If you’re late for your tee time at Harbor Shores, you won’t be able to argue with the Official Starter at the first tee there any more. Thanks to a very special group of friends of retired Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig, a strikingly handsome new Omega clock has been strategically placed on the apron of the practice green at Harbor Shores, across the cart path from the first tee box, and it keeps meticulous time.
That new clock on a black anodized tower sports both the Harbor Shores name and “In Honor of Jeff Fettig,” as well as a hand-crafted Harbor Shores logo created by Benton Harbor metal sculptor and artist Josh Andres. The base of the clock tower has the names of the long list of nearly 100 Fettig friends who paid for the tribute to him on two panels, and a third panel has a quote from his leadership philosophy and a brief about the course which reads as follows:
“Think big, work as a team and sweat the details to create transformation that lasts for generations.” – Jeff M. Fettig
In appreciation for his vision which led to the demolition of two million square feet of old buildings, removed 140,000 cubic yards of waste, creating a 530 acre Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Resort dedicated to uniting communities and creating opportunities for all of Michigan’s Great Southwest. Dedicated May 4th, 2018.
Fettig announced his retirement last summer after 13 years as Chairman & CEO of Whirlpool Corporation based in Benton Harbor. In the fall, he retained the Chairmanship of the Board of Directors, relinquishing the CEO title to Marc Bitzer.
The affable corporate leader thought he was heading into The Grille at Harbor Shores for a lunch with Pete Bevacqua from the PGA of America, when he was applauded by several dozen friends, fraternity brothers from Indiana University, colleagues from Whirlpool, other retired executives from his team, and family members who had assembled around the base of the clock tower which was shrouded in a secretive cloak before being ceremonially unveiled.
Whirlpool Corporate Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs, Jeff Noel, delivered the dedication speech, citing Fettig’s great work in the company, the community, and at the course. Afterward Jeff told me, “It was a real honor to be a part of a group of friends that provided the funding, and provided the inspiration that came up with the idea of celebrating an important milestone in such a great leader’s life.” Noel pointed out that. “All of these friends came together from as far away as Indiana and elsewhere to be here to celebrate with Jeff and to acknowledge what his leadership and what his friendship has meant to our community, and what it has meant to all of them,” adding, “What we wanted to convey to Jeff is a special thank you for all that he’s done and especially for what his friendship has meant for all of us.”
Unbeknownst to him, Fettig, in his own way, actually had a hand in the selection of a prominent first tee clock as 
the piece to honor him. Totally unaware of his friends’ plans, he admitted, “I have over the years told the folks who were working on the Harbor Shores project, that many of the great golf courses of the world always have a very large clock right by the first tee to keep players on time, and I let them know that my opinion is we ought to have one, and now we do. It’s really special.”
As the clock was being unveiled Fettig was in awe of the people who had assembled and what they had done. He even briefly pulled his cellphone from his pocket and noted that he has four or five pictures of a very nice clock he and his wife Marcia had run across while golfing elsewhere in the country recently which he had planned to show the team at Harbor Shores in order to continue to lobby for such an amenity. Now, he won’t have to. It’s there in all of its glory just in time for the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores.
The new four-sided clock is an outstanding timepiece from Omega and is a co-axial chronometer.
Noel says, “This beautiful clock was paid for by t
he friends that are here today and some others. It was facilitated by the PGA of America, to make sure that it happened in the right way, and I think most importantly we wanted to do something that was symbolic of what being a friend to Jeff Fettig is really like. He is committed, he makes things last, and he also wants to make sure that it’s meaningful, and this is a tribute to a project that Jeff Fettig lead, and if it wasn’t for Jeff, it wouldn’t be here and there’s no better way of showing how people are improving lives by working together than on the transformation of what has occurred here on the properties of Harbor Shores.”
Standing in the shadow of the new clock tower amid his small sea of friends, Jeff says, “It really is a special tribute. It’s a special day. The Harbor Shores story is very special to this community and to me, and all of the people who have played a part in it. The dedication today of the new clock along the first tee, is really special. It was a complete surprise, and for those who did this, all of the people who have been involved, I am deeply grateful for this outstanding new clock.”
Be sure to check out the new clock when you visit the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship over the Memorial Day weekend at Harbor Shores, it’s directly behind the club house patio.
