My 10 Most Anticipated Golf Moments for 2023

Guest columnist Bill Hobson (Host of Michigan Golf Live) shares a humorous and thoughtful outlook on the upcoming golf season

10) Watching Augusta National struggle to maintain enthusiasm and patron support for their little “toonamint” in light of the 24th consecutive rejection of the Michigan Golf Live Media Credential application. Doubtful they’ll be able to carry on much longer.

9) Seeing golf fans flock to Tony Finau when he returns to defend his Rocket Mortgage Classic title. Anyone who watched his feature on the Netflix series, “Full Swing” can’t help but move Finau and family to the top of their popularity leaderboard.

8) Being stunned and appalled by whatever wardrobe scripting Nike Golf chooses for its contracted players during the majors. The last few years have been brutally bad, as evidenced by the charitable donation of mass quantities of unsold shirts and hats we all saw on TV and wondered if our eyes were going bad.

7) Enjoying another incredible year of introducing the great state of Pure Michigan golf to visitors from parts of the country where stepping outside in July is akin to climbing onto the grill and closing the lid. When those folks get here and realize you can play all summer without melting, we start hearing a fascinating mixture of accents from places far outside Michigan area codes.

6) Standing on the range at Blythefield Country Club during the Meijer LPGA Classic and watching one of the year’s strongest fields come together, practice, and interact with the fans. It’s a great place to hang out and, for most of us, learn things we can try and emulate in our own games.

5) Trying to figure out the exact dinner nutrition formula involving brisket and ice cream consumption during a very busy MGL TV production season, so that your humble host can effectively swing a club the following morning. We’ve been tweaking the plan for years now and think we’ve almost got it dialed in.

4) Celebrating the 112th Michigan Amateur Championship at Oakland Hills, June 20-24, bringing the very best amateur players to a historic, challenging, memorable venue even as the club continues its recovery from the terrible fire that grabbed the hearts of the entire golf community. (Registration deadline April 28)

3) Discovering new places during our upcoming “Top Hidden Gems” MGL TV special. These annual thematic shows have proven to be wonderfully fun as we get to bring some attention to places that haven’t been in the spotlight before. Seeing the pride the staff and members have in their home courses is a really important reminder that in the end, this is a game presented by super talented people who take tremendous pride in what they do and how it’s received.

2) Bracing for the inevitable storm of opinion, outrage, and invective guaranteed to form when the first LIV defector from the PGA Tour wins a major championship. It’s only a matter of time until that happens. And while there are arguments to be made on both sides of the issue, I think we can all agree on one thing – please let that winner be someone other than Patrick Reed.

1) Preparing to encounter, for the second time, the guy who met me in a resort parking lot a few years, shared some very kind comments about our TV show, and then asked – and I kid you not – “is that your real hair, or do you wear a piece? Because on TV it looks a lot different.” Right. Because if I ever purchased hair, THIS is what I would buy. Been looking for that guy ever since.

Have a great season...visit at least 5 courses you’ve never played...thank the staff...eat too much...and enjoy playing in the best golf state in America!