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2026 Champions:
Douglas Rusiecki, Jarred Barley, Greg Hodges & Jamie Wilson |
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The 57th annual Big Event, presented by SynaTek Solutions, was hosted on October 5th at Barton Hills Country Club by Golf Course Superintendent Andrew Christesen along with Assistant Superintendents Matt McDonald & Al Perkins and Equipment Manager Martin Thompson.
This event is the last of the three fundraisers the MiGCSA has every year. The proceeds from these events help fund scholarships, donations, and philanthropic turf related interests like the Wee One Foundation, Turf Research and the MSU Turf Club.
Special thanks to our Michigan Section PGA Hosts Mark Klinger, PGA, General Manager, Eric Emmel, PGA Head Golf Professional & Adam Powers, PGA Senior Assistant Golf Professional, along with Executive Chef Chris Lothamer, F&B Manager Rick Hoyt & Clubhouse Manager Emily Price for their excellent hospitality.
Thank you to our 2026 Industry Partners and the hole sponsors: AcuSpray, Advanced Turf Solutions, BASF, Bio Pod, E Squared, ENVU, EZGO, GAM, Golf Cars Plus, Harrell's, Helena, Heritage, isidore, Matt LaFontaine Automotive, NEXMOW, Porous Pave, RainBox by AgriWater, Revels, Simplot, SiteOne, SOX, Spartan Turf Products, Standard Golf, SubAir Systems, SynaTek, Syngenta, Target Specialty, Trimax/Timber Wolf, the USGA Green Section and our Beverage sponsor: David Herman & Associates.
After golf we heard from Jud Hudnut from our presenting partner SynaTek Solutions. MiGCSA Board Member Ian Daniels, CGCS encouraged members to register and bid in the Industry Partner Online Auction before it closes on October 16th. Chris Whitten from the Golf Association of Michigan spoke about their appreciation to our members who host their events and their goal to continue to help educate their 100,000+ members on our profession. Brian Powell from the USGA Green Section spoke about the great job Andrew and his crew did for the USGA Senior Women’s Open and the epic hot dog eating contest. Dr. Kevin Frank gave an update on the MSU Turf Program and our special guest Jeremy Boone, GCGS Vice President of the Carolinas GCSA & GCSAA Board of Directors candidate addressed the crowd on his campaign.
The founder of Bio-Pod Health Systems Rich Baum did their 50/50 pond ball challenge contest and helped to raise $250 additional dollars for the event with an extra donation on top of the raised amount! The MSU Turf Club ran the 50/50 raffle for more than $1,300. Mark your calendars for the State Championship on October 21st at Eagle Eye and the Equipment Managers Conference December 3rd & 4th at Greektown!
Here are the results:
#5 - CTP: Larry Lowrey
#8 - CTP: Dan Trierweiler
#11 - CTP: Eric Schutman
#16 - CTP: RJ Karsnick
#9 - Long Drive: Thomas Jones
#13 - Long Drive: Jamie Wilson
#4 - Long Putt: Matthew Van Acker
#18 - Long Putt: Adam LaFrance
Winning Scramble Teams:
1st place – Douglas Rusiecki, Jarred Barley, Greg Hodges & Jamie Wilson (56)
2nd place – Dylan MacMaster, Christan Maher, Patrick Pardington & Mike Barrett (58)
3rd place – Douglas Ware, Mike Lacroix, Ryan Yoder & Thomas Jones (59)
Skins
Douglas Rusiecki, Jarred Barley, Greg Hodges & Jamie Wilson, Eagle on 10
Matthew Van Acker, Ray Babuska, Mark Bush & Todd Carter, Eagle on 9
View all Photos Here