Retired sports editor has played some of the top-rated courses in the country
By Bryce Derouin
Daily Press (Escanaba)
ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) - Few sports, if any, may test one's patience more than golf.
An average golf swing is upwards of 80 mph, and the swinging motion itself contains hundreds of variables that dictate where the ball is headed upon impact from the club. The unpredictable outcome of each stroke makes the game impossible to master. Not even the best in the world can rely on consistent perfection over 18 holes.
But the challenging nature of the sport is what fueled Escanaba resident Dennis Grall's passion for the game. A passion that led him to each state in the country, according to the Daily Press.
By 2010, Grall had already put together an impressive golf resume; golfing at nearly 250 courses, in 34 states. But at the time, he didn't know those numbers, yet.
Grall, who is the retired former sports editor of the Escanaba Daily Press, and national golf media members played together at the TimberStone Golf Course in Iron Mountain. After the round, one of the writers made a comment that would jump-start Grall's desire to play in every state.
"One of the guys said it was the 600th course that he's played in the world," Grall said. "We were all impressed."
On that weekend, Grall and his wife Sally drove down to Milwaukee to see their son. After Sally fell asleep, Grall had to find ways to entertain himself in order to stay awake. Thinking back to the comment made at TimberStone from that writer, he started counting the number of courses he's played at.
"I came up with 250 (courses) at that time just off the top of my head," Grall said. "When I got done with that, I thought, 'Jeeze, how many states have I played in?' It was 34. That's only 16 away, why don't I make that a goal?
"It was just a simple comment made to me, and it became a simple goal."
Before he could golf the prestigious Whistling Straits Golf Course in Wisconsin, North Star Golf Club in Alaska, or every course in the U.P., Grall had to learn the fundamentals of the game back behind the Iron Mountain High School.
After buying his first set of clubs for $25 from Willie Whitburn - the Daily Press's shop foreman - fellow writer and friend, Bob McGinn gave Grall swing and grip lessons, right before the Panax Open in 1974, at the Pine Grove Course. The fact that Grall was left-handed and McGinn was right-handed, didn't make the learning curve any easier for Grall. Nonetheless, he still enjoyed himself.
"I didn't kill anyone on the first day out," Grall said. "I had fun, tortured myself, which I've done a lot of times since, but it was fun and I enjoyed it. I started playing more and more golf."
Grall began his golfing career at Pine Grove at Panax's golf event, but it wasn't until more than 26 years later when he became an avid fan of the sport.
"The more I played it, the more I liked it, and the more I liked it, the more challenging it became, and the more challenging it became, the more I had to play it," Grall said. "I just started enjoying what I was doing with it and having a lot of fun."
Grall's love affair with the game brought him across the country. From 214 feet below sea level at Furnace Creek Golf Course in Death Valley - the lowest course in the world - to 9,600 feet high at Breckenridge Golf Course in Colorado.
He's also walked the same holes as Tiger Woods once did at the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and played 14 other courses that have been played by professional golfers, and he teed it up on 15 of the top-rated courses according to Golf Digest.
Grall also wasn't limited to the mainland. He golfed at five different islands (Mackinac Island, Drummond Island, Washington Island, Miscauno Island, Oahu), and has seen his share of oddities, including having to take an aerial tram across a waterway in Myrtle Beach to get to the Waterway Hills Golf Course, going across an airport runway on two holes at the Drummond Island Golf Club to get to the next tee box or the clubhouse, and at the Gateway Golf Club, five holes are in Wisconsin and four are in the U.P.
"It was fun doing it," Grall said about golfing in every state. "The scenery was fantastic wherever you go. I had a chance to see scenic golf courses. I got to challenge myself at different kinds of golf courses, no matter how good they are, or how bad they are, how good I am, or how bad I am. I got to have fun challenging myself across the country."
When it came time to decide what state would be the final one to complete Grall's bucket list, it made sense to him that the last state would be Hawaii, since Hawaii was the last state to join the United States.
But Grall didn't want to just play at any course in Hawaii. With his military background from serving in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, he wanted to make it special. Therefore, Grall decided the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii would be the course that would make him one of the fortunate enough people to have golfed in all 50 states, and on Sept. 5, 2014, Grall completed his bucket list.
"I wanted to play golf at the Marine Corps Base at Hawaii, and that's what I did," Grall said. "It was a gorgeous course. It's one of the top military golf courses according to Golf Digest, which really made it nice."
After seeing various forms of golf courses across the U.S., Grall is adamant the top courses in the U.P. can stack up with the best in country.
"Playing golf in 50 states, the top U.P. golf courses are just as good as any course I played anywhere in the country," he said. "TimberStone, Sweetgrass, Grey Walls, Wild Bluff, Indian Lake, George Young, they're as good as any course in the country.
"I played at Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Gaylord, Traverse City The Bear, these (U.P.) courses are just as good, and better, than the courses that are ranked among the best in the country."
And despite playing on some of the top-rated courses in the country, a U.P. course still holds a special place in Grall's heart as his favorite.
"I just love TimberStone," Grall said. "I saw it while they were building it and I told the guy I would like to do a story about it. I said (to owner Duane Tirschel) 'Duane, you're going to have a heck of a golf course.' It became a five-star Golf Digest Golf Course. There were only 14 in the country the year it got five stars. That tells you how good it is."
Even at 68, and having golfed in every state, Grall does not see himself settling down anytime soon. He has played at 265 different courses, but would like to reach 300. He's also played in three different provinces in Canada and tossed around the idea of going and golfing in each of the Canadian provinces. But the one thing he's looking forward to, is being at every Major League Baseball park.
"I've been going to baseball games since 1953 in Milwaukee," Grall said. "I only have three ballparks left to go to, Miami, Oakland, and San Diego."
In spite of being someone who loves to travel and seek out the next adventure, Grall has now had time to reflect on where he's been and the things he's been able to achieve by golfing in all 50 states.
"It's just a thrill to be able to do the things I've been able to do," Grall said. "It's been a fantastic experience, one I never thought I would ever do until four years ago. Then, it became a mission to do it. From something fun, to a passion, to a mission."
Published: Wed, Nov 26, 2014
