The undeniable economic impact of the game of golf was readily tangible to anybody within earshot of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Club at Harbor Shores Sunday afternoon. You didn't even need to be on the course to hear some of the cheers fostered by players in the final round of the 2016 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid. Massive galleries of eager followers sent up resounding cheers and applause throughout the afternoon as Rocco Mediate posted his first ever win at a major championship of any kind.
Even people watching the Championship live on NBC Television in more than 200-million households worldwide could see the massive entourage following Mediate and runner-up Colin Montgomerie down the 18th fairway last evening. The Championship was shown in more than 132 countries across the globe, and the economic impact is sizable.
Clearly, there's that $504,000 winner's check that goes to Rocco and his family providing them with a lasting economic impact, but if you watched and listened throughout the past week the impact is felt all across the region and will continue well into the future. The sheer number of people in the galleries who traveled here from communities far and wide, spending their holiday weekend dollars in local hotels and motels, service stations, restaurants, pubs and diners has been very tangible for those businesses impacted.
There's also the $100,000 check presented by the PGA of America on Friday to the Benton Harbor Promise, helping assure a two-year college tuition to eligible graduating seniors from Benton Harbor High School.
Thousands turned out Thursday night for a free concert by the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, the O'Jays, drawing audiences from several states around, and a massive invitation-only, private party in a warehouse district of Benton Harbor saw organizers spare no expense in providing a world class night out for some 1,500 people in a wildly diverse crowd that partied well into the night on Saturday before the final round of the Championship.
But, it's the bounce-back factor that really escalates the economic impact. While many focused their time and cash-flow at or near the golf course this week, an increasing number of them are discovering the other destination attractions here that promote encore visits, day trips and even full vacations in the region for wine touring, craft brew sampling, festivals, events, and time at or near the waterfront.
Site selectors from across the nation were wined and dined by Cornerstone Alliance, Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and their partner agencies to show not only available sites for future development, but the quality of life at hand for corporate executives they work together to recruit to the workforce and lifestyle of the region.
Many of the 1,700 volunteers assisting the staff of the PGA of America in staging the week-long affair travel from as far away as 26 other states and Canada to play their role in the successful hosting role for the local community. More than a third of them have repeated that role three times now, and more than 1,000 of them took a break from their duties to log onto a computer at the Volunteer Headquarters Hospitality Center to sign on for another tour of duty when the Championship returns to Harbor Shores in 2018. The 2017 event is slated for Trump National near Washington DC next May.
The economic transformation of the region directly tied to the Harbor Shores project is huge. Brand new homes, entirely new neighborhoods, new businesses established on the periphery of the course itself, and other destination attractions added into the mix are readily evident for miles around. New homes in the Fairways Signature Homes neighborhood continue to go up, along with Trailside Cottages, Hideaway Cottage homes, Harbor Village and The Enclave have all sprung up directly as a result of the Harbor Shores Resort complex.
Also new to the community thanks to Harbor Shores are The Inn at Harbor Shores, the adjacent marina, waterfront bar, kayaking, paddle boarding, bicycle rentals and more.
With the announcement by Whirlpool Corporation last week that they are assuming the elevated title sponsorship changing the event next year to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and continuing that role at least through 2024, the future economic impact has the potential to soar exponentially in Michigan's Great Southwest for years to come, and with more folks jumping on the bandwagon going forward, the future is bright for the entire region.
