Bahle Farms Golf Course owner, Crosley Duckmann, joins the podcast to discuss his course and ownership at 26 years old

Living out many of our dreams, a 24 year old Crosley Duckmann, purchases a 200 acre golf course in Northern Michigan during the height of COVID

The purchase of Bahle Farms Golf Course in 2021, brought a 24 year old entrepreneur from Chicagoland to Northern Michigan for his first foray into golf course ownership and management.

Traverse City felt like a second home to the Duckmann family which spent considerable time on Michigans’ north and northwest coasts during the summers. Fond memories and a love of the area, aiding in peaking the interest of Crosley Duckmann when the real estate listing for Bahle Farms hit the market during Covid.

“We had stuff all over the walls and just started with a couple phone calls. Talking to their realtor, getting their financial reports and developed a business plan from that. We then started pitching the banks”, Duckmann said.

With no previous golf experience, Duckmann, his girlfriend and his roommate in Chicago put together a plan in their apartment. Duckmann and his girlfriend spent hours studying golf course management and the financial feasibility of the golf course. Bahle Farms sits 25 minutes north – northwest of Traverse City, MI and has considerable competition in the area with notable top 100 public courses: Grand Traverse, Arcadia Bluffs, Boyne and The Loop. Crosley sees this as a benefit to his course. Where typical tee times at the above mentioned courses average $200, Bahle Farms plans to set peak tee times at $80. This will offer golfers a budget friendly option to compliment a great golf get away.

The course, going into its second full year of management under Duckmann, is to undergo a beautification project with removal of scrub brush around and through the pine forest, flower planter fixes and continued turf maintenance. No major changes to hole design is planned for the 20 plus year old course.

In Duckmann’s first season, the ability to access a liquor license under new ownership, delayed the official changing of hands as the previous owner’s, the Bahle Family, retained the course for a few months. Duckmann used these few months to work nearly every job on property excluding some of the maintenance roles.

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