Two Tapemark Charity Pro-Am regulars battled it out today in a two hole sudden-death playoff on the 18th and 1st holes at the Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower. Columbia professional Jeff Sorenson beat Edinburgh USA professional Don Berry by knocking his approach shot on the 649 yard, par five first hole to a few inches.

Berry held a one shot lead heading into the last two holes, but Sorenson birdied the par three seventeenth hole after hitting his tee shot to about four feet. He almost won the tournament in regulation after hitting the flag on eighteen from a perfectly executed green-side bunker shot. Both players made par fours on the first playoff hole.

A pair of Troy Burne professionals (and Tapemark regulars), Dave Tentis and Brent Snyder, tied for third after shooting matching totals of 68-72-140 (-4). Here are the top 10 finishers (full leaderboard):

7 MInute Miles 2010 MN PGA Championship Photo Gallery

I saw lots of Tapemark friends today as the Minnesota Section of the PGA visited Fortune Bay today for the first day of their season-ending championship.

Dave Tentis, Brent Snyder and Jeff Sorenson are all tied for the lead at 68 (-4). Don Berry and Scott McDonald (Windsong Farm) are two back at 70 (-2). The full leaderboard can be found here.

The championship wraps up tomorrow. Spectators are welcome!

7 MInute Miles 2010 MN PGA Championship Photo Gallery

I know, I know, it’s been more than a month since I wrote a post here, but I’m not dead (yet). I promise I’ll get back to a more regular publishing schedule soon. In the meantime, here’s a nice relaxing photo from God’s Country to liven up the 7 Minute Miles home page.

It’s been almost a week and a half since I started working at Fortune Bay and so far things have been wonderful. The people on staff here are great to work with, it’s been interesting learning all the new technologies in use and I love the overall excitement of working in a casino. They assigned me a nice office just off the casino floor and I’m slowly getting used to where everything resides and how to get access to all of the tools I need to do the job.

There have been a few issues to deal with: we had a big storm last week that included a lighting strike behind one of the buildings that knocked out all of the cash registers and one of my staff members quit this week before I even got to meet him. I also still haven’t figured out what I’m going to do about housing next month, but I’m starting to find some leads.

The evenings last week were fun. A friend from the Twin Cities called me late Monday afternoon and said he was a half hour away. We played 18 holes at The Wilderness in two hours and 35 minutes, then had a nice dinner at the Grill. I played another post-work round on Thursday night – the course is spectacular and it’s hard to stay away when it’s right outside the door.

The other nights I spent scouting some of the nearby cities: Tower, Ely and Virginia. I looked at a few houses, drove by the schools and basically just checked out the overall vibe of each place. Based on the people I’ve talked to, Virginia and Ely probably have the best schools. My favorite house was in Tower, but I liked the general feel of Ely and Virginia has some nice bigger city amenities (Target, movie theater, McDonald’s).

I’d still love to find some lakeshore and build new, but prices on Vermilion don’t seem to be impacted much by the recession. This week I drove along the south shore and saw some amazing properties, but they were all way out of my price range. I’ll probably just rent for now and see what happens. The family comes up this weekend to check things out, so their input will help firm up plans too.

Tonight I ran for the first time since Grandma’s and I stopped in at the wellness center, which is located about a mile from the resort. Employees can use the facility for free and I spoke with the manager for a bit. She said the building is five years old and doesn’t get used much. All of the equipment is top of the line and the workout room overlooks the lake. I’m really excited to get trained on all of the machines and start getting back on track for TCM in October.

The rest of this week brings a bunch of meetings, the visit by the family (and maybe a few other friends), then one last consulting trip for 318 in Phoenix. I also found out today that my first business trip for Fortune Bay might be a September conference at the Palms in Las Vegas. Could this job get any better?

I know the snow and cold is coming in a few short months, but I just can’t get over how pretty it is in northeast Minnesota. More on the first week coming soon…

In honor of joining the home of the number one public golf course in Minnesota next week, I’ve started updating my old golf content from Golfing in Minnesota, Golden Links Golf and Minnesota Golden Links on a new 7 Minute Miles golf page.

The Wilderness at Fortune Bay is such a great course (par three third hole pictured above). If you’ve never played it, you need to come up and visit ASAP…

I guess it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. Next week I start a new chapter in my life as IT Director for Fortune Bay Resort Casino on Lake Vermilion. Everything has happened very quickly and there are still a lot of unknowns, but I’m very excited.

We stayed there two years ago and loved the place. The golf course has been rated the top public course in Minnesota the past two years by Golfweek (7MM Photo Gallery), the casino is the perfect size and has a great mix of games, the hotel rooms are all new and the location on the south shore of Lake Vermilion is very scenic.

I’ve always thought about working for a resort (specifically, Brainerd, Lutsen, Colorado, Pebble Beach, Hawaii or Florida). When I saw this position posted on their website, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. Here is the job summary:

The Information Technology (IT) Director is responsible for the overall management and security of information technology systems of gaming, hospitality management, sales, computer technology, and all company and corporation telecommunications services and programs. The IT Director will manage such areas as computer systems analysis and design, database and network administration, systems programming, telecommunications systems, and other information technology applications while meeting all budgetary requirements, policy and planning responsibilities, and payroll objectives. The IT Director shall provide effective leadership and personnel management to all Information Technology staff and contribute to the overall goals and mission of Fortune Bay and the Bois Forte Development Companies.

From a career standpoint, I couldn’t be more excited – lots of new things to learn and people to meet in a high-profile position in a well-run organization with a bright outlook.

I’m also excited about the lifestyle change. That part of the state is beautiful, offering lots of outdoor activities (hiking, mountain biking, golf, skiing, running, boating) and a more relaxed pace. Plus Duluth is only 90 minutes away and a return to the Twin Cities is about three and a half hours in the MINI.

We’ll spend the next few weeks looking at the various cities (Ely, Tower, Virginia) to see what schools and amenities are available and decide what we want to do. My longer term goal would be to get some land on one of the lakes and build a not-so-big cabin, just like I originally wanted on Lake Superior.