 June is Michigan Golf Month, and I have celebrated this incredible sport by recently taking golf lessons for the first time. With over 650 public courses across the state – many of them award-winning and designed by masters of the sport – Michigan has proved itself as a premier, world-class destination for golfers, no matter their skill level. For those of you who prefer to be on the water, we were proud to see the Au Sable River has been named the best river for fly fishing in the nation for the second year in a row by USA TODAY readers. With trout season underway, we’re excited to welcome anglers to enjoy our pristine waters and forests all season long.
The Pure Michigan Cup with Epson Tour Just in time for Michigan Golf Month, we have collaborated with Epson Tour – the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour – to create The Pure Michigan Cup, a series of three tournaments from the Midwest stretch that are being held across Michigan for top athletes to compete in this time-honored sport. The first championship, held at FireKeepers Casino Hotel (Battle Creek), concluded with golfer Samantha Wagner in the lead with 500 points. The second competition will begin today at The Highlands (Harbor Springs), and the final competition will take place at the Island Resort & Casino (Harris). This partnership not only showcases the incredible talent of professional women athletes, but also puts Michigan’s golf destinations on the national stage.
Campaign Update: Culinary Experiences, TripAdvisor and More Highlighting Culinary Travel: As part of our efforts to elevate Michigan’s culinary and agricultural gems, Michigan’s culinary leaders from Traverse City were featured in an episode of the James Beard Award-winning TASTE podcast and online publication. For those of you who attended the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism in April, you may recall the host and editor in chief, Matt Rodbard, was one of our keynote speakers. The episode features Sarah Welch, a Top Chef finalist who will be opening a new Traverse City restaurant in 2026; Whitney Waara, director of the inaugural Traverse City Food & Wine event; and Patrick Brys, CEO of Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery. You can listen to the podcast on YouTube here, or on major podcast platforms. We were also excited to secure a high presence of promotion for the summer campaign during the airing of Top Chef on Peacock, one of the most-watched cooking competitions to date. Our commercials aired around the season finale this week, highlighting Michigan to audiences throughout the nation. TripAdvisor Partnership: We have launched a sponsored Pure Michigan landing page with TripAdvisor as part of our summer campaign, which includes media throughout the website to drive consumers who are looking for Michigan travel inspiration to this page. We will continue our presence on TripAdvisor as we develop more content for fall – featuring on their fall travel page – to keep Michigan top of mind for travelers visiting TripAdvisor for their vacation planning. Dotdash Meredith Collaboration: Pure Michigan is continuing to partner with Dotdash Meredith to lead the slow travel trend. The latest edition of Real Simple magazine hits the shelves this week, which includes the Pure Michigan summer fragrance card. This multi-sensory promotion invites travelers to imagine their relaxing getaway to Michigan where they can unplug and refresh. Our presence continues online as well with our recent landing page on Real Simple, featuring rejuvenating escapes to our woods and waters.
ESTO 2025: Phoenix, AZ With the ever-changing landscape of the travel and tourism industry, I encourage those who are able to consider attending ESTO 2025 in Phoenix (August 17-19), the nation’s premier educational conference for DMOs. Hosted by U.S. Travel, this year’s event will feature bold content and dynamic networking opportunities, with a focus on real-world strategies, actionable insights and emerging trends. The program is now live, so if you would like to register or learn more, visit esto.ustravel.org. Please note that if you plan to attend and stay onsite at the JW Marriott Pheonix Desert Ridge, book your accommodations before the deadline of Thursday, July 17.
All the best, Kelly Wolgamott
Vice President of Pure Michigan
Travel Michigan | 
