Michigan Golf Journal October 2021

was good,” Duckmann said. “My overall happiness with life has definitely increased by moving up here. “I knew I was going to have to work hard and spend longs days and long hours, and I was ready for that, and it was as I expected. The ongoing operations is still a learning experience every day. There’s something new we’re coming across and scrambling to figure out and it just makes us ready for the next time.” The ‘us’ Duckmann refers to is his girlfriend, marketing and events director Melissa Obis, plus about a dozen staff that stayed on from the previous ownership and a couple new people. His father, an accountant, also helps with business advice. He said thankfully the staff had a ton of background knowledge, and their availability has helped avoid the pitfalls other businesses across Michigan have experienced with a lean 2021 workforce. “The biggest thing was keeping the employees from last year. If we didn’t have that we would have been hurting and struggling to find people for sure.” Duckmann played competitive high school golf and stays very active in the sport today. He wants to draw from his experiences that made him the most grateful as a golfer himself. “Knowing what I’ve liked and what I found to be a positive experience on other golf courses, I’m then trying to recreate that here to give golfers a positive experience,” he said. “We’re not trying to pack the course at maximum capacity. We want everyone to have that unique experience out there. We could do 8-minute tee times and fully pack the course, but then people get cranky about slow play and waiting to make shots. We have 12-minute spacing to allow the groups to feel almost out there by themselves, to have a unique experience on the course.” Covid-19 cut back or eliminated weddings and large gatherings at most golf course properties nationwide, but Duckmann and Obis hope to bring those events back in 2022 after a season getting their feet wet in golf operations. They have a unique element with a large cherry orchard on site that could make a great outdoor venue, and the extra revenue the harvest supplies is a huge bonus to maintaining the financial bottom line. Playing the Course: Not long after the sale to Duckmann was completed, Obis sent out a news release when I was covering Continues on page 13>> Crosley Duckmann Playing the Course: 11 October 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com