Top Talent Teeing Off in Upper Peninsula
May 10, 2017
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA - With golf courses like TimberStone, Greywalls and Sweetgrass already ranked among the best in Michigan, and Sage Run expected to join that list soon, Upper Peninsula golf is becoming increasingly high class.
Also contributing are some quality golfers past and present. Scott Hebert and Becky Iverson are already in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, and Syd Wells is in the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame and a prime nominee for the Michigan golf hall.
Players like Mike Nagy, twin brothers Dan and Dave Ellis, Carley Saint-Onge and Avery Rochester have made an impact, and now high school products like Hunter Eichhorn, Bryce Douglas and others are making similar strides.
Eichhorn, a senior at Carney-Nadeau High School, was the Wisconsin Golf Association's junior player of the year in 2016, played in the national Junior Amateur and has a golf scholarship to Marquette University. Douglas, a senior at Gladstone High School, has a golf scholarship to University of Detroit Mercy.
Thursday they were joined in a threesome at the Escanaba Invitational at Escanaba Country Club by Escanaba High School senior John Kositzky, who has committed to play golf at Wisconsin Lutheran University, a Division III school in Milwaukee.
Heading the female ranks is Paxton Johnson, an Escanaba High School sophomore southpaw who has similar potential.
Wisconsin Lutheran coach Adam Volbrecht attended Thursday's six-school tournament and walked with Kositzky's college-bound trio.
"I was very impressed. I saw some really good golf," Volbrecht said, surprise obvious in his voice. "If you think it is good, it is way better than you think."
He was particularly impressed by Eichhorn, who went birdie-birdie-bogey-eagle on the last four holes of the front nine en route to a 4-under par medalist round of 67. "Hunter is as good a junior golfer as I've seen," he said, adding the overall performances were stronger than he saw in a Milwaukee area tourney the previous day.
He was amazed to see the level of golf on display since Upper Peninsula weather has not made it easy for golfers to hit the links this spring. "It is a big transition jumping right out of winter and going under par," he said. "I saw some very good golf without there being a really good reason for it (because of tough weather conditions Thursday and all spring)."
Volbrecht also liked the fact many of the players he saw are multiple-sport athletes. Eichhorn was an all-conference basketball marksman, Douglas is a former football player and Kositzky actually was attracted to Wisconsin Lutheran to play football before deciding on golf. "There are some benefits to being well-rounded," said the WLU coach.
Volbrecht also enjoyed seeing numerous fans watching the first medal-play event of the season, noting "the Upper Peninsula golf culture. Golf is important up here."
Eichhorn, a three-time U.P. Division 3 individual champion, was excited to play with Douglas and Kositzky. "It was a great challenge. I like playing in bigger meets because I know they will push me to play even better. With great competition you've got to lock in a little more," he said, indicating stiffer competition will help prepare him for the challenge of playing at Marquette, which just won the Big East Conference title and graduates only one senior.
Douglas, who beat Eichhorn in one meet last spring and was fourth in the Upper Peninsula Golf Association men's tournament last year, shot 71 on Thursday. "It was really fun competing with them today. It narrows my focus. You want to do better," he said.
"(Eichhorn) is the best player at our level. Of course you want to compare your game to his game." Douglas said. "It will give me an idea what it will be like to play college golf and will get me ready for what is to come."
Douglas plans to play in the UPGA again and will try to qualify for the Michigan Open, the Michigan Amateur and the United States Open.
Kositzky posted a 78 in the chilly, windy conditions and welcomed the chance to test his game against better players.
"Playing with guys like that, you want to try to keep up with them. I tried to stick to my game plan, but they influence you a little bit," he said. "It gives you that focus."
Escanaba High School coach Brian Robinette, himself a former state junior golf champion and Olivet College Hall of Fame golfer, was elated to see such a talented field of prep golfers.
"From the high school standpoint, golf is becoming cool again," he said, indicating a recent decline in girls golf has been a concern. "Getting kids comfortable on the course is a key. Our adult golf population needs to embrace the kids on the course."
Robinette said players like Nagy (Manistique), Saint Onge and Rochester (both graduates of Marquette) "have paved the way. They are high level, top-tier players."
He said having today's preps see what some of the recent standouts have achieved "gets the competitive nature going for these kids. There is really magnificent talent up here."
He also noted the impact of the Road to the LPGA's Symetra Tour visiting Sweetgrass the past six years as a huge bonus.
Robinette said players like Eichhorn and Douglas can use their length to make the transition to college golf. "(Douglas) will see some stud golfers, but his ceiling is pretty high."
He said Johnson, the reigning U.P. Division 1 girls champion, "has the drive to play beyond high school. She has her golf life mapped out. She can launch the ball with her driver, so now you're talking pars and birdies."
Robinette said South Dakota State University golf coach Casey VanDamme, a native of Perkins, also has been beneficial to U.P. golfers.
"It doesn't take much to find talent if you care to look," Robinette said of college coaches noticing the quality of players in the Upper Peninsula. "The U.P. is on a lot of people's radar."
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and 1984-2012, and as interim during the 2016-17 school year. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) A college-bound trio of Upper Peninsula high school golfers played in the top threesome at Escanaba Country Club on Thursday. They included, from left, John Kositzky of Escanaba, Bryce Douglas of Gladstone and Hunter Eichhorn of Carney-Nadeau. Eichhorn, headed to Marquette University, was medalist with a 4-under-par 67. (Middle) Escanaba High School sophomore Paxton Johnson prepares to hit an iron approach to the 17th green Thursday at Escanaba Country Club. She is the reigning Division 1 Upper Peninsula girls champion and a potential college prospect. (Below) Bryce Douglas of Gladstone places the ball on the 17th green Thursday at Escanaba Country Club. The University of Detroit recruit posted par 71 in the Escanaba Invitational. (Photos by Dennis Grall.)
Sparked Early by Record Round, Griswold Caps Championship-Filled Season with Finals Win
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 22, 2026
PORTAGE — Olivia Griswold had never carded an under-par tournament round of golf before this season.
But when she accomplished the feat for the first time – Aug. 24 at the Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational – Griswold not only set a course record but used it to kickstart her path to winning the medalist honor at this past weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
The 17-year-old Portage Central senior shot a 9-under-par 63 to win the Lakeview Invite, setting a course record at Cedar Creek Golf Club in Battle Creek. She carded eight birdies and an eagle.
“That gave me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the year,” Griswold said. “I hadn’t ever shot under par in a tournament until that day, so going straight to 9-under was pretty cool.
“Last year and the two years before that, I would always approach Regionals and state Finals differently than I did this year. I’d approach it timid and afraid and intimidated by everybody else. I didn’t believe I was good enough to go out and do a good thing.”
Under-par scores became the definition of this year for Griswold, who is headed to Western Michigan University to continue her golf career and major in biomedical sciences, on a path to becoming a medical doctor.
“I am very excited to represent my hometown, the place I grew up in,” she said. “I’m super excited to be part of their program. I feel like I align really well with a lot of their values and goals.”
Griswold led the Mustangs to their third straight Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference. Individually she is a two-time SMAC champ.
“We’ve seen how hard she works and all the hours she’s put in, and it’s honestly inspiring,” senior teammate Seneli Amaratunga said. “She’s such a great person and such a good captain.
“It’s very motivating to know we can rely on someone like her, especially because Olivia’s very consistent and how good she plays.”
The next step in Griswold’s championship journey this fall was Central hosting the Regional at Milham Golf Course in Kalamazoo, where her team finally broke a championship drought that covered at least 15 years.
Once again, Griswold added the medalist honor.
“We won by 17 but were up by 25 at one point,” Mustangs coach Tony Ely said. “That was a little less stressful than my normal day on the golf course with the women.”
Central felt at home at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley, the Division 1 Final host, after playing there three times this season.
“I played there many, many times, probably more tournament golf there than any other course,” Griswold said. “I felt very confident.”
Her warmup for the Finals was winning the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) junior tournament the week before at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West.
“This kid is the first I’ve seen that sought out to play the toughest competition, and it shows,” Ely said. “You can’t teach that mental side.”
Rain did not put a damper on the Mustangs during the first day of the Final.
“Looking back, it was really calm in the van Friday morning,” Ely said. “The weather was crap, it was state Finals, we were coming off a Regional title. I was pretty juiced up but the kids were calm, cool and collected.”
Ely bounced around to all his golfers during play, checking to see how each was doing.
“There’s like there’s six of me on the golf course,” he laughed. “I want them to know I’m there for them. Whether it helps or not, in my mind, if I don’t do that, I go home feeling like I didn’t do everything I could have.”
One bonus after Friday’s round was traveling back home to Portage.
“We were soaking wet, so it was nice to shower in our own shower, go to bed in our own bed,” Amaratunga said. “It was a nice reset for the next day.”
Griswold said playing in the rain takes a “mental reset” but there was an “oops” moment for her on the 13th hole.
“I hit a shank because the club slipped in my hands,” she said. “Instead of letting that get to me, I kept to my game and stayed focused.”
Her 67 on Friday tied the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals record for 18 holes carded by Shannon Warner in 2006 at Forest Akers East.
“It’s really special and makes me feel really proud of myself for the work I was willing to put in this year,” Griswold said. “Since late March when basketball season ended, I practiced pretty much every single day. Having that score and having that record feels like all of that pays off.”
Not lost among Griswold’s accomplishments was Portage Central finishing third behind Northville and Macomb Dakota in the team standings.
“Coming out third is incredible because I remember my freshman year, we didn’t even make it to states,” Amaratunga said.” We’ve seen our progress through the last four years, and I’m so proud of the team and how far we’ve come.”
The Mustangs finished sixth the previous two seasons.
Ely said the team was leading heading into the final two holes Saturday, but “my kids got stuck on the two hardest holes and we ended up going down by eight. I didn’t care. The message was sent that we were playing with Northville.”
For Griswold, the 13th hole caused another blip the second day.
“She got to 13 and my heart sank when I saw her down there on the same shot she had on Friday,” Ely said. “She didn’t hit a great second shot from that same position, and I was like, really? We’re going to the exact same spot, and the exact same result happened. She shanked the ball again on Saturday.”
Griswold added, “It was the exact same spot I lost my club. I think it might have been in the back of my mind.”
With her high school golf career ended, the 6-foot-1 senior is preparing for basketball season having earned all-SMAC honors the last three years.
Amaratunga decided not to play winter or spring sports, but said the lessons she learned through golf will stay with her long after graduation.
“I like how tough golf is as far as my mental strength,” she said, “because I feel all the life lessons I’ve learned from golf I can apply to my everyday life, like my patience and resilience. I can use it now in my everyday things.”
Ely said with three seniors in the lineup – including also Matilda Beck – plus junior Elizabeth Rush and sophomore Jordan Jackson, the end of the season was emotional.
“This has been a special group,” he said. “I was emotional when Olivia came off the golf course. I was emotional when each of the girls came off the golf course.
"You just put a lot of time and effort and more importantly emotional stuff into these kids, and to see them succeed is like seeing your own kids out there succeeding.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Olivia Griswold follows her shot during Saturday’s second round at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Griswold holds up her championship sign with one hand and a pin flag with the other. (Below) The Mustangs pose for a photo, with Paige Dobbs in the front row, in the second row (from left) Elizabeth Rush, Kaiya Bouschor and Seneli Amaratunga, in the third row (from left) Jordan Jackson, Matilda Beck and Griswold, and coach Tony Ely at the top. (Action photo by High School Sports Scene. Photo with sign and team photo by Jim Cottrell.)