of Dick and Connie Tuley, University Park CC members. I had worked at Walnut Hills for Bill Mory, who is the current Club Manager, and with whom we had a nice reunion. Bill’s son Chris is on MSU’s Men’s golf team.

Walnut Hills was in beautiful shape, and I had not played it since the bunkers had all been revamped  – deeper, long grassy edges, a true challenge for all. The greens have many undulations and it is important to be below the hole as usual. What a pleasure to make the drive, see the Tuleys, and Connie says we brought her good luck! She played great! Val’s highlight was consecutive birdies, I played very steadily, and Dick got up and down from tough spots on both #5 and #17.

They are on their way to Mackinaw Island with their grandchildren for the weekend – should be a fun trip! Thanks again for the good golf, lunch, on the most beautiful summer day in Michigan!

Today was certainly better, even after being 2 over after 3 holes. I made two bombs: 45 feet and 39 feet, and some fine saving par putts too. Played with Univ. of Denver player Katie Kempter, who had the low round of the day 68 including five straight birdies. I had the 4th lowest score of the day, and I moved up in the 3 days from 41st to 26th ending in a tie for 15th.

We are staying one more night, and had time to ride the chairlift and view the Crystal Mountain property from a skiers point of view.

And before they teed off, I had a photo taken on the first tee with Byron Center’s Jacqueline DeBoer (GR South Christian HS) and Legends Tour Champion Cindy Rarick. (I played 1 hour later).

Sue, Jacqueline DeBoer, Cindy Rarick

Finally, had dinner with Nebraska native Jenny Hansen, in Michigan for the first time, and we enjoyed catching up on her summer pro events.

Sue, Jenny Hansen, Val Brennan outside of Kinlochen

I played better despite bogeying the 16th and 17th holes. My group included my former MSU teammate Joan Garety and Lisa LaFollette (Continental 757 and 767 Airline pilot!). We had a pleasant day, beautiful northern Michigan 75 degrees and clear skies! In attendance was my devoted fan club including Carol Ertl, my sister Miff Griffin, and our Ionia friends Ken and Cindy McKee and their son Travis – as seen in the photos. Tomorrow concludes the Michigan Women’s Open, and scores are great, I need my best day to come!

Miff Griffin, Sue, Cindy-Travis-Ken McKee, Carol Ertl at the Crystal Coaster.

Waiting our turn to start the coaster

Cindy, Ken and Miff got skinned arms and knees this year, BOO, OUCH!!!

Sue rides the Crystal Coaster!

Coincidentally, at the base of the Coaster, Sue ran into former Spartan Carrie Wheeler and her daughter Juliana! Small world!

Val, Jacqueline, Jacob, Terri DeBoer and Sue

Had the great opportunity to play at Railside CC with the DeBoer family in Byron Center today. Jacob is a sophomore at Calvin College, Jacqueline will be a senior at South Christian HS, and Terri is the WOOD-TV Storm Team 8 meteorologist you see on NBC early mornings here in Grand Rapids. We all had some highlights, and I look forward to seeing Jacqueline this next week during the Michigan Women’s Open at Crystal Mountain where we are both contestants. Thanks Terri for coming out to spectate on the back 9. Railside was in beautiful shape, and we enjoyed carrying our clubs and walking the hills!

Ally and Sean Wing with Aunt Sue

Had a great time with Ally and Sean on the ropes course at John Ball Park. You get harnessed up, and then are elevated 20 or 30 feet over the ground on beams and tightrope wires – a great addition to last year’s experience on John Ball Park’s  zip line!

Ben Ertl

The ERTLS: Jay, Sue, Barb, and their son Ben

Getting a great opportunity to visit family in Grand Rapids and play golf with my brother Jay, his wife Barb, and my nephew Ben. Ben won his division in a 2-hole playoff I got to watch at Braeside GC; we played the next day at their beautiful club Watermark CC; this photo was taken at their sister club StoneWater CC; and I look forward to playing at Railside CC on Tuesday. Even got to watch nephew Sean at a weekend baseball tournament where they won all 4 games! Having fun too with Mom and my sister Karen, her husband Greg, and their daughter Ally. And a nice surprise as my sister Miffer and her husband Tom came over to Jay and Barb’s for a fun family night on the lake!

Thanks for your interest in my career as teaching professional at University Park CC. Now for the next two months, we’ll be on the road competing in events in Tennessee, Michigan, and Massachusetts. In amongst the competition, we’ll stop off to see family and find ourselves in places we could not have imagined. Enjoy reading.

Prior to leaving Florida, we decided to stop off in the Orlando area to visit SeaWorld and enjoy our annual passes. If you have not been there in awhile, the Shamu show, the Dolphin/aerial acrobatics show, and the Clyde and Seamore shows are just fun and funny. The grounds and aquariums are so beautiful, and if you still like wild rides, the Kraken and the new Manta are fast and furious. We were able to stop in and see the night version of “Shamu Rocks”, where you watch the whales perform to selected songs with great beats.

Heading on to Downtown Disney, we sure liked just walking in and having dinner at the bar area in the Rain Forest Cafe – no wait time for this area! Wandering over to the Art of Disney, we purchased some Disney prints from artist David Doss, and found he was there on site from NC for a few days signing prints! We had met him about 5 years ago when he was starting with Disney, he was at the Flower and Garden show at Epcot, so it was a nice reunion of sorts. We made our final stop in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge to look around and do a little shopping in their gift shop.

The next day we played golf at the Celebration Golf Club, a challenging Robert Trent Jones/ RTJ Jr. course. It is a great track and nice practice as we begin our trek to middle Tennessee for the TN Women’s Open.

Congrats to Eun Hee Ji for winning the U.S. Women’s Open. We followed it online in the car using live scoring, and we got the chance to see the 20 foot putt for par watching “Golf Channel” later on replay.

Happy birthday this week to Miff Griffin, Ben Ertl, Jeanne Weber, and Cath Dubault!