Tony Mancilla Tony Mancilla was named the General Manager of the Island Resort and Casino in 2014. He graduated from New Mexico Law School and was instrumental in opening the Sweetgrass Course in 2008. The UP definitely has a short golf season, but the Island Resort & Casino has used its two championship courses, Sweetgrass and Sage Run to lure thousands of avid golfers to cross the Mackinaw Bridge and play their courses. In addition, Tony had the foresight to help Paul Beachnau Paul Beachnau saw an opportunity to bring several golf courses in Northern Michigan together as a marketing organization called the ‘Gaylord Golf Mecca.’ That was 35 years ago and Beachnau has been at the helm of the Gaylord Golf Mecca from the beginning. “We thought at the time we had a good collection of courses and we wanted to put Gaylord on the map as a golf destination. What we have now was beyond my imagination. I remember in 1992 four new golf courses opened in one year. People had decided let’s build there, land costs are fairly affordable, the terrain variety and the natural sand soils are perfect for golf and that helped attract some of the best golf course designers in the game. We kept working together, and here we are.” The Gaylord Golf Mecca is stronger than ever and currently includes 17 courses, four resort destinations, and 21 hotel properties that have amassed numerous golf awards. create the ‘Perfect 4some’ with Timberstone and Grey Walls, two other great courses in the UP. Mancilla also lured the EPSONTour to the UP in 2011 for the annual Island Resort Championship held on the Sweetgrass Course. It features 156 young women trying to play their way onto the LPGA Tour.
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