As a steady rain fell, further erasing the latest traces of winter snow piles on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Harbor Shores today, there was a festive spirit in the clubhouse overlooking the practice green and the first tee there with dreams of warm spring sunshine and ice cold cocktails to come at the upcoming KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship for 2022 over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
New Championship Director Brandon Haney was excited, looking across the makeshift work stations for half a dozen members of the Makers Trail, as they showcased some of their concoctions proposed for the Makers Trail 19th Hole feature at the prestigious championship on the PGA of America’s Champions Tour.
Standing just feet from the renowned Alfred S. Bourne trophy, Haney reported ongoing progress in the planning for the revered event from May 25th to 29th at Harbor Shores, telling me, “The Championship will be here before we know it. We just wrapped up some vendor meetings today which is a big milestone in our planning process which means construction is right around the corner, and we’re actually now within 100 days of Championship Week, so it won’t be long now.”
Looking over the shoulder of Watermark Brewery front man Christ Mason who was dressed ready to hit the links, Haney noted, “There’s a little rain out there today, but the weather is starting to warm up so hopefully that’s a good sign. We’re very excited to be back. It’s been a long four years since we last hosted here at Harbor Shores, but we’re bringing a lot of cool new elements for the event. There will be a lot of things coming. You’ll see some shakeups in our main entrance courtyard area. We’ll still have our foundation pieces of the KitchenAid Fairway Club and the Community Showcase, and we’ll be bringing back the Kid Zone to Jean Klock Park on Saturday and Sunday, so we’re very excited about that, but here we’re doing a little media tasting today for the Makers Trail 19th Hole. We’re super excited about that facility. We’ve moved it down towards the 17th green, so the view of golf is going to be fantastic. We’re adding a few other elements, like a beer garden and the food trucks, so it’ll be really an all-encompassing facility for all of our guests that we welcome.”
Regarding the field for the event, Haney says, “Well, after the four-year gap, there are a lot of new names coming up, so we’re hoping to see both of our past Ryder Cup Captain’s Paddraig Harrington and Steve Stricker, and guys like Ernie Els, KJ Choi, names like that, that haven’t played out here at Harbor Shores, so we’re very, very excited.”
Millicent Huminsky, the arbiter of the Makers Trail which was first formed about five years ago under the flag at her Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council, says, “We’re up to more than 45 breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries in Berrien County alone along the Makers Trail.” She adds, “We always have a Community Showcase tent at the Senior PGA Championship when it’s in Benton Harbor, designed to get people to come back here and vacation when there isn’t a championship going on. In 2018 with the PGA of America, the Makers Trail 19th Hole started, which is a separate venue on the golf course being set up along hole number 17. It will feature multiple products from six of our Makers Trail locations in Berrien County.” She concludes, “Now we’ve got one kind of venue in one location when they enter the Championship through the Community Showcase, and another one on the 17th hole shortly before they exit with the Makers Trail 19th Hole.”
Haney and his colleagues at the PGA of America announced the final roster today of the local breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries set to be showcased at the Makers Trail 19th Hole throughout the Championship.
That venue is an upgraded ticket option offering a fan experience like no other, providing attendees special access to a covered pavilion with comfortable seating, views of live play, TV’s to keep an eye on the action, and a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy specially crafted beverages from local artisans.
The 2022 Makers represents some of the finest in Michigan’s Great Southwest, and they include:
- North Pier Brewing of Benton Harbor
- Watermark Brewing of Stevensville
- Dablon Winery & Vineyard from Baroda
- Round Barn Winer from Baroda
- Journeyman Distillery of Three Oaks
- Peat’s Cider Social from Stevensville
Championship Director Haney says, “The list of Makers is one of our best yet, and we cannot wait to showcase what they have to offer.”
A limited number of daily tickets are available and have sold out in the past. Weekly Makers Trail 19th Hole tickets are on sale now for a limited time, and include one daily ticket to each Championship Round from Thursday through Sunday. To obtain tickets, click the link below:
http://www.srpgachampionship.com/tickets
During this afternoon’s taste of the Makers Trail 19th Hole vendors, I chatted with reps from each venue.
North Pier Brewing has the distinct advantage of not only being in two locations for the Senior PGA this year through the Community Showcase and at the Makers Trail 19th hole, but they are right in their brewery is located in the middle of the Harbor Shores course between the 13th green and the 14th fairway where folks can stop in at the brewery and pop into the air conditioning and grab a beer or cocktail. Bob Ehrlich was on hand and says, “We’re planning one of our beers and one of our canned cocktails at the 19th hole. North Pier’s Two Off the First will be on the course for sale and also potentially in the tent, and either Tackle Box IPA or Oh My Guava Kolsch.”
Peat’s Cider Social’s co-owner Josh Cosner says it will be their first time at the Maker’s Trail 19th Hole, and tells us, “We opened our taproom in Stevensville in 2019, so it’s the first time we’re able to participate in this event.” Asked what they will showcase, Cosner says, “We’ve added several varieties but we know one’s going to be the Huntsman which is our flagship cider. It’s a semi-sweet, about 6% alcohol, and is a beer drinker’s cider that’s right down the middle. Not too sweet. Not too dry. We believe it’ll be a big hit. It will be great for our business, and the Stevensville business community, and give some exposure to our tap room, invite people to come in and bowl or perhaps play some arcade games, and hang out on the patio.”
Not far from Peat’s Cider Social in Stevensville is the home of Watermark Brewing, whose PR Chief Chris Mason admits, “Watermark is super excited to be back at the Makers Trail 19th Hole. That’s actually why we wore our golf attire here today to bring that sunshine out, bring those good vibes onto the golf course here, along with our refreshing beer.” Mason calls it, “A really great opportunity for not only Watermark as a brewery and a part of the Makers Trail, but also we get to showcase Stevensville and our neighboring businesses around us, so we’re really excited to be back at this national event on such a great scale.” Watermark is a brewery where they are innovating every day and making new product all the time, posing the potential for difficulty in planning what to take to the 19th Hole, but Mason didn’t hesitate in pointing out that they will be offering up their Bodega, a Mexican-style lager saying, “That’s probably one of our more popular beers on draft in the taproom, and that’s something we anticipate bringing along to the 19th hole, but we also want to showcase Foot Wedge, which is a Session IPA that we make, to give a nod to our golf branding.”
At Dablon Winery, Cassondra Kennedy was effervescent, saying, “I’ve been at Dablon for five years now, and things are going exceptionally well” At the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, we will feature our 2018 Unoaked Chardonnay, our 2020 Riesling, our 2020 Pinot Noir Dry Rose and our 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon.” Dablon is growing and Kennedy says, “It’s fantastic. One of the things we can take away from COVID, is the whole igloo scenery, that we now have at Dablon. We no longer have lulls in the wintertime, as we’re now busy every weekend year-round, which is fantastic.”
From nearby Round Barn Winery, long time rep Gina Svec says, “We will feature our Red Sangria, it’s carbonated and filled with fruity flavors of cranberry, lemon-lime, a little peach in there, and always ready to pour and ready to drink.” She points out, “We’ve had this on tap and serving at our locations and at other restaurants in the region for about 10 years and we’ve enjoyed such strong popularity with it that we decided to can it and now it’s out in retail stores as well. At the 19th Hole and in the Community Showcase, we will be serving the Red Sangria, but it’s actually part of our series which include Crantini Sangria, Red Sangria, White Sangria, Raspberry Lemonade and Peach sangria.” Later in the summer, Round Barn will make a milestone, as Gina notes, “Our 30th Anniversary is happening August 12th to the 14th and will feature a 90’s theme, so stay tuned for that and you’ll see promotional materials coming out shortly.”
From Journeyman Distillery in Three Oak, Regional Sales Rep Grant Greiffendorf reports, “At the 19th Hole we’re going to feature a lot of spring/summer-style drinks, including four different spirits from our line including our Cherry Whiskey, our Apple Cider Liqueur, our Bilberry Blackhearts Gin, and our Last Feather Rye. The apple cider liqueur right out of the jug poured over ice will be a great cocktail. Our cherry whiskey we’re mixing with lemonade for a little Cherry Whiskey Lemonade, with our Billberry Blackhearts Gin we’re making a berry gin base with a fresh jam, lime juice and gin topped with soda water, and for our Last Feather Rye Whiskey we’re going to do a grapefruit smash which features muddled grapefruit, mint, simple syrup, our whiskey and then a little more grapefruit juice.” Greiffendorf says Journeyman continues to grow and expand, noting, “We have a site in Valparaiso that will open in early 2023. It’s a total expansion on our current brand. Three Oaks is still going to operate and thrive as is, and Valpo is just going to be an extension.” With further detail on plans for Valpo, Grant says, “We’re going to have more event space, more seats for people to sit down for restaurants and it’s going to help increase our production by about five-hundred percent or so. The plan is to be in all 50 states here, very soon. So we need to have stills running 24/7 to be able to make sure we’re meeting all the demands in our new markets that were reaching into.”
It was late 2019 when Journeyman announced plans to go nationwide, and Greiffendorf says, “At the start of 2021 we were in 19 States. We finished the year moving into 36, so by the end of this year, 14 more markets to go. We’re pushing for it and big props to our coordinators that are helping us make that happen at Park Avenue Spirits Distributing.”
Tourist Council Executive Director Millicent Huminsky says, “The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship provides us with the perfect platform to showcase all that Southwest Michigan has to offer. Our incredible breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries are just some what make this area special, and we can’t wait to show them off.” She concludes, “We look forward to welcoming visitors back to the area for this exciting event that is so important to our community, and hope that it encourages repeat visits all year long.”
