On June 25, in a Facebook post by the West Michigan Golf Show, it was announced “After 24 years of amazing golf shows…we have had to make the very tough decision to stop operation of the West Michigan Golf Show at DeVos Place.”
As someone long connected to the Show, this public news didn’t come as a surprise. In fact, Golf Show Manager Carolyn Alt, kindly alerted me to the pending announcement several weeks ago. I knew of the Show’s struggles in recent years.
The posting did cause some confusion to many of my friends in and outside of golf. They knew the show started more than 24 years ago. I founded the show in March, 1989 and I ran it for 13 years before I sold it to ShowSpan Inc, the parent company of the West Michigan Golf Show, in 2001. So the posting really meant that ShowSpan operated the Show for 24 years. Last February, the Golf Show was promoted as the 37th edition.
My years with the West Michigan Golf Show (WMGS) are some of my happiest in my career. I proudly worked with Carolyn and Mike Wilbraham since 2002 and they did an outstanding job improving and growing the Show. I knew back in 2001 ShowSpan had the resources and connections to take the Show to the next level and most importantly had the clout to secure favorable winter dates at exhibition space in downtown Grand Rapids. To wit, ShowSpan operated 14 consumer shows last year in Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, and Detroit.
The seeds of the WMGS began in the winter of 1988 when as Editor of Michigan Golfer I attended the first Detroit golf show at a Novi hotel. I came away from that crowded show wanting to start a similar show for the West Michigan market. Initially I wanted to be at the GR Civic Auditorium but the only weekend available in 1989 was over Easter! So that’s when I secure the dates for March 4-5, 1989 at the Cascade Sports Arena.
In that first year, there were 60 exhibitors including all of the major northern golf resorts and the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM.)
One element I added to the Show was an exhibition and clinic stage. That year, I arranged the appearances of notable names as Hank Haney, at the time Mark O’Meara’s instructor and later Tiger Woods’, Master PGA Professional and author Mike Hebron and long drive national champion Evan ‘Big Cat’ Williams.
In spite of a terrible ice storm (“I started a Golf Show and a hockey game broke out in the parking lot.”) on my opening day, the inaugural golf show was a big success and we were on our way.
The next year, the show moved to Ford Fieldhouse at Grand Rapids Community College and it was packed for 12 straight years at that venue.
Michael Breed’s clinics were SRO in 2016
There were several features that helped bring back patrons year after year: One, headliners became a regular feature with such notable teachers and golfers as Rick Smith, Dave Pelz, Wally Armstrong, Charlie Sorrell, Danny Edwards, Bill Kratzert, Bill Strausbaugh, Dr. DeDe Owens, Gary Wiren, Dean Reinmuth, as well as Golf Digest’s equipment editor Mike Stachura.
Secondly, we had a large hitting net where patrons could try out the newest golf clubs while getting a free lesson from a PGA pro.
Finally, due to generous exhibitors, there were hundreds of door prizes given away at the Show. Savvy patrons would come to show armed with mailing labels to make sign-ups easier and faster.
ShowSpan wisely continued these elements and in one instance made it made it even better. In 2002, a large par-three hole was set up inside the old Welsh Auditorium and it was a big draw.
And headliners remained a popular attraction with such names as Jim Flick, Michael Breed, and such National PGA Teachers of the Year as Mike Bender, Todd Anderson, and Lou Guzzi as well as names such as Meg Mallon and Dan Pohl.
in its heyday, the Show attracted more than 12,000 people and boasted nearly 200 booths. It was the winter golf happening in West Michigan and was widely promoted on television, radio, print and social media. I handled the publicity and local media covered the show and even did live reports from DeVos Place. The golf industry received a major boost each February.
Over the last few years, the Show struggled due to a number of factors. Since the Covid pandemic, golf has experienced a boom, both locally and in the resort industry. Many exhibitors didn’t see the need to market themselves when times were so good.
Other issues that confronted the golf show included rising costs associated with facility rental and increased marketing expenses such as advertising. (Although not generally appreciated, ShowSpan made major media buys to support the event.) Given such headwinds, it became difficult to maintain the quality of the Show and the extra space in terms of some of its popular attractions.
Unfortunately, there are not currently more affordable and comparable venue spaces in the Grand Rapids area, at least during the winer months apt for a golf show.
So sadly, the current version of the West Michigan Golf Show has run its course. Kudos to ShowSpan, staunch and loyal exhibitors and sponsors alike, and thousands of faithful patrons for helping to make it such a worthwhile and popular endeavor.
It will be missed when another cold February comes around.
