Way back at the turn of the century, the Bahle family was looking for another business opportunity.
What was an idea has turned into 25 years of golf at the Suttons Bay Township course that brings in 10s of thousands of golfers to the peninsula each year.
Bahle Farms Golf Course is a 200-acre golf course that opened in 1999. It was formerly owned by members of the Bahle family.
Karl and Steve Bahle, along with several other family members and business partners poured their blood, sweat, and tears into making the golf course a success before selling it in 2021.
Stu Hollander, Steve White, and Gary Pulsipher all were instrumental in the course success, especially during those early days.
Before the course was a thought, Karl and Hollander played the game together and finally thought why not take a stab at building a golf course. Pulsipher was the architect of Bahle Farms, White was the builder and Hollander was another business partner.
“Golf seemed like one to take a run at and see if we can do this,” Karl said.
After obtaining permitting and additional financing the Bahle’s tackled the project during golf’s adolescence in the area. It took them two and a half years to build before all 18 holes were ready.
The Bahle Family owns and operates several other local businesses, such as Bahle’s clothing store which has been open since 1876.
“There seemed to be a lot of enthusiasm for the property and people complained about difficulty,” Karl said.
Karl remembers having a conversation with Pulsipher on how owning a golf course will change the way he views the game both negatively and positively.
“It changes your perspective, I played the game more and I had a greater appreciation for the course and look at the business from a different perspective,” Karl said.
After 20 years of operation, Bahle Farms Golf Course sold to father-son duo Mark and Crosley Duckmann on June 9, 2021.
The reason for selling is because of the age of the family members that were involved in the business. During this time they sold the theater, and the golf course consumed a lot of time and energy.
Karl said they choose the Duckmann’s when selling because of their connection to the area and their ability to maintain the original vision of the course.
“I think (the Duckmanns) done really well. They’ve brought a new youthful energy to it and are making improvements to basic products and maintaining the course,” Karl said. “They are making a financial and emotional commitment to improve the golf course. They’ve done a great job of marketing and enthusiasm for Bahle’s throughout the midwest has exploded.”
Karl saw over the years the traffic changed from being driven by locals and leagues to destination golf trips where groups of people will golf five or six courses for a week at different places in the area.
Karl also says the area has seen an influx of spring and fall golfers that bring in more revenue.
Karl’s advice to the Duckmann’s as they continue on their journey is to build on the foundation and natural beauty of the course through innovation and design.
The biggest disappointment for Karl and Pulsipher is not having Hollander and White see the 25th anniversary of Bahle Farms as both passed away over a decade ago.
Karl specifically remembers the first day they had the water lines and irrigation system running and within 72 hours seeing the first shades of green. He also remembers fondly the first day of having guests and hearing the reaction to the beauty and toughness of the course.
Karl says the golf course investment overall turned out fine but not as well as they anticipated.
Pulsipher and White built the former Matheson Greens Golf Course in Northport along with Bay Meadows, the Crown (back nine), to name a few. All these years later, Pulsipher says his work for Bahle Farms was the gem of his career.
He remembers living in Cadillac at the time and coming to the forested fields and knifing around brush to gain a vision. In April 1998, construction started and the course opened in 1999 with nine holes with the following nine opening during the 2000 season.
“One challenge was the typography and an extremely hilly area, but it gives you great opportunities and creates a lot of hard work,” Pulsipher said. “That was probably the most difficult. Something people don’t think about is the soil. It was very bad soil then ... (Bahle Farms now) is so dynamic and intricate.”
Pulsipher and Karl golf once or twice a week and he remembers trees being 6-7 feet that are now higher than 25 feet tall “It really feels different seeing how mature the golf course is at 25 years old and my golf game is 25 years more terrible,” Pulsipher said.
Bahle Farms built its golf course at the end of the “Pete Dye” era. Paul Dye Jr. known as “Pete Dye” was an American golf course designer famous for building dozens of courses across the country. Pulsipher relates to the building of Bahle Farms during an era of “upscale public golf course” construction that was built from 1970 to 2000.
“Playing golf is expensive, but someone can find a course that fits your budget just about anywhere,” he said. “Golf is the most available to anybody and there are multiple ways to play including men versus women and kids play grandpas. Sometimes a golf course needs a revitalization.”
At the end of the day, Pulsipher thought the Bahle Farms project was a great experience during his career.
Pulsipher stayed on at Bahle Farms as the Superintendent for 15 years before retiring.
Bahle Farms motto: Our motto is simple. We don’t sell golf, we sell a good time on a golf course. While you’re out here, we want you to enjoy your setting, and have the time of your life. It’s pretty easy to do here in Pure Michigan.
