GAM Earns Special Award
By Greg Johnson
The latest inductees into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, announced Feb. 20 are:
- The late George Bayer, a former Detroit Golf Club head professional and PGA Tour player
- Ron Beurmann, head professional at Country Club of Jackson
- Bernie Friedrich, senior vice-president of golf operations and resort sales for Boyne Resorts
- Al Mengert, a former Oakland Hills Country Club head professional
In addition, the HOF has elected to present just its fourth Special Award in history, to the Golf Association of Michigan, which in 2019 is celebrating its centennial year of service to the game.
The induction celebration is planned for Sunday, June 2, at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Club, home of the new Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center which will soon house the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. The 2019 class will bring the number of inductees to 127.
Bayer, who died in 2003 in California at the age of 77, was once one of golf’s longest drivers and won four times on the PGA Tour between 1957 and 1960. He was the head golf professional at Detroit Golf Club for 12 years (1972-1983).
Beurmann, 58, has been the head professional at CC of Jackson for 26 years. He won the Michigan PGA Professional Championship in 2010, and the Michigan PGA Match Play Championship in 1998, and has also won a Michigan PGA Senior Championship (2013) and two Michigan Senior Open Championship titles in (2012, ’13). He was the Michigan PGA Player of the Year in 2004.
Friedrich, 66, has worked for Boyne Resorts for 44 years and currently oversees a staff of more than 200 employees in agronomy, course and golf shop operations for 10 golf courses at three resorts in Michigan and one course each at resorts in Maine and Montana. He is a two-time Michigan PGA Golf Professional of the Year (1998, 2001).
Mengert, 89, was a club professional who also played on the PGA Tour. He worked at many notable clubs, including Oakland Hills Country Club as head professional from 1976 to ’86. He won the 1976 and 1980 Michigan PGA Professional Championships and was a top-ranked amateur when he lost in the final match of the 1952 U.S. Amateur.
