Garland Member Lori Schlicher is GAM Player of the Year
By Greg Johnson –
Lori Schlicher of Lewiston is not only considered the top player among senior women at Garland Lodge & Golf Resort, where she has been a member for several years, but the Golf Association of Michigan also recognizes her as the top senior women golfer in the state.
The 64-year-old Schlicher burned up the competition in 2025, winning the Michigan Women’s Senior Amateur for the third consecutive year, the GAM Women’s Senior Championship and the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions.
Those performances put her at the top of the Golf Association of Michigan Points List, and she earned the Senior Women’s Player of the Year award for a second consecutive year.
“I was pretty consistent this year,” said the mother of four and grandmother of seven. “I still have things to work on. I could have played better when I got to the (U.S Senior Women’s Amateur in Virginia), and I know I feel things in my muscles I didn’t use to feel. I’m working on that to be ready for next season. And I’ll chop wood and maybe go to Florida for a few weeks, like I did last year.”
She has a wood stove for home heat, in addition to a furnace if needed, but she prefers to chop and burn for warmth in the winter. “I keep the home fires burning,” she said and laughed.”
Lori’s late husband, Walter Schlicher, was an irrigation specialist and golf course superintendent at Garland for almost 40 years.
She has been a top player in the GAM ranks in recent years, practicing and playing at Garland, which features four championship courses, The Sawyer par 3 course and a practice center.
“It’s home, and during the season I can play or practice when I want at great facilities,” she said. “I have to travel some to play in tournaments, but I don’t mind it. It’s beautiful up here, and sometimes there are tournaments in Northern Michigan, so I don’t have to go far.”
Schlicher is excited to try and win a third Player of the Year award in 2026. “I’m not getting any younger, so I’m trying to get it while I still got it,” she said.
Garland Lodge & Golf Resort represents 4 of the 17 courses in the Gaylord Golf Mecca, and Lori is part of a golf community known for great players and great facilities. Her accomplishments add another standout chapter to Michigan’s premier golf destination.
