Hosting the 48th annual Shamrock Invitational at Bucks Run Golf Club provides a chance for superintendent Craig McKinley and his team to give back to Michigan’s Mount Pleasant and Mecosta County communities. The event, scheduled for July 16, is held as a two-player scramble on the 18-hole Jerry Matthews-designed course.
“The company that I work for, The Fisher Companies, has always been a very giving organization,” McKinley says. “They’re active in the community. This is just another way for me to be a part of that. Those guys can write the checks, and these construction companies can be a part of that community. This is my way of participating in the company’s generosity, and my way of participating in the good that they do in our community.”
The two-day event raises money through golf, dinner and games for the Shamrock Fund, which donates proceeds to the Mt. Pleasant Area Community Foundation in Isabella County and to Mecosta County Community Foundation in Mecosta County. The organizations donate to numerous community causes such as the Humane Society, student scholarship funds and soup kitchens. Nearly 10 scholarships are given to local high school students graduating. Shamrock Invitational committee president Kim Von Kronenberger says the foundation donated upwards of $50,000 to charities in 2024.
The event began in 1977 and was originally called the Michael Sweeney Memorial Golf Tournament for the benefit of the American Heart Association in Mecosta County. The name has changed numerous times, eventually landing on The Shamrock Invitational Golf Outing. The outing location rotates between Bucks Run, St. Ives Golf Course and Tullymore Golf Resort.
“I remember when I was told that the Shamrock Invitational was coming here, I was very excited for that because in this area, it’s a huge deal,” McKinley says. “It’s the who’s who. They’re all big golfers, they’re all good people, so we always try to put our best foot forward.”
The outing comes just a few days after the club’s member-guest outing, so the maintenance staff is “already in the zone.” Evening mows are completed two to three days before the event to finalize green speeds and the preparation gets the staff excited.
“They just kind of feel from our management staff how big of a deal it is,” McKinley says, “and this is our way of putting the vessel forward for our facility where these guys get to see that.”
The tournament kicks off with a cocktail party on Tuesday night, attended by participants and their spouses. Wednesday brings the golf tournament and a 10-team, two-person horse race. Other golfers watch the elimination tournament and dinner is held in the evening.
The event will be held at Bucks Run in 2026, and the 50th anniversary celebration will be at Tullymore in 2027. “We’re excited about the next few years,” Kronenberger says.
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