There’s a conspiracy afoot.
It starts with a little mystery.
What’s missing in this picture?

Skiers and Riders should know the answer. The pic was taken at the bottom of Meadows. (I wonder how they came up with the name?)
Snowsports geeks might be answering “SNOW!” But no.  That’s not the point that I’m driving at today…come on it’s still July.

What?
How could they?
That was my favorite chair!  (It really was my favorite chair.)

Sorry folks.  
It’s gone.
Kaput.
Bye bye.  
Here’s a pic of one of the uprooted and diced up towers to drive the message home.



I think the people in charge of Solace Spa are to blame. Any investigator worth his salt will tell you that the key to figuring something out is to follow the money. Apparently, it really is all about the Benjamins.

Here’s how I see the Spa’s diabolical plan working.
1. Remove old chairlifts.
2. Replace slow chairlifts with NEW HIGH SPEED DETACHABLE CHAIRS like the one going in at Meadows in the coming weeks.
3. Watch as skiers and riders spend more time riding downhill and less time resting while getting back up hill.
4. Quietly chuckle as they tire in half the time
5. Sell sports massages and foot treatments to the expressly-exhausted masses.
6. Count the money.

If it’s not the spa people, it’s the restaurateurs. Do you think an extra 15-20 runs over the course of a ski day would get you to eat a little more?  

Clearly, somebody wants to get you past the mainstay activities so you can enjoy all the other things there are to do here.

Come to think of it, this vast conspiracy may have infiltrated golf too.  How else do you explain the fastest round of golf world record just set at Boyne Mountain’s Monument golf course?

It definitely is not about providing even more value to skiers and riders further solidifiing your resort's position as the gold standard.  
Nah. That would be too simple an explanation.

I'll keep digging around and will let you know what I find out.

-JJ 

Recent spikes in gas prices and the frenzy of news coverage about that fact have motivated me to make some changes. You can’t ignore reality, but missing the juicy parts of life is not an option. If you feel the same way I do, a little attention to detail will keep the highway robbery from cramping your lifestyle.

To keep the budget straight, I’ve made a couple changes.
For starters, we’re now packing a minimum of four to a car on the guys golf weekends. We’re also rolling mid-size now.  We used to average three-per and always in full-size s.u.v’s. That meant plenty of room to stretch out and live large.

We’ve also scaled down the road menu choices.  No more sit-down stops on the way.  If we have to grab food, it’s through a cheap drive-thru window or when we get to the resort. We’ve even made a little room in the beer cooler for some snacks.

So far the results have been a net reduction in road trip expenses.  
My lifestyle isn’t cramped at all...Even if I am.

I’m doubled over with gastro-intestinal distress from the drive-thru and a weekend of riding in the back of a clown car has my hamstrings coiling up like a pair of reticulated pythons around a lab rat.

That's not a complaint. In fact, I couldn’t be happier.

If you’re reading this at work right now, tell me you wouldn’t endure a few cramps of your own to be at BOYNE right now enjoying the best of summer.
The one commodity we can’t replace is time.  Better to spend it well.

Are we there yet?  I have to go to the bathroom.”
-JJ

I HATE looking for golf balls.
I hate it so much that I have made it policy to offer people in my group a free drop AND one of my golf balls just so we can keep things moving. (local rules)

“Please. I insist. I really should have kept a bead on it.  If I had, you wouldn’t have lost your ball, so it’s really my fault anyway. If you were playing on tour the entire gallery would be pointing to it somewhere here in the rough.”

This weekend I stumbled into something that has changed my thoughts about roaming around the woods staring downward. While hiking at the Mountain I nearly tripped over a couple Morels.   We were probably 200 yards from the Monument golf course.  It wouldn't be out of the question to see golf balls here, but here were a couple proud little mushrooms right out in the open.

They were staring up at me saying,
“Please take one.  Your first fix is free.”

I'm new to this, so I just plucked the heads. I thought leaving the stems might lead to more shrooms later...rookie.

Per pound these little puppies are more valuable than finding mint Pro-V’s...and a lot tastier too.

Now I’m hooked.  The rest of the hike I was constantly scanning the forest floor looking for more of the ugly little things.  It’s a good thing Morel season is short.  Hiking won’t be the same till it’s over and it will be embarrassing when people offer to buy me Shitakes just so we can get done before nightfall.

-JJ

 

A few weeks back I predicted a sweet “sibling rivalry” that would develop between our new sister resorts in Maine and those of us in Boyne Country regarding baseball allegiances. Man was I right…and wrong. 

Maine is part of “Red Sox Nation” which means that pretty much all sports loyalties point straight to Bean Town.  Sunday River's forum post titled "Red Sox" has more than 10,490 replies...That's passion. With the Tigers tanking, it doesn’t look like baseball is going to add much fuel to the fire this year. Basketball is another story.

Alex from Sunday River decided it would be a good idea to place a little wager on the Eastern Conference finals after seeing the Celtics nip one. I am a homer, so of course I agreed.

Here’s the bet:
If (when) the Pistons win, Alex will have to buy two Pistons golf towels.  He will fix one to his bag and mail the other to me.  We will both keep the towels on our bags all season long. He will also put a picture of himself with his new towel up on Sunday River’s blog.  I don’t know if I will post his picture on our blog…might be rubbing it in. We’ll have to see.

In the unlikely event that the Pistons should falter…Hey, why talk about things that won’t happen?

I like the idea of seeing Pistons red white and blue being paraded through the GORGEOUS mountain golf courses at Sunday River and Sugarloaf almost as much as I like the idea of getting something for free.

Now if only the Bruins and the Lions could get it together, we’d have a friendly blood feud going. 

Go Pistons!

-JJ

p.s. Check out what they’re saying here:
http://www.sundayriver.com/Golf/GolfBlog/index.html
http://www.sundayriver.com/community/

What are you doing the weekend of the 17th?
If your answer is anything less than something really outstanding- consider dusting off your bike and rolling out for one of Northern Michigan’s coolest traditions.

The Zoo-De-Mack Bike Bash will be rolling through Boyne Highlands marking an annual rite of spring as welcome as the trillium blooms and morels.
Over 2400 riders participated last year and there’s always room for a few more.

Here’s the skinny: More...

I’ve just wasted an hour trying to figure out the best way to explain the most ridiculous junior golf equipment deal ever offered.  When in doubt, throw in a little hyperbole- except this isn’t hyperbole.  This really is the most ridiculous deal ever offered for junior golf equipment- ever. It’s almost criminal.

Got your interest?  Let’s break it down: More...

This might just be the only time of year that golfers see Canada Geese V’ing overhead and don’t have the urge to aim an imaginary shotgun at the flock. 
Spring brings gentler dispositions.

“Welcome back old foes.  We’ll look for your calling cards on the greens.”

Whenever I see geese near a golf course, I think of this story:

The year was 1986 and a young PGA pro named Brian Sanderson was early in a career that would span more than twenty years with BOYNE. Brian had been receiving complaints from guests about the geese that had decided to call the 18th hole of the Alpine Course home. Brian took the matter to BOYNE’s founder and owner Everett Kircher.

Mr. Kircher was many things and nothing if not complex. He was a business force, inventor, avid outdoorsman, jet pilot, philanthropist and (his favorite title) a great fly-fisherman.  He is also credited with starting the golf boom in Northern Michigan.

His solution was as quick as it was simple.
“If we want to get rid of those geese we just have to shoot one.  The rest will get the message and that will be the last of it.”

This was a logical response from a no-nonsense man who had hunted the world over.  Visitors to BOYNE will still find many of his exotic trophies decorating the walls of the resorts. There was one hitch that no one would have expected. More...

He did it!  With a couple tweaks to his ground rules he compressed 4 days worth of exertion into 3.  The question should really be, "What happened with blog guy?".

Well, I choked.  Choked on all the audio logs that Jeff phoned in.  All the fresh air and endorphins (plus the steroid rush) had Jeff feeling pretty talkative. I have better than 20 minutes of audio to thin down. They were getting to be very large and I didn't want a visit from "Knuckles" R.K. - (BOYNE's network administrator) to discuss the impact of multiple large downloads. NO bandwidth beatings for me, thank you. If there is one thing to report straight away it is this:  BOYNE's golf courses are setting up incredibly well for our season opener May 1.

Stay tuned, while I wrap up the editing.
I'll debrief Jeff and put the entire (abridged) story up here.

-JJ