Dennis Grall photo Island Resort & Casino general manager Tony Mancilla, center, accepts the 2022 National Golf Course of the Year award from Jay Karen, CEO of the NGCOA, and Tom Brooks, president of the NGCOA board of directors, Tuesday at Rosen Centre in Orlando. Sweetgrass Golf Club of Harris is the sixth Michigan course to receive the award.

ORLANDO — Two large screens in the Rosen Centre displayed the prolific attributes of Sweetgrass Golf Club Tuesday night before a large crowd of some of the nation’s most accomplished golf course owners.

Sweetgrass was singled out as the 2022 recipient of the award presented by the National Golf Course Owners Association. Three other regional winners were also displayed in the impressive video presentation.

Sweetgrass is the sixth Michigan course selected by the group’s board of directors for this prestigious honor.

“Golf in Michigan is a big deal,” Island Resort & Casino general manager Tony Mancilla said upon receiving the large trophy. “There are great areas, great properties (in Michigan). We are proud to represent the U.P. of Michigan with this award.”

Accompanying Mancilla were director of golf Dave Douglas, long-time course superintendent John Holberton and chief financial officer Scott Herioux.

The course was designed by Paul Albanese of Plymouth, Mich., who teams with Chris Lutzke to form the distinguished architectural tandem. Mancilla pointed out Albanese, who in 2017-18 designed nearby Sage Run Golf Course for the Hannahville Indian Tribe of the Potawatomi Nation, used tribal history, five former Upper Peninsula highway bridges and an environmentally reclaimed water filtration system that pumps water into seven holes with water features to build the course.

“The award was unexpected,” said Mancilla. “We were very excited about (winning) the Michigan award (announced last fall).”

The affiliation with the adjacent casino enables the tribe to “provide an upscale/private golf experience to everyone at a reasonable price,” noted Mancilla.

The prairie-style course plays 7,230 yards from the tips and has been ranked among the top tracks in Michigan by various rating groups.

Course officials also donate use of Sweetgrass and Sage Run for high school golf tournaments and youth clinics, with the YMCA of Delta County receiving the proceeds.

The women’s Symetra Tour, billed as the “Road to the LPGA,” has been played at Sweetgrass since 2011. Tuesday it was announced Epson America signed a five-year agreement to succeed Symetra Tour as the women’s so-called Minor League.

“This (award) was a bonus for us,” Mancilla told The Daily Press earlier this month.

Other regional winners were Swansea Country Club of Swansea, Mass. in region one, Streamsong Red in Bowling Green, Fla. in region three and Silverado Resort in Napa, Cal. in region three.

“We are very proud to win it and will keep doing what we can to grow this great game,” Mancilla told the gathering here Tuesday.

Mancilla received the national award from Jay Karen, CEO of the NGCOA, and Tom Brooks, president of the group’s board of directors which made the final decision of the regional finalists.