Kalamazoo Country Club Hosting 11th GAM Net Chapman Championship

Kalamazoo Country Club Hosting 11th GAM Net Chapman Championship

  KALAMAZOO – Historic Kalamazoo Country Club will welcome 42 two-golfer teams competing in the 11th GAM Net Chapman Championship presented by Summit Golf Brands on Monday, May 19.

  The 84 golfers will play 18 holes of net stroke play in the unique Chapman format. In the format each player on the two-person teams plays from the teeing ground and then plays the teammate or partner’s ball for the second shot. After the second shot the partners select the ball with which they wish to score and play that ball alternately to complete the hole.

 Founded in 1909, Kalamazoo Country Club has embarked on what the club calls a substantial expansion transformation, which when completed will include a new clubhouse with amenities like a fitness center, bowling alley, multiple dining areas and lounges. New tennis courts and swimming pools are also in the plans.

  Most notably for golfers, the club will have a new 11-hole short course and practice range and the current Tom Bendelow-designed 18-hole course will be transformed to a re-designed course by architect Andrew Green, whose notable recent renovation/re-design projects include work at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., and Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

  The clubhouse complex and 11-hole short course construction is underway and expected to be completed in 2026. The work on the 18-hole course will follow.

  The club has a long tournament history, especially with its popular invitational that typically includes top golfers from across the country.

  Connor Adlington is the lead assistant golf professional working with the GAM tournament staff for the event. Scott Adland is the PGA director of instruction for the club. John Fulling is the director of grounds and facilities, and Blaine Burch is the first assistant superintendent.

  Learn more about the club at kalamazoocountryclub.com

  Last year, Jared Aldrich of Ada and Derek Blodgett of Rockford, a pair of 43-year-old salesmen, survived a three-hole aggregate net score playoff and won the 10th GAM Net Chapman Championship presented by Summit Golf Brands at Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort’s Stoatin Brae Course in nearby Augusta, Mich.

  Aldrich and Blodgett shot a 5-under 66 in regulation in the unique format, as did Justin Scollin of Royal Oak and Matt White of Whitmore Lake setting up the playoff, which was also played with net scoring. Adrich and Blodgett are returning to defend.

PAIRINGS: GAM.org or on your Golf Genius App.